Words on Lockedown

     We have been given the opportunity to witness the progression of rhetoric through the classical, medieval, and renaissance periods of the tradition.  With this week’s reading, we enter the enlightenment—though the rhetorician’s ability to be both descriptive and vague hasn’t wavered.  Perhaps not having read any of his work, most of us have at least heard of John Locke.  I myself have always had trouble separating him from the face of Locke from the television show Lost, considering his constant monologues and wise remarks.  Being that as it may, I found our rhetorician John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding to be compelling, but disconcerting at times.  He seems to describe some pretty basic ideas in such profound detail, I found myself questioning my understanding because it may not be so elaborate.

     I really enjoyed the section where Locke described the failure of words when used heedlessly by rhetors.  The text reads, “He that hath words of any language, without distinct ideas in his mind to which he applies them, does, so far as he uses them in discourse, only make noise without any sense or signification; and how learned soever he may seem, by the use of hard words or learned terms, is not much more advanced thereby in knowledge, than he would be in learning […]” (825).  A common theme among the rhetoricians we have studied has been their emphasis on the importance of education and a rounded one at that.  If people just spew words off without having the appropriate educational background, they are failing to fully make use of the utility words hold.  Improper use of these words, whether semantically or contextually, leads to their ultimate degradation.  In other words, know what you’re saying before you say it.  A simple suggestion so commonly ignored.

     On top of this highlight, I noticed Locke stressing this relationship of rhetor to the words they use.  Up until know, we’ve seen the balancing act between rhetor and audience, author and reader.  Locke doesn’t so much disregard these fundamental pairings, but breaks it down to further emphasize the idea rhetoric is built from the ground up.  A person must first be able to join language and knowledge before an outside dimension can be applied.