Abstract
Retorica e pratica sociale possono essere concepite in modi diversi, come dimensioni separate della vita sociale, con una loro storia differente, o come aspetti interdipendenti, focalizzandosi sulla dimensione pratica della retorica e sulla dimensione retorica della pratica. L’articolo esamina questo rapporto, cercando di risalire alle radici comuni della retorica e della pratica sociale, elaborandone i diversi significati e le caratteristiche e suggerendo una prospettiva di ricerca capace di considerarle entrambe per l’analisi dell’interazione.
The chiasmus of rhetoric and practice shows their common roots and their differences: rhetoric, since the beginning, pursued a practical dimension of social success, hence was rejected by Plato’s conceptions of episteme, but attained social honour and prestige in education; practice never gained a theoretical dimension on its own, and conduced a ‘parasitic’ life, even if many philosophers, starting by Aristotle’s reflections on phronesis, accorded it a role, more evident since Marxian conception of praxis. In recent years, rhetoric and practice share the center of the scene, owing to the revival of rhetoric in communication and social studies and to the success of theory of practice.