A Rhetorician Ponders Technology, or Why Kenneth Burke Never Owned a "Personal" Computer

Abstract

Abstract. Through perusing selected writings of Kenneth Burke, the interaction between rhetoric and technology is considered. It is contended that though Burke did not express a disdain for technology _per se_, he did see it impacting society in dangerous ways if allowed to perpetuate unchecked. The author urges renewed commitment to the critical function which rhetoric provides as a necessary safeguard in an increasingly technological society.