All in All (More or Less)
Description
This book reinvents aspects of the rhetorical tradition as part of a philosophical pluralism oriented to "All-in-Allness". Its chapters unfold some of the ethical and intellectual responsibilities philosophy and rhetoric share, their commitments toward literature broadly conceived, the limited authority of their interpretations, and the kinds of judgments they issue in. Part One, drawing chiefly on Ludwig Wittgenstein and Richard McKeon, leverages a central line of argument regarding "Rationality" in the pragmatism of Robert Brandom. Part Two pivots to specific instances of the range of rhetorical argument found in surprising places and in sophisticated arrangements. The book as a whole culminates in Part Three, where the author demonstrates how "ordinary language criticism" fruitfully bears on cultural models - film, drama, novels, poetry - belonging to "American Low Modernism."
Reviews / Votes
"Jost's scope exploring philosophical and literary scholarly resources is simply wondrous. . His footnotes combined with the main text offer an elaborate education, especially for literary critics . . Reading it again for this review I realized how much I admire the content and structure of the argumentative work this learning allows and supports." (Charles Altieri, Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics, Vol. 48 (3), 2025)
"Walter Jost has written a remarkable book, one that makes a major contribution to rhetorical criticism and theory, and more generally to thinking about thinking within humanistic studies and beyond." (Steven Mailloux, Critical Inquiry, criticalinquiry.uchicago.edu, May 8, 2025)
"Walter Jost has written an important and unusual book. ... All in All (More or Less) is important, first of all, for reviving-indeed, relaunching - a sophisticated mode of pluralism in cultural and literary criticism. ... All in All (More or Less) has the potential to illuminate the hermeneutical assumptions and cognitive habits of many readers . ." (Kevin Hart, Philosophy and Literature, Vol. 49 (1), April 2025)
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Walter Jost is Professor of English at the University of Virginia, USA, and author of Rhetorical Thought in John Henry Newman and Rhetorical Investigations. He has edited or co-edited seven other books, among them Rhetoric and Hermeneutics in Our Time and Ordinary Language Criticism: Literary Thinking After Cavell After Wittgenstein.