Synapse
⌘+K
Synapse
PulseExploreClubsResearchersJournals
Instagram
HomeClubsExplore
June 20, 2026Journal for the History of Rhetoric

Toward Logological Skepticism: Kenneth Burke, Edward Said, and the Question of Atheism

View Full Paper
Ask AI
Bookmark
Share

Authors

BWBen Wetherbee

Discussion

Loading...

Member takes

Overview

This article configures Kenneth Burke as an atheistic thinker, highlighting atheism's rhetorical value in cultural discourse.

Key Points

  • The article aims to present Kenneth Burke as an atheistic thinker by connecting his ideas with Edward Said’s secular criticism.
  • Analyzed Burke’s use of religious terminology for rhetorical purposes.
  • Compared Burke’s and Said’s views on secularism with the perspectives of Wayne Booth and Richard Weaver.
  • Discussed atheism as a rhetorical response to symbolic systems.
  • Burke's secular orientation is more rhetorical than ontological, using religious language metaphorically.
  • Said’s and Burke’s concepts of god-term differ subtly but underscore a critical secular analysis.
  • The examination shows that understanding atheism requires recognizing its role in challenging symbolic hierarchies rather than solely debunking religious belief.

Cite This Study

Ben Wetherbee (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a3631fbdb0793dc1a538ab7https://doi.org/10.5325/jhistrhetoric.29.1.0006
View Full Paper
Ask AI
Bookmark
Share

Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Hume beyond Theism and Atheism2024
  2. 2Irritating the secular: on Peter Berger and Charles Taylor’s theological projects2024
  3. 3Kant and the Moral Need to Limit Theoretical Reason: An Expansion of Hare's Concept of Rational Instability2024
  4. 4RESTORING THE BURDEN OF PROOF:CLARIFYING ATHEISM,THEISM,AND AGNOSTICISM IN CONTEMPORARY DISCOURSE2025
  5. 5THE MODAL DISCIPLINE OF CREATION, GOD, ATHEISM, AND EVOLUTION: a confrontation between contemporary bibliography on religions and the Theory of Objectivity2026