ABSTRACT
This essay consists of two main parts. Following the introduction, I criticize Henry Johnstone’s deafness in “Some Trends in Rhetorical Theory” to the distinctive rhetoric of the New Left, which he singled out as a pressing problem for rhetorical theorists in his day.1 Johnstone’s deep understanding of rhetoric’s historic ties to philosophy was not matched by a comparable appreciation of the fi eld’s ties to politics. The second part is more constructive and points to an area where some serious philosophical rhetoric needs to be done: the rhetoric of science. I single out this new “prospect” not only because it is one with which I have been most closely affi liated for the past quarter century,2 but more importantly the fi eld has grown without really addressing the most fundamental questions concerning the legitimacy of science “as such” that are increasingly raised in the public sphere.
