ABSTRACT
Ancient Egyptians believed that the Creative force of nature, Ptah, spoke the world into existence. The name Ptah itself means “opener” “as in opener of the mouth” and any study of Maatian rhetoric must acknowledge the real and prevalent Egyptian belief that words are capable of bringing things into existence much like Ptah himself did during creation. This is evident in the use of word four specific terms: (1) Heka—words of power; (2) Hu—an Authoritative utterance (i.e. the creator conceives a world and calls it into being); (3) Sia—which is exceptional insight; and (4) Isfet—to do wrong (except losten). These terms show that the Egyptians possessed a moral language that regulated speech. This chapter presents Maat as a disntictive and complete classical approach to ethics with four distinguishing features from other classical approaches: (1) It conceptualizes speech as a radically creative act; (2) it promotes the use of logical and scientific language; (3) it places a unique emphasis on listening as the enabling communication skill; and (4) it conceptualizes silence as a powerful form of communication. Mirroring the very first act of creation, Maat promotes speech as a way to create harmony, balance, reciprocity, truth, and life through the use of speech. Here, we have a communication ethics that considers speech as sacred, divine. A divine force that manifests itself through a divine means, human beings.
