Murphy 1

Jenna Murphy

Dr. Kevin Brooks

Summary #2

2/8/16

Citation:

Rountree, Clarke and John Rountree. Burkes Pentad as a Guide for Symbol-Using Citizens.
Studies in Philosophy & Education, vol. 34, 2015, pp. 349-362. doi 10.1007/s11217-
014-9436-1.

Summary:

In their article, Rountree and Rountree explain how Burkes Pentad is a useful guide for students
to become linguistically-aware citizens by understanding how language-use implicates larger
social relations, how language can reframe, reconstruct, and otherwise revise our very
conception of reality (350). Beginning by referencing the classical elements of rhetoric, the
authors explain how contemporary scholars have added to classical foundations by developing
the concept of paideia, or the whole process of education that cultivated the mind, trained
the intellect, and formed the character, (Miller qtd. in Rountree and Rountree 351), as essential
to fostering critical citizenship that engages issues related to power structures, multiculturalism,
and other social concerns (Rountree and Rountree 351-2). Rountree and Rountree link the origins
of human language as discourse about motives, to Burkes pentad (354). The authors suggest
that the Pentad, consisting of act (what), scene (when and where), agent (who), agency (how),
and purpose (why), in addition to attitude, or the manner of action, serves as a mechanism for
understanding general and specific motives in contemporary discourse (354). The authors outline
specifically how Burkes use of pentadic pairing, including agent-act, scene-act, and scene-agent,
provides a tool for evaluating emphasis and relations displayed in language that may label or rob
individuals of agency by limiting attributions of motives (357). The scene-act pairing, for
example, highlights the removal of agency, as in the case of war rhetoric that expresses the need
to engage in combat due to circumstances beyond the agents control (358). The problems that
become apparent with any of the pairings, according to the authors, is the way in which the
pairings are inherently dehumanizing by quantifying, labelling, or removing the agency of
persons, and they urge, therefore, that awareness of such pentadic creations can give rise to a
rhetorically informed citizenry that sees beyond language as received to envision alternative
solutions to social concerns (359-60).
 Murphy 2

I thought that the ideas expressed in the article were very clear and thoroughly explained by the
authors. I agree not only with their theoretical framework and premise that awareness of Burkes
pentad can lead to a more linguistically aware citizenry, but also found the examples the authors
provided to be compelling support for their claim. I have long believed that closer consideration
of linguistic signifiers is necessary in (American) culture, and this has led to my appreciation for
Philosophy and the way it challenges one to look beyond surface structures, such as language. I
look forward to working with Burkes pentad for rhetorical analysis.