Nietzsche's Article On The Illusion Of Rhetorical

The articles relate to misunderstanding by looking at rhetoric as an illusion as well as signs between communicators to persuade society. Nietzsche’s article focuses on the illusion of rhetoric. Nietzsche explains how rhetoric takes on illusions by stating “Truths are illusions of which we have forgotten that they are illusions, metaphors which have become worn by frequent use and have lost all sensuous vigor, coins which, having lost their stamp, are now regarded as metal and no longer as coins. (Nietzsche 146) This is an example of how rhetoric is used repeatedly while slowly changing the meaning to fit the speakers demand to persuade society to believe something. This is proof that the overuse of certain rhetoric begins to lose meaning and

take on new meaning, like the coin Nietzsche uses as an example it is used so many times that it is no longer referred to as a coin but its new meaning is just a piece of metal. This shows how if a speaker continues to create this idea that the piece of metal is no longer a coin that the receptor is soon persuaded to believe the same thing creating a misunderstanding because the metal is obviously still a coin. As well as using rhetoric for illusions creating misunderstandings Saussure states in his articles that “This conception is open to criticism at several points. It assumes that ready-made ideas exist before words …; it does not tell us whether a name is vocal or psychological in …; finally, it lets us assume that the linking of a name and a thing is a very simple operation-an assumption that is anything but true.” (Saussure 65) Saussure shows that although a speaker may link a name and concept to a certain object it is not necessarily true. Saussure and Nietzsche article flow together by their ability to show that concepts of rhetoric are used by mankind to skew things for their own benefit. Nietzsche proves that the over use of rhetoric or concepts begins to create an illusion or false truth, while Saussure shows that society gives false terms through linking things causing further illusions and miss understandings. Both prove that Rhetoric is an illusion of truths and what seems to be obvious is not all ways true causing these illusions to lead to misunderstandings.