Richard M. Weaver
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- This is an article on Richard M. Weaver the scholar, not Richard C. Weaver the Handshake Man.
Richard Malcolm Weaver (1910-1963) was a noted southern American conservative scholar, now best remembered for his books Ideas Have Consequences and The Ethics of Rhetoric. Through the course of his life, he was at various times a recluse, a socialist, a philosopher, a literary and cultural critic, a rhetorician, a conservative, a writer, a Platonist, and a professor. Described as “a radical and original thinker” (Young 4), Weaver wrote on rhetoric, the teaching of composition, the culture of America's south, and the problem of universals. His writings have endured and are still considerably influential, particularly in the South and with conservative theorists.
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[edit] Biography: Life and early Socialism
[edit] A Short Summary
Richard Weaver was born in Asheville, North Carolina, and though he left at a young age, he often returned to visit family in Asheville throughout his life, and even purchased a home in nearby Weaverville. Having to deal with his father’s death at the age of five, Weaver and his three siblings struggled to maintain their middle class standing (Young 2). At the age of eight, he went with his family to Lexington, Kentucky. By the end of Weaver’s college years, in 1932, he was an enthusiastic socialist. Largely affected by the Great Depression, Weaver strongly believed that socialism provided a solution for the industrialist culture in which he lived (Young 3). After graduating, Weaver moved to Nashville, Tennessee for a master’s degree in English and he eventually became an instructor. Highly self-sufficient and independent, Weaver was often described as “solitary and remote” (Young 1). Unsatisfied, however, Weaver resigned two years later and pursued a Ph.D. at the age of thirty (Young 3). Biographer Scotchie describes Weaver as “one of the most well-educated intellectuals of his era” (4). Finishing his doctorate in 1944, Weaver joined the English faculty at the University of Chicago, where he carried out the rest of his professional career (Young 3-4). In 1962, Weaver was honoured with an award from the "Young Americans for Freedom” in New York (Scotchie 84).
[edit] The Effect
Growing up in the South, Weaver felt strongly about maintaining what he considered to be traditional Southern principles (Young 8). These principles, such as non-consumerism and chivalry, were the basis of Weaver’s teaching, writing, and speaking. Also, without close friends, Weaver was able to focus a great deal on his studies and his concerns with a morally-corroded human nature. Fittingly, Weaver has been referred to as a “shy little bulldog of a man” (Nash 84). Being raised with strong moral values, Weaver saw religion as the foundation for family and civilization (Young 21). His appreciation for religion is evident in speeches he gave early in his life at the Christian Endeavour Society, as well as in his later writings (Young 22). Apart from his traditional Southern upbringing and turn to socialism, Weaver’s intellectual writing was also influenced by a group called “the Agrarians” [1] (Young 69). Agrarians, essentially, spoke passionately about the traditional values of community and the Old South. In 1930, this group of students and faculty from Vanderbilt University wrote I’ll Take My Stand, with John Crow Ransom (Weaver’s thesis advisor) as the group’s mentor (Young 38). Weaver agreed with the group’s appeal against too much industrialization in the South due to war and reconstruction (Young 47). Also, Agrarianism’s focus on traditionalism and regional cultures was more appealing to Weaver than socialism’s egalitarian “romanticizing” of the welfare state (Scotchie 12). Weaver did not completely abandon socialism, however, given his belief that the Agrarians' sometimes-radical ideals were invalid alternatives when put into practice (Young 58).
[edit] Weaver's Old South
A passionate advocate of the South, Weaver identified four traditional Southern characteristics: “a feudal theory of society, the code of chivalry, the ancient concept of the gentleman, and a noncreedal faith” (Young 78). The Southern feudal system, according to Weaver, focused on the pride that families associated with linking their name to a piece of land (Young 81). For Weaver, land ownership gave the individual a much needed “stability, responsibility, dignity, and sentiment” (Scotchie 25). In Ideas Have Consequences, Weaver downplayed the materialistic notion of ownership, asserting that private property was “the last metaphysical right” of the individual (Nash 100). Southern chivalry and gentlemen’s behavior, on the other hand, emphasized a paternalistic personal honor and decorum over competition and cleverness (Young 83). Women, claimed Weaver, preferred the romanticized soldier to the materialist businessman (Scotchie 36). The noncreedal faith Weaver spoke of concerned the South’s “older religiousness” (Young 84). This ‘religion’ focused on a respect for tradition and nature, as well as the established Anglican/Episcopal church (Young 84-85). Weaver agreed with the old religious notion that external science and technology could not save man, who is a born sinner in need of redeeming himself internally (Scotchie 21). Though a non-practicing Protestant himself, Weaver showed admiration for religious tradition through his reverence for the written word as a grounding force in a morally unstable society (Young 86). Weaver felt strongly that industrial capitalism resulted in the moral, economic, and intellectual failure of America in general. In theory, a revival of Southern traditions would combat the social degradation that Weaver grew witness to in his years in Chicago. Weaver claimed that the South was the “last non-materialist civilization in the Western World” (Scotchie 17). Whether that statement was true or not, Weaver believed that a return to the Southern tradition was the only cure for commodity-based capitalism.
[edit] The Beginnings of a Theory
Weaver admired and modeled himself after Agrarian teacher and “doctor of culture” John Crowe Ransom (Young 5). According to researcher Young, Weaver began to see himself as the cultural doctor of the South, despite his career in Chicago (5). More specifically, Weaver attempted to expel America’s growing barbarism by enlightening his students of the correct way to write, use, and understand language. Politically, Weaver was a conservative of sorts. In believing that a misuse of language led to social corruption, Weaver even criticized Jazz as a medium that promoted “barbaric impulses” in its lack of form and rules (Scotchie 46). Throughout his literary studies, Weaver rarely focused on contemporary issues. Instead, Weaver emphasized the literary workings of the past, such as the nineteenth century culture of New England and the South, and the Lincoln-Douglas debates (Young 6). Attempting to truly understand language, Weaver concentrated on a culture’s fundamental beliefs; that is, beliefs that strengthened and educated citizens into a course of action (Young 9). By teaching and studying language, Weaver endeavored to generate a healthier culture that would no longer use language as a tool of lies and persuasion in a “prostitution of words” (Young 9). Moreover, in a capitalist society, applied science was the “sterile opposite” of what Weaver saw as redemption -- the “poetic and ethical vision of life” (Young 62). Weaver condemned media and modern journalism as tools used to exploit the passive viewer. Convinced that ideas, not machines, compelled mankind towards a better future, Weaver gave words precedence over technology (Nash 96). Weaver, influenced by the Agrarians’ focus on poetry, also turned to poetic writing as a means of exercising humanity (Young 76). In a civilized society, poetry allowed one to express personal beliefs that science and technology could not overrule. In Weaver’s words, “We can will our world” (Nash 97). That is, we, not mechanical or social forces, can make positive decisions through language that will change existence as we know it.
[edit] Weaver's Individualism
Weaver was very concerned with the fact that, in his own words, “the more closely people are crowded together, the less they know one another” (“Address” 114). In a comparative study of Randolph of Roanoke and Thoreau, Weaver sought to understand the word “individualism” (Young 11). The rhetorician came up with two categories to apply to American individualism: 1) “studied withdrawal from society” (i.e. Thoreau) and 2) “political action at the social level” (i.e. Randolph) (Young 11). In other words, one individualist rejected society, while the other embraced social-bonds through politics. Personally opposed to America’s centralized political power, Weaver, like Randolph, emphasized the importance of an individualism that still included community (Young 12). Here, 'community' refers to a shared identity of values that are tied to a geographical and spatial location -- in Weaver’s case, the Old South. Weaver concluded that individualism that is founded on community enabled a citizen “to know who he was and what he was about” (Young 12). Without this intimate foundation, citizens seeking individualism would be unable to reach a true, personal identity. More importantly, Weaver believed that individual fulfillment should not be man’s priority, but the living community and its well-being (Scotchie 3).
[edit] Anti-Nominalism
In Ideas Have Consequences, Weaver analyzed William of Occam’s 14th century notions of nominalist philosophy. In broad terms, nominalism is the idea that “universals are not real, only particulars” (Young 107). Under the terms of nominalism, people no longer have a measure of universal truths; man, according to Weaver, is now his own “priest and ethics professor” (Scotchie 5). Weaver considered this relativism undesirable, given his belief that modern men were ‘moral idiots,’ “incapable of distinguishing ‘between better and worse’” (Nash 89). Weaver argued that America’s moral degradation and turn to commodity culture was a direct result of nominalism. That is, a civilization that no longer believed in universal, “transcendental values" had no moral ambition to understand a higher truth outside of man (Nash 89). The result was a “shattered world” (Young 113), with unreachable truths and only the illusion of freedom. Moreover, without a focus on the sort of higher truth that can be found in organized religions, people turned to the more tangible idols of science and materialism. Weaver’s ideal society was that of the Roman Catholics in the Middle Ages, before nominalism, when religion supposedly gave people a more accurate picture of reality and truth (Nash 94). Generally, Weaver felt that the shift from universal truth and transcendental order to individual opinion and industrialism negatively impacted America’s moral health.
Nominalism also undermines the concept of hierarchy, which depends entirely on fundamental truths about people. Weaver, in contrast, believed in a need for hierarchies. Weaver argued that social, gender, and age-related equality actually undermined stability and order. Believing in “natural social groupings” (Young 112), Weaver claimed that people should be able to be sorted out into suitable categories without the envy of equality. Using the hierarchical structure of a family as an example, Weaver pointed out that family members are assigned various duties that are tied to “sentiment” and “fraternity,” not equality and rights (Young 113). Along these lines, Weaver could not understand the feminist movement. He found that women abandoned a stronger connection to nature and intuition for a superficial equality with the modern man (Young 123). According to Weaver, equalitarianism only promoted “[s]uspicion, hostility, and lack of trust and loyalty” (Toledano 270). Basically, Weaver believed that there must be a center, a transcendent truth on which people could focus and structure their lives. Language then, said Weaver, is not something that cannot be pinned down, as nominalism suggests; rather, language is a foundation through which one can “find real meaning” (Young 122). Universals allow people to acquire true knowledge. In Weaver’s own words, “a world without generalization would be a world without knowledge” (Young 114).
[edit] Noble Rhetoric
In The Ethics of Rhetoric, Weaver considers rhetoric’s ability to persuade. Similarly to ancient philosophers, Weaver found that language has the power to move people to do good, to do evil, or to do nothing at all (Young 129). In his defense of orthodoxy, Weaver set down a number of rhetorical principles. Weaver modeled his definition of ‘noble rhetoric’ after Plato’s ideals; such rhetoric aimed to improve intellect by presenting men with “better versions of themselves” (Young 135). Weaver also agreed with Plato’s notions of the realities of transcendentals (as noted in his views on nominalism) and the connection between form and substance (Johannesen 7). For instance, Weaver admired the connection between the forms of poetry and rhetoric. Like poetry, rhetoric relies on the connotation of words, as well as the denotation. Good rhetoricians, claimed Weaver, use poetic analogies to relate abstract ideas directly to the listeners (Young 132). Specifically focusing on metaphor, Weaver found that comparisons should be an essential part of the rhetorical process (Johannesen 23). Weaver also believed that rhetoricians should be well researched, and that sources should always be scrutinized (Young 139). Explicitly, the “argument from authority is only as good as the authority itself” (Johannesen 27).
In Language is Sermonic, Weber pointed to rhetoric as a presentation of values. Such sermonic language serves to persuade the listener, and is inherent in all communication. Weaver also considered rhetoric and the multiplicity of man. That is, he acknowledged that logic alone was not enough to persuade man, who is “a pathetic being, that is, a being feeling and suffering” (Weaver 1352). Weaver felt that societies that placed great value on technology often became dehumanized themselves. Like a machine that relied purely on logic to function, the rhetorician was in danger of becoming “a thinking robot” (Weaver 1353). Weaver divided the nature of man into four categories: rational, emotional, ethical, and religious (Johannesen 13). Without considering these characteristics as a whole, rhetoricians cannot hope to persuade their listeners. Moreover, when motivating the listener to adopt attitudes and actions, rhetoricians must, according to Weaver, consider the uniqueness of each audience (Weaver 1351). In other words, orators should acknowledge that each audience has different needs and responses, and must formulate their arguments accordingly. Weaver also divided ‘argumentation’ into four categories: cause-effect, definition, consequences, and circumstances (Johannesen 27). Naturally, the rhetorician must decide which method of argumentation would best persuade the audience.
In looking at the rhetoric of the 20th century, Weaver, in The Ethics of Rhetoric, referred to “god terms” and “devil terms” (Young 147-49). ‘God terms’ are words particular to a certain age and are vague, but have “inherent potency” in their meanings (Young 147). Such words include “progress” and “freedom” -- words that seem impenetrable and automatically give a phrase positive meaning. In contrast, ‘devil terms’ are the mirror image, and include words such as “Nazi” and “Un-American” (Weaver 222-23). Rhetoric, Weaver argued, must make careful use of such terminology. Knowledge of ethical rhetoric is the first step in rejecting vague terminology with propagandistic value (Johannesen 27). Weaver suggested that, upon hearing a “god” or “devil” term, a listener should “hold a dialectic with himself” to consider the intention behind such persuasive words (Weaver 232). After all, Weaver claimed, “a society’s health or declension was mirrored in how it used language” (Young 151). If language is pure, so too will be those who use it.
[edit] Southern Tradition
The Southern Tradition at Bay was Weaver's doctoral dissertation, although it wasn't published until after his death in 1963.
Some of Weaver's admirers regard it as his most important work, although Ideas Have Consequences is certainly better known. [citation needed]
"Southern Tradition" is a survey of the literature of the states that were once part of the Confederacy since Appomattox with the goal of demonstrating the continuities before and after the American Civil War.
Weaver also discusses some Southern writers who dissented from this continuous tradition, such as Walter Hines Page, George Washington Cable, and Henry W. Grady, all of whom might loosely be called "Southern liberals."
[edit] Weaver's Influence
Weaver is the subject of a number of biographies, including a recent one by Fred Douglas Young, published in 1995. Weaver’s Ideas Have Consequences largely influenced scholars of “the postwar intellectual Right” (Nash 87). Stemming from a tradition of "cultural pessimism" (Nash 92), Weaver’s sometimes shocking criticism of nominalism gave conservatives a new literary direction. Conservative intellectuals such as Russell Kirk, William F. Buckley Jr., and Wilmoore Kendall, to name a few, praised the book for its critical insights (Young 179). Publisher Henry Regnery claims that the book gave the modern conservative movement a strong intellectual foundation (Nash 82). Weaver gained such respect in the academic world that in 1964, a graduate fellowship program [2] was named after him at the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists (Nash 82) after his death. Even the key libertarian theorist of the 1960s -- and former Communist Party official -- Frank S. Meyer, publicly thanked Weaver for inspiring him to join the Right (Nash 88). Weaver’s writings struck a cord with conservative intellectuals with his refutation of what Russell Kirk termed, “ritualistic liberalism” (Nash 87). In other words, much of Weaver’s writing attacked the growing number of modern Americans denying conservative structure and moral uprightness by replacing them with naive relativism. Weaver has been accredited with precisely defining America’s plight, and inspiring conservatives to find “the relationship between faith and reason for an age that does not know the meaning of faith” (Toledano 259). In the 1980s, the emerging paleoconservatives [3] adapted Weaver’s theories regarding the Old South. These conservatives adopted Weaver’s dialogue to express the ideas of antimodernism (Nash 109). For relativistic liberals, Weaver was a misguided propagandist of authoritarianism. For conservatives, Weaver was a champion of tradition and liberty, with the emphasis on traditionalism. For Southerners, Weaver was a refreshing “defender of the antimodern South” (Nash 108).
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Weaver’s Books
(Books in bold are still in print)
- 1948, Ideas Have Consequences.
- 1948, “The Confederate South, 1865-1910: A study in the Survival of a Mind and a Culture.”
- 1953, The Ethics of Rhetoric
- 1957, Composition: A Course in Writing and Rhetoric
- 1964, Visions of Order The Cultural Crisis of Our Time
- 1965, Life without Prejudice and Other Essays
- 1968, The Southern Tradition at Bay
- 1970, Language is Sermonic
- 1987, The Southern Essays of Richard M. Weaver
[edit] Journals Hosting Weaver’s Reviews, Essays and Pamphlets
- Commonweal
- Georgia Review
- Modern Age
- National Review
- Sewanee Review
- Virginia Quarterly
[edit] References
- Johannesen, Richard L., Rennard Strickland, and Ralph T. Eubanks. “Richard M. Weaver on the Nature of Rhetoric: An Interpretation.” Language is Sermonic. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1970. 7-30.
- Nash, George H. “The Influence of Ideas Have Consequences on the Conservative Intellectual Movement in America.” Steps Towards Restoration: The Consequences of Richard Weaver’s Ideas. Ed. Ted J. Smith. United States: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 1998. 81-124.
- Scotchie, Joseph. Barbarians in the Saddle: An Intellectual Biography of Richard M.Weaver. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1997.
- Toledano, Ben C. “The Ideas of Richard Weaver.” Steps Towards Restoration: The Consequences of Richard Weaver’s Ideas. Ed. Ted J. Smith. United States: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 1998. 256-286.
- Weaver, Richard M. “Address to Family Meeting,” August 10, 1950, in Pearl M. Weaver,The Tribe of Jacob: The Decendants of the Reverend Jacob Weaver of Reems Creek, North Carolina, 1786-1868 and Elizabeth Siler Weaver. 114.
- --. “Language is Sermonic” from The Rhetorical Tradition, 2nd Ed. Bizzell, P. & B. Herzber, eds. Bedford Books, 2001. 1351-1360.
- --. The Ethics of Rhetoric. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1953.
- Young, Fred Douglas. Richard M. Weaver: A Life of the Mind. London: University of Missouri Press, 1995.
