The captivating question: The rhetoric and ontology of the interview

TL;DRAbstract

The interview is a modern formulation of rhetorical strategies that can be traced as far back as Plato's dialogues. These rhetorical strategies are the initial departure of philosophical, religious, and scientific investigation. As such, they are the foundation of western heuristics and western thought. In my dissertation, I argue that the interview is not merely a recent phenomenon. Interview strategies and devices can be found at the foundation of investigative fields such as philosophy (the Socratic dialogue), religion (the confession), and medicine (psychoanalysis). Although these investigative approaches represent diverse fields and times, they nonetheless possess common traits. The interview is an expression of a heuristic method driven by a desire for proximity, affinity, and understanding of others, a desire that is timeless. However, the manner in which the subject of the interview is thought of and approached is specific to the ontological assumptions of the questioner. Inter

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