On Burke...

Well, I am with Annie that these readings about Burke were pretty confusing. I do feel however, that Contemporary Perspectives helped clarify a few things for me...but it also presented things that I did not remember reading about in On Symbols and Society (I guess I was that lost).
Burke began by giving his definition of man, which consists of five clauses that he lists and defines. 1) Man is the symbol-using animal. Basically, Burke is saying this to show that humans are a step above animals because they are symbol using and have language. Humans are further advanced biologically and neurologically. (56-60). In this first clause, he touches also on the idea of "consensation" and "displacement" - describing them by stating the ability to group individual items into a larger more generalized group. He used furniture as an example and showed how instead of saying table and chair, you could sya the same thing by saying less and just calling it furniture. 2) Inventor of the negative. Burke states that this is not the best way to state this, but explains it by showing how things in nature can't not something. A tree, for example, can't not be a tree. It is either a tree or something else. However, he goes further to develop his point by talking baout "polar opposites" and sites many examples such as: "true-fales, order-disorder, life-death, love-hate, etc." (65). He shows that these more nuerological ideas, rather than physical things like tree or table, have negatives. Hence, negatives are man made because we have that more advanced ability to think and feel. 3) Separated from his natural condition by instruments of his own making. With this clause, Burke is showing how man has moved away from just the most basic of needs, such as food, water, and shelter. Man created tools, and Burke shows the connection between tools and modern society trying to run a factory and enable these tools without the use of language. (67). 4) Goaded by the spirit of hierarchy. Here, Burke describes the existence of a hierarcal system within societies, the humans need for this sytem, and the way humans function because of this sytem. In Contemporary Perspectives, the system is described by saying the each person has their place in "the ladder" and an appropriate rung. (Work with the trite analogy, please). However, this hierarchy works hand in hand with the strive for the perfection and ideal that the top of the hierarchy offers. (206-207) So, this brings in Burkes fifth clause. 5) rotten with perfection. People are always striving for the perfection offered at the top rung. Burke gives the example of wanting to be like or better than your neighbor and needing to buy a new refridgerator because the neighbors did. He also shows how this need for perfection ties into language. People want to be perfect all around and they want to use languager perfectly as well. They want to be able to say exactly what they mean. (70-74).
Beyond this, he describes "symbolic action," and then moves to focusing on the difference between semantic and poetic meaning. He separates the two bydescring the semantic ideal first and using the example of the formula we use for addressing an envelope and the mail system. Through the two, we are able to locate a specific person. However, the sematic tells us nothing about that person, other than their name and address. The poetic meaning, however, involes the other elemnets about that person. For example, The poetic would be the aspect of a friend being able to know and describe the person more intimately than what a persons name and address say about them. (86-89). Basically, semantic is a cut and dry way to describe, without any feeling. The poetic meaning is describing more intimately, and with feeling. The only way man can truly be described, according to Burke.
Contemporary Perspectives goes into many other aspects of Burkes argument, such as the idea of mystery, and the things involved in that, along with its functions, and the idea of pollution, purification, and redemption. He also talks about self as an audience, and pentad, but I chose not to delve into these because they were not focused on in Symbols and Society as the others were.