Blog #1

Foss describes rhetoric as an art and a discipline, as a way to communicate and understand the world around us. It encompasses how we use symbols to define what we perceive, what we know and experience, and how we act in regards to this knowledge. Foss describes it as something we unconsciously do, and the meaning behind the symbolism can be misinterpreted. "Humans often choose to interpret something symbolically or rhetorically that the sender of the message did not intend to be symbolic." (Foss et al, 4) Foss gives the example of a United States airplane accidentally tripping into over North Korea's airspace. While we would have no intention to kill and destroy, it's up to North Korea on how they perceive the air flight.