Made Up Minds: Rhetorical Invention and the Thinking Self in Public Culture

摘要: As an abstraction that identifies the inner thinking self, mind is a powerful resource for rhetorical invention, enabling both generation of discourse and epistemic sense-making. This dissertation provides insight into discursive life "the mind," examining how different instantiations concept were put to use in three specific historical cases. In each case study, I examine conception originated realm institutional science made its way public culture, often circuitously, frequently transformed process. The first study analyzes nineteenth-century phrenology handbook, which reveals phrenological enabled pre-existing cultural beliefs be resourced, or respoken as if objective results science. second examines Benjamin Spock's Freudian ideas generate child-rearing advice his classic Baby Child Care manual. My analysis Freudianism leads me propose about constitute uniquely generative class doxa label "psychodoxa." final focuses on contemporary cerebral asserts isomorphism mind, brain, self. generated considerable interest Terri Schiavo's brain end-of-life dominated news media early 2000s, suggest much concerning relied recalcitrance channel invention. concludes by considering mind's utility inventional rhetoric itself.