Book Review -- Feb. 16, 1999

Stanley Fish, Doing What Comes Naturally.  Durham, N. C.: Duke Univ. Press, 1989

by Matt McKinney

I.  Table of Contents

Meaning and Constraint

Professionalism

Consequences

Rhetoric

II.  Summary & Comments. 

Much to the chagrin of foundationalists, metaphysicists, and theorists--who are indeed one in the same--Doing What Comes Naturally, an assimilation of various essays written by Stanley Fish throughout his career, attacks the once-established convincingness of transcontextuality and metanarratives. In other words, "theory goes nowhere" (27); for theory itself consists of a particular angle which can never grasp transcendental truth, a truth which Fish and the anti-foundationalists dismiss altogether. The dethronement of theory paves the way for Fish’s conclusion that "we live in a rhetorical world" (25). As did the Sophists, Fish and the anti-foundationalists believe that if foundations are possible, the craft of rhetorical persuasion can only establish them. Fish cites in "Rhetoric" pertinent passages from Thomas Kuhn’s argument that science is anchored on scientists’mastery of persuasion, not from their natural observations. But, since the mind and interpretive communities are an "engine of change," there are really no foundations for the anti-foundationlists. What is held to be "in" is only temporary, suspect to change in the future; interpretative communities are not rigid and can be influenced by the discourse of other communities. An interpretative community or "situation" can therefore never be fully grasped: "A situation is always on the wing, and any attempt to capture it will only succeed in fixing it in a shape it no longer has" (352). But the upshot of anti-foundationalism is that all knowledge is situational. That is, since we are in a situation, knowledge becomes accessible by practice, not by riding the coat tails of theory. By putting practice on a pedestal, Fish tries to "sell" a few bromides to composition teachers and students: "practice makes perfect, you learn to write by writing" (355). As history attests, the simplest bromides are often the hardest sought after, and consequently the greatest solutions.

Throughout all of the issues discussed in 5011, I would place a bet that Stanley Fish, a key figure of anti-foundationalism, will have discussed at length in Doing What Comes Naturally. Fish advocates (effectively) that theory cannot exist because theorists themselves are grounding their presuppositions on a particular slant. If you are persuaded that the Practioners, as North sees it, are getting the raw-end-of-the-deal, don’t despair, all they have to do is cite Fish. Fish gives a brief synopsis of his position in the chapter not surprisingly entitled "Anti-Foundationalism." The chapter "Change" describes the relationship between internal change and external factors. For instance, people who follow Callicle’s suggestions to gratify one’s ‘will to power,’ do so because his or Nietzsche’s rhetoric appeals to their internal "situation." Speaking of rhetoric, Fish illustrates the power that rhetoric has had and continues to have on society in the chapter "Rhetoric." He mentions Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero’s concerns and delights over the power of persuasion.

Overall this book displays a tremendous breadth of knowledge. After reading it, you will no doubt come away with a nice critical (though I hate to use the word) foundation. One of the greatest achievements about Doing What Comes Naturally is how Fish uses language. His writing is not up-in-the-clouds, penetrable only to French thinkers who write as if they are trying to create a modern system of hieroglyphics. Fish has something to say, and simply says it, a phenomenon that no doubt takes years of practice.

[top]