Kairos


 * Definition**

// Kairos // has been translated various ways, but it is typically defined as “the fullness of time; the propitious moment for the performance of an action or the coming into being of a new state” (Oxford English Dictionary, 2015, n.p.). As a concept, it lives primarily in rhetorical studies and is taken up by scholars located in both English and Communication departments. Like many other concepts in rhetorical studies, it has vibrant roots in antiquity that lie mostly dormant until it reawakens in the rhetorical tradition in the mid-20 th century. Its complex history and development as a tradition within a discipline give it valuable depth and utility. This entry accordingly discusses // Kairos // through its etymology, relationship with // Chronos //, traditional development, and current status in rhetorical studies.

The etymology of //Kairos// leads directly to Attic Greek, and it gains an established and recognizable usage by the middle of the 5th Century C.E. The OED traces its appearance in English to the 1930s, when it enters as a loan word used in religious studies (Oxford English Dictionary, 2015, n.p.). By the 1960s, //Kairos// had transcended (but not abandoned) the specific religious usage and entered a wider public vocabulary. The most common definition of //Kairos// refers to the opportune moment or the fitting time for action (Crowley & Hawhee, 2009), but its ancient roots are much more complex Sipiora (2002) contends that thinking of //Kairos// only as “the right time” overlooks meanings such as “symmetry, propriety, occasion, due measure, fitness, tact, decorum, convenience, proportion, fruit, profit, and wise moderation” (p. 1). White (1987) expands upon the typical definition by emphasizing the meaning of //Kairos// in archery and weaving such that “One might understand //Kairos// to refer to a passing instant when an opening appears which must be driven through with force if success is to be achieved” (p. 13). //Kairos// is thus a fleeting moment that is ripe for rhetorical action, typically the invention of discourses to respond to the unfolding situation (White, 1987). If //Kairos// refers to an occasion for speech that is connected with uncertainty and unknowability, then it links to invention and refers also to the ability of speakers to create (White, 1987, pp.14-18). //Kairos// can thus be understood both as a phenomenon (a specific moment) and a capacity (the ability to recognize and respond to such moments). Sipiora and Baumlin (2002) acknowledge these multiple conceptions of //Kairos// and outline two distinct but connected notions. One is a Ciceronian sense connected to adaptation and accommodation within predictable conventions while the other is related to Gorgias of Leontini and emphasizes spontaneous and radically particular actions (Miller, 2002, p. xii). While //Kairos// is therefore clearly more than simply “the right time” for action, it is inextricable from a sense of timing, rightness, and adaptation to unfolding circumstances.


 * Kairos and Chronos**

Nearly all definitions of // Kairos // proffer some distinction between it and // chronos //, its traditional counterpart. The standard difference is that between // chronos // as the linear, regular time of a clock or calendar and // Kairos // as a particular, special, or opportune time (Crowley & Hawhee, 2009, p. 45; Smith, 2002, p. 47; Sipiora, 2002, p. 2; Crosby, 2013, p. 144). Indeed, this divide has become commonplace in rhetorical scholarship dealing with // Kairos //, and is reflected in both rigorous attempts to theorize // Kairos // and analyses that deal with it only in passing. As Kinneavy and Eskin (2000) summarize, “Kairos involves qualitative time whereas chronos describes quantitative time” (p. 433).

The most extended discussion of these related senses of time is found in Smith (2002), who weaves together various discussions of // Kairos // and // Chronos //, arguing that “In // chronos // , we have the fundamental conception of time as a measure, the // quantity // of duration, the length of periodicity, the age of an object…By contrast, the term // Kairos // points to a // qualitative // character of time…to a season when something appropriately happens that cannot happen just at ‘any time,’ but only at ‘that time’” (p. 47). This commonly-accepted division should not be considered absolute, however, and scholars contend that both senses of time are interwoven and require each other such that “ // kairos // presupposes // chronos //, which is thus a necessary condition underlying qualitative times” (Smith, 2002, p. 48).


 * Kairos as a Tradition: Antiquity to Today**

As a concept with strong classical roots, // Kairos // is typically traced from the 8 th Century B.C. through the late 20 th Century, albeit with a good deal of scholarly disagreement about the precise lineage. The earliest appearance of // Kairos // is in Homer’s // Illiad //, where it refers to a vulnerable place in the body, such as the collarbone (Sipiora, 2002). It then appears in the poet Hesiod’s // Works and Days // in the 7 th Century, where it refers to moderation and a sense of caution. It then appears in the early 6 th Century in texts attributed to Solon (Sipiora, 2002). These earliest appearances of // Kairos // are sometimes contested (see Sipiora, 2002 and Kinneavy, 2002 for competing perspectives). However, there is widespread agreement that // Kairos // finds its most significant iteration in Classical Athens; Sipiora (2002) explains that the concept “became truly dominant) in classical Greek rhetoric (p. 3) and other histories agree (Garrison, 2009, pp. 47-52; Kinneavy & Eskin, 2000; Kinneavy, 2002).

Here, //Kairos// assumes its full meaning of the propitious moment and plays significant roles in Gorgias’ //Defense of Palamedes//, Plato’s //Phaedrus,// and Aristotle’s //Rhetoric// (Poulakos, 2002; Kinneavy & Eskin, 2002). //Kairos// is not identical in each text, but it is significant throughout the history of classical rhetorical theory. It is never found in isolation, and it tends to be linked with invention, ethics, and contingency in the philosophies and writings of the classical figures mentioned above. As detailed below, a great deal of contemporary scholarship has focused on //Kairos// as part of classical rhetorical thought. Later iterations of //Kairos// are less explicit, but it plays a notable role in the work of Cicero. Here, the opportune moment is related to orderly conduct, reacting to a situation while bound by Roman social norms (Hughes, 2002). While this sense of //Kairos// is typically refracted through the lens of decorum, it nonetheless is significant enough to attract the attention of various scholars (Hughes, 2002; Baumlin, 2002). //Kairos// disappears during the renaissance and enlightenment, although a survey of the rhetorical tradition suggests possible appearances in ideas from this time period such as //sprezzatura// and //copia// (Jost, 2004, p. 167).

//Kairos// was brought in to the 20th Century by a trio of Italian scholars in the 1920s. Kinneavy (2002) credits Augusto Rsotagni, Doro Levi, and Mario Untersteiner for rediscovering //Kairos// and recognizing the role it played in Greek rhetoric (pp. 56-60). Kinneavy himself introduces //Kairos// into rhetorical studies in North America in a series of publications from the late 20th Century (Kinneavy, 1986; Kinneavy & Eskin, 2000). Since then, //Kairos// has become a major topic of discussion in rhetorical studies, animating both theory and criticism.


 * Kairos in Contemporary Rhetorical Studies**

//Kairos// has played two significant but distinct roles in contemporary rhetorical scholarship, serving as a useful critical tool and rich theoretical resource. However, neither of these functions has developed very far, and //Kairos// remains, in many ways, a somewhat underutilized and under-theorized concept.

Rhetorical theory has welcomed //Kairos//, connecting its Greek roots with a variety of contemporary and classical theoretical questions. Several scholars have worked with //Kairos,// helping to flesh out its classical meanings (Hawhee, 2002; Crowley & Hawhee, 2009; Kinneavy, 2000; White 1987; Thompson, 2000). Others have focused on theorizing //Kairos// by examining its role specific topics such as Ciceronian decorum (Baumlin, 2002), Gorgian invention (Consigny, 2001); Aristotelian ethics (Kinneavy, 2002), Stasis theory (Carter, 1988), and Renaissance political philosophy (Paul, 2014). These investigations rarely focus on //Kairos// alone, and several recent dissertations have attempted to theorize //Kairos// as a key partner of Bahktinian chronotopes (Fuller, 2009), the sense of cunning called //Metis// (Schnackenberg, 2006), and even persuasion (Soderlund, 2011). //Kairos// is thus a live part of contemporary rhetorical scholarship, but these conversations are happening almost exclusively from a Writing Studies/Rhetoric and Composition perspective.

Rhetorical scholars from a communication background tend to use //Kairos// as part of criticism. The prototypical example of this is Patton (2004), who argues that MLK’s famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” relied heavily on appeals to the opportune moment as part of its strategy. Crosby (2009) also focuses on MLK’s rhetoric and finds //Kairos// is a prominent part of it. However, //Kairos// in rhetorical criticism has not extended far beyond the basic sense of a rhetor recognizing the opportune moment for rhetorical action. Some attempts have been made to move //Kairos// forward: Crosby (2013) suggests that the National Cathedral may embody //Kairos// in its architecture, Carter (1998) examines //Kairos// in 19th Century science, and Scott (2006) argues that //Kairos// was extended indefinitely in the wake of 9/11. //Kairos// clearly offers great conceptual utility to a critic, and future scholarship will likely continue to press it forward.

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Baumlin, J. (2002). Ciceronian Decorum and the Temporalities of Renaissance Rhetoric. In P. Sipiora, & J. S. Baumlin (Eds.), //Rhetoric and Kairos: Essays in History, Theory, and Praxis// (pp.138-164). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
 * References:**

Carter, M. (1988). Stasis and Kairos: Principles of social construction in Classical Rhetoric. //Rhetoric// Review //7//, 97-112.

Cole, D. (2015). //Kairos// and quantification: Data, interpretation, and the problem of //Crania America//. //Rhetoric Review// //34//, 19-37.

Consigny, S. P. (2001). //Gorgias: Sophist and artist//. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.

Crosby, R. (2009). Kairos as God’s time in Martin Luther King Jr.’s last Sunday sermon. //Rhetoric Society Quarterly// //39//, 260-280.

Crosby, R. (2013). Cathedral of Kairos: Rhetoric and revelation in the “National House of Prayer.” //Philosophy and Rhetoric// //46//, 132-55.

Crowley, S. & Hawhee, D. (2009). //Ancient rhetorics for contemporary students// (4th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

Garrison, K. (2009). //Kairos// //and Chronotope: The connected rhetoric of Margaret Fuller//. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest. (3399053).

Hawhee, D. (2002). Kairotic Encounters. in J. Atwill & J. Lauer (Eds.), //Perspectives on Rhetorical Invention// (pp. 16-35). Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press.

Hughes, J.J. (2002). //Kairos// and //Decorum//: Crassus Orator’s speech //de lege Servilia//. In P. Sipiora, & J. S. Baumlin (Eds.), //Rhetoric and Kairos: Essays in History, Theory, and Praxis// (pp.128-137). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Jost, W. (2004). //Rhetorical Investigations: Studies in Ordinary Language Criticism//. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press.

Kinneavy, J. (2002). //Kairos// in Classical and Modern Rhetorical Theory. In P. Sipiora, & J. S. Baumlin (Eds.), //Rhetoric and Kairos: Essays in History, Theory, and Praxis// (pp.58-76). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Kinneavy, J. & Eskin, C. (2000). //Kairos// in Aristotle’s //Rhetoric//. //Written Communication 17//,432-44.

Miller, C. (2002). Foreword. In P. Sipiora, & J. S. Baumlin (Eds.), //Rhetoric and Kairos: Essays in History, Theory, and Praxis// (pp.xi-xiii). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Montesano, M. (1995). Kairos and Kerygma: The rhetoric of Christian proclamation. //Rhetoric Society Quarterly// //25//, 164-78.

Patton, J. (2004). A transforming response: Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. //Rhetoric and Public Affairs// 7, 53-66.

Paul, J. (2014). The use of //Kairos// in Renaissance political philosophy. //Renaissance Quarterly// //67//,43-78.

Poulakos, J. (2002). //Kairos// in Gorgias’ rhetorical compositions. In P. Sipiora, & J. S. Baumlin (Eds.), //Rhetoric and Kairos: Essays in History, Theory, and Praxis// (pp.89-96). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Schnackenberg, M. (2006). //Capturing Kairos: A Theory of Rhetorical Cunning//. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest. (3227455).

Scott, J. B. (2006). Kairos as indeterminate risk management: The pharmaceutical industry’s response to bioterrorism. //Quarterly Journal of Speech// //92//, 115-43.

Sipiora, P. (2002). Introduction: The ancient concept of //Kairos//. In P. Sipiora, & J. S. Baumlin (Eds.), //Rhetoric and Kairos: Essays in History, Theory, and Praxis// (pp. 1-22). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Smith, J. (2002). Time and qualitative time. In P. Sipiora, & J. S. Baumlin (Eds.), //Rhetoric and Kairos: Essays in History, Theory, and Praxis// (pp.46-57). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Soderlund, L. (2011). //Catalyzing persuasion: Toward a theory of Kairos and repetition//. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest. (3481153).

Sullivan, D. L. (1992). Kairos and the rhetoric of belief. //Quarterly Journal of Speech//. //78//, 317-332.

Thompson, R. (2000). //Kairos// revisited: An interview with James Kinneavy. //Rhetoric Review// //19//, 73-88.

White, E. C. (1987). //Kaironomia: On the Will-to-Invent//. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.