The Rhetorical Quadrilateral: Using John Wesley to Teach Rhetorical Methods.

This article addresses the pedagogical challenges of teaching rhetorical methods in contemporary higher education by proposing the "Rhetorical Quadrilateral," an instructional framework inspired by the Wesleyan Quadrilateral—a theological model developed from John Wesley's integration of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. The authors argue that this quadrilateral can reconcile rhetoric's methodological ambiguities by balancing critical subjectivity with scholarly rigor, thereby enhancing students' capacity for ethical judgment, critical reflexivity, and rational deliberation within rhetorical criticism. Each component of the Rhetorical Quadrilateral corresponds to a key dimension of rhetorical pedagogy: scripture aligns with textual intersubjectivity, tradition with Neo-Aristotelianism, reason with rational deliberation, and experience with critical reflexivity. The framework aims to provide rhetoric instructors with a nuanced, accessible method that honors rhetoric's historical foundations while addressing the pluralistic, complex demands of 21st-century communication education, including the integration of diverse cultural perspectives and the promotion of democratic public discourse.