--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Speech in its essence is not neutral." description: "\"“Speech in its essence is not neutral.”\" — Kenneth Burke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/kenneth-burke-22616_quote_speech-in-its-essence-is-not-neutral-203_2038589.jpg" --- # Speech in its essence is not neutral. ![“Speech in its essence is not neutral.” quote by Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/kenneth-burke-22616_quote_speech-in-its-essence-is-not-neutral-203_2038589.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/kenneth-burke-22616_quote_speech-in-its-essence-is-not-neutral-203_2038589.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/kenneth-burke-22616_quote_speech-in-its-essence-is-not-neutral-203_2038589.jpg) > ““Speech in its essence is not neutral.”” [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Speech carries inherent bias and shapes perception, never purely objective. **In simple terms:** Speech is never neutral. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden biases in communication. Themes communication bias power Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - public speaking - media analysis - political debate Key Concepts rhetoric ideology Questions to Reflect On - How does your language influence your audience? - Can you identify hidden assumptions? A Different Perspective Neutrality is an illusion; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Essence Neutral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence-neutral-3782185/) [Neutral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neutral/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Speech Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech-essence-3782184/) ## Related quotes > [The essence and foundation of House of Commons debating is formal conversation. The set speech, the harangue addressed to constituents, or to the wider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-essence-and-foundation-of-house-of-commons-debating-is-formal/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [With our financial house on fire, Obama makes clear both in in his speech and his budget that the essence of his presidency will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/with-our-financial-house-on-fire-obama-makes-clear-both-in-in-his/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Love comes and when it comes it might go , so stay neutral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/love-comes-and-when-it-comes-it-might-go-so-stay-neutral/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [there is no politically neutral art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/there-is-no-politically-neutral-art/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [Ultimately, I do want us to be a transformative government. I want, when we've left, for people to say we're not just clean-green anymore:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacinda-ardern/ultimately-i-do-want-us-to-be-a-transformative-government-i-want-when/) [Jacinda Ardern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacinda-ardern/) > [It was an axiom of "containment" that no part of the known world could be considered neutral. "Neutralism" was among the Cold Warriors' gravest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-was-an-axiom-of-containment-that-no-part-of-the-known-world-could/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [The most prominent place in hell is reserved for those who are neutral on the great issues of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-most-prominent-place-in-hell-is-reserved-for-those-who-are/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [My neutral accent is Bolton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-morgan/my-neutral-accent-is-bolton/) [Diane Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-morgan/) > [Technology is not neutral. We're inside of what we make, and it's inside of us. We're living in a world of connections — and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-j-haraway/technology-is-not-neutral-we-re-inside-of-what-we-make-and-it-s/) [Donna J. Haraway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-j-haraway/) > [I was a child during the Lebanese civil war, and I remember Israeli bombardments. So growing up, my view of Israel was completely negative.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-doueiri/i-was-a-child-during-the-lebanese-civil-war-and-i-remember-israeli/) [Ziad Doueiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-doueiri/) > [ “\[T\]he commitment to a framework neutral among ends can be seen as a kind of value \[...\] but its value consists precisely in its… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-sandel/t-he-commitment-to-a-framework-neutral-among-ends-can-be-seen-as-a/) [Michael J. Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-sandel/) > [Your relationships will either make you or break you and there is no such thing as a neutral relationship. People either inspire you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-thomas/your-relationships-will-either-make-you-or-break-you-and-there-is-no/) [Eric Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-thomas/) > [Science is and should be seen as "completely neutral" on the issue of the theistic or atheistic implications of scientific results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-coyne/science-is-and-should-be-seen-as-completely-neutral-on-the-issue-of/) [George Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-coyne/) > [“You can not have empty or neutral mind, as long as you work the mind will contain dreams, if you stop working it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-can-not-have-empty-or-neutral-mind-as-long-as-you-work-the-mind/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Technology is not good, it's neutral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-shadyac/technology-is-not-good-it-s-neutral/) [Tom Shadyac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-shadyac/) ## More by Kenneth Burke > [ The most characteristic concern of rhetoric \[is\] the manipulation of men's beliefs for political ends…the basic function of rhetoric \[is\] the use of words… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/the-most-characteristic-concern-of-rhetoric-is-the-manipulation-of/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [Man is rotten with perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/man-is-rotten-with-perfection/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [“It's more complicated than that." TL in "The Rhetoric of Religion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/it-s-more-complicated-than-that-tl-in-the-rhetoric-of-religion/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [“With my book in one hand And my drink in the other What more could I want But fame, Better health, And ten million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/with-my-book-in-one-hand-and-my-drink-in-the-other-what-more-could-i/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [Creation implies authority in the sense of originator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/creation-implies-authority-in-the-sense-of-originator/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [If decisions were a choice between alternatives, decisions would come easy. Decision is the selection and formulation of alternatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/if-decisions-were-a-choice-between-alternatives-decisions-would-come/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [For no continuity of social act is possible without a corresponding social status and the many different kinds of act required in an industrial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/for-no-continuity-of-social-act-is-possible-without-a-corresponding/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [Man is/the symbol-using (symbol making, symbol-misusing) animal/inventor of the negative (or moralized by the negative)/separated from his natural condition by instruments of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/man-is-the-symbol-using-symbol-making-symbol-misusing-animal-inventor/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [The use of words by human agents to form attitudes or induce actionsin other human agents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/the-use-of-words-by-human-agents-to-form-attitudes-or-induce/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [You persuade a man only insofar as you can talk his language by speech, gesture, tonality, order, image, attitude, idea, identifying your ways with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/you-persuade-a-man-only-insofar-as-you-can-talk-his-language-by/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [Rhetoric is rooted in an essential function of language itself, a function that is wholly realistic and continually born anew: the use of language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/rhetoric-is-rooted-in-an-essential-function-of-language-itself-a/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [We not only interpret the character of events... we may also interpret our interpretations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/we-not-only-interpret-the-character-of-events-we-may-also-interpret/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [Language does our thinking for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/language-does-our-thinking-for-us/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [“Ecology teaches us “that the total economy of the planet cannot be guided by an efficient rationale of exploitation alone,” wrote Burke more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/ecology-teaches-us-that-the-total-economy-of-the-planet-cannot-be/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [A way of seeing is also a way of not seeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/a-way-of-seeing-is-also-a-way-of-not-seeing/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) [Explore all 27 Kenneth Burke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) ## More Essence quotes > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [Spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. Joy is of the essence of life;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnivesh/spiritually-life-is-a-festival-a-celebration-joy-is-of-the-essence-of/) [Agnivesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnivesh/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [It's all the unwordable things one wants to write about, just as it's all the unformable things one wants to paint - essence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/it-s-all-the-unwordable-things-one-wants-to-write-about-just-as-it-s/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [In essence, I see the value of journalism as resting in a twofold mission: informing the public of accurate and vital information, and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/in-essence-i-see-the-value-of-journalism-as-resting-in-a-twofold/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/curiosity-is-the-essence-of-human-existence-who-are-we-where-are-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The essence of worldliness is exclusion of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-jacobsen/the-essence-of-worldliness-is-exclusion-of-god/) [Henry Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-jacobsen/) > [I am alive. Up here with the song of the engine and the air whispering on my face as the sunlight and shadows play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/i-am-alive-up-here-with-the-song-of-the-engine-and-the-air-whispering/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [The wisdom or the essence of Guru Tattwa is a balance. Like when you maintain a plant, if you do not give it water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/the-wisdom-or-the-essence-of-guru-tattwa-is-a-balance-like-when-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [This is the pathless path - returning to where you were initially before you got lost. The deepest truth in you is where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/this-is-the-pathless-path-returning-to-where-you-were-initially/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [I'm not so much in the future as always in the present. The future always takes care of itself. What I do now with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-not-so-much-in-the-future-as-always-in-the-present-the-future/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [The essence of the stage is concentration and penetration. Of the screen action, movement, sweep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-kazan/the-essence-of-the-stage-is-concentration-and-penetration-of-the/) [Elia Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-kazan/) [Browse all 3,115 Essence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Speech in its essence is not neutral.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kenneth Burke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/speech-in-its-essence-is-not-neutral/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Essence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/speech-in-its-essence-is-not-neutral/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/kenneth-burke-22616_quote_speech-in-its-essence-is-not-neutral-203_2038589.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/kenneth-burke-22616_quote_speech-in-its-essence-is-not-neutral-203_2038589.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/kenneth-burke-22616_quote_speech-in-its-essence-is-not-neutral-203_2038589.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Speech in its essence is not neutral.” — Kenneth Burke", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kenneth Burke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Speech in its essence is not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/speech-in-its-essence-is-not-neutral/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/speech-in-its-essence-is-not-neutral/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```