Midterm Exam Flashcards
What is the general form of an argument?
- Introduction: attention grabber + thesis/resolution/claim
- Body: subclaim 1-3
- Conclusion: thesis + greater takeaway
Law of Noncontradiction
- contradictory proposistions cannot be both true in the same sense at the same time
- as students of argument, we will listen and look for these contradictions either explicityly or implicity in arguments
Aristotle
What makes someone persuasive according to aristotle?
- ethos
- pathos
- logos
Aristotle
Ethos
- character
- they know what they’re talking about
- good will
- good character
- good sense
aristotle
pathos
- emotion
- argumentations isn’t merely logical, in the real world it appeals to emotions
- smile
- cadence
- tone
- common sense
aristotle
logos
- the substance of one’s ideas is persuasive, but as aristotle teaches us, its not the whole of persuasion
- you want to appeal to your audience
- evidence
- objective data
- social consensus
- “expert” testimony
Caldini’s six techniques of persuasion
- code of reciprocity
- consistency
- social validation
- liking
- authority
- scarcity
caldini
code of reciprocity
repay in kind for what they received (ex: free samples)
“You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours”
caldini
consistency
- desire to be seen as consistent (ex: “Will you please call if you decide to cancel?”)
- Do your words match your actions?
caldini
social validation
more likely to follow and be led by peer pressure
Others are doing it, so I should too
caldini
liking
people say “yes” to those that they like
caldini
authority
people are more likely to say “yes” and follow those who are percieved to be more credible (regardless if they are credible or not)
caldini
scarcity
limited offerings (if something will run out of stock, I will secure it)
what is rhetoric?
- how signs persuade us; this is what creates our understanding of reality (i.e., how symbols influence us).
- Practice of effective symbolic expression…
- Rhetoric is a mode of altering reality by the creation of discourse (which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action).
what is argument?
units of discourse and the result of the practice of argumentation
What are the fundamental components of argument
- claim
- warrant
- evidence
claim
- Making a claim on your audience’s beliefs + it is what you want the other party to accept!
- Claim of value/definition – “the president’ support is weakening” (problem/judgment)
- Claim of fact – “Pitt is located in the city” (description of reality)
- Claim of policy – “We should raise the tuition rate” (solution/what should be done)
warrant
- evidence that authorizes the claim … not immune to challenge
- hidden message and relationship betweent he claim and evidence
evidence
this is what you offer as support for the claim, your ground for believing it
Bitzer vs. Vatz vs. Consigny
- Vatz = rhetor/content
- Consigny = rheotric is an “art” in indeterminate situations (some freedom choice)
- Bitzer = context/ situation/ medium (empirically determinate)
Bitzer’s Views
- CONTEX focused
- situation driven approach
- exigence = problem or issue that creates the need for rhetorical discourse
- audience = individual or group of peple who can be influenced by the discourse & who have the power to address the audience
- contstraints = limitations or factors that influence the rhetor’s ability to persuade the audience
Bitzer
role of rhetor
- the role of the rhetor (the person creating the persuasive message) is to recognize and respond to the rhetorical situation effectively
- Rhetors should use available means of communication to address the exigence and influence the audience
Bitzer
fitting response
- one that effectively addresses the exigence and is appropriate to the constraints and the audience
- Rhetors should tailor their discourse to the specific rhetorical situation
situation rhetoric
- rhetoric is fundamentally situational, meaning that persuasive discourse is shaped by the circumstances at hand
- Rhetors must adapt their strategies to fit the unique features of each rhetorical situation
Vatz’s views
- CONTENT focused
- speaker driven approach
- rhetors create rhetorical situations rather than simply responding to pre-existing exigencies
- rhetor’s perspective and choices play a crucial role in defining what becomes a rhetorical situation
- rhetors are ones who chose to give particular sailence to situations and help craft their “reality”
- rhetoric is a cause not an effect meaning
- rhetoric is a creative act
Consigny’s views
- RHETOR has freedom on how they will structure the situation, but their freedom IS limited.
- The rhetor is CONSTRAINED by the reality of the situation and the rules it innately contains within it
how does Consigny agrees with Bitzer and Vatz
- Bitzer = rhetorical situation is characterized by particualarities
- Vatz = correctly treats the rhetor as creative
how does Consigny disagree with Bitzer and Vatz
- Bitzer = does not agree that the situation is inherently determinate
- Vatz = fails to account for the real constraints in the rhetor’s activity
What are the three different spheres of communication and argumentation?
- personal sphere
- technical sphere
- public sphere
Personal sphere
- friends, family members, romantic partners
- there exists a bias towards agreement
- the people will try to preserve the relationship
Technical Sphere
- argument is conditioned by the background knowledge, assumptions, and working practices of the relevant filed or domain
- this PRIOR knowledge exludes people from the dialogue
Public sphere
- concerned with matters that affect the public
- usually heterogeneous
- participation in his dialogue is open to the public
- robust public sphere is vital to democratic life
Argumentations key social function is
to sustain democratic life
What are the 5 argument schemes?
- argument from example
- argument from analogy
- argument from sign
- arugment from cause
- argument from form
argument from example
- Deductive – (general → specific) the act of backing up generalized statements with SPECIFIC scenarios
- Inductive– (specific → general conclusion) act of making generalized conclusions based off specific scenarios
- Ex. students 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 passed = the class passed
Argument from Analogy
- all about similarities (legal argument is based on precedent)
- legal realm - established parallel cases (Roe vs. Wade)
- moral realm - can there ever be a complete enumeration of evidence?
Argument from Sign
Physical Observation – (ex. rooster crows → indication that it is morning)
Measureable Index – (ex. “smartness” → GPA, IQ, grades)
Argument from Cause
- claim
- warrant
- evidence
Argument from Form
- Argument/inferences based on the form the argument takes
- CONTAINER – oral? written?
- CONTAINED – shapes overall argument
Stasis Theory
- “Rest”/”Equilbrium”
- this helps us understand what argument is really about
- what does the argument fundamentally rest upon? what is the point of the argument?
- controvery is the ultimate stasis point
- it is what argument itself rests upon - diagreement
- The “so what”
- understanding the point opens avenues for resolution because both parties are on the same page
- arguers are not talking past each other but with each other
Stasis Theory
Fact/Conjecture
- did it occur?
- interaction between assertion and denial = determines the stasis
Stasis Theory
Definition
- the act occured but what was it?
- to select a stasis in definition, implicitly grants the opponents claim in conjecture
Stasis Theory
Quality
the act occured, we know what it is, but was it justified
Stasis Theory
Place
- is it the right forum for an argument?
- questions of place therefore can play a great role in determining how a controversy will be talked about
Evidence Types
Objective Data
- independently verified and widely agreed to and does not require the arguer’s intervention
- examples/illustrations = pathos
- statistics = logos
- tangible objects = logos
- direct observations = personal experience
Evidence Types
Social Consensus
- previously established claims
- commonplace (types of general patterns of issues)
- shared value judgments
- shared historical understanding
Evidence Types
testimony
source credibility is important…function of one’s track record
Argument Structures
Multiple
- subsidary claims are independent of each other
- subsidiary claims individually establish the main claim
Argument Structures
Coordinative
- subsidiary claims are independent of each other
- subsidiary claims, taken together, establish the main claim
Argument Structures
Subordinative
- subsidiary claims are not independent of each other
- subsidiary claims, taken together, establish the main claim
