Chapter One The Invisible Argument - PowerPoint Presentation

Chapter One The Invisible Argument

Everything is an argument… -When you hear the word “argument,” what springs to mind?-“Argument” encompasses more than the common connotation. -An argument can be any text—written, spoken, aural, or visual—that expresses a point of view.-Language itself, some theorists claim, is inherently persuasive.

Everything is an argument (cont.) -Simply saying, “Hi!” argues, for example, that your greeting deserves to be acknowledged. -Even humor makes an argument (in that it points out how things are and how they could be different).-More obvious arguments are those that make a direct claim based on or drawn from evidence…

Everything is an argument (cont.)… “We will become a society of a million pictures without much memory, a society that looks forward every second to an immediate replication of what it has just done, but one that does not sustain the difficult labor of transmitting culture from one generation to the next.” -Christine Rosen, “The Image Culture”

Everything is an argument (cont.)… Respond—Can an argument really be any text that expresses a point of view? What kinds of arguments—if any—might be made by the following items? -a Boston Red Sox cap / -a “#MeToo” button / -the “18+” sticker on game CDs / -the health warning on a pack of cigarettes / -a belated birthday card / -a Rolex watch

Thank You For Arguing / Chapter One -This chapter begins with a little story about the author and his teenage son.-Briefly describe the story? What happened? Who “won” the argument?-How does this approach to “winning” compare to the more typical view?

Thank You For Arguing / Chapter One **Important Term**Concession (concessio)—Agree with the person with whom you are arguing only to use this agreement to your advantage.<This is a tough market, with many skin care products already out there. However, this product is different-it provides the same level of advanced skin care for a fraction of the cost.>**Remember**--Shift the focus of the argument to the future tense in order to get results! Speaking in the past tense is about blame. Speaking in the present is about character. The future is about action!

Concession-Example Mark Twain on the American Flag and the Philippine-American War"I am not finding fault with this use of our flag; for in order not to seem eccentric I have swung around, now, and joined the nation in the conviction that nothing can sully a flag. I was not properly reared, and had the illusion that a flag was a thing which must be sacredly guarded against shameful uses and unclean contacts, lest it suffer pollution; and so when it was sent out to the Philippines to float over a wanton war and a robbing expedition I supposed it was polluted, and in an ignorant moment I said so. But I stand corrected. I concede and acknowledge that it was only the government that sent it on such an errand that was polluted. Let us compromise on that. I am glad to have it that way. For our flag could not well stand pollution, never having been used to it, but it is different with the administration." (Mark Twain, 1902; quoted by Albert Bigelow Paine in Mark Twain: A Biography, 1912

Thank You For Arguing / Chapter One **Important Term** Rhetoric—the art of influence, friendship, eloquence, ready wit, and irrefutable logic. It is based on argument. (We will explore this term in greater depth as the semester progresses.)Syncrisis—(Greek, “alternative judgment”)—the act of reframing the argument by redefining it. (A figure of speech in which opposite things or persons are compared.)---The subtle commit the fault, and the simple bear the blame.------Not manipulation. Instruction.--

Syncrisis“The curse of ye Lord is in the house of the ungodly, but he blesseth the dwellings of the righteous.”— (Prov.10.1.)Isa. 1:18. -"Through your sins be as scarlet,They shall be as white as snow;Though they be red like crimson,They shall be as wool."

Thank You For Arguing / Chapter One **Important Term**Antithesis—the “shotgun” marriage between contrasting thoughts, or opposites. (Write quickly, and you will never write well; write well and you will soon write quickly.)Amplification—(dirimens copulatio)—a joining that interrupts. It’s the “But wait! There’s more!” technique to spotlight your points.(A figure by which one balances one statement with a contrary, qualifying statement (sometimes conveyed by “not only … but also” clauses). A sort of arguing both sides of an issue.)

AmplificationThis car is extremely sturdy and durable. It's low maintenance; things never go wrong with it. Of course, if you abuse it, it will break.

Amplification I love a sunny day! Not only that, I love a cloudy day. The sun is warm. The clouds are cool. Feeling this way, I feel at home with the weather–I feel at home in the world.

Thank You For Arguing / Chapter One -Consider…which is more effective, the use of pure logic or an appeal to the emotions?-Aristotle said that “emotion trumps logic”.-How can this be? Can you think of examples to illustrate this point? Is it just common sense?

Thank You For Arguing / Chapter One The aim of argument, according to Aristotle, is consensus.**Important Term**Consensus—An argument’s ‘grand prize’. It is more than simple agreement or compromise. Consensus represents the audience’s ‘common sense’ thinking. It equates to shared faith in a choice and the feeling of togetherness.

Thank You For Arguing / Chapter One **Important Term**Chiasmus—a crisscross figure that repeats a phrase with its mirror image.“You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.”“I wasted time, and now time doth waste me.”“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

Thank You For Arguing / Chapter One The Chanticleer fallacy… Because “A” followed “B”, “B” caused “A”.(Post hoc ergo proper hoc )A Chanticleer is the rooster that crows each morning as the sun rises.He is so proud, he thinks it’s his crowing that is waking up the sun!