ARGUMENT & PERSUASIONWho Cares?

EVER HEARD YOUR FRIENDS GIVE A STUPID ARGUMENT? MAYBE SOMETHING LIKE THIS?…• FRIEND: BECAUSE, MAN! IT’S LIKE, YOU KNOW…EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT!

• YOU (VERY INTELLIGENTLY RESPOND): UMM… WAS THAT YOUR ARGUMENT?

• FRIEND: HUH?...WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

• YOU: YOUR EVIDENCE IS “EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT.” WHAT’S YOUR PROOF? HOW DO YOU KNOW EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT? I DON’T KNOW THAT. DID YOU READ A STUDY? SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL? STATISTICAL RESEARCH? LOGICAL PROOFS? DATA?? ANYTHING?!? OR DID YOU JUST SAY THAT BECAUSE YOU DON’T ACTUALLY HAVE AN ARGUMENT?

• FRIEND (BECOMING MORE CONFUSED BY YOUR BIG-PEOPLE WORDS): HUH?? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT MAN? THAT DOESN’T EVEN MAKE SENSE… YOU’RE JUST SAYING THAT CUZ YOU KNOW I’M RIGHT! YOU KNOW IT! YOU JUST WON’T ADMIT IT.

• YOU (BECOMING IRRITATED BY YOUR FRIEND’S BUFFOON-LIKE IGNORANCE): UMM….I DON’T THINK WE CAN BE FRIENDS ANYMORE. I’M SORRY. YOU WIN.

WAYS TO ARGUE

• SO MAYBE YOUR ARGUMENTS DON’T GO EXACTLY LIKE THAT…(I’VE STUPIDLY ENTERED MANY ARGUMENTS JUST LIKE THAT ONE).

• IN ANY CASE, THE POINT HERE IS THAT THERE IS A WAY TO ARGUE: SOME WAYS ARE BAD AND IGNORANT; SOME WAYS ARE GOOD AND LOGICAL AND ACTUALLY PERSUASIVE.

• I WANT TO FOCUS ON THE GOOD WAY—THE PERSUASIVE WAY.

WHY IS IT GOOD TO KNOW HOW TO ARGUE WELL?

HERE’S WHYHERE’S WHY:

• YOU DON’T HAVE TO LOOK STUPID ANYMORE

• INTELLIGENCE EARNS RESPECT, AND RESPECT GETS PEOPLE TO LISTEN

• YOU CAN PERSUADE PEOPLE

• YOU WILL HAVE THE TOOLS TO SEE YOUR WORLD AND REALITY MORE CLEARLY

• YOU WILL SIMPLY KNOW MORE, AND REAL KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

• TO USE A METAPHOR: MOST OF US ARE SHEEP, KNOWING HOW TO ARGUE WILL MAKEMAKE YOU YOU A SHEPHERD.

SO WHERE DO WE START???

• WE START WITH THE MASTER PHILOSOPHER: ARISTOTLE (4TH C. B.C.). ARISTOTLE WROTE ARS RHETORICA, (LATIN FOR, THE ART OF RHETORIC). RHETORIC IS THE ART OF SPEAKING WELL, AND ARISTOTLE’S RHETORIC IS REGARDED BY MOST RHETORICIANS AS "THE MOST IMPORTANT SINGLE WORK ON PERSUASION EVER WRITTEN.” IN HIS TREATISE, ARISTOTLE OUTLINES THE 3 BASIC COMPONENTS NEEDED TO PERSUADE ANY MAN OR ANY CROWD: ETHOS, PATHOS, AND LOGOS.

• ETHOS: APPEAL TO CREDIBILITY OR CHARACTER; PATHOS: APPEAL TO EMOTION, PITY, SYMPATHY; AND LOGOS: APPEAL TO LOGIC, OR REASON

• IT IS THESE THREE ANCIENT GREEK TERMS WE WILL BE FOCUSING ON TODAY.