1. Rhetoric

2. Rhetoric The art of persuasion
A piece of argumentation that attempts to persuade especially by means other than the presentation of good evidence.

3. Rhetoric vs. Logic Logic is aimed at truth.
Rhetoric is aimed at inducing belief.
‘Rhetoric’ is usually a pejorative term among philosophers.
For our purposes, rhetoric not as a means of manipulating others but as an obstacle to truth.
Rhetoric: nonlogical (nonrational) modes of persuasion.

4. Aristotle
People are more easily persuaded if they think that something has been established by argument
even if no real argument has been given.

5. Influencing, bypassing reason
Motivated inference:
emotional investment (pro or con) leads to selective collection, interpretation of evidence.
Motivated intuition:
a claim just seems right, without our even thinking we have evidence for it.

6. Abuses of emotive rhetoric
Creating negative (or positive) associations with a claim tends to bypass reason, make that claim seem false (or true).
Abusive ad hominem: “he says that p, but he’s a child molester.”
Argumentum ad Hitlerum: “you know who else believed p? Hitler!”
ad populum: “everyone else believes p, so p.”

7. Abuses of emotive rhetoric
Appeal to force (argumentum ad baculum): using threats to produce agreement.
Often by intimidation: “anyone who disagrees is obviously an idiot!”
Appeal to pity (argumentum ad misericordiam): invoking pity/guilt to produce belief: “this accusation has ruined my client’s reputation, his marriage, and his job prospects”
is no evidence that the accusation is false.

8. Language of Arguments

9. Emotionally charged language
Rhetoric often attempts to bypass reasoning by direct appeal to emotions.
Use of connotation to sway audience
“It’s hard to be against a bill that says that once a baby’s heart is beating, you shouldn’t take his life.”

10. Emotionally charged language
Rhetoric often attempts to bypass reasoning by direct appeal to emotions.
Use of connotation to sway audience:
“It’s hard to be against a bill that says that once a baby’s heart is beating, you shouldn’t take his life.”

11. Emotionally charged language
‘Pro-life’ vs. ‘pro-choice’
‘Anti-choice extremist’ vs. ‘abortion- loving baby-killer’
‘Baby’ vs. ‘parasite’

12. Converse: euphemism ! ! “Product of conception” rather than “fetus”
“Would you force a woman to have sex with you if you could get away with it?”
50% said yes
“Would you rape a woman if you could get away with it?”
15% said yes ! !

13. “Terrorists should be punished.”
“Freedom fighters should be punished.”
Emotional connotation sometimes depends on audience.
“progressive” at Huffington Post
“progressive” on Glenn Beck show

14. Is neutral language possible?
Is neutral language desirable?

15. Sloganeering and cliche
Well-worn sayings with unclear meanings make you feel like an argument has been given.
“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”
“You need to think outside the box.”
“What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
“You get what you pay for.”

16. Vivid example
Unfortunately, often more convincing than actual statistics due to availability heuristic.
Fallacy of misleading vividness: allowing the vividness of an example to influence your belief in a statistical or probabilistic claim.

17. Vagueness vs. ambiguity
Vague: imprecise; having poorly defined boundaries.
bald
short
Ambiguous: having two or more distinct, nonoverlapping, meanings.
bank
flying planes can be dangerous (amphiboly)

18. Fallacy of equivocation
Using ambiguous term in two different ways.
My nephew is still just a kid.
A kid is a baby goat.
My nephew is a baby goat.

19. Fallacy of equivocation
Using ambiguous term in two different ways.
My nephew is still just a kid.
A kid is a baby goat.
My nephew is a baby goat.

20. Equivocation? A 1-day-old embryo is a living human being.
It is morally wrong to kill a living human being, except in self-defense.
It is morally wrong to kill a 1-day-old embryo.

21. Equivocation? A 1-day-old embryo is a living human being.
Some pro-choice people would only accept these premises if the key term shifts meaning in the two premises.
A 1-day-old embryo is a living human being.
It is morally wrong to kill a living human being, except in self-defense.
It is morally wrong to kill a 1-day-old embryo.
metabolically active human tissue
full-fledged, autonomous person

22. Definitions
Necessary and sufficient conditions that capture the meaning of a term.
Must do justice to already existing meaning.

23. Two exceptions
Stipulative definition: introduction of new term, or technical use of old term.
Avoid misunderstandings, etc.
Persuasive definition: sneak extraneous features, often emotive, into definition.
e.g., “homosexual” means “having unnatural desire for those of same sex.”

24. Related fallacy Fallacy of many questions:
e.g., “When did you stop beating your wife?”
i.e., p and q, or p and not-q?
Presupposes p, without giving opponent chance to deny it.

25. Fallacies vs. persuasive (rhetorical) tricks
Fallacy: mistake in reasoning, argument that fails to support conclusion.
Rhetorical trick: doesn’t attempt to offer argument.
bypass reasoning altogether, manipulate belief formation by engaging the intuitive processor
If you want to be in charge of your belief, make sure the conscious rule- follower is engaged.