Transcript Analyzing Arguments

Mrs. Williams
Modified by Mrs. Hardy
Analyzing
 Determine the credibility
 Determine the purpose
 Identify the strategies and styles for appealing to
targeted audiences: ethos, logos, pathos, and rhetoric
Emotional Appeal: Pathos
 Pathos=Pain
 Writers use this strategy to attempt to evoke their
audience’s emotions
 Pathos appeals to
 Physical needs (life and health of the body)
 Psychological needs( inner life, need for love and
respect)
 Social needs (need for freedom, status, power,
acceptance)
Types of Emotional Appeals
(Pathos)
 Use language that involve the senses
 Include an anecdote
 Include connotative language
 Explore euphemisms
 Use description
 Use figurative language
 Develop tone
 Experiment with formal language
Ethical Appeal: Ethos
 Ethos=character
 Writers must establish credibility with their audience
by possessing and revealing good character
 How does the writer present himself as reliable and
good?
 How does the writer aim to build bridges with the
audience or the opposition?
Types of Ethical Appeals (Ethos)
 Show written voice in the argument
 Make the audience believe that the writer is
trustworthy
 Demonstrate that the author put in research time
 Supports reason with appropriate, logical evidence
 Present a carefully crafted and edited argument
 Demonstrate the author knows and respects the
audience
 Convince the audience that the writer is reliable and
has concern
Logical Appeal: Logos
 Note the claims the author makes, the exigencies
 Note the data the author provides in support of claims
 Note the conclusion the author draws
Types of Logical Appeals
(Logos)
 Incorporate inductive reasoning
 Use deductive reasoning
 Create a syllogism
 Cite commonly held beliefs or traditional culture
 Allude to history, religious texts, great literature, or
mythology
 Provide testimony, evidence, facts, quoted research
 Order chronologically
 Theorize about cause and effect
 Draw analogies and present metaphors
Rhetoric
 Simply defined is language that effectively
accomplishes it purpose.
 How an author uses these devices is called style.
 Style can include diction, imagery, syntactical
patterns, figurative language
Deductive Reasoning
 Deductive reasoning: the conclusion is a logical
consequence of the premise
 All men are mortal
 Socrates is a man
 (Therefore,) Socrates is a mortal
Inductive Reasoning
 Reasoning that involves moving from a set of specific
facts to a very general conclusion.
Common Logical Fallacies
Ad Hominem Fallacy/
Name Calling
 “To the individual,” the target’s person’s characteristics
are attacked, instead of the argument
 Ex: He is an unfit Presidential candidate because he
has been married three times. How could anyone trust
him to run the free world?
Ad Populum Fallacy/Bandwagon
 “To the crowd,” a misconception that a widespread
occurrence of something is assumed to make an idea
true or right
 Example: Everyone else ran toward the cafeteria, so I
did too. I didn’t realize they were running toward a
fight.
Propaganda/Celebrity Appeal
 Writing or images that seek to persuade through
emotional appeal rather than through logical proof;
written or visual texts that describe or depict using
highly connotative words or images—favorable or
unfavorable—without justification
 Example: Tiger Woods selling Buick LeSabre, Michael
Jordan selling basketball shoes, Katy Perry advertising
for ProActiv, etc.
Begging the Question
 Taking for granted something that really needs
proving
 Example: Did you purchase the flat screen with the
stolen cash before or after you ditched the stolen car?
(Assumes facts not in evidence: (1) the accused stole
the cash, and (2) the accused stole a car)
Circular Reasoning
 Trying to prove one idea with another idea that is too
similar to the first idea; such an error in logic moves
backward in its attempt to move forward
 Example: The novel is a best-seller because it has sold
so many copies.
Either or Reasoning/
Black and White
 The tendency to see an issue as having only two sides
 Example: Firearms should be completely banned or
completely legal.
Hasty Generalization
 Drawing a general and premature conclusion on the
basis of only one or two cases
 Example: Dallas Police Chief Christopher Michaels
suggested that all dogs be muzzled because two
Golden Retrievers have been disturbing the peace in
Fritz Park.
Non Sequitur
 “it does not follow” an inference or conclusion that
does not follow established premises or evidence
 Absence of a logical connection between a claim and a
premise. (Irreverent reasons for supporting a claim,
illogical leap, or a gap in the chain of reasoning.)
 Example: “He is certainly sincere; he must be right.” or
“He’s the most popular: he should be president.”
Post hoc/Faulty causality
 “After this, therefore because of this,” assuming that an
incident that precedes another is the cause of the
second incident
 Example: Mom discovered the ring was missing, and
you were the last one seen entering her room. You
must have taken it.
Your assignment:
 Locate and record 5 arguments from the play that
contain faulty reasoning.
 Identify the argument as logical, emotional, or ethical.
More than one answer can apply.
 Identify the specific logical fallacy, and explain why
the assumption / argument is fallacious.
 Due Friday.