Transcript What Are Essays?

What Are Essays?
The Application of Reason
Define Rhetoric
• “Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. Its goal is to
change people’s opinions and influence their
actions” (xiii).
– Political essays
• Logical
– Opinion essays
• Ethical
• Pathetic
– Literary or personal essays
• Logical
• Ethical
How to Read Essays?
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Logical
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Deduction
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Induction
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“If you look at a lot of specific cases, you can reasonably infer the general principle that governs them
all” (xix). Need representative sample for argument to be valid.
Ethical
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Argument based on the writers self-presentation, moral standing and the audience
willingness to accept this as authoritative (xxvi).
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Major premise (general category)
Minor premise (assertion about general category)
Conclusion (follows logically from major and minor premises)
What authority does the writer claim?
Does she know more about the subject than I do?
Why should I listen to what she has to say
How does the writer’s personal testimony affect her arguments?
Is the writer trustworthy?
Is she reasonable?
Do I like the writer? Would I be happy to meet and talk with her?
Pathetic
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Argument based on manipulating (for good or ill) the audiences emotions
Example Deductive Argument
• Major Premise: People who wear glasses
are smart.
• Minor Premise: John wears glasses.
• Conclusion: John is smart.
Conclusion follows from the major and minor
premises; therefore, it is considered
“valid.”
Argumentative Fallacies
• Deductive fallacies
– Non sequiturs (conclusions do not follow
logically from the premises)
– Red herring (premises are irrelevant to the
conclusion)
– False-cause (post hoc, ergo propter hoc)
– Begging the question
– Either-or
Argumentative Fallacies
• Inductive fallacies
– Hasty generalizations
– Anecdotal evidence
– False analogy
– Special pleading (suppressing counter
evidence)
Argumentative Fallacies
• Pathetic Fallacies
– Bandwagon (appeal to desire to fit in [xxx])
– Appeal to Tradition
– Appeal to pity