Rhetoric and persuasion involve communication techniques to impart knowledge, alter opinions, and solicit actions. Logic is a common tool, but appeals to emotion or authority may be necessary. Ethics are important, but rhetorical techniques can be used to defend incorrect or unethical positions.
Rhetoric is the study and practice of communication techniques used for purposes such as imparting knowledge, altering opinions, and soliciting certain actions. The practices of rhetoric and persuasion are closely related because various rhetorical techniques are commonly used for the purpose of persuasion. Persuasion specifically refers to using a variety of what are generally rhetorical techniques to change opinions or encourage particular actions. Rhetoric and persuasion techniques sometimes involve presenting a well-organized logical case that attempts to demonstrate the reasoning behind a particular idea. Other methods in rhetoric and persuasion rely instead on appeals to emotion or authority.
Logic is a common tool of persuasion, as it can be used to objectively prove the correctness of an idea within certain contexts. In some cases, other rhetorical methods must be used to prepare or open a listener to a logical argument. Rhetoric and persuasion, therefore, must be used together to achieve the desired result.
Sometimes, there is no valid logical argument for a given proposition or the logical argument is based on knowledge that is too difficult for a listener to comprehend. A scientist might need to explain his need for funding to a politician who knows little about science, for example. In such cases, rhetoric and persuasion may involve appeals to emotion or authority rather than to reason and logic. A biomedical researcher may try to appeal to the politician’s emotions by talking about how many children government research funding could save. He may also use rhetorical and persuasive techniques to emphasize his own experience, thereby appealing to his authority on the matter.
Ethics are also important in both rhetoric and persuasion. People tend to feel better about making ethically sound decisions, and it’s often easy to attack ethically questionable positions. Demonstrating the ethical importance of fitting a certain position, regardless of the rationale of the position, can lend a lot of credence to an argument.
It is important to note that rhetorical techniques have nothing to do with being correct. The techniques of rhetoric and persuasion can be used to defend an incorrect or unethical position as well as a correct and ethical position. Emotional appeals, in particular, are commonly used to argue points for which there is no rational argument. People commonly act irrationally out of emotions like anger or sadness. An awareness of rhetorical techniques can make it much less likely that one will fall into such techniques without sound logical support.
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