Questions tagged [rhetoric]
the practice of effective persuasive speech/argumentation
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Is there a name for the widespread logical fallacy in which you prove your point by 'eliminating' anyone who contradicts you?
I've encountered this relentlessly in my life. You offer proof that someone is wrong, or even simply state something more obvious than the sun that they don't like, they ban you or do something else ...
user44643
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Is "explaining away" something without offering details ever justified? How detailed should an explanation be to be considered valid?
In a recent question I asked if it was epistemologically sound to consider alternative theories of consciousness to explain the visual phenomena that people blind from birth experience during a near-...
user66156
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What kind of rhetorical device is 'splaining?
It is quite common for people to respond to an issue or question with the first thing that comes to mind, framed as a convincing explanation. When it appears to be a self-serving or unwarranted ...
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How should the difference between rhetoric and sophistry be characterized when the "criterion" of truth is consensus?
According to Plato/Aristotle, rhetoric is the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing to persuade another of the truth of a proposition. Sophistry, on the other hand, came to be known as a ...
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Word-Pairing Rhetorical Tactic
I am looking for a name referring to a rhetoric/propaganda tactic in which words are paired together to change perceptions? For example, if I said, "a controversial speaker is giving a lecture at ...
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How to discuss subjects with people who are convinced by emotion, not by reason?
Sometimes I must discuss a subject with someone who has an emotional, not necessarily reasonable, connection to a subject. How can one discuss a subject or convince a person who has an emotional ...
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Rebuttal from first principles as a type of refutation?
There is an intriguing paper by Easwaran on types of refutations:
Easwaran, Kenny. Rebutting and undercutting in mathematics.
Epistemology, 146-162, Philos. Perspect., 29, Wiley-Blackwell, Malden,
...
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Provenance of 'malicious joke' "He has not interpreted my words as I intended. For I intended that there be no counterexamples."
I doubt this could be where I originally came across this quip/joke, but a google search found it in footnote #2 of [1]. The footnote reads:
2 Compare the malicious joke: 'Mr. Z claims to have found ...
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What do you call a "false corollary" or leap in logic?
If I make a provocative statement like:
I recommend South American chocolate to professional chefs.
Some readers infer what I currently think of as "false corollaries":
Professional chefs ...
user63845
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What kind of a logical fallacy is giving an example from the past - in order to justify present unjustice?
I was wondering what kind of fallacy is giving an example that occurred in the past, and thus saying we don't need to worry about the present as the same or worse happened in the past. I would like to ...
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How to reframe a question or statement in good faith?
Attempting to have a philosophical discussion with someone acting in bad faith is annoying. You might pose a statement or question, only for them to refute it with an irrelevant detail (sometimes ...
user63845
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Does this argument qualify as whataboutism?
(Moved from Politics.SE)
Alice and Bob are two students who are habitual cheaters.
Alice to Bob: You really should stop cheating on your exams.
Bob to Alice: I'll stop cheating if you stop cheating ...
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“Give something a name, and it becomes a thing.”
A colleague once made a comment to the effect of, "If you give something a name, it becomes a thing."
Is that a quote, or similar to a quote, from some philosophical work. If so, what is the ...
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Proper name for "affirming the common ground" fallacy / rhetorical technique?
I'm trying to find the name for this form—I don't know if it'd rightly be called a "fallacy", or just a "rhetorical technique"—where you affirm or reiterate non-disputed premises ...
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Providing a logical rebuttal to "What's the harm?"-type questions
I have a manager at work who often comes up with shortsighted ideas and then expects his staff to adopt them. On occasions, my colleagues (his staff) will suggest improvements to his ideas that offer ...
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