Blog 5: The Energy of Rhetoric

             George Kennedy offers a unique perspective on the idea of rhetoric. I am surprised that he not only wrote of the evolution of rhetoric, but also that rhetoric is a matter of energy. It makes sense though because you need energy from both the speaker and the audience to keep communication and rhetoric flowing.

            In his first thesis, Kennedy points out that “rhetoric is prior to speech (pg.4).” Some people would find this idea strange because they feel communication and rhetoric is the same thing. But as Kennedy writes “Speech cannot take place without some force or motivation to articulate an utterance (pg.4).” In order to communicate an idea or argument you have to have a drive to do so. That is why many people are told to write about what they have a passion for. And as many college students know, when we are forced to write something that we don’t care about it is extremely hard to do. No matter how short the assignment is, sometimes it feels impossible to come up with words and ideas to express. That is why most of us will wait to till the last possible second to do the assignment hoping something will come to us. But it is hard to say something when you have no motivation to say it. 

            With Kennedy’s second thesis, he writes that “The receiver’s interpretation of a communication is prior to the speaker’s intent in determining the meaning (pg.7).” As I read this statement, I thought about the fable of the “little boy who cried wolf”. In the end of the fable, the boy had told numerous lies about a wolf to the townspeople. When an actual wolf did come, the boy warned everyone but they didn't believe him.  This tale not only points out the importance of a rhetor’s ethos, but also the fact that the receiver already has prior inclinations about what do when he or she receives a message. In all actuality, not only does the receiver not have to respond to the message, but they can just ignore listening or reading it all together.

            But as Kennedy describes later in the paragraph, communication that was has no effect with an audience still allows the speaker to say what he or she has to say. He uses the example of the bird that cries out thinking there is a predator and is ignored by others. Kennedy says the bird was still able to express what it needed to say. But this got me thinking about if this reasoning could be applicable to humans. Would most of us be satisfied by just expressing what we need to say with no affect on our receivers? Kennedy writes that our communication could have impact in the future, but what if it doesn't?

Blog 4: The Power of Proximity, Emotions, and Values

             In Smith and Hyde, I found the topic of intensifying emotion by temporal and spatial proximity to be accurate and useful. I was automatically reminded of the photograph we saw of the child and the vulture. Someone had made a comment in that discussion that the vulture made him uneasy because he felt it could strike the child at any time. I think the lack of time and proximity of the photograph is why it is powerful. While someone could tell you that there are starving children all over the world, we don’t get a real sense of the problem till we see an actual child in need. Viewing the child’s malnourished body, up in the very front of the photo, evokes emotions of pity and fear to you instantly which brings the issue closer to you. And when we look at the vulture just waiting for the child our emotions are further intensified. We realize that the child might not have much time left so we have to take action now if we want to save him.  Smith and Hyde write “..this sharing (lack of remoteness) makes Alcibiades susceptible to emotions that he would not have experienced at the time…(453).” What this means is that if the audience felt distance to the issue, they would not have felt those powerful emotions that promote them to take action. Seeing the power that proximity has, we as rhetoricians want to make sure that we are familiar and skillful in this technique if we want to move our audience to change.

            Moving to Descartes’ Error, I was actually quite fascinated by Gage’s story. It was amazing and scary to see how important emotions are to making rational decisions. A point that was brought up in the book was that the reason why emotions help promote rational decisions is because emotions add value to the choices we make. So the reason why Gage and Elliot had trouble making decisions for the future was because they could not add value to any choice. Imagine going through life have no emotions or preferences toward an option. What if a loved one was in the hospital and the doctor asked you to pick between two courses of treatment: 1) Medicine that would help them live for a short period 2) Medicine that would help them live longer but would cause extreme and painful side effects. How would a person like Gage of Elliot make an important decision like this without emotions? How would they know what they are their loved ones value?

Blog 3: Beliefs as Component Parts of Emotions

          In Martha Craven Nussbaum’s  article “Aristotle on Emotions and Rational Persuasion”, I like how she explains the connection between beliefs and emotions. I think a good example she used to illustrate this was “The loud noise strikes the brave man as something terrible, but being a brave man, he doesn’t accept that it is in fact terrible; he judges that is it not so terrible. So he stands his ground (pg.307).” Most would assume that the noise would cause the man to be fearful, but his belief that the situation is not so terrible inhibits this emotion. The example shows that emotions are based on more than feelings. I agree when Nussbaum explains that beliefs are constituent parts of the emotions itself (pg.309).  She says that we cannot describe emotions, such as pity or fear, without referring to what we are pitting or fearing. When I tried to define these feelings, I found it difficult to find words that didn’t relate to outside components, i.e what or who I am angry or fearful at. As rhetoricians, we should take note of this idea because if we want to persuade our audience to feel a certain way, we have to write in a way that will make them believe it.

            Another section of this article that I found interesting was the discussion of love. Again Nussbaum states that belief is essential in instating this emotion. But this passage emphasizes the importance of the actual person feeling this emotion to believe it, “…since Aristotle informs us in detail that people who love one another do so on the basis of a certain conception or description of the object, and on the basis of their belief that the object has the feature or features in question…(pg. 311).”  The quote reminds me of situations where a friend is dating someone who is completely wrong for them. While you see the flaws in their partner, your friend doesn’t see these qualities because he or she strongly believes in the positive aspects of the person. Believing in the positive qualities establishes and reinforces the love they think they have for their partner.  No matter how many times you tell your friend to stop loving this person, it probably won’t change much because what matters is the belief he or she holds. But beliefs are not set in stone and they can  change along with the emotion. If you friend starts to believe in the negative qualities of their partner his or her feelings would be different towards them.  Nussbaum writes“…if any of these central beliefs turns out to be false, or become false, love will itself cease...(pg.311).”

Visual Analysis: Verbal Abuse is Still Abuse

    

          http://thesaladmagblog.blogbroad.com/misty54/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/verbal-abuse-1.jpg

          Words do hurt.  This is the message that the advertisement is demonstrating through its grim but realistic visual. The ad is displayed on many anti-abuse websites along with two other similar images. While the other ads feature men with arms coming out of their mouths as well, the abusers in those scenarios are pulling the face or hair of their victims. Even though all three ads are shocking, the image of the arm actually punching the women clearly sends the general message the ad is trying to convey: verbal abuse is still abuse. 

            Because the image displays a man and women in a confrontation, the ad focuses more on abuse in the context of romantic relationships. And as we see a woman being the victim in this scenario, the intended audience is probably the female population. But the ad could still have an impact on males either by making them aware of this isssue or illustrating to those engaging in this type of mistreatment that they are hurting their victims.  Even though this image sends a powerful message, it does only narrow down verbal abuse into a specific situation. What must be remembered is that no matter what age, gender, or sexual orientation you are, you can be a victim of physical or verbal abuse (Who are the Victims?).  

            The reason why this ad is so powerful and persuasive is because it provokes negative emotions in the viewer.  One emotion that someone may feel when seeing this ad is shock. The arm streaming out of the guy’s mouth resembles a scene from a sci-fi movie. This creates a grotesque visual and makes the man seem inhuman. While the scene is disturbing, the arm is probably the most important part of the ad because it grabs the audience’s attention.  People are attracted to novel items, and by adding an image that defies human law, the ad gets viewers to take notice.  Besides getting the audience’s attention, the arm is essential in providing the main message to viewers.  When the audience looks at the arm through a metaphorical view, they can see that cruel words can be just at hurtful as being physically hit.

            Another emotion that may be stirred in a viewer is fear. When you look closely at the man you notice his nostrils are flared and his eyes are filled with rage. Because humans are programmed to look out for danger, the guy’s facial expression signals that he could be a threat. For this reason, a viewers’ fight or flight response may kick in which will even further induce the adrenaline and fear.  Looking at the other half of the image, the audience will notice the terrified expression on the woman’s face. Seeing her eyes closed tight and her teeth clenched may trigger the viewers’ mirror neurons to feel the same fear she does.

            While an audience will be shocked and frightened by this picture, they may also feel the agony and pain that this woman is experiencing. Her overall facial expression just exudes the fact that she is hurting. Seeing the clenched fist make contact with the woman’s delicate cheek provokes the physical pain in the viewer themselves. With her head slanted sideways and her mouth at an angle; a viewer would most likely predict that she is about to end up on the floor with her teeth knocked out.

            Because many people don’t realize the damage words can have, seeing this image may also evoke sadness and pity in the viewer, especially in males. These emotions may stem from the fact that in our society, it is generally taught that men should never hit women. But because verbal abuse it not really thought of as a type of abuse, the issue of belittling females is not as taboo. So when the ad puts the concept of physically assaulting women and verbal abuse together; the scene changes. Viewers will look back on the ideas they were taught and they will associate the negativity of physical abuse to verbal abuse. This is when the emotions of pity and sadness will be provoked. After feeling these emotions some viewers may have a strong urge to help the victim in the image, or just victims of abuse in general.

            Even though the image does encourage victims of verbal abuse to call a hotline for advice or support, the ad does have stronger intentions.  By using the fist as a metaphor for hurtful words, the ad wants the audience to realize that being verbally attacked can be just as horrific as being physically assaulted and this type of cruelty should not be continued. The fear the ad exudes would resonate with real life victims and it might help them realize that they are experiencing a real type of abuse. Hopefully, this would encourage the victims to seek help or dissolve their abusive relationship.  For non- victims, the shock and pity the ad provokes may urge these viewers to intervene when seeing a verbal abuse situation or become involved in  public awareness of this issue.  

            Aristotle wrote in Book II that “The emotions are all those feelings that so change men as to affect their judgments, and that are also attended by pain or pleasure” (ch. 1, pg. 60). While the context of the ad is directed toward towards romantic relationships, Aristotle explains that using words to instill an emotion in a viewer can be powerful in any situation (ch.1, pg.59-60).  What is interesting though is that we are taught at a young age in America that words should not have an effect on us. Parents tell children to ignore others remarks or just “let them roll off their back”. This may be one of the reasons why verbal abuse is not widely recognized throughout our country.  But tragic examples, such as the stream of gay students who committed suicide after being bullied, shows that words do have an effect on us and can alter our judgments (Hubbard). The concept of ignoring other’s remarks seem especially strange since we live in a society where most of us judge ourselves based on how we think others perceive us. For this reason, it is important for people to understand that words are powerful and influential. Most remember the classic saying “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” After viewing the ad above, it seems that that last phrase of that saying should be changed to “but words could definitely hurt me.”

Works Cited

"Book II." Aristotle Rhetoric. Trans. W. Rhys Roberts. Mineola, New York: Dover
     Publications, 2004. 60-115. Print.

Hubbard, Jeremy. "Fifth Gay Teen Suicide in Three Weeks Sparks Debate."
     Editorial. ABC News. ABC New Internet Ventures, 3 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Feb.
     2011.

"Who are the Victims?" Domesticviolence.org. Creative Communications Group, n.d.
     Web. 13 Feb. 2011.

         

Blog 2: Aristotle in Modern Times

            Something that I have noticed about Aristotle’s writings is how he tends to generalize his findings to all mankind. When describing the young he depicts all young men as “courageous” or “hot-tempered” (ch.12, pg. 84) .With the elderly, all are “cynical” and “small minded’’ (ch. 13, pg. 85).  Even though these characteristics may be true for a majority of the age population, they don’t apply to everyone.  I have heard stories of people who have grandmothers who get angry and throw things, just as I have friends, my age, who are cynical about Valentine’s Day.

            While you can take Aristotle’s claims into consideration, I think that some of his ideas of human character don't apply in modern times. Aristotle writes “They love both more than they love money, which indeed they love very little, not having yet learnt what it means to be without it…” (ch. 12, pg. 84). I feel that in our society, young people are taught at an early age the value and importance of money. They associate it with getting items they want (or think they need) such as iphones, x-boxes, designer clothes, etc.  In America at least, individuals become infatuated with money  because it can lead them to some type of reward or pleasure. Just looking at how many people get into credit card debt at such a young age shows the drive for money and belongings.  While the young can love money, they can also know what it means to be without it. When the recession hit a couple of years back, thousands lost their jobs and even more became homeless. In some states, homelessness became so rapid that “tent cities’ began to form in some communities. The young people who had to go through this situation probably longed for the amenities they once had, and truly felt how it was to go from having money to having nothing.  

            Another claim of Aristotle’s that I didn’t find quite right was when he wrote that the elderly love life (ch. 13, pg. 86). The reason why I found this peculiar was because before this statement, he described the elderly as fearful, expecting the worst out of situations, distrustful, small-minded, and thinking that life on the whole is bad business (ch. 13, pg. 85-86).  I don’t understand how you can have all these negative characteristics and ideas and still find life enjoyable.