Category Archives: Rhetoric

Five Chapters on Rhetoric: Character, Action, Things, Nothing, and Art

I love this 2015 book by Michael S. Kochin: * Daniel Webster: “True eloquence… must exist in the man, in the subject, and in the occasion.” * Webster shows how this true eloquence results not merely in words or speeches … Continue reading

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From Argument To Assertion

Michael S. Kochin writes in Argumentation 23, No. 3 (August 2009).: There are, however, two fundamental rhetorical difficulties with laying out one’s premises, reasoning, and conclusions. Since arguments are anticlimactic if they are explicit, the speaker who is excessively explicit … Continue reading

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Is Ad Hominen A Logical Fallacy When Applied To Internet Debates? (8-2-21)

08:00 That Noble Dream: The ‘Objectivity Question’ and the American Historical Profession, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=138784 10:00 Ad hominem, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem 15:00 John Locke, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke 32:00 Argument from authority, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority 48:00 Bernadotte Everly Schmitt, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernadotte_Everly_Schmitt

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The Principle Of Charity

I just discovered this principle and it is awesome. According to Wikipedia: “In philosophy and rhetoric, the principle of charity or charitable interpretation requires interpreting a speaker’s statements in the most rational way possible and, in the case of any … Continue reading

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A Field Guide to Thoughtstoppers

John Michael Greer writes: A thoughtstopper is exactly what the term suggests: a word, phrase, or short sentence that keeps people from thinking. A good thoughtstopper is brief, crisp, memorable, and packed with strong emotion. It’s also either absurd, self-contradictory, … Continue reading

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