Logic, Argument, & Persuasion
Professor Barry Eckhouse
This is the on-line version of my syllabus for Communications 147:
Logic, Argument &
Persuasion, which I am providing primarily for easy access to the internet sites we
will visit during this course. It will not serve as a substitute for the hardcopy course
syllabus, which I will distribute in class and which may reflect important changes made
after the posting of this on-line version.
Some theorists of argumentation seem to believe that we should consider the purpose
of argumentation to be persuasion. Although persuasion is a purpose of argumentation on
some occasions, we must recognize that argumentation can and does fulfill another equally
important purpose, namely inquiry.
- Jack Meiland, Argument as Inquiry
Course Description. This is a course of discovery. Through the analysis of a
particular kind of communication - argumentation we will attempt to reveal the means of
persuasion available to those who wish to influence others. Such a revelation will serve
us well in daily life because it will help us to understand the ways in which people
attempt to persuade others, whether they choose to argue, by giving reasons, or persuade
in other, sometimes less open ways. It should also enable us to become more discriminating
consumers of arguments designed to influence us as well as more careful employers of
arguments we might use to influence others.
The course will be divided between understanding argument through analysis and
practicing argument through composition. Diverse media will be examined, including written
and oral discourse, film, and a variety of sources available on the internet. The dual
emphasis throughout will be on the function of argument as a form of persuasion, by which
communicators attempt to convince others, and as a form of inquiry, through which
communicators assess the strength of their own convictions.
Course Materials. In addition to handouts that will be
distributed in class, we will use the two required books below. You can
purchase them through the SMC bookstore. I may place others on Saint Mary's
library reserve depending on interest.
S.
Morris Engel, With Good Reason: An Introduction to Informal Fallacies,
Sixth Edition, Bedford/St. Martins, 2000
Barry Eckhouse, Competitive
Communication: A Rhetoric for Modern Business, Oxford University Press,
1999
Assignments. Each class meeting indicates not only topics for discussion but also
readings or other preparation that must be done for the next meeting. Although the
materials listed are the primary materials to be covered, they are not the only materials
that may be covered. Other materials, especially items of current interest, such as
editorials and other expressions of journalistic opinion, will be used to supplement
readings in a number of our class meetings. This means that the schedule is a necessary
but not sufficient guide for your participation in this course. Consistent attendance is
still the best way to stay informed of stated as well as new developments.
Internet Use. You will notice that we will draw some of our materials from the
Internet and take advantage of texts that are available on line. Most of
these sources are linked directly to this syllabus. You will occasionally be
asked to download programs as well. For class communication, we will use a
listserver and an on-line discussion board. Instructions for using these will
be covered in class.
Tentative Schedule
PLEASE NOTE: I hope the schedule that follows
shows I have given considerable thought to this course; however, this
schedule is still tentative, and I want to feel free to make changes - both small
and large - at any time so that this course may serve your needs as well as
your abilities. I will not change your workload as it is stated below, though
I may change some of the dates work is due. Should I do that, I will let you
know at least a meeting in advance.
Week 1
September 5. Overview of the course. Introductions, photographs,
discussion of on-line survey. Read for next class: WGR, 1-5; Go to Brigham
Young’s Silva
Rhetoricae and read sections on persuasive appeals: ethos, pathos,
and logos. Go to Georgia Tech’s Rhetoric Resources and read the section on Aristotle,
including the links to discussions of ethos, pathos, and logos. Go to
bibliomania.com and read the letter to Piero
de’ Medici, which precedes Machiavelli’s The Prince. Complete
this evening: course on-line survey.
September
7. The
uses of argument: results of the on-line survey. Rhetoric and the classical
modes of persuasion: ethos, logos, pathos. Analysis of cover letter to The
Prince. Read
next class: With Good Reason, pp. 5-55. Go to The
Power of Logic Web Tutor and take the following two on-line quizzes: 1.1
Validity and Deductive Soundness: A. Recognizing Statements and 3.1
Arguments and Nonarguments.
Week 2
September
12.
Argument and non-argument. Logos. Components of logic: premises
& claims. For next class, go to
Georgia Tech's Tech’s Rhetoric Resources and read the section on enthymemes
and syllogisms.
Week 3
September
19.
Non-logical appeals – Ethos. Some related figures of rhetoric. For
next class, go to Silva Rhetoricae and review the following: adynaton,
pathopoeia aposiopesis:
For the next class meeting, go to the Author's
Library and read Johnathan Swift's, A
Modest Proposal. Please number the paragraphs. Don't worry about the
hypertext. For the next class meeting, read Peter Singer, "Animal
Liberation."
September
21.
Non-logical appeals Pathos. Some related figures of rhetoric.
Multipurpose rhetorical figures. Prepare
for the next class meeting: a rhetorical analysis, following directions
provided in class. Read for the next class: With Good Reason, pp. 143-210
Week 4
September
26.
Fallacies of reasoning. Relationships between fallacies and modes of
proof (ethos, logos, pathos). Informal fallacies. Fallacies of
Presumption: sweeping and hasty generalization, bifurcation,
begging the question, complex question, special pleading, false analogy,
slippery slope.
September 28.
Informal Fallacies – Fallacies of Presumption. For the next class
meeting, bring in an example of any of the following fallacies: slippery
slope, hasty generalization, bifurcation, or false analogy. Use the handout in class as a guide.
For the next meeting, download from Macinmind the Fallacy
Tutor, which is available for either PC or Mac. Install the program and
begin the three quizzes. Please note that some of the names of the fallacies
will be different from those discussed in class; however, in principle, they
should be the same. Read for the next class: With Good Reason, pp.
99-125 and 213-248.
Week 5
October 3.
Informal fallacies. Some fallacies of ambiguity and relevance:
equivocation, personal attack, ad hominem (circumstantial and abusive), tu
quoque, appeal to pity, appeal to authority, appeal to ignorance, appeal to
fear. Continue with three quizzes from the Fallacy Tutor.
October 5. Informal Fallacies.
Fallacies of ambiguity and relevance, continued.
Week 6
October
10.
Midterm on material to date with emphasis on syllogisms, enthymemes,
figures of rhetoric, and fallacies of
reasoning. For the next class meeting, go to How
to Lie with Statistics, and click through Darrell Huff's on-line
PowerPoint presentation.
October
12.
Argument and quantitative reasoning: How to lie with statistics. Guest
speaker: Ted Tsukahara. Read for the next class, Competitive
Communication, Preface, Introduction, and pp. 41-59.
Week 7
October
17. Argument and invention. Argumentative
composition. Rhetoric and invention. The use of syllogisms and enthymemes in identifying
controversy and planning ideas. Criteria for developing a workable enthymeme.
October 19. Constructing
Arguments. Criteria for evaluation. For the next class meeting:
half the class will be asked to post their enthymemes to the on-line discussion
board
; the other half will be asked to comment on
each of the plans that have been posted..
Week 8
October 24. Review and critique of enthymemes in class. Please
revise your plans for the next class meeting. For the next class meeting, go to the Tech Classics Archive, to the electronic text of
Plato's
Phaedrus and enter into your browser's "find" feature the following search
string: rhetoric the greater. Read the exchange about how a composition might be
ordered. Also, go to go to Rhetoric Resources
at Georgia Tech. read the short
article on "Arrangement."
October 26. Presentation of the plan. Read for the next class, Competitive
Communication, pp. 61-91. For the next class, go to the Introduction
to Toulmin web page and read it.
Week 9
October 31. Introduction to prooflines. From enthymeme to proofline: introduction to Stephen
Toulmin's model of practical reasoning. The pattern of construction: Claims, data,
warrants, rebuttals, and qualifiers.
November 2. Prooflines, continued. Review of prooflines constructed
in the professions. Rhetorical options for presenting the proofline. Begin
writing your proofline for an argumentative composition (due November 14).
Bring it and your plan for presentation to office hours next week.
Week 10
November 7. Office hours. Individual consultations on arguments in
progress.
November 9. Office hours. Individual consultations on arguments in
progress. Hand your arguments in next class, November 14. Read for the next class, handout: "Nonnarrative Formal Systems," Chapter 4
from
Film Art: An Introduction, ed. Davis Bordwell. Please give special attention to pages
113-119, on "Principles of Rhetorical Form."
Week 11
November 14. Special Topics by Medium: Argument & Film.
Distinguishing internal from external arguments. Viewing and discussion of
first third of Twelve Angry Men (1957)
November 16. Special Topics: Argument & Film. Viewing and
discussion of second third of Twelve Angry Men
Week 12
November 21. Special Topics: Argument & Film. Viewing and
discussion of final third of Twelve Angry Men. Please read for next class background materials for Michael Moore's
Roger and Me.
November 23. Holiday - Thanksgiving.
Week 13
November 28. Special Topics: Argument & Film. External argument:
arguing with the viewer.
November 30. Special Topics: Argument & Film. For next
class, read handouts on advertising.
May 14
December 5. Special Topics by Genre: Argument & Advertising. In-class viewing of Smithsonian, “Selling the Dream.”
December 7. Special Topics: Argument & Advertising.
Course Requirements & Grading
Assignments. Assignments
are due at the beginning of class on the day for which they are assigned. Late
assignments will lose one-third of a grade for every calendar day they are
late. Because anyone can be the victim of extenuating circumstances, you may
request a moderate extension prior to the date the assignment is due. No adjustments can be made
to in-class exercises; they must be done in class, as scheduled.
Writing assignments should be word processed, preferably laser printed. If
you have not yet learned a word processing program, do so now; it will be
critical in your career. Single space your work unless I suggest otherwise.
Office hours. Please
use my office hours. Are you having difficulty in a particular part of the
course? in developing your ideas? in organizing your ideas? in analyzing your
audience? in raising your opposition? Do you have suggestions for improving
the course? Whatever might be important to you about this course is certainly
important to me. However, be aware that I will not simply edit your paper for
you and that discussing an assignment with me does not guarantee an A grade.
Attendance. Your
attendance and participation are valuable parts of this course. Please come to
class on time and prepared. The attendance policy on page seventeen of the Guide
to the Communication Major will be enforced in this class.
Courtesies.
I don't know what else to call these, but please arrive on time, do not
eat while in class, and treat your classmates (and me) with respect.
Please note. If you have a disability that interferes with your
performance in this class, please discuss it with me, if you want to, but up
front so that we can arrange for your full participation in the course.
Grading
Exercises
(4)*
100 pts.
Rhetorical
Analysis 100
pts.
Midterm
Examination
150 pts.
Argumentative
Composition
100 pts.
Participation
50 pts.
Final
Exam
200 pts.
Total
700 pts.
*Each worth 25 points, but you will need to do all of them to get any
points at all.
Letter grades will be determined according to the total number of points
you earn during the semester, according to the following scale.
A =
90 - 100%
=
630 - 700 pts.
B =
80 - 89%
=
560 - 629 pts.
C =
70 - 79%
=
490 - 559 pts.
D =
60 - 69%
=
420 - 489 pts.
E = 0
- 59%
=
0 - 419 pts.
Notes:
something on participation, build in readings, represent exercises (bring
ins) in requirements, Singer, Animal Lib? No eat food.