their power to express and elicit images, feelings, and emotional associations
rhetoric
refers to the study of persuasive writing
rhetorical devices
slanters
rhetorical bells and whistles have names cuz they are so common and so well understood; primarily used to give statement a positive or negative slant regarding a subject
euphemism
a neutral or positive expression instead of one that carries negative associations
dysphemism
opposite of euphemism; used to produce a negative effect on a listener's or reader's attitude toward something or to tone down the positive associations it may have
weaselers
linguistic methods for hedging a bet; weakening a claim
downplayers
an attempt to make something or something look less important or less significant
stereotype
a generalization or an assumption about all the members of a group that is based on an image of those in the group
significant mention or paralipsis
innuendo
includes many ways of getting a point across without explicitly committing oneself to it
loaded question
rests on one or more unwarranted or unjustified assumptions
horse laugh
include ridicule and vicious humor of all kinds
hyperbole
extravagant overstatement
rhetorical definitions
use emotively charged language to express or elicit an attitude about something
rhetorical explanations
same kind of slanting device
rhetorical analogy
a comparison of two things or a likening of one thing to another in order to make one of them appear better or worse than it might be
proof surrogates
an expression used to suggest that there is evidence or authority for a claim without actually citing such evidence or authority
pseudoreasoning
the support they may appear to offer is only pretended support; pretend reasoning
argument from outrage
consists of inflammatory words (or thoughts) followed by a 'conclusion' of some sort; substitutes anger for reason and judgment in considering an issue
scapegoating
blaming a certain group of people, or even a single person for all of life's troubles
scare tactice
trying to scare people into doing something or accepting a position
argument by force
simpler method might be to threaten the person
argument from pity
when feeling sorry for someone drives us to a position on an unrelated matter
argument from envy
find fault with a person because of envy, guilty of this fallacy
apple polishing
means old fashion flattery
wishful thinking
when we accept or urge acceptance (or rejection) of a claim simply because it would be pleasant (or unpleasant) if it were true
guilt trip
eliciting feelings of guilt to get others to do or not to do something, or to accept the view that they should or should not do it
peer pressure "argument"
groupthink fallacy
substituting pride of membership in a group for reason and deliberation in arriving at a position on an issue
nationalism
a powerful and fierce emotion that can lead to blind endorsement of a country's policies and practices
red herring
bring a topic into a conversation that distracts from the original point
smoke screens
subtle
appeal to popularity
urge something to accept a claim simply on the grounds that all or most or some substantial number of people believe it
appeal to common practice
consists in trying to justify or defend an action or practice
appeal to tradition
a name that is self=explanatory; do thing cuz theres the way things have always been done
rationalizing
use a false pretest to satisfy our own desires or interests