Re-reading the first chapter of the book through the lens of having read further than the first chapter is interesting. Chapter one is a sort of day-in-the-life of a rhetorician where he tries to go a day without arguing or persuading and fails to do so.
This mechanism seems to be a device to show that rhetoric and argument is prolific and permeates everyday life and every interaction. Not just humans, but animals in nature, too. Then it demonstrates how much smoother arguments go and how mutually beneficial it is and therefore in the best interest of all parties to manipulate for the best outcome. And finally it tries to demonstrate consent on the part of all parties involved as having been passively granted, even so far as to illustrate with past examples where the author was seduced by a used car salesman and enjoyed it. For that last one I can’t decide if it’s some weird subversion of the inductive fallacy or just a straw man.
Perhaps another objective was to persuade a potential customer to purchase it. It has wide appeal: demonstrates logos (aside from the fallacies), appeals in multiple ways for pathos by hitting some different emotions, and even weasels its way into some ethos through interactions with different family members. It doesn’t touch on the choice or desired outcome, but as it later discusses, the most effective persuasion lets the audience make the final connection.
2023-01-14 - exploring expectations
updated: 2022-12-21 08:10:33
generated: 2024-05-03