Assignment #8 -- wisdom

In this “lecture” I want to review where we’ve been in the process of constructing a persuasive argument and I want to add an additional essential for the building process. 

As you recall, I suggested that constructing a persuasive argument is a lot like constructing a building out of concrete blocks. You want to build using quality blocks — blocks without chips or defects. This is true if you’re preparing a paper for your Literature class, a speech you’re giving to the local school board, or a post you’re writing for social media. It’s all the same critical thinking process. And you want to start with high-quality building materials.

You don’t want to use blocks flawed by logical fallacies such as ad hominem statements, straw men, circular reasoning, hasty generalizations, or red herrings. As you have already seen there are a lot more fallacies. We must become experts in spotting these fallacies not just because they are blemishes in the blocks we might be using to build an argument but because they might potentially persuade us in a false direction. Spotting fallacies is an important life skill.

Once we understand how to choose solid blocks we can start to work on arranging them into a persuasive argument. As we begin to consider the best way to make the argument we are stepping into the realm of rhetoric — communicating to persuade.

The most influential philosopher in the field of rhetoric was Aristotle. He said that there are three essential elements to a persuasive argument:

1. Ethos — that the presenter and those referenced as experts must be of a high character and trustworthy.

2. Pathos — that the argument should be made in a way that engages the emotions as well as the logical portion of the mind.

3. Logos — that the argument must be well-reasoned and without fallacies.

So, for example, if you’re delivering a speech to persuade people that key lime pie is the best dessert ever you’ll want to reference some recognized experts who are qualified in both dietary and culinary skills. You might also want to quote a pie historian with experience in all the pies ever made. This would be the ethos portion of the argument.

The pathos portion of the argument would be the most fun. As you stand in front of the audience taking a bite of key lime pie, the expression of total delight on your face will have everyone drooling. They’ll be thinking of how they might stop to pick up a key lime pie on their way home.

Then you’ll need to add the logos portion of the argument. This is where you mention the university study in which 9 out of 10 respondents to a survey identified key lime pie as their first choice — even over apple pie. 

Your speech contains elements of ethos, pathos, and logos.

There is, however, a fourth element to building your argument that I would suggest is just as vital. That is wisdom. There is a quote that has made the circuit and explains it all. “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. (Which is botanically accurate.) Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.”  

Wisdom is understanding whether to emphasize ethos, pathos, or logos as you build your argument. Wisdom understands how to combine the Aristotelian three. Wisdom involves understanding your audience and an awareness of what exactly it is that you want them to do.

So, for example, if you’re making a presentation on the perils of abortion or prohibiting abortion and you’re trying to persuade an audience toward your position through a speech, you might want to go heavy on pathos and light on logos. Tell a story of someone who has suffered because of their situation. You do this because you know that too many facts and statistics will cause your audience to glaze over and slip into la-la land. It might be helpful to add one or two powerful facts but you’ll want to focus on the emotional appeal — the pathos.

However, if you are writing a paper for a professor on the perils of abortion or prohibiting it, you will focus more on the logos aspects of the argument because you know that she wants to see that you understand the facts, how they all fit together, and what they mean. She would see too many stories as distracting.

In the speech, you are trying to move the audience to act in a way that is consistent with your position but in the school essay, you are trying to persuade the professor that you know what you’re talking about. You’re not really trying to get her to vote in a certain way or to go to a rally. You are trying to persuade her that she should give you an A for the paper.

Of course, not all speeches are the same and not all academic papers have the same goal either. For example, if you are writing up scientific research for a journal, you are presenting original information and are trying to persuade your peers not only that you followed a sound scientific process, but that the information is significant. 

Wisdom is a matter of understanding your purpose and your audience. 

Well, where does wisdom come from? I want to highlight three sources. They are all related but it is helpful to differentiate for explanation purposes. 

The first source is EXPERIENCE. After writing dozens of school papers where your primary approach has been to present a set number of words with a bunch of random information only somewhat related to the topic of the assignment, you eventually realize that you are not very focused and that you are not persuading the professor that you should get a good grade. So you try a different approach or two or three — until through experience you hopefully stumble upon the right outcome.

The second source of wisdom is OBSERVATION. This was the fuel that drove Aristotle’s engine. If you tune into the situation you don’t have to make the mistakes everyone else makes because you’ve noticed what they’re doing and the outcomes they are achieving. You notice that all the students achieving high grades on their essays use a particular form of outlining before they start to write. So you mimic them.

The third source of wisdom is REVELATION. James 1:5 in the New Testament says, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” (NLT) 

Ask God to make you wise and then don’t ignore the wisdom already revealed in scripture. We could spend a semester or two doing an overview of how wisdom works in the Bible and life. But a good starting place is to immerse yourself in the Old Testament book of Proverbs. It’s a training manual to help fine-tune our minds so that we’re paying attention to the wisdom aspects of life. And it’s a gift from God.

So, in addition to ethos, pathos, and logos, we need to pay attention to sophia (the Greek word for wisdom).

Your assignment is to send me an email at bboydston@piu.edu persuading me that you have read and understood my written lecture. It is worth up to 70 points (however, I’ll dish out some bonus points if you are exceptionally creative and/or process this information at a deep level.)

If you are eager to move along faster with the assignments, I would advise you to get started on your first reading of the textbook, They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. That’s where we’re headed.