Week #2 Post #1

Coming into reading this book was very different for me. It's written in a style that I'm completely not used to, and I'm absolutely in love with the informality of it. I do believe, however, that the informality could very well be a cover of a much more complex and purposefully sequenced style of writing (he even goes as far as to point out when he gets seemingly off topic). Upon rereading and reflecting on some of the passages we've gone over this week, and even talking with my ever-curious mother about it, I've noticed several things. One big thing that I've noticed is that Jay Heinrichs is extremely smart and seems to have such a beautiful grasp on what he's talking about, and manages to assert his points and sub-points in the higher abstraction of it all. To clarify the previous statement; in a different plane of thinking, I believe that he uses the very rhetoric that he's preaching, in each example, in order to persuade us that each is true. I see it as a circular reasoning, and justified entirely due to our belief in reading it. He is extremely well versed in it all (obviously, being the author of a book on it (see the recurring ethos there?)) and shows it off in the best, underhanded ways.

Has anyone seen the movie Inception? Despite the joke and further reflection, I see it more closely comparable to professors teaching undergraduate students to be teachers.

To tie it all back to the actual reading, I'll refer to the initial toothpaste example. Heinrichs had 'convinced' his son to get him the toothpaste by conceding a point, and goes on to tell us why it is that whatever he did had 'worked' and why he had 'won'.
My mother is actually the one who raised the idea to me that his son could simply be mature enough on his own to be doing a decent thing for his father, and separate from the "I'm manipulating you" mindset-tone that had been projected right away. I had recounted the story to her verbally and out of context, and she immediately saw the hole in logic; whereas I don't recall anyone in class mentioning it. There are obviously several possibilities, such as my mom being a natural rebel, but I suggest that it's fun to think that Heinrichs simply knows the game (his game) even better than we were initially led to believe.

Dress for Success

When reading Thank You For Arguing, I found how you present yourself to be an interesting portion of rhetoric in which I have never really noticed. Truth be told, I never thought why presidents or people of power dressed up, other than they had to. Like a social norm that everyone lived by. Never before have I thought about the power your appearance has on your argument. Decorum accompanies the audience, either by blending in to the the audience that will listen to your argument, or dressing up to impress that audience is a power

 After reading the chapter on Decorum, I wanted to know why decorum is an important aspect of the argument. I thought about how often we judge people, and how by appearance, a lot of judging has been done. Like the first impression, when we look at someone and determine who they are and how they relate to us. So if we judge someone when we see them, and we determine they look agreeable, then in that case we're more open to listen to them. Why else do used car salesmen dress up? They want to make a good first impression, and that's where decorum states your argument before you even start talking. Because everyone judges on the first impression, decorum accounts for their early judgement, and talks for you before you need to speak.

Blog Post Week #1

Within this week, the reading from Thank you for Arguing told me the basic definition of argument and the application of rhetoric. For a same thing, arguments with different styles may create different consequences. A skillful argument can persuade audience to trust your opinion easily. And in the Chapter 2, the author clearly pointed out the difference between argument and fight and how to distinguish them. The destination of fight is just win. But argument can make the audience to follow what you think. And there is a very important skill of argument, seducement. In some degree, argument is that seduce the audience step by step until they are persuaded to achieve your goal. In a persuasion, the issue can be categorized to three kinds, blame, values and choice. Making sure the type of issue can help us to meet our goals. And the blame issue means past, the values issue means present and the choice issue means future. For a persuasion, there are three powerful tools, character, logic and emotion. Ethos, argument by character means using some trustworthy object, such as honor, prospect and benefit, to make the audience believe that you will be correct. Logo, argument by logic means using logic rules to seduce the audience. Pathos, argument by emotion, means guide the audience emotion to follow the goal.  

Blog Post Week #1

Thank You for Arguing gave me a new perspective on arguing in general, because it brought to my attention things about winning an argument that I had never thought about before. I didn’t think about the difference between a fight and an argument before, because in my mind they seemed very similar. But Heinrichs does a good job of explaining that a fight leads people nowhere, while an argument allows one party to usually get what they want. I also never realized the role that seduction played in arguing or persuasion, but now that I think about it, it makes sense because it is a way of convincing and manipulating people without them necessarily realizing what is happening. Heinrichs also shows that a large part of winning an argument is using Ethos, Pathos, and Logos as methods of getting people to do what you want them to do. In chapter 4, he describes in great detail how each method of arguing could be used. I always thought that Logos would be the most effective, because it is an argument based in facts, but ultimately it seems as though Pathos would be more effective, if it works, because Pathos plays to people’s emotions and that is always effective when trying to convince someone of something. Ethos should usually work because it shows there is credibility and people usually respect authority and people with merit when they are telling them a piece of information, and therefore will believe what the person is telling them. 

Blog Post Entry #1

Thank You For Arguing has greatly changed my perspective of arguing. Before reading this book, I never thought about using seduction in an argument, or even breaking down arguing into such great detail. Although I am just beginning the book, I have been using the tips that Heinrichs gives to change my argument style. I think that the most interesting thing that I have learned so far is when Heinrichs says to argue for what you want in the end. Even if you don’t seem to win the argument, but you get what you want in the end, then you do in fact win the argument. The best example of this was the first argument between Heinrichs and his son about the toothpaste. From personal experience, when an argument gets heated, I tend to forget what the point of arguing was. Now I realize that the best way to argue is to almost deceive the opponent into thinking he wins, so in the end I get what I want. I was very surprised to learn that arguing in a certain tense can completely change the outcome. A very important quote that comes from this lesson is when he says, “It matters because you will never meet your goals if you argue around the wrong core issue” (28).  It’s imperative that I order to win an argument; the proper tense must be used. Heinrichs continues to entertain me with his new tips on how to argue.

Blog Post Week #1

Going into Thank You For Arguing, I was expecting just another run of the mill textbook much like the one I used in my prior argumentation course that I took at St. Ambrose, however I've been pleasantly surprised to find that it is actually engaging and tries to be interesting. The content we've read about so far was stuff I had been introduced to before such as logos, pathos, and ethos, but it's being presented here in a much more interesting way than I ever had before. It kind of makes me want every text book to present itself in the same way. The examples given with the son really help give the definitions of these rhetorical terms some much needed context and relatability which goes a long way in helping get the author's point across and help make the content understandable and easy to digest. The book also earns brownie points with me for referencing The Simpsons, one of the greatest shows of all time. This book has made me categorize so many everyday things that have made me act a certain way such as things my mom has said or a teacher has told me to do and so on. I've been subconsciously relating all the terms we're reading about to real life scenarios.

Blog Entry #1

Rhetoric, or the art of persuasion, is a useful, everyday tool that is fairly simple to use and recognize once you know how to use it. I really liked the example with the cop and how to avoid getting a ticket. Pretty much anyone with a valid drivers license can relate to the dread of seeing red, white, and blue flashing behind you and the thoughts running through your head when the cop approaches your vehicle. Speaking from my own personal experience, my first inclination is to act annoyed or give the cop the cold shoulder because I mean there were plenty of other people speeding and yet here I am being pulled over. In, "Thank You For Arguing" the quote " To win a deliberative argument, don't try to outscore your opponent. Try instead to get your way" (Heinrichs 19) really got me thinking. In the future i've decided that instead of being defensive, i'd rather win the argument by allowing the person to get their shots in and feel as though they're ahead when in reality i'm achieving what I want in the end. 

I also really liked the part in the book covering Ethos, Pathos, and Logos by using the argument with his son as the example. I think that by using that example it made the concepts more easy to understand and relate to. I've also noticed that when watching TV and a commercial comes on I try to identify the appeals during and after the commercial. I'm definitely ready to learn more about how to use these tools in order to become a pro at persuading people.