Rhetorical And Rhetorical Analysis Of O Keefe's Argument

Improved Essays
Wayne Brockriede takes a rhetorical and humanistic approach to argument. He believes argument is a process where by people reason from one set of problematic ideas to another. His definition, in my opinion, is somewhat obvious but nonetheless does an adequate job of defining argument. First, he believes arguments are not statements but in people meaning people find arguments in the vicinity of people. Second, he believes argument is not a thing to be looked at but a concept people use, and a perspective they take. The idea of argument is an open concept, a human process, and a way of seeing, that is potentially everywhere. Although argument is everywhere, Brockriede argues that not all arguments are useful and are only useful by his six characteristics. …show more content…
O’Keefe looks at argument as two things and very literally while Brockriede’s is more conceptual. O’Keefe’s second characteristic argument takes the word “entertained” too literally. Brockriede’s explanation for characteristic two is “If a rationale is too slender to justify a leap, then the argument is result is just a quibble.” An example of this could be when you’re arguing with someone and their justification is “it just is,” which doesn’t entertain an argument and results in just a quibble. Brockriede acknowledges O’Keefe’s argument for characteristic three saying that “if they have too little choice they need not argue, and if they have too little choice they have choice overload.” This does not exclude analytic arguments because if there is something to be argued it can be explained explicitly into choices. In O’Keefe’s argument against the fourth characteristic he uses an example of a court room where the lawyers and judges might not have uncertainty but explain something for a jury or third party. However, there is uncertainty here in the third party meaning that there is still reason to regulate uncertainty to establish the argument. O’Keefe argues that willingness to risk confrontation doesn’t apply to some arguments1. However, with no one to argue against your point against (like in a journal entry) are you really making an argument? Because he defines it as, “a process where by people reason from one set of problematic ideas to another.” Also, people do need to share a frame of reference to understand ideas. In Plato’s cave analogy, the argument was too profound for the people living in the cave to understand because their frame of reference was so limited. Finally, Brockriede does acknowledge the two forms of argument when he defines argument, “The idea of argument is an open concept, a human process, and a way of seeing,” which can be argument1 or argument2

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    In an excerpt from his book, Denison, Iowa: Searching for the Soul of America Through the Secrets of a Midwest Town (2005), Dale Maharidge utilizes numerous rhetorical appeals including ethos, pathos, mythos, and kairos to persuade the reader that the survival of small towns in Iowa depend on their capacity to accept immigrants. This book covers the history of a small town in western Iowa, Denison, and its unflattering historic past of hostility towards immigrants. He begins the book by…

    • 80 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    At this point you’re feeling pretty desperate right? Well you should be since we have your beloved son. The man we have in our possession is just a pesky nuisance and we wouldn’t bat an eye if something terrible were to happen to him. However, seeing as he is a son and the father of two boys that’s not something you would like. Just imagine how sad and comfortless the children’s youth would be without a father figure, tragic isn’t it?…

    • 229 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In 1775, American Colonists and Bristian were divided. Many people thought the only way to break things up and agree on things was to go to war, Patrick Henery being one of them. Patrick Henery made a speech at the Virginia Convention discussing the many reasons why American Colonists should go to war with Bristian. In the speech Patrick uses many rhetorical devices such as pathos, logos, and ethos to get his point across to go to war with Britian. Pathos being ther most common appeal used in the speech, to me that is.…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Have you ever fallen for strategies to a producer that is trying to make you buy his product? Usually, consumers are obvious to the strategies that are used to persuade them into products. In this article, the author of The Onion mocks rhetorical strategies that consumer’s often fall for when buying an item. By using different strategies to the audience, the author hopes to expand consumer’s knowledge so they won't be fooled. Using these strategies help marketers to sell their product easier without questions.…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis: Exploring Devices that Forge Connections between Unity and Cultures Published in 1996, James McBride reflects back on the lives of himself and his mother growing up in the Bronx, and the vast number of experiences that shaped both their lives. McBride poignantly reflects on the differences that unified his family, allowing McBride to successfully intertwine the two cultures as one by highlighting the differences between the two, and bringing the two together to convey that the two cultures are truly one, in the way his mother did for him. In order to promote the central theme of unity through faith in the color of water, author James McBride utilizes symbolism and juxtaposition to show the striking similarities between the cultures, despite the perceived stigmas that marred James and his mother’s childhood.…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Pt1420 Unit 6 Argument

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages

    After recording my arguments for two days, I found that the purpose of most of my arguments was to try and convince the other person that my ideas were right and the best choice. In total I made six arguments where my purpose was to convince the other party. The six arguments I made are as follows; The best pokemon go team is Mystic and not Valor or Instinct, that 9/11 was not an inside job nor was it done by president Bush, that we need stricter gun control laws, that Trump should not be president, and that the education system for grades 12 and lower should be changed and made to be more practical for life.…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The strength of the argument is in understanding the…

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Stuart Greene’s article Argument as Conversation was an insight on how arguments go hand in hand with most conversations whether to inform or to prove a point. He starts by inferring that arguments don’t have a time line but are continuous. We use past, present, and future information to reinforce our side of the argument. Greene quotes Kenneth Burke’s example of an argument which states, if you walked up to people arguing, the topic of that conversation has been going on long before you got there and will continue even after you leave. Greene also explains if you want to jump into that argument you should identify the situation and not just be able to frame your points of your argument, but have good counter questions which makes your argument…

    • 194 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Case For Rhetoric Debate and argument are a pinnacle foundation of speech in the world. Jay Heinrichs Thank You For Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion, is like the bible of rhetoric and argument. Heinrichs is a former editor of many different publishers including: Rodale Inc., and Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. His book, is the leading book in the introduction to rhetoric, and is used in thousands of classrooms every year.…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the year 2013, Kelly McGonigal, a Stanford health psychologist and a bestselling author, gave a speech on stress in Edinburgh, Scotland. The audience spans from teens in the early years of high school to middle aged adults living a simple life to grandparents having health problems. McGonigal’s goal in her presentation is to persuade the audience. She wants the audience to think of stress as your friend instead of your enemy. She wants to convince them that stress is only harmful if they think it’s harmful.…

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Nancy Wood’s published her book, Perspective on Argument, in 1995. Throughout the text, Wood refers to a variety of books that help further the reader’s understanding. She cites these sources with footnotes, as they are located at the bottom of each page. She uses small sections of a variety of sources. Also, Wood uses sources published in the 1990’s.…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What is an argument? Fineman describes it as a clash between at least two people or parties over facts and ideas and in the search of answers. I think what makes Howard Fineman, in particular, required to make these arguments is the fact that he has reported on every presidential campaign and major candidate since 1983; as well as traveling in and writing about over 40 country and every state in the U.S. except North Dakota. Throughout all of his travels and all of his reports about politics here in the states Fineman has learned so much about the ins and the outs of how our country operates. I would imagine one would challenge his qualifications by stating that he never actually held any political offices so he would not know “everything”.…

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the House of the Lord, a man appears to be walking down the aisle to arrive at the pulpit to serve as the connoisseur of the Bible. He wears a long black trench coat and sets down his notes on the podium. He stares out onto his followers and beings reading in a monotone voice. Although people should be uninterested in this man, he captures their attention. He entrances his audience.…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My Heroes: Challenging Gender Stereotypes For centuries our world has been plagued by “old fashioned” ideals. Individuals everywhere have been isolated and criticized just for being themselves. The Public Service Announcement (PSA), “My Heroes” shadows two content kids throughout their excursions on Halloween night, while simultaneously challenging gender stereotypes. This particular PSA allows the viewer to observe the children through the parents eyes.…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jerit discusses the use of rhetoric through a political lens based on the effectiveness of arguments. She constitutes effectiveness as the sustainability and repeatability of techniques used to deliver the points of the candidates. The reason for negative appeals is that, “candidates have strong incentives to evoke emotions such as anger, fear, and anxiety; thus, appeals that are high in emotional content will survive longer than other types of arguments” (564). When using emotional appeals, it is easier to deliver a simple and uniform message than to speak on specific issues. How persuasive a candidate is perceived as depends on their delivery techniques.…

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays