COMM 245 Exam #4

Metaphor Pervasiveness

Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature.

Essence of Metaphor

understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.

Metaphors are systematic

partial structuring

Metaphors only provide a _____ _____ of an idea

highlight, hide

Metaphors _____ some aspects but _____ others.

Richard's Semantic Triangle

a model of how linguistic symbols relate to the objects they represent

Relationship between the symbol, the meaning, and the thing

What does the semantic triangle explain?

Symbol

word, icon, gesture, etc. we use that stands for something else

Referent

the actual object (in real life) we are referring to with the symbol

Reference

thoughts and experiences; where meaning is developed in the individual

signified

Reference is _____ by the symbol

stands

Symbol _____ for the referent

associated

Reference is _____ with the referent

Fresh and faded

Two types of metaphor

Tenor and vehicle

Two parts of metaphor

Tenor

the underlying idea or subject

Vehicle

the means of conveying the underlying idea

Linguistic Relativity

language’s structure influences the way people perceive the world

Public Vocabulary

The culturally established and sanctioned words that compose people’s taken-for-granted understanding of the world. A public vocabulary forms a society’s terministic screens.

Ideographs

abstract words that warrant the use of power

Characterization

how we label the acts, agencies, agents, scenes, and purposes; terministic screens for the elements of the pentad; build narratives

Narratives

The stories we use to understand the world we live in; we often appeal to stories in order to induce action

Discursive Forms

language; indirect experience
Meaning1 → Encode → Transmit → Decode → Meaning2

Presentational Forms

music, art, movement; direct experience
Feeling/Experience1 → Encode → Virtual Reality → Feeling/Experience2

Ultimate terms

God terms, devil terms, charismatic terms

God Terms

greatest good, demands sacrifice

Devil Terms

greatest evil, must be defeated

Charismatic Terms

power comes from ambiguity

Resignification

redefine the current vocabulary

Truncated Passive

sentences that use a passive verb in order to delete the agent of action

Foucault's rules that govern discourse

- Covering objects
- Ritual with its surrounding circumstances
- The privileged or exclusive right to speak of a particular subject

Semiotics

the relationship among signs, meanings, and referents

Denotation

the literal, common sense meaning of a sign, ostensibly value-free and objective

Connotation

the emotional or cultural meaning attached to a sign, it is what is signified

Terministic Screen

a screen composed of terms through which humans perceive the world, and that directs attention away from some interpretations and towards others

reflection; selection; deflection

Even if any given terminology is a _____ of reality, by its very nature as a terminology it must be a _____ of reality; and to this extent it must function also as a _____ of reality

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which two dissimilar things are said to be similar, offering a new perspective on a known issue

Gestalt

a pattern or structure whose parts are so integrated that one cannot really describe the pattern simply by referring to the parts

Doublespeak

language used in the real world to confuse or deliberately distort its actual meaning rather than to achieve understanding

Euphemism

a word used to denote a thing in a way that avoids connotations of harshness or unpleasantness

Inflated Language

language designed to make the ordinary seem extraordinary; to make everyday things seem impressive; to give an air of importance to people, situations, or things that would not normally be considered important; to make the simple seem complex

Condensation Symbol

a name, word, phrase, or maxim which stirs vivid impressions involving the listener's most basic values and readies the listener for action

function; subset

Rhetoric is a _____ of language and a _____ of symbolic action

Burke's definition of rhetoric

the use of words by human agents to form attitudes or to induce actions in other human agents]

Dramatism

a method for understanding the motives of humans through the analysis of their symbols
- Not metaphorical
- Ontological position

Pentad

Act, Scene, Agent, Agency, Purpose

Act

what happened

Scene

where it happened

Agent

who did it

Agency

how they did it

Purpose

goal of the act

Ratios

allow the critic to examine the relationship between two pentadic elements

No

Can we avoid terministic screens?

No

Do terministic screens lead us into relativism

Correspondence Theory

A word is linked to something in an objective reality

Two key characteristics of an argument

1. Arguments are necessarily interactive
2. Arguments are contingent

Deductive Reasoning

“moves” from the general to the specific

Inductive Reasoning

“moves” from the specific to the general

Toulmin Model

An explanation of the relationship between the evidence and the conclusion

mathematics

Old Toulmin Model is based on _____

jurisprudence

New Toulmin Model is based on _____

Simple Model

claim, data, warrant

Complex Model

claim, data, warrant, rebuttal, qualifier, backing

Claim

a conclusion whose merits we are seeking to establish
a. What am I trying to prove?
b. "so"

Data

the facts we appeal to as a foundation for the claim
a. What do you have to go on?

Warrant

general, hypothetical statements, which authorize the step to which our argument commits us
a. How do you get from data to claim?
b. the bridge
c. "Since"

Rebuttal

the circumstances in which the warrant would have to be set aside
a context in which the argument wouldn’t work
the unless
a. also hypothetical
b. the argument is not absolute
c. What are the exceptions?

Qualifier

a. an explicit reference to the degree of force which our data confer upon our claim in virtue of our warrant
b. the degree of certainty we have on the claim
c. How probable is the claim?

Backing

a. other assurances, without which the warrants themselves would possess neither authority nor currency
b. using different data to back up your warrant

Demonstrative Argument

an argument that attempts to prove that something is or is not, to establish it as true or false

Refutative Argument

seeks to discredit or disprove a claim that has already been stated

Spheres of Argument

branches of activity–the grounds upon which arguments are built and the authorities to which arguers appeal

Three types of spheres

personal, technical, and public

Personal Sphere Argument

informal argument among a small number of people, involving limited demands for proof, and often about topics that matter only to those involved in the conversation

Technical Sphere Argument

argument that has explicit rules and is judged by those with specific expertise in the subject

Public Sphere Argument

argument that exists to “handle disagreements transcending personal and technical disputes”

Fallacies

an argument in which the reasons advanced for a claim fail to warrant the acceptance of that claim

argumentum ad baculum – the fallacy of the big stick

the argument is made with a threat of some sort

argumentum ad hominem - attack against the man

attacking the speaker rather than the claim

argumentum ad populum – the bandwagon fallacy

something is good because it is popular

argumentum ad traditio – the fallacy of tradition

we’ve always done it this way

argumentum ad verecundiam – the appeal to improper authority

someone (who doesn’t know what they’re talking about) said this, so we should do this

argumentum ad misericordiam – appeal to pity

appeals to a sense of pity

begging the question – circular reasoning

the truth of the conclusion is assumed by the premises

hasty generalization – too quick to an inductive conclusion

don’t have a sufficient number of examples

red herring – the fallacy of irrelevance

introducing an irrelevant element into the issue to distract

straw person argument – simplify and refute

simplify your argument to make it easier to knock it down

non-sequitur

the conclusion doesn’t follow from the premises

slippery slope

conclusions get progressively worse

false dilemma

you have to choose between a and b, but there are many more options

false analogy

things being compared are dissimilar

post hoc, ergo propter hoc

after the fact, therefore because of the fact

stacking the deck

only using examples that favor your side

argumentum ad ignorantiam – argument from ignorance

since the opposition cannot disprove the claim, the opposition must be true

complex question

questioning in a way to imply the unproven

equivocation

using a word differently in different premises

amphiboly

ambiguity from grammatical construction

composition

bad reasoning from the part to the whole (inductive)

division

bad reasoning from the whole to the part (deductive)

Argument

a rhetorical form that provides data for a claim