[lit-ideas] Re: What Did You Do When America Was Attacked?

  • From: Omar Kusturica <omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 00:02:39 -0800 (PST)

--- Brian <cabrian@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> PS In the interest of full disclosure I support the
> military and  
> esteem those that serve, though I have not served. 
> From my great- 
> grandfather to my grandfather to my own father there
> was an unbroken  
> chain of service across several branches of the
> armed forces and they  
> served this country honorably.  Hewitt's position is
> no more negated  
> by his lack of service than those that said to
> abolitionists "don't  
> like slavery?  Don't own one."  Arguments don't have
> genders or  
> colors or records of service.

*I'd suggest that you read some Aristotle. The appeal
of rhetorical arguments is not purely logical (i.e.
made of logos only) but depends crucially on how the
moral personality of the one who is making the
argument is perceived (i.e. on ethos). This is of
special importance in ethical arguments where
reasonable people do not expect to accomplish a pure
logical demonstration, but hope instead to persuade
others to take a certain course of action. A person
who obviously does not practice what he preaches lacks
the ability to use ethical appeal and thus his
arguments might be at most of trivial interest.

O.K.

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