Composition Rhetoric by Stratton D. Brooks

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1. The government should establish a parcels post.

2. The laws of mind determine the forms of composition.

3. Training for citizenship should be given greater attention in the
public schools.

4. The members of the school board should be appointed by the mayor of the
city.

5. In the estimation of future ages ---- will be considered the greatest
President since Lincoln.

(State your premises. Have you shown that they are true?)

+181. Evidence.+--We may reach belief in the truth of a specific statement
by means of deductive reasoning. Commonly, however, when dealing with an
actual state or occurrence, we present other facts or circumstances that
show its existence. The facts presented may be those of experience, the
testimony of witnesses, the opinion of those considered as experts in the
subject, or a combination of circumstances known to have existed. To be of
any value as arguments, they must be true, and they must be related to the
fact that we are trying to prove. These true and pertinent facts we term
_evidence_.

Evidence may be direct or indirect. If a man sees a boy steal a bag of
apples from the orchard across the way, his evidence is direct. If
instead, he only sees him with an empty bag and later with a full one, the
evidence will be indirect. If you testify that early in the evening you
saw a tramp enter a barn which later in the evening caught fire, your
testimony as regards the cause of the fire would be indirect evidence
against the tramp. If you can testify that you saw sparks fall from his
lighted pipe and ignite a pile of hay in the barn, the evidence which you
give will be direct.

Direct evidence has more weight than indirect, but often the latter is
nearly equal to the former and is sufficient to convince us. Even the
direct testimony of eye-witnesses must be carefully considered. Several
persons may see the same thing and yet make very different reports, even
though they may all desire to tell the truth. The weight that we shall
give to a person's testimony will depend upon his ability to observe and
to report accurately what he has experienced, and upon his desire to tell
the truth.

Notice in the following selection what facts, specific instances, and
circumstances are advanced in support of the proposition. Assuming that
they are true, are they pertinent to the proposition?

Certain species of these army ants which inhabit tropical America, Mr.
Belt considered to be the most intelligent of all the insects of that part
of the world. On one occasion he noticed a wide column of them trying to
pass along a nearly perpendicular slope of crumbling earth, on which they
found great difficulty in obtaining a foothold. A number succeeded in
retaining their positions, and further strengthened them by laying hold of
their neighbors. They then remained in this position, and allowed the
column to march securely and easily over their bodies. On another occasion
a column was crossing a stream of water by a very narrow branch of a tree,
which only permitted them to go in single file. The ants widened the
bridge by a number clinging to the sides and to each other, and this
allowed the column to pass over three or four deep. These ants, having no
permanent nests, carry their larvae and pupae with them when marching. The
prey they capture is cut up and carried to the rear of the army to be
distributed as food.

--Robert Brown: _Science for All_.

+Theme C.+--_Present all the evidence you can either to prove or disprove
one of the following propositions:_--

Select some question of local interest as:--
1. The last fire in our town was of incendiary origin.
2. The football team from ---- indulged in "slugging" at the last game.
3. Our heating system is inadequate.
4. It rained last night.

If you prefer, choose one of the following subjects:--
1. The Stuart kings were arbitrary rulers.
2. The climate of our country is changing.
3. Gutenberg did not invent the printing press.
4. The American Indians have been unjustly treated by the whites.
5. Nations have their periods of rise and decay.

(Are the facts you use true? Are they pertinent? Do you know of facts
that would tend to show that your proposition is not true?)

+182. Number and Value of Reasons.+--Although a statement may be true and
pertinent it is seldom sufficient for proof. We need, as a rule, several
such statements. If you are trying to convince a friend that one kind of
automobile is superior to another, and can give only one reason for its
superiority, you no doubt will fail in your attempt. If, however, you can
give several reasons, you may succeed in convincing him. Suppose you go to
your principal and ask permission to take an extra study. You may give as
a reason the fact that your parents wish you to take it. He may not think
that is a sufficient reason for your doing so, but when he finds that with
your present studies you do not need to study evenings, that one of them
is a review, and that you have been standing well in all your studies, he
may be led to think that it will be wise for you to take the desired extra
study.

While we must guard against insufficiency of reasons, we must not forget
that numbers alone do not convince. One good reason is more convincing
than several weak ones. Two or three good reasons, clearly and definitely
stated, will have much more weight than a large number of less important
ones.

EXERCISES

_A._ Give a reason or two in addition to the reasons already given in each
of the following:--

1. It is better to attend a large college than a small one, because the
teachers are as a rule greater experts in their lines of work.

2. The school board ought to give us a field for athletics as the school
ground is not large enough for practice.

3. Gymnasium work ought to be made compulsory. Otherwise many who need
physical training will neglect it.

4. The game of basket ball is an injury to a school, since it detracts
from interest in studies.

5. Rudolph Horton will make a good class president because he has had
experience.

_B._ Be able to answer orally any two of the following:

1. Prove to a timid person that there is no more danger in riding in an
automobile than there is in riding in a carriage drawn by horses. Use but
one argument, but make it as strong as possible.

2. Give two good reasons why the superstition concerning Friday is absurd.

3. What, in your mind, is the strongest reason why you wish to graduate
from a high school? For your wishing to go into business after leaving the
high school? For your wishing to attend college?

4. What are two or three of the strong arguments in favor of woman
suffrage? Name two or three arguments in opposition to woman suffrage.

_C._ Name all the points that you can in favor of the following. Select
the one that you consider the most important.

1. Try to convince a friend that he ought to give up the practice of
cigarette smoking.

2. Show that athletics in a high school ought to be under the management
of the faculty.

3. Show that athletics should be under the management of the pupils
themselves.

4. Macbeth's ambition and not his wife was the cause of his ruin.

5. Macbeth's wife was the cause of his ruin.

+Theme CI.+--_Select one of the subjects in the exercise above, and write
out two or three of the strongest arguments in its favor._

(Consider the premises, especially those which are not expressed. Is
your argument deductive or inductive?)

+183. The Basis of Belief.+--If you ask yourself, Why do I believe this?
the answer will in many cases show that your belief in the particular case
under consideration arises because you believe some general principle or
theory which applies to it.

One person may believe that political economy should be taught in high
schools because he believes that it is the function of the high school to
train its pupils for citizenship, and that the study of political economy
will furnish this training. Another person may oppose the teaching of
political economy because he believes that pupils of high school age are
not sufficiently mature in judgment to discuss intelligently the
principles of political economy, and that the study of these principles at
that age does not furnish desirable training for citizenship. It is
evident that an argument between these two concerning the teaching of
political economy in any particular school would consist in a discussion
of the conflicting general theories which each believed to be true.

We have shown in Section 179 that one high school principal might believe
that boys should be allowed to choose their own studies because he
believed that they would not generally select the easy ones; while another
principal would oppose free electives because he believes that boys would
choose the less difficult studies. The proposition that "The United States
should retain its hold on the Philippines" involves conflicting theories
of the function of this government. So it will be found with many of our
beliefs that either consciously or unconsciously they are based on general
theories. It is important in argument to know what these theories are, and
especially to consider what may be the general theories of those whom we
wish to convince.

+184. Appeals to General Theory, Authority, and Maxims.+--A successful
argument in deductive form must be based upon principles and theories that
the audience believes. A minister in preaching to the members of his
church may with success proceed by deductive methods, because the members
believe the general principles upon which he bases his arguments. But in
addressing a mixed audience, many of whom are not church members, such an
argument might not be convincing, because his hearers might deny the
validity of the premises from which his conclusions were drawn. In such a
case he must either keep to general theories which his auditors do
believe, or by inductive methods seek to prove the truth of the general
principles themselves.

If in support of our view we quote the opinion of some one whom we believe
competent to speak with weight and authority upon the question, we must
remember that it will have weight with our audience only if they too look
upon the person as an authority. It proves nothing to a body of teachers
to say that some educational expert believes as you do unless they have
confidence in him as a man of sound judgment. On the other hand, it may
count against a proposition to show that it has not been endorsed by any
one of importance or prominence.

In a similar way a maxim or proverb may be quoted in support of a
proposition. If a boy associates with bad company, we may offer the maxim,
"Birds of a feather flock together," in proof that he is probably bad too.
Such maxims or proverbs are brief statements of principles generally
believed, and the use of them in an argument is in effect the presentation
of a general theory in a form which appeals to the mind of the hearer and
causes him to believe our proposition.

+185. Argument by Inference.+--The statement of a fact may be introduced
into an argument, not because the fact itself applies directly to the
proposition we wish to prove, but because it by inference suggests a
general theory which does so apply. Though the reader may not be conscious
of it, the presence of this general theory may influence his decision even
more than the explicit statement of the general theory would.

An argument implies that there are two sides to a question. Which you
shall take depends on the way you look on it, that is, on what may be
called your mental point of view. Therefore any fact, allusion, maxim,
comparison, or other statement which may cause you to look at the question
in a different light or from a different point of view may be used as an
argument. In effect, it calls up a general theory whose presence affects
your decision. Notice how brief the argument is in the following selection
from Macaulay:--

Many politicians of our time are in the habit of laying it down as a
self-evident proposition, that no people ought to be free till they are
fit to use their freedom. The maxim is worthy of the fool in the old
story, who resolved not to go into the water till he had learned to swim.
If men are to wait for liberty till they become wise and good in slavery,
they may indeed wait forever.

--Macaulay: _Milton_.

+186. Summary.+--To summarize the preceding paragraphs, the authority we
quote, the maxims we state, the facts we adduce become valuable because
they appeal to general theories already believed by the reader. Success in
argument demands, therefore, that we consider carefully what theories may
probably be in the mind of our audience, and that we present our argument
in such a way as to appeal to those theories.

+Theme CII.+--_Write a short argument, using one of the following:_--

1. A young boy is urging his father to permit him to attend an
entertainment. Give his reasons as he would give them to his father.

2. Suppose the father refuses the request. Write out his reasons.

3. Try to convince a companion just entering high school to take the
college preparatory course instead of the commercial course.

(Are your reasons true and pertinent? To what general theories have you
appealed? Consider the coherence of each paragraph.)

+187. Arrangement of Arguments.+--We have learned that in arguing we need
to consider how those whom we address arrive at the belief they hold, and
that it will assist us to this knowledge of others if we consider our own
beliefs and the manner of their establishing. We must present our material
in the order that convinces. Each case may differ so from every other that
no general rule can be followed, but the consideration of some general
principles of arrangement will be of assistance. It is the purpose of the
following paragraphs to point out in so far as possible the most effective
order of arrangement.

+188. Possibility, Probability, and Actuality.+--It has been stated, in
Section 175, that reasoning leads to probable truth, and that this
probability may become so strong as to be accepted as certainty. In common
speech this difference is borne in mind, and we distinguish a fact or
event that is only possible from one that is probable; and likewise one
that is only probable from one in which the probability approaches so near
to certainty as to convince us that it actually did exist or occur. Our
arguments may therefore be directed to proving possibility, probability,
or actuality.

If we believe that an event actually occurred, the belief implies both
possibility and probability. Therefore, if we wish a person to believe in
the actual occurrence of an event, we must first be sure that he does not
question the possibility of its existence, and then we must show him that
it probably did take place. Only when we have shown that an event is
extremely probable have we the right to say that we have shown its actual
occurrence.

A mother finding some damage done to one of the pictures on the wall could
not justly accuse her young son unless by the presence of a chair or
stepladder it had been possible for him to reach the picture. This
possibility, reenforced by a knowledge of his tendency to mischief, and by
the fact that he was in the house at the time the damage was done, would
lead to the belief that he probably was guilty. Proof that he was actually
responsible for the damage would still be lacking, and it might later be
discovered that the injury had been done accidentally by one of the
servants.

Possibility, probability, and actuality merge into one another so
gradually that no sharply defined distinctions can be observed. It is
impossible to say that a certain argument establishes possibility, another
probability, and a third the actuality of an event. One statement may do
all three, but any proof of actuality must include arguments showing both
possibility and probability. A person accused of murder attempts to
demonstrate his innocence by proving an _alibi;_ that is, he attempts to
show that he was at some other place at the time the murder was committed
and so cannot possibly be guilty. Such an alibi, established by reliable
witnesses, is positive proof of innocence, no matter how strong the
evidence pointing to probable guilt may be.

+189. Argument from Cause.+--We have learned, in Section 49, that the
relation of cause and effect is one which is ingrained in our nature. We
accept a proposition as plausible if a cause which we consider adequate
has been assigned. Our belief in a proposition often depends upon our
belief in some other proposition which may be accepted as a cause.

Thus, in the following statements, the truth of one proposition leads to
the belief that the other is also true:--

_a._ Henry has studied hard this year; therefore he will pass his college
entrance examinations.

_b._ The man has severed an artery; therefore he will probably bleed to
death before the physician arrives.

_c._ It will soon grow warmer, because the sun has risen.

_An argument from cause_ may be of itself conclusive evidence of the fact.
But, for the most part, such arguments merely establish the possibility or
probability of the proposition and so render it ready for proof. In our
arrangement of material, we therefore place such arguments _first_.

+190. Argument from Sign.+--Cause and effect are so closely united that
when an effect is observed we assume that there has been a cause, and we
direct our argument to proving what it is. An effect is so associated with
its cause that the existence of an effect is a sign of the existence of a
cause, and such an argument is called an _argument from sign_. Reasoning
from sign is very common in our daily life. The wild geese flying south
indicate the approach of cold weather. The baby's toys show that the baby
has been in the room. A man's hat found beside a rifled safe will convict
the man of the crime. A dog's track in the garden is proof that a dog has
been there.

If the effect observed is always associated with the same cause, the
argument is conclusive. If I observe as an effect that the river has
frozen over during the night, I have no doubt that it has been caused by a
lowering of the temperature.

If two or three possible causes exist, our argument becomes conclusive
only by considering them all and by showing that all but one did not
produce the observed effect. If the principal of a school knows that one
of three boys broke a window light, he may be able to prove which one did
it by finding out the two who did not. If a man is found shot to death,
the coroner's jury may prove that he was murdered by showing that he did
not commit suicide. If there are many possible causes, the method of
elimination becomes too tedious and must be abandoned. If you find that
your horse is lame, it would be difficult to prove which of the many
possible causes actually operated to produce the lameness, though the
attendant circumstances might point to some one cause and so lead you to
assume that it was the one.

Under _arguments from sign_ should be included also those cases when we
pass directly from one effect to another that arises from the same cause;
as, "I hear the windmill turning, it will be a good day to sail;" or,
"These beans are thrifty, therefore if I plant potatoes here I shall get a
good crop." In these sentences the wind and the fertile soil are not
mentioned, but we pass directly from one effect to another.

As used by rhetoricians, arguments from sign include also arguments from
attendant circumstances. If we have observed that two events have happened
near together in time, we accept the occurrence of one as a sign that the
other will follow. When we hear the factory whistle blow, we conclude that
in a few minutes the workmen will pass our window on their way home. Such
a conclusion is based upon a belief established by an inductive process.
The degree of probability that it gives depends upon the number of times
that it has been observed to act without failure. If we have seen two boys
frequently together, the presence of one is a sign of the probable
presence of the other. A camp fire would point to the recent presence of
some one who kindled it.

In using an argument from sign care must be taken not to confuse the
relation of cause and effect with that of contiguity in time or place. Do
not allege that which happened at the same time or near the same place as
a cause. If you do use an attendant circumstance, be sure that it adds
something to the probability.

+191. Argument from Example.+--It has been pointed out in the study of
inductive reasoning (Section 176) that a single example may suffice to
establish a general notion of a class. In dealing with objects of the
physical world, if essential and invariable qualities of the object are
considered, they may be asserted to be qualities of each member of the
class, and such an argument from an individual to all the members of the
class is convincing. They thus rank with arguments from sign as effective
in proving the certainty of a proposition.

In dealing with human actions, on the other hand, examples are seldom
proofs of fact. We cannot say that all men will act in a certain way under
given circumstances because one man has so acted. Nevertheless, arguments
by examples are frequently used and are especially powerful when we wish
not only to convince a man, but also to persuade him to action. This
persuasion to action must be based on conviction, and in such a case the
argument from sign that convinces the man of the truth of a proposition
should precede the example that urges him to action. After convincing a
friend that there are advantages to be derived from joining a society, we
may persuade him to join by naming those who have joined.

+192. Argument from Analogy.+--Analogy is very much relied upon in
practical life. Reasoning from analogy depends upon the recognition of
similarity in regard to some particulars followed by the inference that
the similarity extends to other particulars. As soon as it was known that
the atmospheric conditions of the planet Mars are similar to those of the
earth, it was argued by analogy that Mars must also, be inhabited.

An analogy is seldom conclusive and, though it is often effective in
argument, it must not be taken as proof of fact. The mind very readily
observes likenesses, and when directed toward the establishing of a
proposition easily overlooks the differences. In order to determine the
strength of an argument from analogy, attention should be given to the
differences existing between the two propositions considered. False
analogies are very common. We must guard against using them, and
especially against allowing ourselves to be convinced by them. Even when
the resemblance is so slight as to render analogy impossible, it may serve
to produce a metaphor that often has the effect of argument.

It is much easier to captivate the fancy with a pretty or striking figure
than to move the judgment with sound reason.... His (the speaker's)
picture appeals to the mind's visible sense, hence his power over us,
though his analogies are more apt to be false than true....

The use of metaphor, comparison, analogy, is twofold--to enliven and to
convince; to illustrate and enforce an accepted truth, and to press home
and clinch one in dispute. An apt figure may put a new face upon an old
and much worn truism, and a vital analogy may reach and move the reason.
Thus when Renan, referring to the decay of the old religious beliefs, says
that the people are no poorer for being robbed of false bank notes and
bogus shares, his comparison has a logical validity....

The accidental analogies or likenesses are limitless, and are the great
stock in trade of most writers and speakers. An ingenious mind finds types
everywhere, but real analogies are not so common. The likeness of one
thing to another may be valid and real, but the likeness of a thought with
a thing is often merely fanciful....

I recently have met with the same fallacy in a leading article in one of
the magazines. "The fact revealed by the spectroscope," says the writer,
"that the physical elements of the earth exist also in the stars, supports
the faith that a moral nature like our own inhabits the universe." A
tremendous leap--a leap from the physical to the moral. We know that
these earth elements are found in the stars by actual observation and
experience; but a moral nature like our own--this is assumed, and is not
supported by the analogy.

John Burroughs: _Analogy, True and False_.

Notice the use of analogy in the argument below.

There is only one cure for the evils which newly acquired freedom
produces; and that cure is freedom. When a prisoner first leaves his cell
he cannot bear the light of day: he is unable to discriminate colors, or
recognize faces. But the remedy is, not to remand him into his dungeon,
but to accustom him to the rays of the sun. The blaze of truth and liberty
may at first dazzle and bewilder nations which have become blind in the
house of bondage. But, let them gaze on, and they will soon be able to
bear it. In a few years men learn to reason. The extreme violence of
opinions subsides. Hostile theories correct each other. The scattered
elements of truth cease to contend and begin to coalesce, and at length a
system of justice and order is educed out of the chaos.

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