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TRICKS OF PERSUASION: MANIPULATION OF LANGUAGE
Subjectivity becomes a problem of knowledge, though, when we do not recognize the predispositions which affect what we perceive and how we communicate it. Our subjectivity has an impact on our pursuit of knowledge, and the way we act in the world. When subjectivity is a problem, we call it "bias." When accounts in language are deliberately biased in an attempt to persuade us, we have to be on guard against being deceived, or being sold anything from a car to a cult.
No description can be entirely objective or neutral: we cannot perceive every single thing, we cannot be neutral recording machines even of the things we do catch with our senses, and we cannot recount in language all the details about even one minute of one event. Although the inevitable selection is a problem of knowledge, our subjective screens do help us not be swamped by detail. If we were totally objective, we might have innumerable undifferentiated observations, but no sense of what was "relevant" or "important" or "interesting" -- all of which are value judgements. The purpose of communication or the intended audience, for instance, can affect the following features of our descriptions:
1. selection: Out of all observations made, which ones are chosen to be reported?
2. emphasis: Out of all observations chosen, which ones are emphasized (by degree of detail or by placement within the account)?
3. word choice: What are the connotations, the overtones, of the words? What is the colouring given by values or emotions? What interpretive language is used?
4. context: Is the account in language affected by where it is placed -- where it is printed, for example, or whether it is accompanied by images?
Statements which are solely observations (empirical statements) may be tested (correspondence test for truth: checking facts and evidence), but even testable statements are selected according to a purpose in communication. A body of true statements can add up to a biased account through the use of selection and emphasis. When value judgements, other beliefs, and emotions are added, the line between "true" and "false" becomes increasingly difficult to draw.
When an account is not a report but an attempt at persuasion, it can still be considered trustworthy if the argument is supported with good reasons and evidence. It is important, though, that we evaluate persuasive writing on the basis of its justifications rather than accepting its conclusions on the basis of emotional appeal.
Although it is difficult to evaluate the accuracy of an account when we do not have independent access to the facts, but it can certainly help to be aware of some of the tricks of persuasion.
1. EQUIVOCATION
Errors in thinking are often created by vague or shifting definitions which confuse what we are talking about. Equivocation uses double meanings of a word or an imprecision in its definition to blur or shift its meaning mid-sentence or mid-speech so that, having accepted the original meaning, an unwary listener may be led, through equivocation, to accept conclusions based on a rather different definition of the word.
e.g. "The fact that there are laws of nature shows that God exists. For the existence of a law implies the existence of a lawgiver, and God is the supreme law-giver in the universe."
The sense in which we call natural regularities "laws" is different from the sense in which laws depend on a law-giver. The term "laws" shift the meaning, and so the conclusion does not follow. (Hitchcock, Critical Thinking: A Guide to Evaluation. Methuen: Agincourt,1983. 177)
e.g. “He claims to be a conservative, yet he spends lavishly.”
Charged words such as “freedom” or “rights” or "democracy" often slyly shift their definitions in persuasive speeches,
2. JARGON
Jargon is the use of technical terms or in-group language in an inappropriate context to confuse the issue and possibly to dazzle or stun the audience into acceptance.
3. REPEATED AFFIRMATION
In this trick, an assertion is not supported by arguments or evidence, but simply repeated (frequently) in the same words or a paraphrase. Slogans of advertising and political campaigns, for example, use repetition to drum catchwords into the audience's minds in an effort to influence choices. In asserting a point of view, an advocate might simply ignore all his opponent's counter-arguments based on evidence and go back to repeating the same assertion, even if it has been refuted. The audience may not notice.
4. INNUENDO
Much can be implied through devices of innuendo. Since the writer makes no direct statement, he can smear his opponent but not risk being taken to court on charges of libel or defamation.
e.g. the question that implies an answer or interpretation which the writer does not or cannot prove:
"The Water Board has not replied to our demand for an investigation. What are they afraid of? What are they trying to hide?" (Fear may have nothing to do with not responding to a demand.)
"Is it possible that someone in his position could actually be a racist? I would be sorry to think so!" (The person is not directly accused of racism, but the suggestion has been planted.)
e.g. a statement which is general but attached loosely to the person being discredited
"We cannot accept corruption in our elected officials. Mr. Smith is once again seeking election."
5. UNIDENTIFIED SOURCES
Unidentified sources cannot be checked, but can give an illusion of evidence and support. "It is widely believed that the riots were started by a group calling itself the Peace Brigade." Who is doing the believing, and how many? Sometimes the source is given with numerical precision, seeming very certain, when it cannot be checked: "Five of the other employees in my office have told me that they agree with me." Marlin gives the further example: "a foreign correspondent reporter may write, 'Seasoned observers here feel that . . .' when the reference is only to a taxi driver, himself, or other journalists holed up in some hotel bar, with no real access to what is going on outside."
Randal Marlin. Propaganda and the Ethics of Persuasion. Broadview Press Ltd: Peterborough and New York, 2002. 101)
6. PADDING OF HIGH SENTIMENT
A persuasive speech, article, letter etc. may include expression of fine values and deep concerns to create an impression of integrity and high-mindedness which give no information but persuade by impressing. How could a person possessed of such ideals and lofty concerns be manipulating the truth? Quotations from venerable figures such as Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, or Jesus Christ, or reference to books on ethics or freedom add to the lofty tone.
FURTHER SOURCES OF COMMENT ON BIAS IN LANGUAGE
Keith M. Woods. "Take Back the Language: Words tell a story of their own." The author comments on the way that military language, with its aggrandizing bias, can creep into the language of journalists in times of war.
http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=25910&sid=2
Edward S. Herman, "Word Tricks and Propaganda"
http://zena.secureforum.com/Znet/zmag/zarticle.cfm?Url=articles/june97herman.htm
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