In debating his opponents, Mr. Trump uses a particular style of argument that is enormously effective on the third-grade demographic:Some years ago, when the Incomparable Marge took our daughter to see The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center, she found herself two rows directly behind the Donald and his then-wife. They spent the performance in serious smooching, ignoring the dancing on-stage, and chowing on snacks. An altogether cringe-worthy performance.
OPPONENT. I believe you are mistaken in your inference.Because it is not usually encountered outside the playground, this rhetorical figure does not have a common name. Dr. Boli will therefore give it one, and call it the argumentum ad vultum, the argument against the face or countenance.
TRUMP. You’re ugly.
OPPONENT. What I mean is that there is overwhelming scientific evidence to support my assertion that vaccines do not cause autism.
TRUMP. I mean, seriously, who puts a face like that on network TV?
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Argumentum ad vultum
Dr. Boli makes the following observation:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
In The Belly of the Whale - Now Available
Dear Readers, Dad's final (? maybe?) work is now available at Amazon, B&N, and many other fine retailers. I compiled a list a fe...
-
TOF once wrote an article entitled "The Great Ptolemaic Smackdown and Down 'n Dirty Mud-Wrassle" which described the century-l...
-
Hello family, friends and fans of Michael F. Flynn. It is with sorrow and regret that I inform you that my father passed away yesterday,... -
1. The Great Ptolemaic Smackdown 2. The Great Ptolemaic Smackdown: Down for the Count 3. The Great Ptolemaic Smackdown: The Great Gali...
I vote we refer to Trump supporters as "Tommies", because they think Trumpy can do magic things.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35U255Si7C0
He's just saying what we're all thinking--if we are all thinking, "Oink."
ReplyDelete