THE ENTHYMEME

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(No Transcript)
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• THE ENTHYMEME
• in Contemporary Advertising

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• an
• ARH Production

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• Produced, Written Directed by
• Alec R. Hosterman

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• A long time ago,
• in a galaxy far, far away
• (oops, wrong introduction - sorry about that)

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• Once upon a time
• (dang it, I did it again - just a second)

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• In the beginning
• (okay, this should work)
• Welcome. Im Aristotle. Ill be your host as we
  explore the world of the Enthymeme. I have a bit
  of experience in this arena, with rhetoric and
  science in particular.

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• I wrote a few books in my day. You may recall
  Dr. Rice, Alec or Barbara mentioning them
• On Rhetoric
• (it spent 18 weeks on the Athens Times bestseller
  list)
• The Poetics
• Metaphysics
• There are a few others, but I wont bore you with
  those titles. You get the idea.

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• Instead, Id like to talk about Enthymemes.
• Enthymemes are rhetorical syllogisms (well
  talk about these soon), but honestly, Im rather
  vague with a concrete definition.
• However, Ann Gill provides a
  good one for us arguments
  in syllogistic form that use
  implied premises held by the audience.
  Thanks Ann!

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• Enthymemes are also called truncated syllogisms
  since theyre shortened. One or more premise is
  held in the mind.
• I explain them like this the conclusion should
  not be drawn from far back, nor is it necessary
  to include everythingthe latter tiresome because
  of stating what is obvious.
• Here are a few examples

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• But Brutus says he was ambitious?And Brutus
  is an honourable man. Mark Antony from
  Shakespeares Julius Caesar
• - missing link honourable men are
  ambitious
• If the glove doesnt fit, you must acquit. -
  attorney Johnny Cochran in the O.J. Simpson trial
• - missing link If the glove doesnt fit
  the defendant, you must acquit him

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• To understand Enthymemes, lets first examine
  the Syllogism.
• (Armed with her Sword of Syllogism, Bow of
  Questions, and Sonorous Voice which broadcasts
  her well-formed premises to all who may be in
  hearing range, Logic leaves the conundrums of
  Parmenides behindShe follows her trusty dogs,
  Truth and Falsehood, as they give chase to the
  Problem at hand, and thus avoids getting lost in
  the tangled Woods of Opinion. - from B. Beckers
  History of Science website)

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• I claim that a Syllogism is wholly from
  propositions. Again, Ann provides a good
  synopsis for our talk the conclusion is
  derived directly from information already present
  in the premises.
• (hopefully she wont ask for royalties)
• I use a relatively famous historical figure to
  illustrate how they work.
• (used with permission from the Socratic Talent
  Agency)

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• Heres the basic layout of a Syllogism
• First, theres a Major Premise
• e.g., All men are mortal.
• Next, theres a Minor Premise
• e.g., Socrates is a man.
• Finally, a logical Conclusion (from premises)
• e.g., Socrates is mortal.

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• What we just saw is called a Categorical
  Syllogism because we logically deduced a
  conclusion based on a comparison of
  characteristics (or categories) Men and
  Socrates.
• Other types of Syllogisms include
• a. Hypothetical
• b. Disjunctive
• c. Conditional

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• Lets try another Syllogism, shall we?
• Major Premise Bad children get spankings.
• Minor Premise Youve been bad.
• Conclusion Youre going to get a spanking.

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• To make this an Enthymeme, one of the premises is
  eliminated (held in the mind). In this case,
  children know what will happen to them if theyre
  bad.
• Bad children get spankings.
• Youve been bad.
• Youre going to get a spanking.
• And now, the final product Youve been bad, so
  youre going to get a spanking.

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• Some Enthymemes are simple, while others are
  rather complex.
• Sometimes the Major Premise is eliminated,
  while other times its the Minor Premise.
• Likewise, and somewhat debated, the Conclusion
  is held in the mind.
• But wait! Theres more

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• To make things interesting, I also describe
• two types of Enthymemes
• Demonstrative proving an affirmative or
  negative proposition
• Refutative disproving an affirmative or
  negative proposition

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• Demonstrative Enthymemes combine compatible
  propositions in order to prove something.
• This type of enthymeme makes assumptions and
  draws conclusions. The conclusions, then,
  demonstrate the logic.

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• Refutative Enthymemes join incompatible
  (opposite) propositions in order to disprove
  something or show a contradiction.
• This structure positions two opposing
  arguments side-by-side so audiences can see the
  apparent incompatibilities.
• The refutative enthymeme draws conclusions not
  from what is assumed, but what is shown.

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• Enthymemes are based on 4 kinds of Fact
• 1. Probabilities
• what is, or supposed to be, usually true
• 2. Examples
• induction provides similar cases, state
  proposition, and argue deductively to a
  particular inference
• 3. Infallible Signs
• argue from inevitable and invariable
• 4. Ordinary Signs
• argue from some or particular universal
  proposition, true or false

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• Enthymemes work because the rhetor and audience
  share something in common. Usually this is
  knowledge. This knowledge can be found in
• universal principles (Newtonian physics)
• common values (illegal acts)
• niche specific (html coding), or
• common sense (fire is hot, dont touch)

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• Enthymemes are communal entities, created by
  the society in which they are spoken, written, or
  shown.
• Like language, they work only when the
  community knows and understands what is left
  unstated (held in the mind).
• In this same vein, Enthymemes can fail if the
  receivers do not make the connection.

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• The more you work with Enthymemes, the more they
  become obvious and clear.
• And addictive.
• And annoying.
• (at least to those who hear you mumble okay,
  thats the minor premise and theres the
  conclusion, so the major premise must be)
• Wow. Weve covered a lot thus far.

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• Lets do a quick review
• 1. Im dead.
• (nothing new there)
• 2. Syllogisms contain a major premise, a minor
  premise, and a conclusion, the most common type
  being categorical.
• 3. Enthymemes are truncated syllogisms since
  one premise is held in the mind of the audience.

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• And
• 4. There are two types of Enthymemes
  demonstrative and refutative.
• 5. Enthymemes are based on four types of facts
  probabilities, examples, infallible signs, and
  ordinary signs.
• 6. Enthymemes function in communities of rhetors
  that share similar knowledge.

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• Having fun yet?
• I am.
• (cant you tell from my smile??)
• In my time, Enthymemes were mainly used in the
  rhetoric (spoken word) of the day. Since this is
  the 21st century, I thought it might be fun to
  see if we could identify Enthymemes in that
  curious thing you call advertising. Lets begin
  with some propaganda posters from WW I and WW II.

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• Premise Lend them the soldiers a hand.
• Premise Buy war bonds.
• Conclusion (unstated) You can do your part and
  help fight in the war by buying war bonds.

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• Premise (unstated) Non-unified armies fail.
• Premise Together we the branches of armed
  forces win.
• Conclusion We stand together (represented
  visually).

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• Premise (unstated) Wasting fuel supports the
  enemy.
• Premise When you ride ALONE you ride with
  Hitler which wastes fuel that could be used by
  American troops battling Hitler.
• Conclusion Joining a Car-Sharing Club conserves
  fuel and supports the American troops.

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• Premise If Germany wins the war, religious
  freedom will disappear.
• Premise War Bonds help in the war effort.
• Conclusion (unstated) Buying war bonds saves
  religious freedom.

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• These posters were a good introduction
  because they primarily relied on pathos
• a. either the fear of something happening
  based on an action
• or
• b. the patriotism from doing ones part in
  the war

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• Are you beginning to see how the
  interpretation of visual and verbal symbols is
  crucial to seeing the logic of the advertisement?
• Interpretation is key. Likewise, one may
  interpret the premises slightly differently and
  still end up with the same overall conclusion.
  Thats the power of symbols!
• Lets now look at some current ads

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• Premise Cubist paintings are classic.
• Premise This Cubist image utilizes Reeboks.
• Conclusion (unstated) Reeboks are classic
  shoes.
• (or wearing them makes you feel like a
  classy individual, or that you have class,
  depending upon interpretation)

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• Premise In a crisis, sometimes people have to
  take matters into your their own hands.
• Premise Those in a crisis grab new body-heat
  activated Degree Gel.
• Conclusion (unstated) Degree Gel keeps you calm
  in moments of crisis.

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• Premise (unstated) America needs new
  leadership.
• Premise Help is on the way.
• Conclusion John Kerry will be that help in the
  form of new leadership.

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• Heres a television commercial that takes
  advantage of enthymematic reasoning.

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• Because television commercials are not print
  discourse, our conception will be slightly more
  interpretive
• Premise Jake B. was a victim of identity theft.
• Premise Citibank protects their card holders
  from identity theft with Citi Identity Theft
  Solutions.
• Conclusion (unstated) Using Citibank credit
  cards and you wont be a victim of identity
  theft, like Jake B.

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• So weve come to the end of our video. What have
  you learned?
• Do you now see how enthymemes are used in venues
  other than traditional speech, argumentation and
  logic?
• Do you now understand how they function?
• Are you now able to see enthymemes in the most
  common of places?

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• If you walk away from this video and remember
  only one thing, this should be it
• BE A CRITICAL CONSUMER.
• Knowing how enthymemes work in advertising
  allows viewers to better understand the role
  persuasion plays in politics, advertising,
  history, speech acts, visual communication, and
  other common discourse arenas.

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• I think my work is done here. Im going to go
  ponder something now (thats what we philosophers
  do).
• Go forthwith and become a critical consumer.
  You have the tools. Dont be afraid to use them.
• Hmmmwas that an enthymeme?

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• The End.
• Cast (In Order of Appearance)
• Aristotle appeared as himself
• Ann Gill appeared as herself
• Socrates appeared as himself
• Print Advertisements
• Degree Gel
• Sen. John Kerry
• Reebok
• Commercials
• Citibank
• BMW
• Penguin Trainer
• Alec R. Hosterman

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• References
• Aristotle. (1991). On rhetoric A theory of
  civic discourse (G. A. Kennedy, Trans.). New
  York Oxford University.
• Gill, A. (1994). Rhetoric and human
  understanding. Prospect Heights Waveland.
• The producer / director / writer would like
  to thank his wife Heather, his mother-in-law
  Sharron, and Microsoft for their help in catching
  typos, as well as Dr. Rice for his suggestions
  and technological expertise.
• No animals or Greek statues were harmed in
  the making of this movie.

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• Epilogue
• Due to the success of his treatises and
  university, Aristotle hasnt been seen since
  filming ended in mid July. He released this
  statement through his agent I must think. No
  word on the topic.
• Socrates still drank the hemlock.
• Advertising is still around.

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• Aristotle will return.

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