The world can be understood through several forms of knowing. One topic can be represented in multiple forms. For example, my sister became a vegetarian a little over a year ago. She had a specific experience which prompted her to make this decision: she witnessed a truck carrying animals to be slaughtered. She felt many emotions upon seeing that image. Therefore, it is easy to understand the concept of vegetarianism through the single beliefs of one person. These beliefs are retold as personal anecdotes. This exemplifies the concept of Orality, the use of language to relay information (Ulmer, 2010). When such a story is told from the perspective of one person, pathos is often evoked and the audience is persuaded through emotional appeal. In this way, the audience is encouraged to agree with author, perhaps about their belief about how to treat animals. These methods are very different than those which are employed to support arguments which fall under the Information Paradigm.
While the Information Paradigm is a very different mode of communication, it can still be applied to a topic which was previously explained through the Belief/Story Paradigm, such as vegetarianism. It is clear that the Information Paradigm employs logos more often than it does pathos. Thus, an argument for vegetarianism in the Information Paradigm would cite statistics or empirical research rather than personal experiences. For example “people who consume higher amounts of fruits and vegetables have about one-half the risk of cancer” (Craig, 2015). It is clear that logos can be a rhetorical device which also persuades the audience to agree with the author. It is evidence that there are many ways to understand vegetarianism. It is also clear that the Information Paradigm corresponds to the Literacy apparatus, in which arguments are institutionalized through schools and other academic organizations. By transitioning from a personal anecdote to statistics as means to prove an argument that vegetarianism is beneficial, the communication paradigm has been transformed.
Reflection:
It is enlightening to really see how one topic or argument can be understood and supported through multiple intellectual paradigms. This also reveals that there are multiple ways of knowing about a subject. Additionally, it may be possible to support an argument through the application of one paradigm (one individual’s personal anecdote) but then disprove the argument through application of another paradigm (statistics conveying information contrary to the position in the anecdote). Thus, it is possible to transform the mode of an argument from one paradigm to another. It is also possible to transform the nature of the argument, for to against, by applying two different intellectual paradigms. These insights reveal interesting characteristics of argument. Today’s society may be more inclined to accept arguments that are supported using logos, as in the Information Paradigm. A shift has occurred from Orality to Literacy. Depending on the nature of the argument, however, Orality may be very persuasive. Emotional appeal may be very effective when used to make an argument about vegetarianism or the customer service experience in a restaurant.
Works Cited:
Craig, Winston. (2015) . Health Benefits of Vegetarian Diets. Retrieved from
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/
Ulmer, Gregory. (John Craig Freeman). 2010, September 10. Ulmer Tapes (2.04). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tupnx0h1fxc