Indeed, Elder Bednar quotes five prophets at the beginning of his talk to improve his ethos. Each quote adds a drop of strength to his argument that Church members should "flood"the world with the gospel.
As members of the Church, we revere the prophets. So hearing Elder Bednar quote Brigham Young, "Every discovery in science and art . . . has been given by direct revelation from God," strongly affects us.
Brigham Young? He was, like, the prophet after Joseph Smith.
That means he's old.
That means he knew about technology long before our time.
That means prophets know stuff, and that Elder Bednar knows that prophets know stuff.
That means we should listen to Elder Bednar.
This is essentially what goes through our minds as we hear that quote from Brigham Young. Drip. And then again when we hear the voice of Spencer W. Kimball. Drip. And again as we watch our beloved Gordon B. Hinckley. Drip.
Socrates makes reference to leaders in his argument, too. He recounts how he personally heard Pericles, a prominent political figure, speak (p. 40). Then, he alludes to the writings of a known philosopher, Anaxagorus (p. 49). They must have been figures of import; otherwise, Socrates wouldn't have mentioned them.
At first it appears that this isn't as effective as Elder Bednar's drip-drip-drip strategy at the beginning of his talk. Perhaps, though, it is more effective for Socrates' audience. By mentioning these famous leaders throughout his argument, Socrates reminds his audience that, "Hey. I've listened to Pericles. Drip. I've studied other philosophers. Drip. I know what's up."
Thus, this rhetorical strategy of testimony helps strengthen the ethos (and therefore the arguments) of both Elder Bednar and Socrates.
I must agree that this subtle, gradual drip-drop approach to using the various rhetorical devices is quite effective. This applies to Elder Bednar, Socrates, and just about any other situation in which rhetorical methods are utilized. Rather than just outright presenting an idea alone and unprotected, Elder Bednar and Socrates slowly armor their cases with validity provided through other sources outside of their own spheres of influence. In this way, the constant dripping erodes the audience's guard and strengthens the influence of the speaker's word. A listener is much less likely to resist, flee, or disregard another if they are not being called to a one on one duel of beliefs.
ReplyDeleteExtremely interesting how subtley arguments can be built until they can no longer be refuted. Socrates constantly does this by making people agree to small parts until they can no longer refute the big parts
ReplyDelete