1.4 Semantics and Rhetoric: Making Arguments Do Work

We’ve been reasoning critically and trying to be as careful as possible as we examine the issues. Now our effort has paid off, and you’re confident in your course of action. Congratulations! Critical reasoning for the win!

Meanings Matter

But the work isn’t done yet. Now that you’ve been convinced, you need to persuade the rest of your developer team that improving efficiency is the right choice. You decide to write a post about it on your company’s internal message board explaining your reasons. You want to be as thorough as possible, so you include the list of pros and cons. You throw in some numbers to back up some of the claims you weren’t so sure about. You also mention the message from Stefan, who pointed out the possibility of a web-based version of the software. You even add some extra premises to the argument by describing new customer populations and how you could reach them. When you’re done typing, you take a moment to admire your creation. You reasoned critically, evaluated arguments, and presented them in a way that persuades others. It’s a true work of art! You pat yourself on the back and click post.

But almost immediately, there’s another message added to the thread. This one is from Juliette, who originally came to you with the choice between improving efficiency and improving accuracy. You’ve misunderstood what she told you, she says. Your argument assumes that her new process will produce fewer errors on the customer’s end, but what she meant was that the software would send back 50 percent fewer error messages directly to the developers. As far as she knows, the customers won’t see much difference in the number of errors they experience, but she isn’t sure.

Start Correctly to Continue Directly

The disconnect between you and the first developer is a matter of semantics, or meaning. Juliette meant one thing when she spoke of improving accuracy, but you understood something very different. As a result, our reasoning had a big problem. Any justification you gave for your decision wouldn’t convince someone who knew what the developer actually meant about fewer errors.

It’s time to go back to the reasoning board. You draw up a new list of pros and cons, and you figure out the advantages and disadvantages of what Juliette actually meant. You return to the suggestion of a web-based product and compare it to a product that returns fewer errors to the developers. With the correct information and a mutual understanding of the terms between you and your developers, you conclude again that it would be better to improve efficiency than accuracy. You rewrite your message to the team and post it. Juliette, who designed both processes, replies and says that you’ve got the details correct this time. Phew!

Semantics: The Bridge to Persuasion

Semantics is the bridge between arguments and rhetoric, or the skills of communication and persuasion. Communication is easier—but it may still not be easy—because it focuses only on conveying a piece of information. Persuasion goes beyond the act of sharing information and gets more difficult because, in most cases, it requires you to change someone else’s mind.

Now, sometimes people say that something is “just a matter of semantics” when they mean something is trivial or unimportant. It’s true that some differences in meaning don’t actually make a difference in the real world. But sharing an understanding of your terms with your audience is the first step in making your arguments do work—the work of persuasion. Arguments aren’t just for yourself; they’re for convincing people of a point of view that you believe is worth taking seriously. But all the work you put into an argument could be for nothing if you or someone else has misunderstood the meaning behind your message.

Think to yourself for a moment: When was the last time you changed your mind about something? Maybe it was at breakfast when a friend convinced you to get orange juice instead of soda. Or maybe it was at the bookstore when a price difference made you choose a used book instead of a new one. Most of the times we change our minds are when we don’t feel strongly about something or just don’t have enough information to take a position.

Now think to yourself again: When was the last time you changed your mind about a political view you hold? Or an opinion about a public figure? It is much less common for people, including you and me, to change our minds about issues involving our emotions or deeply held commitments. Many people refuse to be persuaded at all, even when they face what looks like overwhelming evidence against what they believe.

Persuasion Is a Skill

But there is some hope. Rhetoric is the skill of communication and persuasion, and there are things we can learn to get better at both. We’ll learn many of them later in this course. In particular, we’ll take a detailed look at the clarity of what we say and write and how we change our message to meet the needs and expectations of our audience.