Argumentation

Why do we argue? In a 1970 article entitled “A Motive

View of Communication”, (The Quarterly Journal of

Speech, 131-139), Walter R. Fisher asserts that there

are four main rhetorical motives as to why we argue.

He states that because there is a natural connection

between how one’s perceived motive and the response

one receives, one’s perception determines the nature

of the argument. To better categorize these motives,

Fisher argues that there are essentially four

rhetorical motives: affirmation, reaffirmation,

purification, and subversion. These four cover almost

every kind of rhetoric out there save one, but more on

that later.

“Woolf, what is affirmation?” As luck would have it,

the first of Fisher’s motives is affirmation.

Basically, affirmation is the speaker trying to

instill within you a novel concept or ideal. Through

whatever rhetorical tactics they choose, the speaker

wants you to believe something new and is generally

the way that anything gets accomplished. This is

exemplified quite well in Former President Ronald

Regan’s “Remarks at the Brandenbug Gate”, (West

Berlin, Germany, June 12, 1987). “General Secretary

Gorbachev, if you seek peace...Come here to this gate!

Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear

down this wall!” Regan’s powerful words had but one

main purpose, to convince Gorbachev to destroy the

Berlin Wall and unify Germany.

“Woolf, how can I inspire people?” you may ask. Well,

in 1942, while the world was griped by war, FDR gave

us a shining example of reaffirmation, “We are calling

for new plants and...more men and more women to run

them...We are coming to realize that one extra plane

or extra tank or extra gun or extra ship completed

tomorrow may, in a few months, ...make the difference

between life and death for some of our own fighting

men.” (Franklin Deleno Roosevelt, Fireside Chat,

February 23, 1942) In this excerpt from his 20th

Fireside Chat, FDR was reinforcing the patriotism and

work ethic already held by his audience, this is

reaffirmation.

“Woolf, that’s all well and good if you want to get

things done or inspire your audience, but what if I’ve

royally messed up and need to fix things? Is there a

rhetorical motive for me?” Yes, yes there is. It’s

called purification, and, just as the term would

suggest, it’s used to purify your damaged reputation

or to to simply refine it. Former President William

Jefferson Clinton thanked God that this rhetorical

motive existed on August 17 of 1998 in his formal

apology to the American people,