Showing papers presented at "Web Reasoning and Rule Systems in 2019"

The Social False Dilemma: Perpetuating Conflicts between Liberals and Conservatives

Abstract: This essay addresses the establishment of a social false dilemma in the form of the socially-constructed categories of liberals and conservatives. The illogical positioning of only two options for solving a problem reduces an audience’s ability for developing creative solutions. The dichotomous nature of this political positioning undercuts critical thought through politicians’ usage of entrenched either-or thinking. In turn, the people struggle with a deliberative process that is underscored by an acceptance of a false dilemma. In particular, this essay focuses on an American dichotomous political climate by acknowledging the existence of the dichotomy, the promotion of Dissoi Logoi to avoid the false dilemma, and the repercussions of compromised deliberative functions of democracy.

Double-click Rhetoric: Rhetorical Strategies of Communication in the Digital Context

Abstract: This article analyzes the rhetorical strategies involved in the spread of texts created in a digital context. The Internet has initiated a new communicative environment which seeks to shape the contents and circumstances of dissemination of online news and electronic literature. The digital medium affects journalism and literature with a series of rhetorical strategies aimed at persuading the audience to double click (automated interactions, clickbait, trending). These rhetorical strategies are not accepted as valid in conventional media and publishing, however they promote rapid dissemination of digital news, as well as reconfi gure the existing relationships between authors and readers in literary works. Our aim is to explain how the dissemination of these texts can be understood from a rhetorical viewpoint, no matter how much the spread of fake news or the radical change in the electronic literary works can be criticized. We point to the consequences of a communicative context that prioritizes immediacy, anonymity and content democratization. Analyzing selected examples from the Spanish (social) media context will demonstrate how double-click rhetoric relates to fictionalization and backgrounding of ethos.

Wykryto adblocka! Retoryka komunikatów namawiających do odblokowania reklam

Abstract: Our times are characterized by a rapid evolution of means and ways of communication. Thanks to the Internet, the genres of persuasive functional texts are constantly appearing (and disappearing). These include messages encouraging to unblock advertisements. The message sender aims at convincing the Internet user to uninstall the adblocker (the name comes from the most popular AdBlock software), resign, or at least to add the given website to the so-called white list because the service earns money thanks to the displayed ads. In this article I analyze a text corpus of 50 examples, mainly in Polish, using a research apparatus of rhetoric. On this basis, I discuss genre characteristics and distinctive argumentation strategies, which - as the analysis shows - can be arranged in a system defined by two axes: potential losses or profits and agency, which can be in the domain of either the sender or the recipient. As a result, I present typical patterns of contemporary messages encouraging to unblock advertisements on the Internet.

Odra w Pruszkowie i w fantazjach użytkowników lokalnych grup w mediach społecznościowych. Analiza metodą motywu fantazjowania

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present the results of a fantasy-theme analysis, a method of rhetorical criticism designed to examine stories developed in interactions and shared among the members of a “rhetorical community.” The object of the analysis are discussions on the topic of a “measles epidemic” in Mazovia region in Poland in November 2018. The material was mainly taken from social media groups addressed to local audiences. Fantasy themes in local discourse are identified, which leads to the reconstruction of prominent fantasy types and rhetorical visions (such as “only narrow-minded bigots do not vaccinate children,” “vaccination does not protect you against illness, everything is a lottery” or “measles is a normal childhood illness”). The themes that are popular in local discourse are subsequently compared to the ones present on the national and global level of debate, with conclusions touching on their persuasive force

Leading over the Long Run: Rhetorical Consequentialism and Rhetorical Leadership

Abstract: Because the goals leaders and organizations seek typically require persistent engagement over time, rhetorical leadership has as a central concern the long-term consequences of the leader’s rhetorical choices. Although traditional rhetorical theory downplayed this long-term perspective in favor of the singular rhetorical engagement (such as a speech), rhetorical theorists have begun considering the rhetorical implications of persuasion wrought over the long-run. This essay applies rhetorical consequentialism, a theoretical perspective developed by the author, to explain the orientation and strategies the rhetorical leader must consider in longterm persuasion. Leaders must be concerned about consistency over time to avoid charges of waffl ing, delusion, lying, hypocrisy, and the like if they are to maintain their ethos and that of their organizations. They also should take positive steps to create the symbolic and material conditions for rhetorical success over the long run. The essay describes „constraint avoidance” strategies that limit inconsistencies over time, as well as „stage-setting” strategies that prepare the symbolic and material ground for future rhetorical success. The essay draws examples from American political rhetoric, especially that of Donald Trump, to illuminate these strategies. The essay concludes by considering the challenges and prospects of such strategies.

Rhetorical ambiguity and political leadership: Ethos and negotiation in Fredrik Reinfeldt’s 2005 ‘Welcome to the New Moderates’ speech

Abstract: This article explores how rhetorically ambiguous speech acts can work as preventive negotiations of potential confl ict within a political party and how such acts can affect the ethos of the leader. I show how rhetorically ambiguous speech can be a way of performing rhetorical leadership and communicating a democratic ethos while motivating participation in a common action for ends understood differently by different audiences.

W trosce o nieprzedstawienie – wizerunek Józefa Stalina na łamach czasopism społeczno-kulturalnych okresu stalinizmu w Polsce

Abstract: In the period of People’s Poland (Polska Ludowa), and the Polish People’s Republic (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa), the way of commenting on current events by socio–cultural magazines was a test of political correctness, to which they were forced by the authorities. This is demonstrated by the special issues related to the cult of Joseph Stalin published by many magazines, including "Odrodzenie" (1944–1950), "Kuźnica" (1945–1950) and "Odra" (1945–1950). Due to censor's interference, the articles appearing in print, as in the case of "Odra" in Katowice, were often diametrically different from the original versions. In the article, the strategy of editors trying to bypass censorship was presented, primarily on the examples taken from "Odra". From the rhetorical perspective, one can observe, among others, desperate attempts to maintain the credibility of the editors through the maneuvers in the field of invention, such as the selection of elements that would signal to the reader the lack of transparency and alienation of the authorities’ discourse.

Postać stalkera – retoryka przywództwa w postkatastroficznym świecie

Abstract: The article analyzes the character of a stalker in fictional literature, film, video games and in reportages. The stalker motif was considered in relation to the issue of leadership and rhetorical mechanisms (eg. persuasion based on knowledge, credibility, charisma, virtual procedure, self-creation). Based on the interpretation of selected texts of culture, it has been shown that the figure of a stalker is associated with situational leadership, determined by the context of the post-catastrophic world. The types of leadership are differentiated due to the way the stalker is represented (including authoritarian, charismatic, mystical and virtual leadership).

Body Rhetorics and Kinesthetic Empathy in the Video Game Bound (2016)

Abstract: Dance is found in every known human culture as part of religious, social and healing ceremonies. The increased interest in the role of dance in western psychology corresponds with the creation of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) founded by Marian Chace, and the beginning of the dance movement therapy (DMT). The Association introduced the dance and the dance-based movement as part of the therapeutic process, in order to explore the relationship between the expression of individual emotions and movement. Drawing both from the visual rhetorics approach (Patterson and Corning 1997) and the game studies (Fernandez-Vara 2009) I will analyze the multiple narrative layers in the Bound video game (2016), pointing to the mutual relationship the player and the game have on each other (Keogh 2018) decoding the game as a metaphor for the therapeutic effects of dance.

Argumentacja semantyczna – podstawowe pojęcia i problemy definicyjne

Abstract: The aim of the article is to define a certain type of argumentation, which has been scarcely described so far in either Polish or foreign literature in the field of argumentation theory, and thus to systematize the problems of research on semantic procedures in argumentation. The analysis of the ways in which a modification of meaning can affect the power of arguments inclines to distinguish a new type of argumentation - semantic argumentation. The concepts of persuasive definition and classification as well as methods of their application in the formulation of an argument will also be analyzed. The definition of semantic argumentation proposed here may give rise to some problems, typical when introducing a new concept, which is why the second part of the article is devoted to the issues related to the proposed shape of the definition. The definition is necessary for further research on semantic argumentation, its typology and for the assessment of its correctness.

Rhetoric in Digital Communication: Merging Tradition with Modernity

Abstract: Looking into the definition of rhetoric in the digital space, one often encounters the view that rhetoric is too remote or too “ancient” to be used as a conceptual, theoretical or practical framework for researching digital media. However, a substantial body of contemporary media research applies the theory of rhetoric, using a modern conceptual apparatus (e.g. cognitive theories of metaphor). Based on Kenneth Burke’s model of the pentad, the article aims to show that media messages in the digital environment are based on the notion of the rhetorical situation and demonstrate that the rhetorical apparatus has a crucial role in discerning the ways to modify the discourse space in human-computer-human communication. The source of modification in the traditional model of a rhetorical situation is the interactive nature of communication in digital media and the fact that the recipient [agent a] is bestowed with the role of an active participant who can influence the content of the message. Thanks to the use of the rhetorical model of pentad, the argument goes that in contrast to traditional media, modifications in the model act 1 → agent → agency → act 2 are possible and they result from the inclusion of external participants [agent b] and changes in the ontological status of the digital medium from the role of an intermediary to an active participant in the communication process [agent c].

Techniki perswazji w kampaniach 1% w Polsce – analiza wybranych przykładów

Abstract: Social campaigns are used to publicize socially important issues; they are also a tool to persuade recipients to transfer funds to the account of a selected entity. The aim of the article is to analyze “the one percent campaign” (a campaign to incentivize Polish taxpayers to redirect 1% of their income tax to a registered charity of their choice) carried out in Poland from the perspective of the persuasive techniques used. The focus is on the coordination of verbal and visual means of persuasion (e.g. binary distinctions in the vision of the world, value-charged words, contrast, hero type, camerawork, innovative applications of conventions). The use of such devices is illustrated with materials originating with campaigns by Fundacja Dajemy Dzieciom Sile (2014), WWF Polska (2012) and Fundacja Na Ratunek Dzieciom z Chorobą Nowotworową (2019).

Książę Niccola Machiavellego jako przykład zastosowania toposu zakulisowości

Abstract: To explain the phenomenon of the popularity of Machiavelli's Prince one has to point out the mode of communication that is used by the author. He has presented himself as a professional in the field of politics, and he wants to see his readers as professionals as well. The typically cold and seemingly unadorned style of Machiavelli’s prose underlines the impersonal relation between the author and his object of consideration. In the framework of rhetorical theory, this mode of communication can be described as searching for the ways to gain, as Kenneth Burke would put this, rhetorical consubstantiation. The speaker talks to the audience in a manner that is characteristic of backstage communication, giving them the hope to be joining a community of professionals. They can join this community by following the master of the political art: Machiavelli himself. This mode of communication can be found elsewhere in literature, especially where the element of cynicism appears, as its nature consists in precisely this form of rhetorical backstage speaking. It is present in the parts of Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War and on the pages of Plato’s dialogues, where the founder of the Academy confronts Socrates’ moralism with the immoralist perspectives of the sophists.

L’écologie, une science confisquée? Conférence donnée à Florac, en Lozère, le 6 août 2018, en hommage à Claude Monnier (1916-2018)

Abstract: Apres avoir presente les effets de l’irruption de l’ecologisme dans les preoccupations de la societe, nous abordons une critique de l’ecologie en tant que discipline scientifique. Nous relevons que nombre de postulats et d’hypotheses s’enchainent sans etre reellement verifies, au point que les certitudes sont minces et qu’une attitude plus circonspecte et precise s’appuyant sur des observations et mesures sur le terrain sont indispensables. Les erreurs au pretexte de l’ecologie sont innombrables et exceptionnellement designees comme telles. Les recommandations et contraintes qui en sont deduites reposent sur des approximations la plupart du temps fort discutables. Les travers de l’ecologie politique sont egalement decelables dans les articles scientifiques. La necessite d’une direction de recherche renouvelee et plus objective est abordee, de facon a ce que l’ecologie basee sur les preuves se developpe enfin, a l’ecart des a priori et des convictions. Il est important que les decisions soient retenues en tenant compte des resultats acquis sur l’environnement reel«En relisant l’ouvrage, je suis surpris et peine par le caractere modere et courtois du ton. Je regrette de ne pas avoir su parler de quelques outrecuidantes escroqueries, fumisteries et fourberies intellectuelles de notre epoque avec moins de retenue.» Romain Gary ; Pour Sganarelle, 1965.

Retoryka prezydenta Richarda Nixona wobec kryzysu naftowego w 1973

Abstract: This article focuses on President Richard Nixon’s address to the nation delivered on the 7th of November 1973 about policies to deal with the energy shortages as an exemplar of domestic crisis rhetoric. Based on Theodore Otto Windt, Jr.’s and Denise Bostdorff and Donald O’Rourke’s arguments that make up the genre of domestic crisis rhetoric, the author describes the rhetorical situation of the address, examines it for the characteristics of domestic crisis rhetoric, and discusses the rhetorical effect in the social context.

Alojzego Felińskiego stosunek do pieniędzy i dóbr materialnych

Abstract: The research material of this study consists of selected fragments of epistolography of Alojzy Felinski, a poet who created at the turn of the 18th and 19th century. The analysis is devoted to selected letters which the poet wrote to Michal Wyszkowski, Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, Jan and Waleria Tarnowski and Franciszek Rudzki. The aim of the article is to draw attention to the value of material goods in Felinski’s life. A poetic type of argumentation was observed in the study, which – often indirectly – revealed the poet’s attitude towards money. Taking into account the historical and biographical context, as well as the persuasiveness of the words of the Volyn poet, the study aims to explain Felinski’s common sense thinking about both money and material goods.

Negocjacje polityczne – polityka negocjacji. Poznanie a rozpoznanie w retoryce liderów politycznych

Abstract: The aim of the discussed article is to make an attempt at characterising the political variant of negotiations, at drawing reader’s attention to the components of political negotiations, as well as to point out possible perspectives of perceiving issues jointly creating political negotiations. Political negotiations are not a one-dimensional category. On the one hand, we are dealing with political negotiations, i.e. those that concern political affairs. Negotiators then tackle with issues and problems connected with politics and related subjects. On the other hand, there is the politics of negotiations. A specified way of being involved in politics that applies negotiations as a way of entangling an opponent or building political authority. The article presents issues of political negotiations from the perspective of rhetoric and social engineering, introducing two ways of comprehending negotiations – as cognition and recognition.

Kategoria miejsca w XVIII-wiecznych listach miłosnych

Abstract: The study presents various strategies for describing places, used in their letters by women belonging to the Radziwill family in the 18th century: Franciszka Urszula nee Wiśniowiecki, Magdalena nee Czapski, and Aniela nee Miączynski. The article concentrates on the persuasive aspect of descriptions of different locations, mainly Nieświez and Biala. All of these locations are categorized by their function. The author proves that focusing on place descriptions – elements not traditionally connected with persuasion as yet – turns out to enrich the research on the letter as a highly rhetorised form.

The Public Trial and Execution of Arthur Greiser in Poznań: Visual Rhetoric of Documentary Photography and Local Memory

Abstract: On the example of the ethically controversial photographs made by Zbigniew Zielonacki from the public trial and execution of Arthur Greiser, the Nazi deputy in the Wartheland, the author demonstrates the visuality of local memory at the intersection of the narrative and non-narrative, private and public, individual and collective sphere. The photographs have become an inherent element of Poznan inhabitants’ memory of World War II and its outcomes, although they did not fit any of the emerging main war narratives.

Wizerunki Prezydentów Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej: Bronisława Komorowskiego oraz Andrzeja Dudy – analiza porównawcza w świetle teorii visual framing

Abstract: The article is a comparative framing analysis of two photo-albums published by the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland during Bronislaw Komorowski’s and Andrzej Duda’s term in office. The research material encompasses Presidency through the photographer’s lens (2015) and Andrzej Duda. Two years of presidency (2017). The research method is based on the visual framing theory that involves mapping the rhetorical potential of such aspects as the publication’s genre and format, layout and composition, cropping and camera angle, and thematic content of the photos. The obtained results show different saturation with interpretational frames (“state power”, “human interest”, “common man”, “morality” frames) that imposed on the recipient a different look at the persona of the president. The identifi ed frames revealed various strategies for presenting the image of the head of state, whose systematic applications are indicative of a persuasive or ideological purpose.

Kredyt żywy, Kredyt umarły i kto nad nim płacze. Personifikacje Kredyta w ikonografii (XVI-XVIII w.)

Abstract: In the article I focus on the emblematic representations of Debt and Credit - two concepts that are mutually conditioning. I indicate rhetorical tools (including non-verbal elements of the rhetorical situation, such as gestures, facial expressions, outfits) used in Cesare Ripa’s word-picture composition (Iconology, first edition 1593). I compare it with the popular motive of the death of Credit found in European graphics of the 17th and 18th centuries, including a Polish ephemeral print “Lament of different states of people over the dead Credit” (around 1655), consisting of an engraving and an extensive verse description.

Cambios en los usos de suelo en la comarca del Bierzo (1990-2012)

Abstract: The landscape of the Bierzo region, located in northwestern Spain, has experienced a series of transformations along the last decades. The main objective of this work is to provide a comprehensive analysis of land changes using Corine Land Cover for two different time periods (1990-2000 and 2000-2012). This allowed us to analyze the main trends and processes to which this territory was subjected. The main findings are related to the abandonment processes suffered in this region, motivated by changes in total hectares towards shrubland, mainly from the forestry and agricultural uses. Almost half of the total surface belongs to shrubland domain in 2012, occupying around 151 000 hectares. On the other hand, the increase of poplars by reforestation processes has also been important, causing the expansion of the hardwoods in the area. Other processes such as productive intensification, appears near the irrigated structures, although they are not so important on the regional total.

O niektórych aspektach związanych z etosem w argumentum ad crumenam

Abstract: In this paper I present the study on ethotic components of ad crumenam argument, considered as a complex rhetorical technique. In terms of this framework two pragmatic approaches are applied: speech act theory and Gricean conversational implicature theory. The study shows the diversified features of agents’ credibility employed in different versions of this argument.

Retoryka na lekcjach języka polskiego w szkole podstawowej: problemy teoretyczne i praktyczne (na podstawie analizy wybranych materiałów dydaktycznych z lat 2017-2019)

Abstract: The introduction of elements of rhetoric to systemic teaching in primary and secondary school in 2017 responds to the needs of educating a student as a rational and active participant in interpersonal communication. However, it causes problems arising from both theoretical issues and practical solutions. The teachers encounter numerous difficulties related to the definition, choice of speech topic, giving the student a pattern of speech and the specificity of evaluating speech behaviour, as well as resulting from linking the topic of speech with a plot or literary hero. The revision of the school textbooks published after the entry into force of the new curriculum in 2017 shows the mentioned set of problems, which have been discussed in the article.

Obraz świata w statutach szkolnych. Analiza retoryczna wybranych statutów szkół podstawowych

Abstract: This article explores the hidden ideology of functional texts based on the examples of school statutes analyzed with the aid of methods of ideological criticism. The research material is comprised of 12 statutes of Warsaw primary schools effective from December 2017. The language of school statutes is analysed and selected features are described from the rhetorical perspective to retrieve the image of the world that is created in the statutes. The author points to some associative clusters that impose a specific subordinating relation between the sender and the recipient. The article refers to such rhetorical factors as: the relationship between lexis and world view, the use of the sender’s ethos and explicit and implicit evaluations, the relationship between the rhetorical effectiveness of the text and its composition and contextualization in the digital medium. It draws attention to the rhetorical potential of functional texts.

Actividade Antioxidante en Carne de Tenreiros Alimentados con Bagazo de Uva

Abstract: Winemaking byproducts contain polyphenols among other valuable bioactive compounds. The beneficial effects of these composts are attributed, among other things, to their antioxidant activity. For this reason, this work studies the potential effect of a diet enriched in polyphenols in the characteristics of calf meat fed with grape bagasse as a supplement to its diet. We propose a rapid extraction of six individual polyphenols of raw calf meat, previously identified and selected as markers in the bagasse. The procedure is based on automated simultaneous extraction using pressurized liquids (PLE) followed by high efficiency liquid chromatography with UV-Vis detection with a diode system (HPLC-DAD) for the identification of polyphenols and quantitative analysis. In the obtained extracts, the total polyphenol index (TP) and the antioxidant activity (AA) are determined. Due to the complexity of the sample, the most outstanding results of this work are those related to the evaluation of the antioxidant activity of the extracts. After the corresponding statistical analysis of the data obtained, it can be observed that it is better to include a combination of grape bagasse in the diet of the animals given the improvement observed in the measured antioxidant indexes, and consequently, also in the properties of the meat and in its conservatione.

Brand aesthetics in visual communication – a Polish case study of Disney's anniversary event

Abstract: In 2018 Mickey Mouse, an iconic brand hero of Disney, celebrated the 90th birthday anniversary in the National Film Archive – Audio-Visual Institute (Pol. FINA) in Warsaw, Poland. By this occasion, the global corporation positioned itself in the local public domain as a social agent through cooperation with the mentioned national institution. The glocalisation strategy has been reflected in the PR activities and has found its visual form in specific PR tools. The paper aims to analyse this case study as the exemplification of a successful implementation of organisational aesthetics in the public realm. The paper analyses the global organization’s visual communication practice in the local framework.