Prof. McCloskey

Professor McCloskey’s lecture highlighted one very important fact; that all human communication is persuasion. People are always aiming to gain something from their use of language with others, no matter what it may be. Before watching the lecture, I had been aware that persuasion plays a role within our daily communication with others, but just not how large that role was. This idea was presented early on within the lecture when Prof. McCloskey introduced one of her main areas of study, rhetoric. She explained how rhetoric is the study of human interactions and these interactions all possess some form of persuasion.

The idea of rhetoric and persuasion is an interesting one as I think back to class and the origins of rhetoric and human relations. Long ago, citizens of ancient Greece relied upon rhetoric and persuasion to get what they wanted, as they had no modernized media as we do today. The art of persuasion was a basic skill to all the ancient people and today continues to rule all communication. This then led to another interesting point made by Prof. McCloskey. She explained how as technology advances and as we become pursuers of instant gratification, persuasion is one thing that will never fade, just evolve. It will never fall victim to the likes of instant gratification, however, we will have to find new ways of persuading others.

This statement had me thinking about how we all communicate today. Everyone I know is attached to their phones and constantly texting. In addition to this, everyone is involved in the social media scene. Almost every person I meet has a Facebook or a Twitter. It’s becoming the norm of society. Individuals without these outlets are looked upon as the outsiders. It makes me sad that it has come to this because I feel that people don’t really know what it means to communicate face-to-face anymore, or even hold a conversation over the phone. Even though this is a reality I don’t want to accept, there is one constant. People are still trying to persuade others into doing things and getting what they want. Instead of being persuaded through conversation, I’m being persuaded through text messages and through people’s Facebook statuses and tweets. Prof. McCloskey was right, even though our means of communication are changing with the times, the purpose is still to persuade.

In addition to the presence of persuasion within communication, Prof. McCloskey addresses the “Modernistic Dichotomy.” It explains the division between the sciences, which are exact and predictable, and the humanities, which are more focused on history and story-telling. With this knowledge, she points out the fact that economists and scientists like to consider themselves a part of the science world, as they can “predict” events. Prof. McCloskey clearly states that no one can truly predict anything and that they are simply persuaders. They persuade the masses into believing everything they say. I must say that I completely agree with her. How are we to know what’s true and what’s not? We aren’t scientists who dedicate our lives to learning about the earth and the creatures that inhabit it. The majority of one’s science education stops by their senior year in high school, if that. The same goes for economics. It is up to scientists and economists to persuade the people that their findings are correct. Also, because they are usually recognized as people of authority, persuasion becomes easier. I feel as if with persuasion, anything can truly be accomplished. This can be a scary idea because no one truly knows what we have been told to believe. This lecture brought to light just how strong persuasion can be and that it can be used so powerfully, but also that it can be used so carelessly.

 Ashley C.