Concepts of persuasive definition and quasi-definition

Abstract

In his well known article Persuasive definition Charles L. Stevenson introduces the concept of persuasive definition – an argumentative tool that enables speaker to change attitudes of the audience by changing the conceptual content (descriptive meaning) of the defined word. As a side note to this analysis he also introduces concept of persuasive -definition. With this tool changing the conceptual meaning, one can change or destroy emotive meaning of the -defined word. What makes usage of those argumentative tools possible is, in the first place, vagueness of the terms that are to be persuasively defined or -defined. When emotively charged and vague term becomes a part of moral discourse, persuasive definitions and -definitions can be used to redirect attitudes and value judgments of people. One can find examples of the usage of those tools in various ancient and modern sources. Best examples of persuasive definitions can be traced in Xenophon’s Memorabilia. There are examples of those in the Gospel of St Luke. Those two examples constitutes archetype of moralistic persuasion. Examples of persuasive -definition can be found in some Platonic dialogues like Lesser Hippias, Gorgias and the first book of Republic. In modern times Nicolò Machiavelli was a writer with a special inclination and talent for this kind of persuasion. Examples taken from Plato’s dialogues and from Machiavelli’s works constitute an archetype of immoralistic persuasion. Figure of ancient cynic was the one that combined moralistic and immoralistic way of participating in moral discourse.