Available means: manifestations of Aristotle's three modes of rhetorical appeal in antinuclear fiction
The abundance of sympathetic scientists, military men and clergymen in antinuclear fiction reflects a public perception that authorities speak most knowledgeably about an issue. Other antinuclear works employ characters with less traditional ethical appeals: nurturing women, vital youths, and even infallible computers. Antinuclear fiction uses enthymeme and example to reflect the history of the nuclear weapons debate. Some works attach the immorality of the weapons by examining the moral dilemmas of nuclear scientists. Others admit the permanence of the nuclear threat. By arousing emotions, fiction is capable of mobilizing its audience's active support for the ideas it presents. The principal emotions that various antinuclear works arouse highlight the close relationship between literature and rhetoric. The most dominant emotions, pity and fear, are the two Aristotle links to tragedy. Scorn, the principal emotion that Dr. Strangelove arouses - is the crucial emotion on which all satire depends. However, the other principal emotion in anti-nuclear fiction - hope - has principally a rhetorical function ensuring that the feelings the works provoke will be channeled constructively.
- Research Organization:
- Ohio State Univ., Columbus (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6537634
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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