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From: rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen)
Newsgroups: net.flame,net.religion
Subject: Re: History as Fact / Persuasion through Intimidation
Message-ID: <326@pyuxd.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 10-Dec-84 15:53:35 EST
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Posted: Mon Dec 10 15:53:35 1984
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> ONLY two major means of persuasion?  Utter rubbish.  How about seduction?
> How about fictional dramatization?  How about ridicule?  Do you own a
> TV?  Watch some commercials.  If you want to know about persuasion, there's
> your best source.  [WINGATE]

Ridicule probably falls into the intimidation class.  Seduction and
fictional dramatization could reasonably be lumped in a "deception" class.
Both classes could be lumped together in a class of manipulative persuasion.
(Lies and deception are the text, intimidation is the method through which
the manipulation is enforced.)  They are all contrary to the "other" method
that fortune!polard described.  He called it "the scientific method", leaving
the door open for Wingate to come marching in and spouting anti-science drivel.
Instead, let's call the method an appeal to reasoned thinking.  Presenting
verifiable facts, allowing the listener/reader to come to the same conclusion
through his own reasoning power.  If manipulation (in the form of deception
and/or intimidation) is present, the listener/reader's ability to discern may
be clouded.  Thus users of this same method oftens find it necessary to point
out the nature of the deception/intimidation/manipulation inherent in currently
held thought patterns.

> Science as a source of truth (or whatever) is rather overrated.  Right now,
> it is useless in the realm of personal interaction.

This is a question of time and energy, not of usefulness.  If we were to
analyze every everyday situation which the rigor employed in scientific
inquiry, we'd barely get out of bed in the morning.  Nevertheless, delving
deeper into what your friend is really meaning when he says "I'm fine." may
prove useful; it's just that everyday life doesn't afford the time to
employ such rigor.  (Gee, Bill never says "I'm fine", he always says
"Miserable, and you?"  Maybe something's wrong.)  Thus, it's only "useless"
in the realm of interpersonal interaction because of the effort required to
employ it.  Using it WOULD (and often does, when applied) prove useful, but
to survive without information overload, we make assumptions in everyday life.
Sometimes we find these assumptions to be wrong.  Imagine that...

> The arrogance of psychology in
> asserting the validity of its technique is certainly in the same league as
> almost any religion, by the way.  Intimidation is not foreign to science.

How true.  (I *do* wonder where they got the techniques from, though.  The
intimidation techniques, that is...)
-- 
When you're omniscient, everything's a tautology.      Rich Rosen    pyuxd!rlr