Revisiting Argument

Forms of argument

Name

Title

Forms of argument

We all at some time have come across a person smoking in our day-to-day activities. The smoking of cigarettes can be associated to various medical complications, which may include lung problems. Not only does smoking affect the direct smoker but also can have effects on a passive smoker. There are chemicals in the cigarettes that can end up causing lung problems and other conditions that may be a threat to a person’s health. Therefore it would be necessary to ban the smoking of cigarettes in public areas. This will reduce the possibility of there being health effects on the people who do not smoke.

The argument style that would be more appropriate for this kind of problem is the Rogerian style. The Rogerian argument style is mainly focused on creating a bond or a bridge between a writer and the audience and it gives attention to the beliefs, experiences and the various opinions that both the writer and the audience have. The Rogerian style does not base its outcome on a basis of oppositional positions but rather aims at reaching an agreement or a consensus.

The Rogerian style is more suitable for this issue because views from the audience will be essential in order to reach an agreement. With this style of argument it will be possible to reach an appropriate agreement where both emotional and psychological arguments will be focused on. In this particular issue, it will be possible to reach the agreement that smoking should be banned in public areas. The argument position will differ from that of others who may support the banning of smoking.

The Rogerian style of argument is much better than the classical style which bases its expected outcome on a position of “I win, you lose”. The Rogerian style tries to find an outcome that will be agreeable between both parties. The audience in this choice of argument will play a significant role where their opinions, views and also their experiences are used in search of a consensus or an agreement.

References

Baumlin, James. "Persuasion, Rogerian Rhetoric, and Imaginative Play". Rhetoric Society

Quarterly 17 (1): 33–43.

Rogerian Rhetoric: An Alternative to Traditional Rhetoric Douglas Brent, University of Calgary.