Debate and/or rhetoric experts, help?

[thatwasjen]

"Whatever the New York Times once was, it is today not by any standard a journalistic organization."

"Fahrenheit 9/11 is not a documentary."

This must be an ancient and classic rhetorical device, because it seems to work so well. Does the tactic have a name?

Comments

[tchwrtr]

It's been a while since that class in Grad School...but I *think* what you are looking at here is the end-result of Enthymeme and Causal Reasoning. There's a decent piece explaining it here: http://www.jacweb.org/Archived_volumes/Text_articles/V8_Gates.htm

Short form: "I have a premise, and I can prove it with these facts. Therefore, it must be true."

With statements alone, as listed above, the idea that there are facts to back them up is left to the reader to assume. (Here's where the psychology class comes in.) The human mind, hating a void, will work to fill that gap. A classical rhetoric will not leave that to chance but will lead the reader and make the case to ensure the correct result is found. A more maverick rhetoric leaves the statements as seen above, since the reader fills in the gaps is not as important to the creator. Or they're lazy. (This last bit is my own logic--take it as you will.)

[tchwrtr]

Well there is that.

[thatwasjen]

I knew that already.

[starcat_jewel]

The Big Lie.

[javasaurus]

Based on this wonderful list of rhetorical devices, the use of "whatever the New York Times once was" might qualify as pleonasm, but the device you seek might be litotes ("understatement, for intensification, by denying the contrary of the thing being affirmed").

[tchwrtr]

Rocking list! Just the kind of thing I was looking for when I ran into the other piece.

[javasaurus]

Hmmm...me again.

It depends on the intent of the speaker who said, "Fahrenheit 9/11 is not a documentary."

If you believe that the movie was, in fact, a documentary, then the statement is (as presented) merely unsupported denial. If you believe that the movie was a ranting political attack, then my initial thought of it as litotes might be accurate.

[thatwasjen]

Maybe, but the examples of litotes seem mostly to be compliments.

[javasaurus]

From the first site I posted:

A few unannounced quizzes are not inconceivable.

War is not healthy for children and other living things.

One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day.