Progymnasmata: Confirmation & Refutation Chapter 3 pp. 116 #2.

Debatable question from history:

Confirmation
Assertion to be confirmed:
There is life on at least one other planet.
Encomium (Panegyric), discourse of praise:
"NASA remains a leading force in scientific research and in stimulating public interest in aerospace exploration, as well as science and technology in general."
Exposition of the Situation:
"There is also a strong possibility of planets outside of our solar system having the conditions necessary for life. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, contains at least 200 billion (200,000,000,000) stars, and recent observations with very powerful telescopes suggests that many of the stars in the night sky have planets orbiting them. There is a famous equation called Drake's Equation that tries to calculate how many stars contain orbiting planets that have conditions suitable for the development of life. The equation suggests that life forms are very likely to exist on planets in our galaxy or any of the billions of other galaxies in the Universe. Scientists are still working hard to observe earth-like planets around other stars, and to understand the conditions under which life formed and evolved on the ancient Earth." - Brian W. Stewar
"Understanding planetary habitability and the relationship between the occurrence of life and the evolution of planets is a primary organizing theme of NASA's Solar System Exploration Program."
Certainty:
"In the process of photosynthesis, plants convert energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of glucose, or sugar. The chlorophyll in plants absorbs more blue and red light from sunlight, and less green light. Chlorophyll is green, because it reflects green light more than blue and red light."
Credibility:
"Since its inception in 1958, NASA has accomplished many great scientific and technological feats in air and space."
Possibility:
"NASA scientists believe they have found a way to predict the color of plants on planets in other solar systems."
Consistency:
"No one knows" - David Morrison
Propriety:
According to the reliable source Nancy Kiang, detecting the color of plants on other planets is possible. "Kiang and her colleagues calculated what the stellar light would look like at the surface of Earth-like planets whose atmospheric chemistry is consistent with the different types of stars they orbit. By looking at the changes in that light through different atmospheres, researchers identified colors that would be most favorable for photosynthesis on other planets. This new research narrows the range of colors that scientists would expect to see when photosynthesis is occurring on extrasolar planets."
Convenience:
"Mars, Titan, Europa, and other promising objects"
Refutation
False assertion to be refuted:
There is life on at least one other planets.
Exposition of the Situation:
Same as above
Uncertainty:
"Thre is no direct evidence today of life on any planet beyond Earth. The search for life beyond Earth is one of the major goals of astrobiology." - David Morrison
Incredibility:
"...only on Earth does the whole complicated mix come together in a way that encourages life"
Impossibility:
"In order for life (in the form that is most familiar to us) to evolve on a planet, scientists believe that the planet must be warm enough to contain at least some liquid water, but not so hot that all of the water turns to vapor, as appears to be the case on the planet Venus." - Brian W. Stewar
Lack of Consistency:
"In order for life (in the form that is most familiar to us) to evolve on a planet, scientists believe that the planet must be warm enough to contain at least some liquid water, but not so hot that all of the water turns to vapor... It must also contain certain important elements, like carbon and nitrogen, that are necessary to build living cells, and the environment must be calm enough that life has time to develop - the planets in some star systems may be hit so frequently by giant meteorites (causing all the surface water to boil or vaporize) that life never has a chance to form there." - Brian W. Stewar
Impropriety:
"There is no direct evidence today of life on any planet beyond Earth." - David Morrison
Inconvenience:
"little is presently known about habitable environments within our Solar System"

Blog 2: Everything Heuristic

pp. 13: "an aid to discovery"
pp. 432: "any system of investigation"
pp. 80: enriching stock of arguments with; enrich intellectual "copia" (abundant and ready supply of language; arguments or figures available for use on any occasion).
pp. 387: functions of ancient memory: "software is now available that serves the heuristic functions of ancient memory-something that literate storage could not do.
pp. 51: Generations of: "Invention" (the art of discovering all of the arguments made available by a given rhetorical situation) mechanisms ("can serve as a means of") include karios, stasis theory, the commonplaces, and the topics. All "can generate heuristics, which are usually lists of questions that help rhetors to investigate issues systematically."
pp. 51: interested communities serving as: "because it can be used to ascertain the available arguments that are in circulation among interested parties.
pp. 133: potential of commonplaces and: "they (Rhetorical commonplaces) give rise to an inexhaustible supply of proofs. They can be used as major premises for arguments, and like all rhetorical proofs, they can also be used to persuade others to join the community and to accept its commitments." ... "Using it, a rhetor can think through his position on almost any [political] issue."
pp. 72: questions raised by: "Rhetors who work through the questions raised by [this] heuristic in systematic fashion will find that the process: Clarifies their thinking about the point in dispute, forces them to think about the assumptions and values shared by members of their targeted audience, establishes areas in which more research needs to be done, suggests which proofs are crucial to the case, [and] perhaps even points the way toward the most effective arrangement of the proofs."
pp. 126: using topic of degree as: "to discover the wide range of arguments that are available on...almost any issue."

Blog 1: class notes from 1/19 and 1/21 2010

Progymnasmata: rhetorical situation. Conditions for debate are set up.
Sophism: people trained to debate, teach, learn what to say.
Socrates: knowledge is inherent.
3 Types of Rhetoric: In classical rhetoric, oratory was divided into 3 branches or kinds of causes.
1. Judicial
2. Deliberative
4. Epideictic
1492: Gutenberg: Printing press
"Ancient Rhetorics"
Aristotle: Poetics
-codify rules of arguing, debate, ...
Augustine: Polytheist: wrote a lot about christianity.
Descartes
The Rhetorical Triangle: all three link, and story goes on in middle.
Audience

Purpose Occasion

Superadressee:
Purpose = Occasion
Cisero: original discusser to talk of 5 cannons of rhetoric:
1. Invention
2. Arrangement
3. Style
4. Memory
5. Delivery
3 Appeals:
1. Ethos: Credibility
2. Pathos: Overly emotional
3. Logos: Reason

Progymnasmata: Cheria

"The root of education is bitter, but sweet are its fruits" (Isocrates) In other words, Education is hard, but the benefits that come from it make it worth the effort.

Rhetorical Activity 2 #2

The Chief Illiniwek mascot was retired after a game on February 22, 2007.
The mascot is not the only display of Indian heritage that has caused controversy. Dickson Mounds Museum", which is considered a National Historic Site, once had the archaeological sites’ burial ground exposed, showing the deceased ancestors of Native Americans to tourists.
Governor Jim Edgar had the museum closed in the early ‘90s to remodel the museum and cover the bones, and either placed artificial replications above them, or closed the observatory for good.
Near Dickson Mounds, it appears that an archeological dig has been going on for some time.

About me

Short introduction to myself:
This first blog is to write about my major, what I plan to do with it and what I hope to get out of the class.
I am a Psychology Major, English Professional Writing Minor; planning to graduate in August of 2010. I plan to remain in the Colorado area and pursue another degree or work somewhere near the mountains.
I hope to increase my composition and rhetoric skills in this class, and have proficient ability to refer back to my book in the future when certain skills relevant to the course material are needed. This course is one of four I need to receive the Professional Writing Minor.