A beautiful philosophioical book. It seems that most arguments in the world relate back to Religion somehow…

Is silence an argument? I believe so. Here are some beautiful pieces of photography expressing a Statement in Silence.

Fugazi’s song Epic Problem from the album The Argument

Silence

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Silence is the relative or total lack of audible sound. By analogy, the word silence may also refer to any absence of communication, even in media other than speech.

Silence in pingo social interaction is the absence of speech. Silence in this arena can be divided into three categories (Bruneau, 1973): mental, social, or both. These are defined according to time, context, and perception.

In discourse analysis, brief absences of speech mark the boundaries of prosodic units used by speakers. Silence in speech can be the result of hesitation, stutters, self-correction, or the deliberate slowing of speech for the purpose of clarification or processing of ideas. These are short silences. Longer pauses in language occur in interactive roles, reactive tokens, or turn-taking.

According to cultural norms, silence can be interpreted as positive or negative. For example, in a Christian Methodist faith organization silence and reflection during the sermons might be appreciated by the congregation, while in a Southern Baptist church, silence might mean disagreement with what is beingbicho, or perhaps disconnectedness from the congregated community.

[edit] Gestures and symbols

No mobile phones are permitted in designated “quiet carriages” such as this one on a train operated by First Great Western.

Placing the index finger in front of closed lips is the most widely recognized gesture of silence. The gesture can be used to demand silence without raising one’s own voice. The rose, sometimes depicted clasped by or on top of closed lips, is another well-recognized symbol of silence stemming from various mythologies.

In the Western cultures, it is sometimes difficult to interpret the message being sent by a person being silent (i.e. not speaking). It can mean anger, hostility, disinterest, or any number of other emotions. Because of this, people in Western cultures feel uneasy when one party is silent and will usually try their best to fill up the silence with small talk.

The Western Apaches use silence during times of uncertainty or anger in the way most people in Western cultures would be vocal. The goal is to observe and anticipate what the other party is going to do.

In Joy Kogawa’s novel Obasan, silence is a symbol of victimization, a sign of the overbearing memories that burden us. Its characters have been silenced by repression.

Argumentative silence is the rhetorical practice of saying nothing when an opponent in a debate would expect something to be said. Poorly executed, it can be very offensive, like refusing to answer a direct question. However, well-timed silence can completely throw an opponent and give the debater the upper hand.

An argument from silence (Latin: argumentum ex silentio) is an argument based on the assumption that someone’s silence on a matter suggests (“proves” when a logical fallacy) that person’s ignorance of the matter. In general, ex silentio refers to the claim that the absence of something demonstrates the proof of a proposition.

 The album’s songs include 1. Intro  2. Cashout  3. Full Disclosure 4. Epic Problem 5. Life and Limb 6. The Kill  7. Strangelight 8. Oh 9. Ex-Spectator             10. Nightshop  11. Argument

Some of them seem to tie in to the title clearly, like Epic Problem, Full Discolsure, Life and Limb, The Kill, Ex-Spectator and obviously Argument.  

Aristotelian argument

Aristotle was one of the foremost thinkers of the classical world, and his approach to logic and thinking is still in use today. This page picks out from other pages on argumentation and logic those that have particular import for Aristotle.

Three ways to persuade

Aristotle, perhaps the most famous arguer, described three routes to change the mind of the other person.

Ethos

Ethos uses trust, and focuses first on the speaker. showing the speaker

Reputation

The reputation of a person depends on their past, and what is known and spoken about them. Note that, although there is usually a close relationship between reputation and reality, this is not always so. Politicians, for example, guard their reputation carefully, yet many still have skeletons in the closet.

Leveraging reputation often means reminding others of your illustrious past, perhaps through stories of your successes, of how you have helped others and been able to see the truth where others have not.

Credibility

Credibility, depends both on expertize and how this is portrayed. If you want people to believe you, you must first show that you believe yourself.

To use credibility, position yourself as an expert. Talk as if you cannot be challenged. Show how others look up to you. Use powerful gesture, eye contact and so on to position yourself as a leader.

Pathos

Pathos appeals to the emotions of the listener, seeking to excite them or otherwise arouse their interest.

An effective way of arousing passions is in appeal to values. Tell stories of poor values, for example where innocent people are harmed. Use Ethos to show your own values and how you put others before yourself. You can also work with their goals and interests or even challenge their beliefs.

Language has a significant effect on emotion, and key words (fire, child, anger, smooth, etc.) can trigger senses and feelings.

Logos

Logos focuses first on the argument, using cool logic and rational explanation, as well as demonstrable evidence.

Evidence

Science and scientific proof are based on the use of empirical evidence. If you argue without evidence, a scientist would dismiss your argument as metaphysical (literally, outside the physical world).

Evidence cannot be refuted, as courts of law seek to demonstrate. If you show, then it is very difficult to deny without calling into question the validity of the evidence produced.

Evidence can include statistics, pictures and recounted experience (especially first hand). Pathos may also be evoked when giving evidence as you give it an emotional spin. Ethos is also important to establish the credibility of the witness.

Reason

Reason uses rational points that call on accepted truths and proven theories. Where evidence does not exist, reason may still prevail. A common tool in reasoning is to link two items together, for example by cause and effect.

Reasoning often uses syllogisms, that include a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion based on the combination of the two premises.

Argument

Disciplines > Argument

‘Argument’ is often used to mean heated and emotional exchanges. Argument, here, is just the opposite. Arguing with pure logic, or argumentation, is a fine art that has been refined over many centuries. One of the earliest and definitely the best at this was Aristotle, and the modern art of argument has developed from the Athenians onward.

• Aristotelian Logic: The collected elements from the original master.
• Fallacies: Many of the common errors that appear in arguments.
• Five canons of Rhetoric: the principles of Aristotelian persuasion.
• Making the argument: building a strong argument.
• Syllogisms: Classic logical argument forms.
• Types of reasoning: different ways to argue.
• Virtues of Style: Five ways of creating effective style.

My keywork is Liberation, I mentioned that in passing, but noticed that I didn’t highlight it. It is found on page 188. Also make sure you check the link on the David Bowie and Iggy Pop article, you just have to click on the title and it will take you to the page. Anyone who digs the Iggy Pop, Bowie, Lou Reed, Velvet Underground era will enjoy this read.

Comfortably Numb, ok so here is the connection. The word that I stumbled upon in Keywords is Liberation. What is a more ultimate liberating experience than death? Possibly a drug induced near death experience.  Death, murder, euthanasia, release, letting go, oblivion. Do the last three have a parrallel to anything else? Drugs maybe? Specifically heroin? I wrote a term paper on the subject and my knowledge, sans personal experience is that in a heroin induced state there is a feeling of  “sweet oblivion”. “With a little pin prick there will be no more pain…” one of the lines in the song.

And here’s the grand tie in, Iggy Pop also a well know junkie, referencing David Bowie, who was part of the CD and “cut-outs” I brought in to trade. David Bowie was used in description of Adam Lambert. Who was connected to Britney Spears via their live television kiss, when Adam Lambert’s gay kiss was banned. Ms. Spears and Madonna fit into my 80’s CD that I recieved and Adam Lambert was from J Loan’s CD as well as his reference to David Bowie.

Now who doesn’t automatically think of Dr Kevorkian when thinking of Euthanasia? I know he surely is the first to jump to my mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._kavorkian

Jack Kevorkian (pronounced /kɛˈvɔrkiːɛn/;^[1] born May 26, 1928)^[2] is an American pathologist, right-to-die activist, painter, composer, and instrumentalist. He is most noted for publicly championing a terminal patient’s right to die via physician-assisted suicide; he claims to have assisted at least 130 patients to that end. He famously said that “dying is not a crime.”^[3]

Between 1999 and 2007, Kevorkian served eight years of a 10-to-25-year prison sentence for second-degree murder. He was released on parole on June 1, 2006, due to good behavior.^[4]

An oil painter and a jazz musician, Kevorkian has marketed limited quantities of his visual and musical artwork to the public.

Contents

[hide]

• 1 Life and career
  • 1.1 Art career
• 2 Trials
• 3 Conviction and imprisonment
• 4 Activities after his release from prison
  • 4.1 2008 Congressional Election
• 5 Media
• 6 Cultural references
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 External links

[edit] Life and career

Kevorkian was born in Pontiac, Michigan, to Armenian-American parents. He graduated from Pontiac Central High School with honors in 1945, at the age of 17. He then enrolled at the University of Michigan Medical School, from which he graduated in 1952.^[5][6]

In the 1980s, Kevorkian wrote a series of articles for the German journal Medicine and Law that laid out his thinking on the ethics of euthanasia.

Kevorkian started advertising in Detroit newspapers in 1987 as a physician consultant for “death counseling.” In 1991 the State of Michigan revoked Kevorkian’s medical license and made it clear that given his actions, he was no longer permitted to practice medicine or to work with patients. Between 1990 and 1998, Kevorkian assisted in the deaths of nearly 100 terminally ill people, according to his lawyer Geoffrey Fieger. In each of the above mentioned cases, the individuals themselves allegedly took the final action which resulted in their own deaths. Kevorkian allegedly assisted only by attaching the individual to a euthanasia device that he had made. The individual then pushed a button which released the drugs or chemicals that would end his or her own life. Two deaths were assisted by means of a device which delivered the euthanizing drugs mechanically through an IV. Kevorkian called it a “Thanatron” (death machine). Other people were assisted by a device which employed a gas mask fed by a canister of carbon monoxide which was called “Mercitron” (mercy machine). This became necessary because Kevorkian’s medical license had been revoked after the first two deaths, and he could no longer have legal access to the substances required for the “Thanatron”.