stasis theory. what is stasis theory? stasis (n.): a state of equilibrium also known as the “state...
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STASIS THEORY
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What is stasis theory?stasis (n.): a state of equilibrium
Also known as the “state of the case”
• The goal of stasis theory in rhetoric is to locate the “point at issue” or the focal point that an argument depends upon to proceed.
• Hermagoras of Temnos (1st c. BCE) developed this idea of stasis in order to move issues forward in public debate and to avoid what has become a large part of American political culture: talking past each other.
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Example of an unbalanced argument• The first step is to agree on the question being discussed.
• Quintilian, a rhetorician from 35 CE, states “Every question is based on assertion by one party and denial by another” (III vi 7). However, a lot of questions are never resolved because the two sides are not asserting and denying the same question.
• For example:• Pro-life: “abortion is murder”• Pro-choice: “women have the right to choose what happens to their own
bodies”
• These parties cannot productively debate until they agree on what question they are debating. Reaching agreement on the question is called “achieving stasis.”
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Definite and Indefinite Questions• Definite questions involve questions about specific
people, times, and places.• These questions are always encompassed by a larger, indefinite
question.• The Supreme Court operates on these questions about specific
people and circumstances (e.g. Brown v. Board of Education decided the right of African-American families in Topeka, KS in 1952 to send their children to white schools in their neighborhoods) that they then generally rule on which affects the entire country.
• Indefinite questions involve questions without reference to specific people, times, and places.• It’s a good idea to imagine what the indefinite question “behind” the
definite questions may be when formulating an argument.
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Stasis Questions• Once the question under discussion has been formulated, stasis
questions come into play.
• Cicero (Roman philosopher, ~63 BCE) states ““Every subject which contains in itself any controversy existing either in language or in disputation, contains a question either about a fact, or about a name, or about a class, or about an action” (De Inventione I viii). As a result we have four basic stasis questions:
• Question of Fact (Conjectural Stasis) – Does it exist? Did it happen?• Question of Definition (Definitional Stasis) – How can the act or event be defined?• Question of Quality (Qualitative Stasis) – What is the character of the act?• Question of Policy (Translative Stasis) – What should we do now?
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“I Shot the Sheriff”I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy.
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy.
All around in my home town
They’re trying to track me down.
They say they want to bring me in guilty
For the killing of a deputy, For the life of a deputy.
QUESTION OF:• Fact:
• Did he shoot the deputy, or as he claims, the sheriff?
• Definition?• Is it correct to call this killing “self-defense” or “murder”?
• Quality?• In moral and legal terms, was the killing just or unjust?
• Policy?• What should be done about this? What should the sentence be?
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Global Warming• Questions of Fact
• Is the Earth’s climate changing? • If so, is it warming up, cooling down, or both? • How and when did these changes start? • What causes these changes? • Are they caused by human activity? • Do they happen naturally? Can they be slowed or stopped? • Can they be hastened?
• Questions of Definition• Can these climate changes be defined as global warming or as
something else? • If so, how should we define global warming? • How does global warming fit into the other aspects of climate
change? • How does it fit into the natural climate changes that led to ice ages
in the past? • What are the different parts of the process of climate change?
• Questions of Quality• Is climate change harmful? • Is it right to try to stop it? • Is economic prosperity better than energy conservation? • Which is more important, the short-term health of the economy or
the long-term stability of the climate?
• Questions of Policy• Should we try to stop climate change? • What will happen if we do nothing? • Should we act to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses? • Should we try to conserve energy? • Should we switch to nuclear power? • Will any of these actions reduce global warming? Will these actions
create other problems?
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Potential Outline {Stasis Arrangement}
I. Introduction (Rhetorical Précis)A. Altered for YOUR specific argument which leads to the following questions…
II. Body Paragraph #1 – Did something happen?A. Establish factual claim as a response to the unstated question above
B. Specific evidence
III. Body Paragraph #2 – What is the nature of the thing?A. Establish definitive claim as a response to the unstated question above
B. Specific example
IV. Body Paragraph #3 – What is the quality of the thing?A. Establish qualitative claim as a response to the unstated question above
B. Specific example
V. Body Paragraph #4 / Conclusion – What actions should be taken?A. Establish policy claim as a response to the unstated question above
B. Specific proposal
NOTE: this is ONE way to organize your essay, but by no means the ONLY way.