The Contradiction of Virtue


Chapter Six of Thank You For Arguing by Jay Heinrichs delves into the three facets of a persuasive ethos: virtue, wisdom, and disinterest. Full of insight on how to use these elements to create a compelling public persona with the ability to persuade, Heinrichs excels in his ability to create contemporaneous examples of the Greek ethos, especially in regards to his argument of virtue.


But hey there, bud, what do you mean by virtue? What is good and why? While we connote virtue with “good”, here, it does not mean the same thing. Can it mean “good”? The short answer is, it depends.


Like most things in life, the content of what construes virtue is defined by its context. Take for example, the current president Donald J. Trump. While many on the left decry the leader as a racist, sexist, and anti-intellectual – and there are probably good arguments for these – his fans on the right see him as a tell-it-like-it-is champion of making the country “great” again. So, is he virtuous? Under typical examinations of what constitutes “virtue” i.e. good, wholesome, then, no, Trump is most likely not. However, in the virtue element of ethos, he most certainly is because he appeals to the values of his base. Exemplifying virtue equates to appealing to the values of your group.

What are the values of your group? How will you use them advantageously? And are they “good”?

Here is where we find the contradiction of virtue. While the public connotation we usually attend to the word means something nice, its application in the power of persuasion can be anything but. to be virtuous in the eyes of your audience does not mean you are inherently moral or good. It simply means you share their values. So while you can be a womanizing, racist bully, you still can somehow appeal to an Evangelical Christian base.

The power of virtue!

Comments

  1. Ryan LelandFebruary 27, 2020 at 2:51 PM

    Sharing values is definitely such a magnetizing connection. The real life example you used here was perfect. It describes how a shared group of values creates two sides to essentially all arguments and how you see other people. "Thank you for arguing" definitely filled itself with the ways to use all forms of persuasion to appeal to your group of valuing sharing people in society.

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