Framed for Lying: Statistics as In/Artistic Proof

Daniel Libertz

doi:10.29107/rr2018.4.1

Res Rhetorica Dec 2018 OA PDF

Framed for Lying: Statistics as In/Artistic Proof

Daniel Libertz University of Pittsburgh

Abstract

A statistic can be a powerful rhetorical tool in political discourse, but it can also be quickly dismissed by a resistant audience. This article argues that the statistic’s association with Aristotelian inartistic proof (in Greek: pisteis atechnoi, Lat. probationes inartificiales) can, counterintuitively, encourage resistant audiences to be dismissive, to think that statistics “lie.” By drawing from the concept of framing in media studies, I explore how the language used around a calculation can better serve readers when it is more explicit about the statistic’s creation from a social process—that it is invented rather than used in argument. If statistics rely on interpretation, rhetors should invite their audience to interpret rather than insist on an interpretation. I use examples from news articles covering immigration in the United States to explore a frame that does such insisting and a frame that invites.

Journal: Res Rhetorica
Published: 2018-12-31
DOI: 10.29107/rr2018.4.1
CompPile: Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access: OA PDF Diamond
Topics: rhetorical criticism discourse analysis public rhetoric
Export: BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Framed for Lying: Statistics as In/Artistic Proof

Abstract

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

Cites in this index (0)

Related Articles