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by Gary C. Gibson

Created on: May 16, 2009   Last Updated: November 09, 2009

Persuasion is not a form of art; it's a stimulus-response feedback circuit by a controller or would be controller of a human subject or subjects. Persuasion in the context of verbal communication may be highly skilled or threatening-the complete range of expressible forms of speech are possible from false promises to misdirection though talk isn't the only method of persuasion.

Art is the shaping of beautiful things. Reason is the ability to evaluate and prioritize things. Are most people persuaded more by eloquence than by reason? Disregard for the moment the ineloquent slop that stimulates consumerism through broadcast advertising. Though it has little reason and is entirely art and Americans go for it like pigs to a trough full of hot vittals, does that make all people more inclined to be persuaded by puff balls of gee gaws and shiny things rather than by hard, cold facts?

How did the United States build up 12 trillion of public debt, have another ten trillion scheduled by the administration and have a likely target of 50 trillion dollars of debt by 2030? Were the public persuaded by the art of political discourse or by the pure plain corrupting of facts? Is lying really an art? Is incompetence art? Is corporate treason that invests abroad and digs pits of doom for the Americans of today and tomorrow in a hot global mess ruled by foreign investors artistic? A belief that persuasion is an art is to find in favor of the reciprocal that Americans are shallow and narcissistic minded. It isn't a nation of Spocks that can find the way to the half mile course to the objective rather than the artfully appointed 50 trillion dollar way a saleswoman foists upon us.

Starvation with sanctions is one political tool intended to bring individuals or governments in to political submission. Forced homelessness and lack of medical care, destruction of dating and family life affordability and a plethora of aversive conditioning devices may be a persuasive coercion such that a subject may change his or her behavior into conformity with the will of the controller(s). Positive reinforcement is also persuasive-that buxom beauty with the splendid personality can become an irresistibly persuasive argument to throwing one's congress to the sharks, historically. How many have switched to the opposition party in return for the silky caress of the svelte woman?

Art museums have painting and sculptures a thief might steal for if persuaded by the greed or purchasing power of the goods sold to private collectors. What persuasions have brought men and women to break that commandment, or given up compatriots during interrogation, sacrificed moral principles or done wrong because of peer pressure? How persuasive was Adolph Hitler with his resonating speaking voice? Can Hitler's persuasions in any way be said to have been an art?

There are many ways to persuade people to believe, to act upon, to find agreement with the ideas of the controller-or if in a weaker position, the appellant. Truth can be a good method for the honest, simple recitation of facts should be a convincing proof of the reason for agreement. It would be a cynical kind of sophism to have the opinion that persuasion is simply a skill and the meaning a superfluity or even a dissimulation of no consequence. One does not need an art in order to convey facts plainly and accurately to a receiver of information if they are willing to listen. Language arts do certainly exist-poetic language is one obvious application of language to art. Art did originally refer to artisans or skilled workers rather than to aesthetic creations of a non-functional or just pleasure purpose. Today the term 'art' is applied to everything from wrestling to logic probably incorrectly. 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' as a book title applied the word 'art' vary broadly and created a genre of similar applications that followed.

Definitions of words may be changed to mean about anything one wishes so long as the meaning is copied or 'ditto'd' such as Rush Limbaugh listeners used to iterate on calls to the Boggi Swami Rama of radio politic chat. Is it fair to say that Rush Limbaugh's work in broadcasting is an art? There is another radio broadcaster who does fake reality interviews of a political nature that resembles sincerity that qualifies as art because it is intended for entertainment. With so much global network corporate power the line between entertainment and not is eradicated...even the news is entertainment for ratings and advertising revenues. The coverage is driven to enthrall rather than inform. If one is persuaded by it if anything it should be that society is badly structured and in need of substantial reform; one would need to make that inference as a cross purpose from the intended response the controllers desire in the listener or watcher. I read a very good book on classical and symbolic logic by David Kelly named 'The Art of Reasoning'. I believe that the meaning of art in the context is that reasoning with logic and symbolic logic especially is a skill that can be learned and practiced to a better result than at first-such as one expects when learning to play a guitar, understand quantum mechanics or develop knowledge in any field requiring technical proficiency over time. Language that is used for entertainment is an art if done well, while language that is applied for persuasion should convey information well and be plain and concise or at least to the point. The facts should persuade the listener rather than the skill with which the facts or a dissimulation are presented.

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