by Raymond Alexander Kukkee

Created on: August 27, 2009

Persuasion: The art of Temptation

Persuasion is a common form of communication, whether an art form or just a wonderful tool in life that can equally encourage a crying child to smile, a terminally ill patient to strive for the joy of yet another day in the glaring and painful absence of hope , or a world of embattled nations to declare peace. Persuasion may be clever, delicately wielded, breathtakingly artistic, subtle and refined, or applied with the brutal force of a large hammer. Persuasion in it's many forms is pervasive and effective in both the singular human mind and in mankind collectively, but is it an art form?

With reason, timely and well-spoken words, can we not be persuaded to believe almost anything? What would the world be like without the fact of persuasion? Without persuasion and encouragement to enjoy the idyllic happiness of childhood, would all children cry endlessly? Would ill patients simply die prematurely without the delicate persuasion of hope? Would nations offer nothing but violent warfare and ignore forever the advancement of civilization? With little effort, it can be observed that persuasion, like art, is at work in humanity at all times. It might be reasonable to suggest the world cannot exist without persuasion, but why should it be considered an art form?

Just as visual arts have been used, persuasion has been used throughout history, and magnificently at times, to change the direction and nature of civilization . The sophisticated, and clever orator, using nothing but persuasion, encourages others to believe what he envisions and believes unequivocally. Religious leaders shepherd the minds of doubting Thomas clones en masse to their own version of God using persuasion, with a few subtle hints of hell fire, punishment, and offerings of eternal lives bejeweled with heavenly rewards thrown in -a delicate mix that can substantially sway the even the troubled human mind. A despised political leader charges a nation to use deadly, ugly devices borne of the most deviate mind in a quasi-military social laboratory, using persuasion and custom-tailored rhetoric to achieve belief in the correctness of his means to a questionable end. Is that ilk of persuasion an art form? The probability of effecting change, where under normal circumstance change might be unlikely, often requires callous, reckless and daring persuasion sublimated under artistic licence. Therein lies a substantiated, if oblique similarity to art.

The artist or craftsman

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