itsthepathocrats
01-28-2009, 03:38 PM
The Propaganda Game
by Robert Allen & Lorne Greene
I. Introduction ~
Propaganda is a subject of great concern in our society today, perhaps more so than in any other society in history. With the advent of television as a complement to the other communications media now available to us, the opportunities to use propaganda in disseminating information, expounding ideas, and offering opinions have increased considerably. And, unfortunately, it is far too often the case that propaganda is used to make us accept questionable points-of-view, to make us vote for men who may be unfit for public office, and make us buy products which are useless and sometimes even dangerous. Therefore, propaganda, or the method of influencing people to believe certain ideas and to follow certain courses of action, is of special importance to each of us.
The word "propaganda" comes from the Latin phrase "Congregatio de Propaganda Fide", or "Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith", a committee formed early in the Roman Catholic Church, whose function it is to aid the propagation or spread of the church doctrine throughout the world. Propaganda plays a dynamic, positive role in the daily lives of many men. Actors, preachers, teachers, politicians, editors, advertisers, salesmen, reformers, authors, parents --- our friends and even ourselves --- practice the art of persuasion. And each of us, as we attempt to put our ideas across to others, to persuade them to agree with our way of thinking, is, in a sense, acting in the ancient Roman tradition of the word: we are all missionaries for our causes.
Propaganda, as we know it today, can be nefarious as well as a noble art. For at one moment its techniques can be used to whip up racial hatred among groups of people; at another moment, its methods can be employed to move persons to acts of warmth and kindness. It is important, therefore, that we consider a person’s motive for using a propaganda technique, as well as understanding that a technique has been used.
Often, the ideas of facts that we wish to convey are linked with words about which everyone has some emotional feeling --- words such as "mother", "home", "beauty", "love", or "cruelty", "murder" or "death" --- since both hostile and loving emotions are a part of us all. But just as there is a place for emotional feeling in men, so also there is a place for more dispassionate thinking. In a democratic society, it is the role for every citizen to make decisions after evaluating many ideas. It is especially important then that a citizen be able to think clearly about the ideas that are daily presented to him. It is imperative that he be able to analyze and distinguish between the emotional aura surrounding the ideas, and the actual content of the idea. To this goal of clear thinking the game of PROPAGANDA addresses itself.
PROPAGANDA has been designed to introduce the players to some of the techniques used to distort the thinking process. However, one should not be deceived into thinking that familiarity with the subject matter in this game qualifies him as an expert thinker. PROPAGANDA should be regarded as an introduction to, rather than a completed course in, clear thinking.
A number of cautions need to be observed as one gains a better understanding of propaganda techniques. Many times defects in argument occur innocently. This is particularly true in discussions involving families, associates, and/or close friends. Although it is hoped that your awareness of the principles and practices of propaganda will be employed in your everyday approach to problem analysis, it is recommended that in you "go slow" in correcting others. No one likes to be branded publicly as an illogical fool. Also, just because a labeled technique can be attached to an argument, that argument is not necessarily invalid. Finally, it is not the aim of the authors that the PROPAGANDA GAME encourage youngsters and adults to become cynical and unduly suspicious of everything that is said and written, but rather that they become aware of the emotional overtones in all arguments and suggestions, and thus gain more thoughtful control over their responses to the multitude of ideas that they encounter daily...
II. Instructions ~ [Not included here]
III. Explanation of Techniques ~
Section A: Habits of Reflective Procedure (Techniques of Self-Deception)
1. Prejudice ~
Example: Nathanael asked (referring to Jesus): "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?", and thus indicated his prejudice against Jesus’ hometown.
Meaning: A prejudice is an unwillingness to examine fairly the evidence and reasoning in behalf of the person or thing which is the object of the prejudice. It is a prejudgment caused by indoctrination, conditioning, or some prior experience of a singularly pleasant or unpleasant character. A prejudice has strong and deep emotional support.
In discussing Prejudice here we are not talking of appeals to known prejudices. These are made from without, as by an advertising man, a salesman, or a politician. Rather, our interest is in how your own Prejudice, unaided by outside support, victimizes you.
Prejudice differs from hasty Generalization in that although hasty Generalization often represents a spontaneous emotional reaction, Prejudice is always a matter of much longer standing. The feeling that operates in the latter case is deep, not superficial, and is often completely hidden from the man in its grip.
2. Academic Detachment ~
Example: "I’ve heard many arguments in favor of the Republican candidate and just as many for the Democratic. Hence I don’t find any reason to prefer one over the other, so I’m going to stay home and not vote for either one".
Meaning: We refuse to commit ourselves when decision or action is demanded. In a situation requiring a stand to be taken, we see (or think we see) persuasive arguments on both sides. But certain situations (e.g., voting) require decision and action of one kind or another. Here, instead of trying to remain neutral, we must make a decision on the basis of which side seems to have the greater weight of evidence.
3. Drawing the Line ~
Example: "Either you tell the truth or you lie".
Meaning: Sharp distinctions are drawn where it is inappropriate to draw sharp distinctions.
It is permissible to draw the line between those who are for you and those who are not for you, those who tell the truth and those who do not tell the truth, and so on. But the error and inclination exhibited by common speech is to fail to realize that the logical class of those who do not tell the truth includes two subclasses that are quite different: (1) those who lie and (2) those who say nothing at all.
4. Not Drawing The Line ~
Example: "If we are allowed to stay out till two o’clock in the morning, why not till three --- one hour doesn’t make that much difference".
Meaning: The existence of differences is denied just because the differences are small and therefore apparently unimportant.
5. Conservatism, Radicalism, Moderatism ~
Example: (1) "This belief is an old one, but I want you to know that the old ways are the best ways".
(2) "What we need is new ideas, completely new ways of thinking; the old is not worthy of our acceptance".
(3) "Vote for me. My program is neither conservative nor radical".
Meaning: These three habits of mind are forms of prejudice. But they are not necessarily such. Prejudices have histories with a beginning. But the neo-conservative, the one who prefers what is old or familiar simply because it is old or familiar, may be born such; it is part of the temperament he brings into the world. Radicalism is the habit of preferring the new or the revolutionary just because of its newness. The moderate habitually chooses middle-of-the-road or compromise ground; he avoids the two extremes. But there is no inherent virtue in moderatism or compromise as such. Actually, there are times when our position should be conservative, and still other times when we should be moderate.
6. Rationalization ~
Example: The student, having failed the test, blames his failure on the classroom’s being so hot that he couldn’t think, whereas in reality he knows that he didn’t spend enough time in study.
Meaning: You cite reasons or causes that will justify action that really has less creditable grounds.
7. Wishful Thinking ~
Example: "My son will win because he ought to win after all his long hard preparation".
Meaning: You believe a proposition to be true because you want it to be true.
When we are forced to admit that our wishes have not become reality, we may then seek comfort in rationalizing. If, in the example cited above, the son does not win and the contest is fair, the parent will feel the necessity of inventing some argument that will excuse the son’s failure.
8. Tabloid Thinking ~
Example: "In college Basil was taught all about evolution --- the apeman theory, you know".
Meaning: To think in tabloids is to oversimplify a complex theory or set of circumstances. The tabloid thinker prefers quick summaries and has the habit of "putting things in a nutshell".
Tabloids concerning people are popular because they offer a neat summary of the character of a prominent person. "Marx? You don’t know who Marx was? Why, he was that philosopher who became impatient and irritable in his old age". It is much easier to remember Marx in this simple fashion than to remember him as a man of many interesting and controversial facets of character and conviction. These human tabloids are frequently emotional, but they are not mere Emotional Terms. To be Tabloid Thinking there must be some indication that someone is trying to sum up another’s character. All stereotypes ("barbers are talkative") are tabloids because they present a certain trait or characteristic, which is really superficial or trivial, as being the essential nature of a given class.
9. Causal Oversimplification ~
Example: "If it were not for the ammunition makers, we would never have wars".
Meaning: A complex event is explained by references to only one or two probable causes whereas many are responsible.
10. Inconceivability ~
Example: "Since Ballhead State has never in its past history won the conference title, I just can’t picture them winning it this year".
Meaning: You declare a proposition to be false simply because you cannot conceive it actualized or possible of realization.
Section B: Watch Their Language --- And Yours Too (Techniques of Language)
1. Emotional Terms ~
Example: Participant in Argument: "If you ignorant fools would only shut your traps a while and let me explain".
Meaning: An emotional term is a word or phrase which, however much factual information it conveys about an object, also expresses and/or arouses a feeling for or against that object. Translated into neutral language the emotionally-charged example given above should read: "I don’t agree and if you’ll just give me a chance to talk, I’ll show you why".
The authors believe that emotional language is appropriate in non-controversial situations. For purposes of the Propaganda game, patriotic celebrations, church services, poetry and other literary forms, and whenever a person is expressing personal feelings without attempting to persuade or convince others are considered to be non-controversial situations.
2. Metaphor & Simile ~
Example: Metaphor --- "Napoleon was like a fox".
Meaning: A metaphor is a comparison implied but not definitely stated. In the case of simile the comparison is explicitly stated by means of such words as "like" or "as".
In controversial situations the employment of metaphor or simile is to be avoided because such figures of speech are apt to suggest likenesses not really intended or not actually present. Napoleon was not actually a fox. He may have been like one, but if so, was it with respect to shrewdness or thievery or both or neither?
3. Emphasis ~
Example: When "We should not speak ill of our friends" is quoted, the original meaning changes if any of the following underlined words is emphasized: "We should not speak ill of our friends". Emphasizing "we" suggests that we should not, true, but others may.
Meaning: The technique of emphasis occurs only when another speaker or writer is quoted and one or more words emphasized so as to imply what would not otherwise be implied and thus put into the mouth of the source, meanings he may not have wished to convey.
Oral emphasis is usually secured by means of pitch, tone, or volume of voice. Written emphasis is secured by a variety of devices, such as italicizing and underlining. "Italics mine" (or its equivalent) is the accepted way for a writer to indicate that he is giving a stress to certain words that the original author had perhaps no intention of stressing.
4. Quotation Out of Context ~
Example: Someone quotes the Bible as saying that, "money is the root of all evil", but leave out the preceding words, "the love of".
Meaning: Quotation out of context is a propaganda technique wheb the effect of quoting a given statement without its context is to distort the original meaning in context.
The context of a given statement is not merely the words that precede and that follow but every accompanying circumstance, whether it be time and place or gesture and facial expression.
5. Abstract Terms ~
Example: A speaker defines "neurosis" as "a psychological term for a state of mind involving the nerves", but when he is asked to identify or point to --- among a large number of people --- a case of neurosis, he is at a loss to do so, showing that he is unable to use the term to make any concrete distinctions.
Meaning: An abstract term is a word or symbol which stands for the qualities (one or more) possessed in common by a number of particular things, facts or events. The technique of abstract terms occurs when an arguer employs a word for which he may have meaning in the form of other words, but the arguer is unable to identify the concrete facts to which to word supposedly refers.
6. Vagueness ~
Example: Someone says to me, "Sit down on that stool", and I sit down on the thing he points to. His meaning is not ambiguous; I understand what he is referring to. But I find the term "stool" vague under the circumstances, and I protest, "But this is not a stool, for it has a little back to it, and so it is a chair". He may reply, "But there is really not enough back there to call it a ‘back’, so I call it a ‘stool’".
Meaning: To call a word "vague" is to say that marginal situations can and do arise where there is doubt as to whether the word should or should not be used in describing those particular situations. The technique of vagueness exists where there is uncertainty as to the scope of the word.
7. Ambiguity ~
Example: Joe says, "Henry likes pudding better than his wife". And one or more people hearing him are left wondering whether Henry likes pudding better than he likes his wife if Henry likes pudding more than his wife does.
Meaning: A word or phrase is ambiguous if in the mind of a hearer or reader it has two or more quite different meanings and the interpreter is uncertain as to which was really meant. In argument such a situation would at all times be undesirable.
8. Shift of Meaning ~
Example: "The fellow who was supposed to arbitrate decided in favor of a company and fined the union. Now anyone who takes sides in a dispute is certainly not impartial. So how can this fellow claim to be an impartial arbitrator?".
Meaning: In shift of meaning a word appears explicitly or implicitly two or more times in an argument but with different meanings.
In the example appearing above "impartial" shifts meaning. In its first use it means "wholly refraining from judgment; taking no stand on an issue". But in its second use it means "judging after investigation but without previous bias". Obviously, the arbitrator’s being impartial in the second sense does not necessitate his being so in the first sense. The implied conclusion ("the arbitrator is not impartial") is invalid. ncluded here]
by Robert Allen & Lorne Greene
I. Introduction ~
Propaganda is a subject of great concern in our society today, perhaps more so than in any other society in history. With the advent of television as a complement to the other communications media now available to us, the opportunities to use propaganda in disseminating information, expounding ideas, and offering opinions have increased considerably. And, unfortunately, it is far too often the case that propaganda is used to make us accept questionable points-of-view, to make us vote for men who may be unfit for public office, and make us buy products which are useless and sometimes even dangerous. Therefore, propaganda, or the method of influencing people to believe certain ideas and to follow certain courses of action, is of special importance to each of us.
The word "propaganda" comes from the Latin phrase "Congregatio de Propaganda Fide", or "Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith", a committee formed early in the Roman Catholic Church, whose function it is to aid the propagation or spread of the church doctrine throughout the world. Propaganda plays a dynamic, positive role in the daily lives of many men. Actors, preachers, teachers, politicians, editors, advertisers, salesmen, reformers, authors, parents --- our friends and even ourselves --- practice the art of persuasion. And each of us, as we attempt to put our ideas across to others, to persuade them to agree with our way of thinking, is, in a sense, acting in the ancient Roman tradition of the word: we are all missionaries for our causes.
Propaganda, as we know it today, can be nefarious as well as a noble art. For at one moment its techniques can be used to whip up racial hatred among groups of people; at another moment, its methods can be employed to move persons to acts of warmth and kindness. It is important, therefore, that we consider a person’s motive for using a propaganda technique, as well as understanding that a technique has been used.
Often, the ideas of facts that we wish to convey are linked with words about which everyone has some emotional feeling --- words such as "mother", "home", "beauty", "love", or "cruelty", "murder" or "death" --- since both hostile and loving emotions are a part of us all. But just as there is a place for emotional feeling in men, so also there is a place for more dispassionate thinking. In a democratic society, it is the role for every citizen to make decisions after evaluating many ideas. It is especially important then that a citizen be able to think clearly about the ideas that are daily presented to him. It is imperative that he be able to analyze and distinguish between the emotional aura surrounding the ideas, and the actual content of the idea. To this goal of clear thinking the game of PROPAGANDA addresses itself.
PROPAGANDA has been designed to introduce the players to some of the techniques used to distort the thinking process. However, one should not be deceived into thinking that familiarity with the subject matter in this game qualifies him as an expert thinker. PROPAGANDA should be regarded as an introduction to, rather than a completed course in, clear thinking.
A number of cautions need to be observed as one gains a better understanding of propaganda techniques. Many times defects in argument occur innocently. This is particularly true in discussions involving families, associates, and/or close friends. Although it is hoped that your awareness of the principles and practices of propaganda will be employed in your everyday approach to problem analysis, it is recommended that in you "go slow" in correcting others. No one likes to be branded publicly as an illogical fool. Also, just because a labeled technique can be attached to an argument, that argument is not necessarily invalid. Finally, it is not the aim of the authors that the PROPAGANDA GAME encourage youngsters and adults to become cynical and unduly suspicious of everything that is said and written, but rather that they become aware of the emotional overtones in all arguments and suggestions, and thus gain more thoughtful control over their responses to the multitude of ideas that they encounter daily...
II. Instructions ~ [Not included here]
III. Explanation of Techniques ~
Section A: Habits of Reflective Procedure (Techniques of Self-Deception)
1. Prejudice ~
Example: Nathanael asked (referring to Jesus): "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?", and thus indicated his prejudice against Jesus’ hometown.
Meaning: A prejudice is an unwillingness to examine fairly the evidence and reasoning in behalf of the person or thing which is the object of the prejudice. It is a prejudgment caused by indoctrination, conditioning, or some prior experience of a singularly pleasant or unpleasant character. A prejudice has strong and deep emotional support.
In discussing Prejudice here we are not talking of appeals to known prejudices. These are made from without, as by an advertising man, a salesman, or a politician. Rather, our interest is in how your own Prejudice, unaided by outside support, victimizes you.
Prejudice differs from hasty Generalization in that although hasty Generalization often represents a spontaneous emotional reaction, Prejudice is always a matter of much longer standing. The feeling that operates in the latter case is deep, not superficial, and is often completely hidden from the man in its grip.
2. Academic Detachment ~
Example: "I’ve heard many arguments in favor of the Republican candidate and just as many for the Democratic. Hence I don’t find any reason to prefer one over the other, so I’m going to stay home and not vote for either one".
Meaning: We refuse to commit ourselves when decision or action is demanded. In a situation requiring a stand to be taken, we see (or think we see) persuasive arguments on both sides. But certain situations (e.g., voting) require decision and action of one kind or another. Here, instead of trying to remain neutral, we must make a decision on the basis of which side seems to have the greater weight of evidence.
3. Drawing the Line ~
Example: "Either you tell the truth or you lie".
Meaning: Sharp distinctions are drawn where it is inappropriate to draw sharp distinctions.
It is permissible to draw the line between those who are for you and those who are not for you, those who tell the truth and those who do not tell the truth, and so on. But the error and inclination exhibited by common speech is to fail to realize that the logical class of those who do not tell the truth includes two subclasses that are quite different: (1) those who lie and (2) those who say nothing at all.
4. Not Drawing The Line ~
Example: "If we are allowed to stay out till two o’clock in the morning, why not till three --- one hour doesn’t make that much difference".
Meaning: The existence of differences is denied just because the differences are small and therefore apparently unimportant.
5. Conservatism, Radicalism, Moderatism ~
Example: (1) "This belief is an old one, but I want you to know that the old ways are the best ways".
(2) "What we need is new ideas, completely new ways of thinking; the old is not worthy of our acceptance".
(3) "Vote for me. My program is neither conservative nor radical".
Meaning: These three habits of mind are forms of prejudice. But they are not necessarily such. Prejudices have histories with a beginning. But the neo-conservative, the one who prefers what is old or familiar simply because it is old or familiar, may be born such; it is part of the temperament he brings into the world. Radicalism is the habit of preferring the new or the revolutionary just because of its newness. The moderate habitually chooses middle-of-the-road or compromise ground; he avoids the two extremes. But there is no inherent virtue in moderatism or compromise as such. Actually, there are times when our position should be conservative, and still other times when we should be moderate.
6. Rationalization ~
Example: The student, having failed the test, blames his failure on the classroom’s being so hot that he couldn’t think, whereas in reality he knows that he didn’t spend enough time in study.
Meaning: You cite reasons or causes that will justify action that really has less creditable grounds.
7. Wishful Thinking ~
Example: "My son will win because he ought to win after all his long hard preparation".
Meaning: You believe a proposition to be true because you want it to be true.
When we are forced to admit that our wishes have not become reality, we may then seek comfort in rationalizing. If, in the example cited above, the son does not win and the contest is fair, the parent will feel the necessity of inventing some argument that will excuse the son’s failure.
8. Tabloid Thinking ~
Example: "In college Basil was taught all about evolution --- the apeman theory, you know".
Meaning: To think in tabloids is to oversimplify a complex theory or set of circumstances. The tabloid thinker prefers quick summaries and has the habit of "putting things in a nutshell".
Tabloids concerning people are popular because they offer a neat summary of the character of a prominent person. "Marx? You don’t know who Marx was? Why, he was that philosopher who became impatient and irritable in his old age". It is much easier to remember Marx in this simple fashion than to remember him as a man of many interesting and controversial facets of character and conviction. These human tabloids are frequently emotional, but they are not mere Emotional Terms. To be Tabloid Thinking there must be some indication that someone is trying to sum up another’s character. All stereotypes ("barbers are talkative") are tabloids because they present a certain trait or characteristic, which is really superficial or trivial, as being the essential nature of a given class.
9. Causal Oversimplification ~
Example: "If it were not for the ammunition makers, we would never have wars".
Meaning: A complex event is explained by references to only one or two probable causes whereas many are responsible.
10. Inconceivability ~
Example: "Since Ballhead State has never in its past history won the conference title, I just can’t picture them winning it this year".
Meaning: You declare a proposition to be false simply because you cannot conceive it actualized or possible of realization.
Section B: Watch Their Language --- And Yours Too (Techniques of Language)
1. Emotional Terms ~
Example: Participant in Argument: "If you ignorant fools would only shut your traps a while and let me explain".
Meaning: An emotional term is a word or phrase which, however much factual information it conveys about an object, also expresses and/or arouses a feeling for or against that object. Translated into neutral language the emotionally-charged example given above should read: "I don’t agree and if you’ll just give me a chance to talk, I’ll show you why".
The authors believe that emotional language is appropriate in non-controversial situations. For purposes of the Propaganda game, patriotic celebrations, church services, poetry and other literary forms, and whenever a person is expressing personal feelings without attempting to persuade or convince others are considered to be non-controversial situations.
2. Metaphor & Simile ~
Example: Metaphor --- "Napoleon was like a fox".
Meaning: A metaphor is a comparison implied but not definitely stated. In the case of simile the comparison is explicitly stated by means of such words as "like" or "as".
In controversial situations the employment of metaphor or simile is to be avoided because such figures of speech are apt to suggest likenesses not really intended or not actually present. Napoleon was not actually a fox. He may have been like one, but if so, was it with respect to shrewdness or thievery or both or neither?
3. Emphasis ~
Example: When "We should not speak ill of our friends" is quoted, the original meaning changes if any of the following underlined words is emphasized: "We should not speak ill of our friends". Emphasizing "we" suggests that we should not, true, but others may.
Meaning: The technique of emphasis occurs only when another speaker or writer is quoted and one or more words emphasized so as to imply what would not otherwise be implied and thus put into the mouth of the source, meanings he may not have wished to convey.
Oral emphasis is usually secured by means of pitch, tone, or volume of voice. Written emphasis is secured by a variety of devices, such as italicizing and underlining. "Italics mine" (or its equivalent) is the accepted way for a writer to indicate that he is giving a stress to certain words that the original author had perhaps no intention of stressing.
4. Quotation Out of Context ~
Example: Someone quotes the Bible as saying that, "money is the root of all evil", but leave out the preceding words, "the love of".
Meaning: Quotation out of context is a propaganda technique wheb the effect of quoting a given statement without its context is to distort the original meaning in context.
The context of a given statement is not merely the words that precede and that follow but every accompanying circumstance, whether it be time and place or gesture and facial expression.
5. Abstract Terms ~
Example: A speaker defines "neurosis" as "a psychological term for a state of mind involving the nerves", but when he is asked to identify or point to --- among a large number of people --- a case of neurosis, he is at a loss to do so, showing that he is unable to use the term to make any concrete distinctions.
Meaning: An abstract term is a word or symbol which stands for the qualities (one or more) possessed in common by a number of particular things, facts or events. The technique of abstract terms occurs when an arguer employs a word for which he may have meaning in the form of other words, but the arguer is unable to identify the concrete facts to which to word supposedly refers.
6. Vagueness ~
Example: Someone says to me, "Sit down on that stool", and I sit down on the thing he points to. His meaning is not ambiguous; I understand what he is referring to. But I find the term "stool" vague under the circumstances, and I protest, "But this is not a stool, for it has a little back to it, and so it is a chair". He may reply, "But there is really not enough back there to call it a ‘back’, so I call it a ‘stool’".
Meaning: To call a word "vague" is to say that marginal situations can and do arise where there is doubt as to whether the word should or should not be used in describing those particular situations. The technique of vagueness exists where there is uncertainty as to the scope of the word.
7. Ambiguity ~
Example: Joe says, "Henry likes pudding better than his wife". And one or more people hearing him are left wondering whether Henry likes pudding better than he likes his wife if Henry likes pudding more than his wife does.
Meaning: A word or phrase is ambiguous if in the mind of a hearer or reader it has two or more quite different meanings and the interpreter is uncertain as to which was really meant. In argument such a situation would at all times be undesirable.
8. Shift of Meaning ~
Example: "The fellow who was supposed to arbitrate decided in favor of a company and fined the union. Now anyone who takes sides in a dispute is certainly not impartial. So how can this fellow claim to be an impartial arbitrator?".
Meaning: In shift of meaning a word appears explicitly or implicitly two or more times in an argument but with different meanings.
In the example appearing above "impartial" shifts meaning. In its first use it means "wholly refraining from judgment; taking no stand on an issue". But in its second use it means "judging after investigation but without previous bias". Obviously, the arbitrator’s being impartial in the second sense does not necessitate his being so in the first sense. The implied conclusion ("the arbitrator is not impartial") is invalid. ncluded here]