Persuasion and Passion

Walzer tells us that Campbell's position is that "The dispositions are formed states of character in virtue of which we are well or ill disposed in respect of the emotions; for instance, we have a bad disposition in regard to anger if we are disposed to get angry too violently or not violently enough, a good disposition if we habitually feel a moderate amount of anger..." (77). Another example of disposition might be the the character whose innate cautiousness restrains them from immediate happiness at good news and keeps them in check in a situation where fear might take over, as they apply reason to control their fears, not willing to give into unreasoned emotion. This same character might otherwise be considered to have a good position because they might not be as prone to develop quickly into anger. Another might consider this disposition to be dour and pessimistic, therefore not a particularly good disposition. When it comes to persuasion,Waltzer describes Campbell's belief that disposition is very important as it "...represent[s] the values that constitute character"(77). So a cautious character might well value careful investigation, thinking things through, not making assumptions without additional evidence. As Walzer says of Campbell's ideas these dispositions represent "motives to action, being equally capable with the passions of giving impulse to the will" (77). In rhetoric then a speech displaying dramatic emotion might be received coldly by such a character, in the absence of facts and convincing argument founded in reason. The speaker must find a way to engage the imagination, as well as reason in order to persuade an audience. As Walzer points out of Campbell, he is "describ[ing] the process as 'an artful mixture' of appeals to reason and passion, in which the argumentative and pathetic are 'incorporated together'(4), as distinguished from a sequence". So the cautious character upon hearing that a disabled vet was evicted from their residence for failure to pay the rent because the federal government failed to send the disability check that month might find the will to complain to their wife about the failure of government. If also shown pictures of a number of other disabled vets being evicted because they did not get their checks, along with pictures of their courage in the field, the cautious character might at that point write an email of complaint to their senator because the evidence presented, while not factual proof of the government having failed in sending out checks to disabled vets, has a probability and plausibility of being true, given the number of other vets allegedly experiencing the same alleged problem. It is the "probability and plausibility" that can arouse passion according to Campbell (82). The speaker who is able to speak about the sacrifice in the field, the injuries suffered and the diminished economic opportunities one has with such injuries further engages the audience, including the cautious character, especially when the opportunities awaiting non-injured vets in the current job market is presented with information on the unemployment statistics in the city. Campbell embraces the "mimetic and imaginistic powers of language," as a "psychology" of persuasion; rather than a reasoning process based on purely logic (84). The imagination of the cautious character is engaged, as the speaker describes the hardships endured through injury and the bravery under fire to save others, including perhaps the cautious character from facing the enemy at home. The memetic idea that a nuclear bomb might have fallen on the home of the cautious character, if not for the disabled vet is further brought into the speech, an inflamatory statement that evokes guilt and anger, although there is little evidence of this being a factual reality merges with the other information to become a plausible event, moving the normally cautious character to consider donating some money to the local vet who has been evicted, as the cautious character's own safety and existence of everything they value seems owed to the ve.