In concluding this chapter on constructing the argument, let us again revert to the fact that the conclusion must be presented in such a way as to create a desire for action. The conclusion must “clinch” the argument. The time has come for the reader or hearer to act, or determine upon action. All the labor spent upon the introduction in arousing and fixing the attention, and all the labor spent upon the proof in maintaining the interest and building a firm basis for persuasion in rational conviction, is now lost unless the conclusion rises supreme above these and presents a culmination forcible and commanding. The conclusion should reap the harvest of persuasion sown throughout the argument. The emotions must be aroused as they have not been aroused in the presentation of the proof; they must be stimulated to the highest pitch. The conclusion must command the best powers of the speaker or writer. It must unite the audience, the subject, and the personality of him who presents the argument into one mighty current of thought and emotion which leads onward to action.
CHAPTER VII
REBUTTAL
Rebuttal consists of defending the constructive argument and weakening or destroying opposing arguments. Rebuttal is both defense and attack. Refutation is attack alone. In formal debate rebuttal refers to the final speech made by each debater after he has presented his constructive argument and his opponents have had a chance to reply. The main speech in a formal debate is usually of ten minutes’ duration while the rebuttal speech is of five minutes’ duration. Furthermore, after the first affirmative speaker has opened the debate it is customary for each succeeding speaker to introduce his main argument with a short rebuttal speech of one or two minutes, or he may introduce rebuttal at any point in his main speech.
The rebuttal speech must introduce no new argument, but is limited to a discussion of the validity of the arguments already presented. After the salesman has presented his goods and the reasons why the prospective customer should buy, he must answer the questions regarding those reasons and the objections which are made to them. Furthermore, he must overthrow any reasons for not buying which may be advanced by the customer. In arguing with a single individual regarding the advisability of any course of action the arguer must defend his own position as well as overthrow that of his opponent. In organizations and deliberative bodies the speaker who proposes any plan or measure must be prepared to answer any objections which may be made to it; and must also be prepared to weaken or destroy the arguments which may be advanced in support of other plans or measures which conflict with his own. It is thus seen that a knowledge of the preparation and presentation of rebuttal is almost indispensable to the student who would make practical application of the theory and practice of argumentation. Since our work is to take the form of debating, we shall consider the subject largely from this standpoint. Nevertheless, the student should constantly keep in mind the broader application of the principles which are used in formal debating.
I. Preparation for rebuttal.
Rebuttal should never be considered lightly from the standpoint of preparation. The speaker who relies on the “spur” of the moment is quite sure to find that when the moment arrives it has no “spur.” The rebuttal should be prepared as carefully as the constructive argument. It demands exact and far-reaching knowledge. Furthermore, it demands absolute command of that knowledge in order that it may be used effectively. In this preparation the student should consider the sources from which he may derive the appropriate material, and the proper arrangement of that material after it has been collected.
1. Sources of material for rebuttal.
A. Material acquired in constructing the argument.
The investigation which preceded and accompanied the construction of the brief and argument should have yielded a wide knowledge of the subject. Much of the material gathered could not be used because of limitations of time or space, because of its not being adapted to use in the argument as it was to be presented, or because of the abundance of better material. The student will therefore have in his possession a large number of facts which were not used. These should be carefully reviewed in order that the “stock in trade” of rebuttal material may be invoiced. The student should then revert to his original analysis and examine his opponents’ position with a critical eye. He should measure carefully the strength of that position and compare it with his own. All the sources which were consulted in the beginning should again be made to yield information. This can now be done with ease, because the preparation of the constructive argument has given the student a firm grasp upon the subject-matter.
Every possible point of attack which the constructive argument presents must be fortified by full and complete rebuttal material. The debater should begin at his argument as a starting point and work back along the line of evidence supporting each general assertion. Since it was impracticable to put into the argument all the evidence supporting any one contention, the student must now have this evidence at hand in order to support his argument at the point where the attack can be made. It is almost impossible to construct an argument which cannot be attacked in a plausible manner, but it is entirely possible to construct an argument which can be defended successfully.