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THE_GREAT_DEBATE
October 4, 2004
Paul Graham's essay "The Age of the Essay"
is (among other things) an argument that
an essay need not be argumentative.
Graham's claim is that the
essay was originally (in
the hands of the likes of To my eye Montaigne often seems really
Montaigne) more open ended, tight. The idea that he's just doing
more free form. exploratory rambling may be a bit of an
exaggeration.
A way of experimenting
with ideas, without FULL_MONTAIGNE
necessarily committing
to them. Graham: "Essayer is the French verb
meaning 'to try' and an essai is an
attempt. An essay is something you
write to try to figure something
out. Figure out what? You don't
know yet. And so you can't begin
with a thesis, because you don't
have one, and may never have one."
(1) He pins the problem with
essay assignments on a
historical quirk that has What about "How
students learning writing by I Spent My Summer
writing about literature. Vacation?"
This seems related to And I gather that a
my thoughts on the a common assignment
subject, but he these days is just
doesn't quite say it: to keep a diary, and
write about anything.
The problem that I had
with school essays was
"Who is the audience?
What am I supposed to
be trying to communicate?"
THE_QUESTION_OF_ESSAYS
(2) Graham seems excessively dismissive of:
(a) debate (b) rhetoric
"Defending a position may be a "Good writing should be
necessary evil in a legal convincing, certainly, but it
dispute, but it's not the best should be convincing because
way to get at the truth, as I you got the right answers, not
think lawyers would be the because you did a good job of
first to admit. It's not just arguing."
that you miss subtleties this
way. The real problem is that
you can't change the question." Rhetoric is the poetry
in the prose of the
argument, the attention
It's hard to examine a notion to style, presentation,
without getting inside it, connotation.
adopting it, letting it get
inside you. It's naive to think
that you can do away
But once it's inside, it with style: that
can take over: it takes just drives it
root. It can be hard to underground.
judge it objectively.
If you want to craft
SHANDY_TOWN_MIND a manifesto, to put
together a piece of
prose intended to
The debate process appoints two inspire, intended to
different sides to try to take stick in the minds of
two positions seriously, to make any who encounter
the best case for them that they it...
can.
then you'd better pay
The clash of these two sides some heed to Rhetoric
in contest is supposed to in your rhetoric.
illuminate which position is
really the stronger.
("Zen and the Art of
Debate is a technique for Motorcycle
getting at the truth that Maintenance" has a
accommodates the flaws in defense of Rhetoric.
human reason. What was it again?)
I attempted to take a
If you're debating the wrong class in Rhetoric in
question? Maybe shifting the my high school.
debate is a different function,
a job for someone else... I had to drop it, Yes, an
because the focus elective in
But really, *formal* on form over content Rhetoric.
debate on a rigidly was driving me crazy... I gather my
defined question is rare. high school
It's more common for Though weirdly enough, was unusually
public debate to be I think I learned a lot excellent,
carried out in a more about form in the few though it
informal style, e.g. OpEd weeks that I spent in certainly
pages. Common tactics the class. didn't strike
include many dubious me that way
maneuvers, and shifting at the time.
the grounds of the debate
is the least of it.
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