2. Ambiguity in Writing
• Ambiguity occurs when the meaning of a word,
a phrase, or a sentence can have two possible
interpretations, and the reader cannot
determine from the sentence which is the
intended meaning. Sometimes, writers are
intentionally ambiguous because they want to
suggest multiple meanings; generally, though,
ambiguity just leads to confusion.
3. Words with Multiple
Meanings
• Ambiguity occurs because words have multiple meanings. For
example, sharp may describe a knife-edge, or it may refer to a
musical note. Other words have multiple meanings.
• Consider the sentence sentence, "he picked a date. Date here
may refer to a fruit, a day of the year, an appointment, a
romantic encounter, or the person with whom one goes to
dinner.
• Does this sentence mean he chose a day of the year, he made an
appointment, or he took a piece of fruit from the tree or from a
plate of food offerings?
• To resolve this kind of ambiguity, make sure the meaning of the
term is clear from the sentence: "He picked a date to hold the
meeting."
4. Structural or
Grammatical Ambiguity
• This type of ambiguity occurs when the reader can't determine the intended
meaning because the sentence contains two competing grammatical structures.
• For example: The sentence, "Talented women and men should apply for this
job," has two possible readings. First, the sentence can mean "[Talented
women] and men should apply for this job." In this case, the men need not be
talented to apply, but the women must be talented. Second, the sentence can
mean "[Talented women] and [talented men] should apply for this job. Both the
women and the men should be talented.
• Likewise the statement, "They can fish," has two possible meanings. First, "they
are able to fish," which can mean that they have the ability or the opportunity to
do so. Second, the statement can mean that they put fish into cans, a
manufacturing or storing process.
• To resolve structural/grammatical ambiguities, rephrase the sentence.
5. AGENDA
• Discussion: Machiavelli "The Qualities of the
Prince"
• Biography
• Rhetorical Strategies
• Questions for Critical Reading
• QHQ Discussion
• Vocabulary (Time Permitting)
• Essay #2: Choose your prompt (Time
Permitting)
7. Niccolo Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy on May 3, 1469.
He is notable for his essays on politics, particularly his infamous treatise on
power entitled The Prince.
He came form a political family.
He held a privileged position
He had a wife and sixteen children.
In 1494 Machiavelli became a clerk at the chancery at Adrian.
Later, he became a secretary to the Council of Ten, which was the
governing body in charge of diplomacy and military organization for the
new Florentine republican government.
He observed the workings of foreign affairs firsthand.
He met with other political leaders to see how their countries were ruled.
He carried out several diplomatic missions to Germany, Spain, and other
Italian city-states.
8. In 1512 the Medici family regained power in Florence,
putting an end to republican rule. As a result, Machiavelli
was forced out of his job and temporarily imprisoned. He
returned to his country estate near San Casciano after his
release and wrote several books on politics, including, On
the Art of War, History of Florence, Discourses on Livy, and
The Prince, which was dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici in an
attempt to gain favor with the ruling family.
Machiavelli wrote a first version of
The Prince in 1513, but it was not
published until 1532—
five years after his death.
9. In your groups
• Discuss the rhetorical strategies of
Machiavelli.
• Discuss the “Questions for Critical
Thinking” on page 50. Find textual
support for your answers!
11. Pragmatic (concerned with practical results).
Gives directions; How-to Book
Brief and to the point
Uses historical precedents to support his points
Appeals to common sense
Suggests alternate arguments and then shows
why they are wrong.
Gives the appearance of fairness and
thoroughness
Discusses opposite pairings, including both sides
of an issue
Compare and contrast
Aphorism
19. QHQ: Do you think it is better to be feared more
rather than be loved?
20. Exercise the Mind?
• Q: Why does Machiavelli believe that it is necessary for a wise
prince to “be a fox in order to recognize the traps and a lion to
frighten the wolves” ? (230).
• Q: Why does Machiavelli suggest the prince exercise his mind:
“But as for the exercise of the mind, the prince must read
histories and in them study the deeds of great me; he must see
how they conducted themselves in wars” (223)?
• Q: In the opening part of “The Qualities of the Prince,”
Machiavelli states that it is important for the prince to learn
about past heroes so that it would exercise his mind. Would
learning about the past really help the prince?
21. 1. Question: What does Machiavelli say about War?
2. Q: If the prince is able to command the military and/or
armed forces, who’s to say that the prince isn’t an
easy target for assassination?
3. Q: Can the prince hold position of power and control
over military without actively participating? If so,
would that then still allow for attacks over position
and power?
Machiavelli and Military Might
22. Machiavelli’s Rule
1. Q: What is Machiavelli’s border between a generous
and a miserly prince? Does the government today,
follow his ideas about generosity of a true leader?
2. Questions: Can some of Machiavelli’s theories be
applied today?
3. Q: Why is it difficult to apply Machiavelli’s
recommendation on today’s governments?
23. Lao Tzu and Machiavelli
Q. How do Machiavelli’s teachings differ from Lao-Tzu’s
teachings?
Where does Machiavelli’s active view on war stand
against Lao-Tzu’s passive view in terms of success and
prosperity for both the people and the ruler?
25. • Ad hominem: "against the man"; attacking the arguer rather
than the argument or issue.
• Appeal to tradition: a proposal that something should continue
because it has traditionally existed or been done that way.
• Argument: a process of reasoning and advancing proof about
issues on which conflicting views may be held; also, a statement
or statements providing support for a claim.
• Authority: a respectable, reliable source of evidence.
26. Begging the question: the arguer proves his conclusion while
assuming it to already be true. The premise for his argument is
based on the truth of his conclusion. In other words, the
argument assumes to be true what it is supposed to be proving.
Claim: the conclusion of an argument; what the arguer is trying
to prove.
Credibility: the audience's belief in the arguer's trustworthiness
Deduction: reasoning by which we establish that a conclusion
must be true because the statements on which it is based are
true
27. Ethos: the qualities of character, intelligence, and goodwill in an
argument that contribute to an audience's acceptance of the claim.
Euphemism: a pleasant or flattering expression used in place of one that
is less agreeable but possibly more accurate.
Evidence: facts or opinions that support an issue or claim; may consist of
statistics, reports of personal experience, or views of experts.
Fallacy: an error of reasoning based on faulty use of evidence or incorrect
inference.
False analogy: assuming without sufficient proof that if objects or
processes are similar in some ways, then they are similar in other ways as
well;
28. • Faulty use of authority: failing to acknowledge
disagreement among experts or otherwise
misrepresenting the trustworthiness of sources.
• Generalization: a statement of general principle
derived inferentially from a series of examples.
• Hasty generalization: drawing conclusions from
insufficient evidence.
• Inference: an interpretation of the facts.
29. • Motivational appeal: an attempt to reach an audience by
recognizing their needs and values and how these
contribute to their decision making.
• Non sequitur: "it does not follow"; using irrelevant proof
to buttress a claim.
• Post hoc: mistakenly inferring that because one event
follows another they have a causal relation; from post hoc
ergo propter hoc ("after this, therefore because of this");
also called "doubtful cause."
• Qualifier: a restriction placed on the claim to state that it
may not always be true as stated.
30. • Refutation: an attack on an opposing view in order to
weaken it, invalidate it, or make it less credible.
• Slanting: selecting facts or words with connotations
that favor the arguer's bias and discredit alternatives.
• Slippery slope: predicting without justification that one
step in a process will lead unavoidably to a second,
generally undesirable step.
• Values: conceptions or ideas that act as standards for
judging what is right or wrong, worthwhile or
worthless, beautiful or ugly, good or bad.
31. Thinking about Essay #2
• Essay #2: An in-class essay on Lao-Tzu’s
“Thoughts from the Tao Te Ching” or
Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of the Prince.
• You will respond to one of several prompts
provided.
• There will be prompts addressing each Plato and
Woolf.
• Your essay will be between 500 and 750 words.
The number of pages will depend on your
handwriting!
• You will have two hours to write.
• You may use your textbook or copies of the
essays (no other pages or papers will be
allowed).
• Please bring a clean, large Blue Book: No Blue
Book, no test.
• (Approx. 8x10). You can buy them at the
bookstore.
• You may write with either a number 2 pencil
(dark lead) or blue or black pen.
32. Responding to A Prompt
• Take the prompt apart; briefly respond to each sub-question.
• The Thesis: Your thesis will likely be a combination of answers to
the most important or compelling sub-questions.
• Write a brief directed summary as an introduction, and conclude it
with your thesis.
• Expand your list of answers to sub-questions into an outline.
• Find textual support for answers that will come from the text
• Put your evidence, explanation, and analysis into your outline
33. •How can we apply the
philosophy of Machiavelli
and/or Lao-Tzu to A Game of
Thrones?
34. • “He must, therefore, never raise his thought from this exercise
of war, and in peacetime he must train himself more than in
time of war; this can be done in two ways: one by action, the
other by the mind” (38) says Machiavelli.
“Do you recall your history Bran”
“And that’s Torrhen Stark, the King Who Knelt. He was the last
King in the North and the first Lord of Winterfell, after he yielded to
Aegon the Conqueror. Oh, there, he’s Cregan Stark. He fought
with Prince Aemon once, and the Dragonknight said he’d
never faced a finer swordsman. (Bran VII)
(Bran VII)
35. HOMEWORK
• Post #19: How can we apply the philosophy of Machiavelli
and/or Lao-Tzu to A Game of Thrones? Post textual evidence
(excerpts of text) from both sources to prove your points. Make
sure to include page numbers so we can follow along in class.
(Print and bring your post to class)
• Post #20 Essay #2: Choose one question from "Suggestions
for Writing" pages 32-33, prompts 1-6 and one from pages 50-
51, prompts 1-5. Post the questions and a potential thesis for
each one in preparation for the in-class exam.
• Study Vocabulary for exam #4: Next Class
• Bring A World of Ideas, printed versions of the text, or be able
to access them on your device—not your phone!
