Tika’s speech on death camps in Africa was a real flop, and she knew it. The speech was quickly prepared, inadequately researched, and not very logical. Thankfully, Tika knew she had an ace in her back pocket. She planned on ending her speech with a video showing mass graves that she knew would make people sick. She thought, Who cares if your speech sucks as long as you get them in the end!
1. Would you say that Tika’s approach to public speaking is ethical? Why or why not?
2. Which type of concluding device is Tika planning to use? Is this device appropriate to her speech? Why or why not? If you conclude it is not appropriate, which devices would be better approaches? Why?
3. Is it ever ethical to rely heavily on an emotional conclusion to persuade one’s audience? Why?
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
Ethical Considerations in Public Speaking
Introduction
Public speaking carries with it a responsibility to inform, engage, and persuade an audience in an ethical manner. In the case of Tika, her approach to public speaking raises ethical concerns. This essay will argue that Tika’s approach is unethical due to her inadequate preparation, reliance on shock value, and manipulation of emotions. Additionally, we will explore the appropriateness of her chosen concluding device and discuss the ethical implications of relying heavily on an emotional conclusion.
1. Ethical Implications of Tika’s Approach
Tika’s approach to public speaking raises several ethical concerns:
Inadequate Preparation: Public speakers have a responsibility to thoroughly research and prepare their speeches to ensure accuracy and credibility. Tika’s lack of adequate research demonstrates a disregard for this responsibility, potentially misleading her audience with inaccurate or incomplete information.
Reliance on Shock Value: Tika plans to end her speech with a video showing mass graves, intending to provoke a strong emotional response from her audience. This reliance on shock value manipulates the emotions of the audience rather than engaging them intellectually. It is unethical to intentionally manipulate emotions for personal gain or to divert attention from a poorly prepared speech.
Lack of Logical Reasoning: Tika’s speech is described as not very logical, suggesting a lack of critical thinking and coherence in her arguments. Public speakers have an ethical obligation to provide well-reasoned arguments based on sound evidence. Failing to meet this obligation undermines the trust and credibility between the speaker and the audience.
Considering these ethical concerns, it is clear that Tika’s approach to public speaking is unethical.
2. Concluding Device Appropriateness
Tika plans to use a shock-inducing video as her concluding device. While shock value can be an effective tool in certain contexts, its appropriateness depends on the nature of the speech and the intended impact on the audience.
In the case of Tika’s speech on death camps in Africa, using a shocking video as a concluding device is inappropriate for several reasons:
Lack of Relevance: The video of mass graves may be emotionally impactful, but its relevance to the speech topic is questionable. Without a clear connection to the content of the speech, it may come across as gratuitous and manipulative.
Distracting from Main Points: By relying solely on shock value, Tika risks diverting attention from the main points and arguments she should be making in her speech. Instead of engaging the audience intellectually, she is attempting to evoke a visceral response that may overshadow the substance of her message.
More appropriate concluding devices for Tika’s speech could include:
Summarizing Key Points: A concise summary of the main arguments and evidence presented throughout the speech would help reinforce the key takeaways for the audience.
Call to Action: Encouraging the audience to take specific actions related to the issue being discussed would provide a proactive and impactful conclusion.
These alternative concluding devices would align better with Tika’s speech topic and promote ethical engagement with her audience.
3. Ethical Considerations of Emotional Conclusions
While it can be ethical to incorporate an emotional conclusion in a speech, heavy reliance on emotional manipulation raises ethical concerns.
Authentic Emotional Appeal: Ethical emotional conclusions are based on genuine emotions that arise naturally from the topic being discussed. They should be supported by well-reasoned arguments and evidence. When emotions are manipulated solely for persuasive purposes without a solid foundation, it can be considered unethical.
Balanced Approach: Ethical persuasion aims to strike a balance between appealing to emotions and providing logical reasoning. Overreliance on emotional manipulation disregards the intellectual capacity of the audience and can undermine their autonomy in decision-making.
In summary, while it can be ethical to include emotional elements in a conclusion, heavy reliance on emotional manipulation, as demonstrated by Tika’s approach, raises ethical concerns due to its potential to mislead, distract, and disregard the intellectual engagement of the audience.
Conclusion
Ethics play a crucial role in public speaking, requiring speakers to responsibly engage their audience with well-prepared speeches that provide accurate information, logical reasoning, and respect for their autonomy. Tika’s approach to public speaking falls short in meeting these ethical standards due to inadequate preparation, reliance on shock value, and manipulation of emotions. Additionally, her choice of a shock-inducing video as a concluding device is inappropriate for her speech topic. While incorporating emotions in a conclusion can be ethical, heavy reliance on emotional manipulation raises ethical concerns. Public speakers must strive for ethical engagement with their audience by providing well-reasoned arguments, accurate information, and relevant concluding devices that respect their audience’s intellect and autonomy.
