Enthymeme
An enthymeme is a rhetorical argument that contains an implied premise, allowing the audience to reach a logical conclusion without explicitly stating all parts of the argument. Traditionally, a full argument includes at least two premises leading to a conclusion, but in an enthymeme, one of these premises is omitted because it is generally understood or easily inferred by the audience. For instance, the common saying "where there's smoke, there's fire" implies that smoke is a result of fire, even though this premise is not directly stated. The concept has its roots in ancient Greek rhetoric and was notably refined by the philosopher Aristotle, who viewed enthymemes as powerful forms of proof due to their reliance on the audience's ability to fill in the missing information based on shared knowledge or beliefs.
Enthymemes can vary, including first-order enthymemes that omit a major premise, second-order enthymemes missing a minor premise, and third-order enthymemes that present two premises without a stated conclusion. These rhetorical devices are particularly useful in persuasive contexts, such as political discourse, where speakers can connect with their audience by relying on commonly held values. However, interpretations of enthymemes can differ significantly across cultural contexts, as what is obvious or acceptable in one community may be seen as contentious or incorrect in another. This dynamic highlights the importance of understanding audience perspectives when employing enthymemes in communication.
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Enthymeme
An enthymeme is a statement in a rhetorical argument in which one of the premises is absent. Typically, a rhetorical argument contains at least two premises that, when taken together, result in a logical conclusion. In an enthymeme, one of the premises is omitted, but the subject is still able to arrive at the same logical conclusion. This is possible because the missing premise can be easily implied. The most common example of this is the statement “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” The implied premise in the statement is that smoke is caused by fire. The concept of the enthymeme originated in the ancient Greek literary tradition and was later refined by the philosopher Aristotle. The term itself comes from the Greek word enthymema, meaning “thought” or “piece of reasoning.”
Background
Rhetoric is the art of speaking or writing effectively, especially in a manner meant to persuade. The ancient Greeks viewed rhetoric as an important aspect of civic life and encouraged its study. The philosopher Aristotle, who lived from 383–322 BCE, was highly influential in the organization and development of the Greek concept of rhetoric.
Aristotle defined three ways to make a successful rhetorical argument. Ethos bases the argument on the character or reputation of the speaker. For example, an argument trying to persuade people to get a vaccine would be best made by a doctor. Pathos appeals to the emotions of an audience. In this case, a mother telling her story about how her child was affected by a disease may convince an audience to get vaccinated. Aristotle’s third method is logos, meaning logic or reason. Using the vaccine argument, an appeal to logos could include statistics about the effectiveness of the medical treatment.
Aristotle and other philosophers through the centuries have defined numerous types of logic. One of the most basic of these is deductive logic, in which an inference of truth can be made from a number of foundational statements, or premises. To reach a valid conclusion, the premises must be undeniably true and allow no other situation where the conclusion can be false. A common example used in discussions of philosophy supplies the premises: All humans are mortal; Socrates is a human. Therefore, the conclusion is, Socrates is mortal.
Overview
A deductive argument with three of more parts is known as a syllogism, from the Greek word syllogizesthai, or “think together.” The syllogism is the most basic form of deductive logic and usually has three parts, although it can contain more. It typically takes the form, if A equals B and C equals A, then C must also equal B. A syllogism contains at least two types of premises. The more general premise is known as the major premise. In the philosopher Socrates’ example, this is the statement, “all humans are mortal.” The minor premise is more specific, such as “Socrates is a human.” The conclusion connects the logical truth of the two premises, “Socrates is mortal.”
An enthymeme is simply a deductive argument with one premise. Either of the major or minor premises can be removed. Prior to the time of Aristotle, the term was originally used to describe clever or witty sayings, or logical arguments that contained a contradiction. Aristotle redefined it in the context of a deductive argument. He believed it was the strongest form of proof that a deductive argument is true. This “body of proof,” as he referred to it, comes from the fact the audience can arrive at a logical conclusion based on its own inference of the missing premise. In simple terms, an enthymeme related to the Socrates example would be, “Socrates is mortal because he is a human.” The major premise of “all humans are mortal” is not stated because the audience would understand that statement to be fact.
Deductive arguments can contain several types of enthymemes, but the most common is a formal enthymeme in which a premise is unstated because it is common knowledge. For example, “texting while driving can result in a car accident; therefore, texting while driving is dangerous.” This enthymeme leaves out the premise that “car accidents are dangerous,” because that fact should be apparent. A rhetorical enthymeme is an indirect, more persuasive statement in which the audience fills in the missing premise based on their pre-existing values or beliefs. This kind of enthymeme is often used in political rhetoric. In a speech to political supporters, a candidate could say, “I will support our military and honor our flag; therefore, I am a true patriot.” Although these are not universal definitions of a patriot, an audience of supporters can accept the implied premise that all true patriots support the military and honor the flag.
An enthymeme with the major premise missing is referred to as a first-order enthymeme. This can be seen in the Socrates example, “Socrates is mortal because he is a human.” A second-order enthymeme omits the minor premise: “Socrates is mortal because all humans are mortal.” In some cases, an enthymeme consists of two premises with no conclusion. These are known as third-order enthymemes: “All humans are mortal, and Socrates is a human.” The implied conclusion is that Socrates will one day die just as all human do.
In almost all rhetorical arguments, the persuasive statements are expressed as enthymemes. This is typically done to allow the audience to make the connection between premise and conclusion and avoid stating the obvious. Constantly stating all the premises of an argument would be too time-consuming and the intended audience would likely lose attention. Enthymemes are also a way to build trust with an audience. They can help demonstrate that the speaker relates to the audience and understands the world as they do.
Arguments that seem obvious and correct in one community will be met with an opposite reaction in another. In addition, each side assumes the other accepts their particular understanding but, regardless, chooses to respond in negative ways. The opposite sides will use this as proof of the bad nature of their counterparts. In this sense, an enthymeme is at play. One example is the political use of the word “diversity.” In certain quarters, diversity has positive connotations as it can imply separate groups that have different but equally valuable contributions to offer a community. Among a different, more nativist audience, “diversity” is a threatening term. It suggests a sinister effort by new arrivals to usurp and replace the rightful inheritors of a long-standing cultural tradition.
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