How are you persuaded? Logic, facts, stats, emotional appeal, credible support, presentation, charisma. All of these things are called persuasive by supposed experts on the subject. Is any of this correct? Can anyone convince another of anything without forcible compulsion? It's hard to say, because what may seem sensibly accurate to one party may seem utterly ridiculous and inane to another. Why is this? Predisposition towards a certain position can be because of indoctrination, but can this be changed by persuasiveness or is persuasiveness in itself the original teachings? My opinion regarding this is obvious. Emotional appeal is what most people will respond to, the knee jerk anger or pity reaction that one undergoes after hearing of a certain happening is what moves mountains. Fact has no place in argument for anyone can claim fact and falsify sources, so few are educated enough to tell the difference between the two that there is no point to even bothering. Besides, people do not even wish to think under most circumstances anyways, they want something simple placed before them decision made and all clean and clear like that. No one wants to make hard decisions or scrutinize legitimacy, that is too much time and is often seen as elitist behavior, pretentious behavior. That is why people make decisions on the spur of the moment as if every one is the choice between the red or green wire, because they leap with faith and fall with disappointment. A quickly changing gamut of emotional choices drives the bulk of society, why would persuading them follow a different formula? Your opinion?
