The Possibility and
Actuality of Visual
Argument
Issue: whether there can
be visual arguments
Govier’s Policy
No supplementation without
justification (pages 43 – 44).
Typically with visual images we
have to add all the premises and
all the conclusions to images.
When adding unstated
conclusions and premises we
should do so with restraint.
“We do not recommend
interpreting visual art as
argument” (p. 49)
J. Anthony Blair
While visual arguments are possible, they seem not to
be widespread. More significantly, they seem not to
constitute a radically different kind of argument from
verbal ones.
What makes visual messages influential, taking
television advertisements as the most striking
examples, is not any argumentative function they may
perform, but the unconscious identifications they
invoke.
There is no reason to ignore or overlook visual
arguments.
The explicit properties of arguments
(1) there is a claim; that is, the assertion has been made that
something has to be believed, or chosen, or done;
(2) there is a reason or there are reasons for the claim; that is,
the assertion has been made of something supporting what is
to be believed, chosen or done;
(3) the reason(s) is(are) linguistically explicable and overtly
expressed;
(4) the claim is linguistically explicable;
(5) there is an attempt to communicate the claim and
reason(s).
These explicit properties entail the following implicit
properties of arguments[1]:
(6) there is some person who uses the claim and its reason(s)
(this person may, but need not be, its author);
(7) there is some intended recipient audience or
interlocutor(s) to whom the claim and reason(s) are
addressed.
Visual arguments are to be understood
as propositional arguments in which
the propositions and their
argumentative function and roles are
expressed visually, for example by
paintings and drawings, photographs,
sculpture, film or video images,
cartoons, animations, or computerdesigned visuals.
1. Marat gave his last penny
to the poor
2. Marat was a benefactor of
the unfortunate
3. Marat was a poor man of
great dignity and
composure, therefore
4. Marat was, like Christ, a
great moral martyr
We are all the same under our skin; we are
biologically the same species, and we are all human.
Racism is a construct, not an inborn attitude; adults
impose its ugliness on the innocence of children.
We are joined together, black and white,
inescapably; we are prisoners of our attitudes.
1. We are all the same under our skin; we are
biologically the same species, and we are
all human
2. Racism is a construct, not an inborn
attitude; adults impose its ugliness on the
innocence of children.
3. We are joined together, black and white,
inescapably; we are prisoners of our
attitudes. Therefore
4. Racism is unjustified and should be
ended.
Enough information has to be provided
visually to permit an unambiguous
verbal reconstruction of the
propositions expressed, so that,
combining that with contextual
information, it is possible to
reconstruct a plausible premise-andconclusion combination intended by
the visual image.
Why it’s important to think critically about visual
argument: their power and suggestiveness.
While there can be no doubt that visual argument is
important by virtue of its ability to be powerfully
influential, its responsible deployment calls for great
skill and integrity, and its responsible consumption
requires alert critical interaction.
Visual arguments must always be suspect and their
power countered by a degree of skepticism and a
range of critical questions: "Is that the whole story?"
"Are there other points of view?" "Is the real picture
so black and white?" Visual argument will tend to be
one-sided, uni-dimensional argument.
Exercise 5, #8
1. We all hope to grow old some day.
2. When we grow old we will need the services of
retailers, manufacturers, politicians, dentists,
doctors, nurses, and many other personnel.
3. These people will provide us with what we need.
4. These people will help to care for us.
5. Only a few of these people will be our children.
SO
6. The rest of these people will be other people’s
children. THEREFORE
7. We all have a personal stake in educating other
people’s children.