Glittering generality
In rhetoric, a glittering generality or glowing generality is an emotionally appealing phrase so closely associated with highly-valued concepts and beliefs that it carries conviction without supporting information or reason. Such highly valued concepts attract general approval and acclaim. Their appeal is to emotions such as love of country and home, and desire for peace, freedom, glory, and honor. They ask for approval without examination of the reason. They are typically used in propaganda posters/advertisements and used by propagandists and politicians.
Origins
The term dates from the mid-19th century in the American context.
The term then came to be used for any set of ideas or principles that are appealing but nonspecific. In the 1930s, the Institute for Propaganda Analysis popularized the term as one of its "seven propaganda devices".
Qualities
A glittering generality has two qualities: it is
The words democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic, justice have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another. In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using that word if it were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different. Statements like "
Marshal Pétainwas a true patriot," "The Soviet press is the freest in the world," "The Catholic Church is opposed to persecution," are almost always made with intent to deceive. Other words used in variable meanings, in most cases more or less dishonestly, are: class, totalitarian, liberal, reactionary, equality.
See also
- Abstract concept– Mental representation or an abstract object
- Appeal to emotion – Informal logical fallacy
- Buzzword – Term used to impress in organizations
- Code word – Word or phrase that has a special meaning
- Dog-whistle– Political messaging using coded language
- Forer effect– Tendency to interpret vague statements as meaningful ones
- Hardworking families – Example of a glittering generality in contemporary political discourse
- Ideograph (rhetoric) – frequently used word in political discourse that uses an abstract concept to develop support
- Logical fallacy – Form of incorrect argument in natural language
- Language and thought – Study of how language influences thought
- Loaded language – Rhetoric used to influence an audience
- Oversimplification– Assumption of a single cause where multiple factors may be necessary
- Platitude – Trite, prosaic, or cliché truism
- Rhetorical device – Literary technique used to persuade
- Thought-terminating cliche– Commonly used phrase used to propagate cognitive dissonance
References
- ^ "Google Ngram Viewer". Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ Brown, Samuel. The Works of Rufus Choate: With a Memoir of His Life. p. 215.
- ^ Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919
- ^ Letter to Henry L. Pierce and others, 6 April 1859
External links
- Propaganda critic: Glittering generalities Archived 2018-01-14 at the Wayback Machine