Science and Engineering Ethics

, Volume 5, Issue 4, pp 463–478 | Cite as

Rhetoric, technical writing, and ethics

  • Michael Davis
Article
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Abstract

Many outside science and engineering, especially social scientists and “rhetoricians”, claim that rhetoric, “the art of persuasion”, is an important part of technical communication. This claim is either trivial or false. If “persuasion” simply means “effective communication”, then, of course, rhetoric is an important part of technical communication. But, if “persuasion” has anything like its traditional meaning (a specific art of winning conviction), rhetoric is not an important part of technical communication; indeed, its use in technical communication would be unethical.

[By] an advocate is meant one whose business it is to smooth over real difficulties, and to persuade where he cannot convince.

—Thomas Henry Huxley, Man’s Place in Nature 1 (p. 238) As a profession, engineers frown on persuasiveness and find it suspect.

—Dorothy A. Winsor, Writing Like an Engineer 2 (p. 12), A

Keywords

rhetoric ethics professions technical writing technical communication engineers scientists deception persuasion 
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Copyright information

© Opragen Publications 1999

Authors and Affiliations

  • Michael Davis
    • 1
  1. 1.Cemter fo the Study of Ethics in the ProfessionsIllinois Institute of TechnologyChicagoUSA

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