56 4.3 Speaking Freely and ethically
to be less harmful. The investigators reason that, “Free-speech defenders may
recognize the harm of hate speech but believe that freedom of speech is more es-
sential than is censoring speech content.”^15Use Sound Evidence and Reasoning
Ethical speakers use critical thinking skills such as analysis and evaluation to
draw conclusions and formulate arguments. Unethical speakers substitute false
claims and manipulation of emotion for evidence and logical arguments.
In the early 1950s, Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy incited national
panic by charging that Communists were infiltrating every avenue of American
life. Thousands of people came under suspicion, and many lost jobs and careers
because of the false accusations. Never able to substantiate his claims, McCarthy
nevertheless succeeded in his witch hunt by exaggerating and distorting the
truth. One United Press reporter noted, “The man just talked in circles. Every-
thing was by inference, allusion, never a concrete statement of fact. Most of it
didn’t make sense.”^16 Although today we recognize the flimsiness of McCarthy’s
accusations, he nevertheless was able to manipulate emotions and fears to pro-
duce the results he wanted. It is sometimes tempting to resort to false claims to
gain power over others, but it is always unethical to do so.
Some speakers bypass sound evidence and reasoning in order to make their
conclusions more provocative. One contemporary rhetoric scholar offers the fol-
lowing example of such short-circuited reasoning:
Let’s say two people are observing who speaks in college classrooms and
they come up with- Women are not as good at public speaking as men.
- In college classes on coed campuses where most professors are male,
women tend to talk less in class than men.^17
The first conclusion, based on insufficient evidence, reinforces sexist stereo-
types with an inflammatory overgeneralization. The second, more qualified con-
clusion is more ethical.
One last, but important, requirement for the ethical use of evidence and rea-
soning is to share with an audience all information that might help them reach
a sound decision, including information that may be potentially damaging to
your case. Even if you proceed to refute the opposing evidence and arguments,
you have fulfilled your ethical responsibility by presenting the perspective of
the other side. And you can actually make your own arguments more convinc-
ing by anticipating and answering counterarguments and evidence.
Be Sensitive to and Tolerant of Differences
The filmmaker who ate nothing but McDonald’s meals for his Oscar-
nominated movie Super Size Me apologized for a profanity-laced, politi-
cally incorrect speech at a suburban Philadelphia school.