stasis theory
Issue-finding method
Stasis theory is a classical rhetorical framework for analyzing disputes by identifying the central point of disagreement.
The theory poses a sequence of questions: Did something happen?
What is it?
Is it good or bad?
What should be done?
Lawyers, debaters, and writers use stasis theory to locate where parties actually disagree and focus argument there rather than talking past each other.
- actionProcess of doing
- valueImportance or price
- classificationSystematic grouping by traits
- procedurePrescribed sequence of actions
- meaningWhat something signifies
conjecture · significance · evidence · forensic · courtroom drama · decision-making · burden of proof · jurisdiction · interpretation · invention · deliberative · judgment · policy debate · categorization · Aristotle · causation · ethics · topics
- rhetoricrhetoric, persuasion, oratory, argumentation, debate
- Greek rhetoricDemosthenes, Antiphon, rhetor, ethos, pathos
- Roman rhetoricoratory, Cicero, eloquence, rhetoric, rostra
stasis theoryevasion
Act of escaping detection
sophistry · deflection · ships passing in the night · red herring · obfuscation