MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

Did you see logos, pathos, and ethos in The Atlantic piece?  Start using logos, pathos, and ethos approaches to analyze what you read.

Now, to stasis theory (a close companion to the scientific method).  The version I am using comes primarily from Fahnestock and Secor.* You can read this use of stasis theory in the sciences. I am a co-author. Does stasis theory matter?  Yes.  Here are a couple of examples:

• In museum studies.
• For those of you who care about dinosaurs, here is more about stasis theory used to analyze arguments about dinosaurs (remember the bird/not-a-bird days?).
• In business analysis (behind a paywall now) but here is the cite:
  • “Stasis Theory as a Strategy for Workplace Teaming and Decision Making.” Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 38.4 (2008): 363-385. Nominated for the 2009 NCTE Scientific and Technical Communication Award. Single author. Peer-reviewed publication.

The five questions of stasis theory can be visualised by "binning" -- an idea that is used in cognition studies and in linguistics. 

1. First stasis: what is going on?  Do we have a problem?  
2. Second stasis: what do we need to know by definitions and descriptions to understand our conjecture in the first stasis.
3. Third stasis: what causes do we see? What are the relationships?  Do we have theory or practical causality to help understand what drivers of action or condition we describe in the first stasis of conjecture and the second stasis of definitions/descriptions?
4. Fourth stasis: what is good and what is bad?  Can we evaluate for harm, for benefit, for neutrality, for not knowing if we can see harm or benefit? Hint:  think eVALUATION action.
5. Fifth stasis: Given what we now know, from working through the stases questions, with particular attention to the determination of harm, benefit, or lack of knowledge, what ought we do now?

• vaccines and Disney case of measles outbreak
• diabetes management and diagnosis diagnosis (likely for Monday).

*Fahnestock, Jeanne, and Marie Secor. “The Staseis in Scientific and Literary Argument.” Written Communication. (October 1988): 427–43.

What stasis or stases can you see in this bit of visual science communication? Who is the audience for this? What is the context?  Purpose?