MANIPULATIVE SPEECH: A THEORETICAL OVERVIEW

Manipulation is one of the concepts that needs a more in-depth theoretical and practical examination. It is employed in many areas of life, including personal and social matters, intellectual and professional pursuits, and, of course, politics. This paper is an approach, the purpose of which is to study the concept of manipulation as a psychological and linguistic phenomenon where the central emphasis is on the manipulative techniques and tactics that are utilized for various reasons such as illegitimate domination and social abuse. At this level of investigation we find it essential to illustrate different approaches to the study of this phenomenon as well as certain dictionary definitions to be able to fully perceive and comprehend the properties of manipulation.

Key Words and Political Parties in the 2020 Pre-Election Campaign on Facebook

The research paper analyses key words found in pre-election communication of electorally successful political parties, based on which the main communication differences among those parties and the specifics of pre-election communication, as well as the pre-election discourse as a whole, are identified. Research material consists of political parties’ microblogs published on individual political parties’ Facebook profiles in the period from January 1, 2020 to February 28, 2020, with a reference corpus formed by the total of these microblogs. The analysis showed professionalization of political communication, the use of new, but also traditional ways of interaction with the electorate, pre-election communication based on the presentation of candidates, offensive and combative tone of the most successful parties, self-presentation, hints of persuasive and manipulative techniques, topic points of electoral programmes, but also thematic neutrality and non-specificity that suggest smaller electoral success.

FUNCTIONING OF MANIPULATIVE ARGUMENTS IN JUDICIAL SPEECH (BASED ON THE MATERIAL OF THE PROSECUTOR’S SPEECHES IN THE DEBATE)

Введение. Рассмотрены софизмы в судебной речи одного из томских прокуроров. Значимость исследования определяется сопряжением проблем эффективности современной судебной речи, обозначением ее места в структуре судебного процесса с лингвоперсонологическими категориями. Цель – оценить уместность использования софизмов в речевой практике современного томского прокурора. Материал и методы. Материалом явились устные записи выступлений томского прокурора, адвоката и подсудимого, сделанные в ходе одного судебного процесса. Объем материала составляет около 11,5 тыс. словоупотреблений: речь прокурора в прениях – 7 287 словоупотреблений, реплика прокурора в прениях – 2 053 словоупотребления, речь адвоката в прениях – 925 словоупотреблений, речь подсудимого в прениях – 1 244 словоупотребления. Объект анализа – речевая деятельность языковой личности – томского прокурора (женщина, 38 лет). Метод – наблюдение, научное описание, дискурсивный анализ. Результаты и обсуждение. Описываются различные виды софизмов, отмеченные в речах прокурора: подмена тезиса, произвольные доводы, доводы к человеку и т. д. Использование софизмов является частью традиций современной судебной практики, начало которой положено еще в ХIХ в. Отмечается, что в случае использования манипулятивных доводов наиболее ярко проявляется черта речевого портрета говорящего: субъективная оценочность и эмоциональность. Заключение. Таким образом, выбранная стратегия, предполагающая наличие софизмов, доказала свою ситуативную эффективность, поскольку, вероятно, стала одним из факторов, повлиявших на решение суда, поддержавшего обвинение. Однако рекомендовано исключить из публичных судебных речей доводы к личностным качествам как основанию оценки. Introduction. The article considers the role of sophisms in the judicial speech of one of the Tomsk prosecutors. The significance of the research is determined by the combination of the problems of the effectiveness of modern judicial speech, the designation of its place in the structure of the judicial process with linguistic and phonological categories. The purpose is to assess the relevance of the use of sophisms in the speech practice of the modern Tomsk prosecutor. The object of the analysis is the speech activity of a linguistic personality-the prosecutor of Tomsk, a woman, 38 years old. Material and methods. The following methods were used: observation, scientific description, discursive analysis. The material was oral recordings of speeches of the Tomsk prosecutor, lawyer and the defendant, made during one trial. The volume of the material is about 11.5 words. Results and discussion. The article describes various types of sophisms noted in the speeches of the prosecutor: substitution of the thesis, false arguments, arbitrary arguments, arguments against a person, etc. It is found that rhetorical arguments prevail over logical arguments in the speech in the debate. Actually, manipulative techniques are concentrated in that part of the judicial controversy, which is called a replica. To confirm this postulate, the main theses were highlighted, which were proved and evaluated during the debate. Variants of speculative use of evaluative rhetorical techniques prevail. Less common are “false analogy” and “female logic”. There are few cases of distortion of the thesis: “narrowing-expansion of the thesis”, “substitution of the thesis”. At this stage, it is difficult to assess whether the commitment to manipulative techniques is an individual feature of the speaker, or it is typical for a modern judicial process. The use of sophisms is part of the traditions of modern judicial practice, which began in the nineteenth century. It is noted that in the case of using manipulative arguments, the feature of the speaker’s speech portrait is most clearly manifested: subjective assessment and emotionality. Conclusion. We can say that the chosen strategy, assuming the presence of sophisms, proved its situational effectiveness, since it probably became one of the factors that influenced the decision of the court that supported the prosecution. Each speaker, as a professional language personality, has his own arsenal of effective and ineffective ways of organizing a discussion, it is necessary to replenish his communicative arsenal with the most effective management strategies that influenced the court’s decision.

Facing Disinformation: Narratives and Manipulative Techniques Deployed in the Czech Republic

Disinformation represents a pressing issue in the context of security and politics in the region (not only) of Central and Eastern Europe. With the conflict in Ukraine, European virtual space was flooded with online media offering alternative explanations concerning the situation in that country. So-called alternative media developed into trusted sources of information for part of society. Therefore, this paper analyzes in-depth the techniques of manipulation they use; in other words, the aim of the paper is to deconstruct their power over peoples’ hearts and minds. Through the case of the Czech Republic, we demonstrate modernized manipulation of public opinion based on a selective choice of topics and stories combined with properly chosen manipulative techniques controlling emotions and relativity.

Integrated Osteopathic-Neurologic Exams With Musculoskeletal Treatment: The ONE Approach

The global burden of neurologic disorders are a leading cause of disability and death worldwide and has increased the demand for treatments and rehabilitation. Our proposed integrated Osteopathic-Neurological Examination (ONE) provides the physician with expanded diagnostic and point of care treatment modalities while allowing the physician to make a more tangible impact in patient care. By incorporating the osteopathic structural somatic examination with the complete neurological evaluation, somatic dysfunction, occurring as a consequence or independent of neurologic injury, can be identified and treated using osteopathic manipulative techniques at time of visit. Utilizing the proposed integrated examination, the physician can determine the interplay between structural and neurological findings to identify patterns of change that coincide with more specific diagnoses and the chronicity of a condition. Tangible benefits from the ONE approach translate to more accurate clinical assessment and enhanced patient and physician satisfaction.

ARCHETYPAL BINARY OPPOSITION LIGHT / DARK AS THE MEANS OF MASS CONSCIOUSNESS MANIPULATION

В статье рассматривается взаимосвязь между когнитивными признаками архетипической бинарной оппозиции LIGHT/DARK и способами манипулирования общественным сознанием, которые активно применяются в современном американском политическом медиадискурсе. Предметом анализа является эвалюативный (оценочный) признак АБО, способствующий актуализации манипулятивных приемов воздействия на массовое сознание. The article discusses the relationship between the cognitive characteristics of the archetypal binary opposition LIGHT/DARK and methods of public consciousness manipulation, which are actively used in the contemporary American political media discourse. The subject of the analysis is the evaluative characteristic of the ABO, promoting the actualization of some manipulative techniques.

Manual Medicine and Sleep

Manual medicine and manipulative techniques encompass a wide array of techniques that provide structural, vascular, and energetic manipulation to influence musculoskeletal and general health. Manual medicine requires special focus on the physical exam in order to determine the most efficacious manipulative and physical therapy techniques. Manual medicine has been shown to be of benefit independently and adjunctively in the treatment of a number of musculoskeletal and pain conditions. There is a small but growing body of evidence in support of specific manual medicine techniques to treat insomnia and other aspects of sleep disorders.