Here's another archival post of mine.
Suasion. I remember this word raising my hackles a couple of years ago when it was the wotd on DD. Merriam-Webster defines both "suasion" and "persuasion" as "the act of persuading". Now, normally, I would reiterate that there are no true synonyms and distinguish the etymologies on each, except the etymologies are a little fuzzy. Suasion says it comes from Latin "suadere" for "persuasion" or "to advise", while persuasion says it comes from--wait for it--"per" and "suasion",so these are unhelpful. The mere addition of the "per" meaning through, doesn't add anything to the etymology or the meaning. Persuasion does not really mean through suasion, because the definition of suasion is backward to that construction. Suasion means through persuasion and therefore should actually be "perpersuasion" (Or do the “per”s cancel?) So, I think we have an issue of lazy usage being justified retroactively, since these words both originated in the late Middle Ages, c. 1380. But, I'll make one last stab at a distinction, just for old times sake. The usage of suasion from the examples from DD is non-specific, to a general perspective (e.g., moral or cultural norms), while persuasion is for a definite idea or opinion. I regularly persuade the judge to my argument, or try to persuade people to order different things off the menu so we can share and sample, but I might try to suade a child to be kind to animals or to always say please and thank you. Still not much use for suasion. Perhaps suasion is just insipid.
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12 comments:
"suasion" in real-life use:
On NPR this morning they were discussing the Treasury Department's role in gathering the biggest banks to bail themselves out of the sub-prime mortgage mess, and described it as "moral suasion" (since no money or commitment on the part of the Treasury Dept. was involved). I suspect that "persuasion" wasn't used because it would have implied that the Treasury department had some specific action that they wanted taken, so "suasion" plus an adjective to take the place of "per" was used instead.
My apologies for arriving late.
Another real-life usage was from President Barack Hussein Obama in his presentation of his new Afghanistan strategy:
"As a country, we're not as young -- and perhaps not as innocent -- as we were when Roosevelt was President. Yet we are still heirs to a noble struggle for freedom. And now we must summon all of our might and moral suasion to meet the challenges of a new age." (emphasis added)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-address-nation-way-forward-afghanistan-and-pakistan
In Latin, sometimes the prefix 'per' seems to have the meaning of through as in thorough(ly), completely. Can't think of any examples just now, shall try to get some and post. Love your blog :)
Elizabeth
From the OED quotations -- 1531 CRANMER in Strype Mem. App. i. (1694) 3 "He swadeth that with such goodly eloquence..that he were lyke to persuade many."
This sentence captures the distinction between the words as they are used in modern rhetoric. Suasion is the deployment of rhetorical means for the sake of moving the audience to the rhetor's position. Persuasion is the effect or result of successful suasion on that audience. One can thus suade an audience yet fail to persuade.
My sense has always been that suasion is, through dialogue, attempting to convince you of my cause. Persuasion on the other hand has a bit of manipulation to it. Perhaps not with aggression or malice but some bit of pressuring that goes beyond presenting a logical argument.
It seems to carry the implication that logic alone might not work and so I must add in extra elements to try to get you over to my side.
Does 'suasion' still exist in contemporary usage other than in the phrase "moral suasion"? To me the original post captures exactly the distinction, and I think that distinction is still valuable to those trying to make a fine point.
From John S. C. Abbott's book "Hernando Cortez", I offer the following quote. "Cortez, with gratitude to God, seized both ship and cargo, and by his peculiar powers of moral suasion induced the captain and most of the crew to enlist in his service." Page 49 of the 1904 Harper & Brothers Publishers edition.
Here is an example from an article in Newsweek, entitled "Donald Trump's Bullying Tactics are Backfiring Spectacularly," Sept. 25, 2017: "Trump has articulated no vision for America. Nor, despite his vaunted dealmaking skills, has he been especially interested in the art of political suasion." It's the first time I think I've ever come across this word, and found your post when I Google®d it.
Incidentally, the article gives a persuasive account of the expression "bully pulpit."
Acronyms, all acronyms, are a form of insider communication, which is fine, if you only want to communicate to insiders. For my part, I would like to eliminate the usage so as to communicate to the largest audience with causing them undue effort to understand what I have said. I have no idea what DD is.
Dear Anonymous from February 12, 2018 at 10:34am,
I am sorry you chose not to read my Welcome message, where I clearly define "DD" as "Doctor Dictionary". I am surprised you also, therefore, didn't have trouble with "wotd", which was not a typo. That said, I hope you were able to understand the definitions, usages and discussion that I provided, notwithstanding my reference to another site. Thank you. Lauren
per-
pəː,pə/
prefix
prefix: per-
1.
through; all over.
"perforation"
completely; very.
"perfect"
to destruction; to ill effect. <—-
"perdition"
Suasion is to advise
Persuasion is to advise to ill effect (maliciously), Trust afforded to the advisor is exploited
Moral suasion is to advise with benevolent intent prior to a negative or controversial outcome
Remember that Advice is another way to explain Prophecy & Prediction. Ad (To) Visere (See)..
Advice in the modern day is based on risk management estimations based on vast amounts of data
However in ancient times an Adviser or Advisery or visero (seer) or viseroy (royal seer) viceroy (royal proxy)
Also almost identical to Adversary & Fr. Adversarie or Adversier! (Mood Imperative) which is exactly what someone who is supposed to predict the future would be if they Pur-posely Per-suade a king with the intention of sabotague
However most importantly, in antiquity Persuasion, Prediction, Prophecy, Evangelism & Advising or Devising / Divising were all forms of sourcery associated with Idolatry and Blasphemy by using supernatural powers and / or associations with The Devil or Demons or Spirits or Divine or Angels to exploit the earthly realm
AKA Divination when benevolent, from the Divine AKA In-spir-ation when spir-ritual & Devisier when malevolent, from Devisee (The ‘executor’ of a convoluted or subversive plan with ‘Decisive’ intentions which would appear precognitive if announced prior to execution)
Ergo: “Divide and Conquer” or “A House Divided Cannot Stand” [Matthew 12:22-28]
noun, plural adversaries.
1. a person, group, or force that opposes or attacks; opponent; enemy; foe.
2. a person, group, etc., that is an opponent in a contest; contestant.
3. the Adversary, the devil; Satan. <———————————————So it’s really about receiving favourable from the devil, via contract.
Interestingly four seemingly completely unrelated words all have incredibly similar phonemes but also similar contextual definitions which is quite a phenome-noun
subterfuge
- achieve ones goal by obstruction, subversion & deception
sabotague
- weaken an adversary by obstruction, subversion & deception
sabbatha
- Sabbath root. A meeting of witches for the purpose of maximising the effect of sourcery and source of popular nom Tabbitha
saberage
- Hussars are known notorious impetuous multitudes of warriors loyal to their leader that are willing to even sacrifice their own lives just for the sake of winning over the war. Napoleon’s Hussars are known as the originator of sabrage, which is demonstrated as excellence and precision when wielding a Sabre in battle as a tradition in the ranks of the Hussar legionnaires considering they needed to kill as many as possible before their demise.
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