When much new is old

It's a while since I attended my last book launch, although I hear plenty of similar discussions on ABCRN, but this one caught my eye.  Allan Answorth, barrister and part-time academic at UCan, was speaking on his latest publication, The Role of Rhetoric in Politics and the Media, in conversation with Jack Waterford.  It's a very local outing.  I read JW religiously each week, enjoying his observations and admiring his long knowledge, once Canberra Times editor and currently long-term opinion writer.  And a practising barrister and part-time academic looks to be a perfect source for a book on rhetoric, especially one who claims a long term interest in philosophy and a string of other intellectual interests.  The book outlines a range of linguistic, logical and ethical fallacies that are used in rhetorical technique then analyses two speeches by the current US president in this context.  The numbering and cross references in the book are complex and I am yet to clearly identify the number of fallacies discussed, but JW suggested over 150.  Amusingly, AA advised the naming of these fallacies is variously in common English or less common Ancient Greek for those known from that time.  There is history in such discussions.  Anyway, an interesting and occasionally amusing discussion and well informed on such matters.  Thus can someone trained as a barrister and subsequent academic compose.  Looking forward to reading his written words.

Allan Anforth (barrister, academic, author) was in conversation with Jack Waterford (journalist, opinion writer) at the launch of his book 'The role of rhetoric in politics and the media' at Paperchain bookshop, Manuka.