A polidez como estratégia de persuasão em pseudociências : uma análise pragmático-retórica de textos sobre misticismo quântico veiculados em blog
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Data
2024-08-28
Autores
Silva, Marcos Vinicius Rodrigues
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Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo
Resumo
This dissertation aims to analyze pseudoscientific texts that focus on quantum mechanics from the pragmatic perspective of language, which examines how meaning is constructed in natural language communication, especially in the meanings conveyed through what is left unsaid. This research bases its analysis on the studies of politeness by Lakoff (1975; 1977), Leech (1983), Brown and Levinson (1987), and Kerbrat-Orecchioni (2006; 2010; 2013), as well as on argumentation and persuasion, according to the principles of ethos, pathos, and logos proposed by Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca (1996) and revised by Amossy (2007), Plantin (2008), and Charaudeau (2010). From these, the semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic discursive structures used to construct face to persuade the reader to acquire a product or service are observed. A qualitative methodological approach is applied to analyze a corpus composed of six texts taken from the “blog” section of the website elainneourives.com.br, which promote pseudoscientific ideas related to concepts of quantum mechanics, such as vibrations, frequencies, and energy. The research is guided by the following questions: (1) In what ways does the author of the pseudoscience articles direct the reader to agree with her assumptions? (2) How do the politeness strategies used by the author in her texts persuade her readers? (3) What are the linguistic strategies the author uses to approach the reader? The general objective of this work is to verify the assumption that politeness functions as a fundamental tool for persuading the listener/reader in the pseudoscientific discourse about quantum mysticism, leading them not only to believe in scientific distortions but also to acquire products and services based on such practices, which are not supported by the academic community. Initially, a distinction between science and pseudoscience is drawn, based on studies of the philosophy of science and quantum mechanics itself, followed by the theoretical framework that underpins this research. Subsequently, the methodology and the nature of the data to be analyzed are presented; finally, the corpus is explored based on the presented theoretical foundation. The analysis indicates that quantum mysticism relies on a supposed scientific authority and the decontextualized use of scientific terms to create an image of credibility. Furthermore, politeness strategies, especially the use of personal pronouns and indirect politeness strategies like generalizations and indirect suggestions, help balance the inclusion and exclusion of the reader, reinforcing the author’s authority and empathy, while modalizers avoid definitive commitments and protect the author from backlash, and Face-Flattering Acts (FFAs) demonstrate kindness and sympathy. Thus, it is concluded that the combination of these forms of politeness, the explanatory tone, and the colloquial language are effective in changing the reader’s opinion and promoting the products offered, highlighting the importance of politeness in persuasion in the context of blogs
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Pragmática , Polidez , Persuasão , Pseudociência , Misticismo quântico , Pragmatics , Politeness , Persuasion , Pseudoscience , Quantum mysticism