Demagogy - academic definitions

In the previous article we took a practical look at Demagoguery and the techniques to use it and oppose it. Along with this, there is a need for a more in-depth analysis of a theory about demagoguery, and in particular it is necessary to examine the definition used in the previous article ('simplistic, one-sided and emotional rhetoric') compared to other definitions proposed by historians, philosophers and psychologists.

Previous definitions of demagoguery

It is not easy to define demagoguery. Historians who tried to define demagoguery got confused in their definitions because it seems that every definition also included some worthy and moral leaders. For example, some argue that one of the characteristics of a demagogue is repeating a simplistic message over and over again, but was John Kennedy a demagogue because A speech 'How Bin Ein Berliner' He repeated the same sentence 15 times in a five-minute speech?  And on the contrary, Joseph Goebbels managed every week to compare the Jews to animals in a new and original way, and was still a demagogue.

Besides the historians, the philosophers also tried to define what demagogy is, and I'm not sure that their success is greater.  Basically, most definitions of demagoguery in philosophy books (and on wikipedia, for those interested) are about the demagogue using logical fallacies to persuade.  Unfortunately, logical fallacies are such a common mistake that almost everyone, including most philosophers, fails at them from time to time. And on the contrary, even if Hitler was often right in his words and managed to develop some very valid arguments, this does not make him any less demagogic.

 In addition, the psychologists and sociologists also offered their own definitions of demagoguery, when  One set of definitions talked about behavior and another set about intentions. Definitions based on style have come to claim that the characteristic of the demagogue is the superiority of emotion over intellect (ie superiority The style over the content).  The problem is that those definitions were left out by clearly demagogic leaders, for example, it is customary to argue that a demagogue should have rhetorical talent, but they  Joe McCarthy and Joseph Stalin were fairly mediocre speakers. And in contrast, Bill Clinton is a very emotional speaker, but it is very difficult to call him a demagogue.

The other set of psychological definitions dealt with intentions rather than manner of execution.  The claim was that the demagogue knows in advance that his words are biased and manipulative and thus he is different from an honest speaker.  This definition is particularly problematic because it includes a large number of failures. One fallacy is that this definition ignores that orators sometimes make bona fide mistakes. For example, it is hard to assume that Hitler and Mussolini did not wholeheartedly believe in their own ideology (if only because after repeating it thousands of times they brainwashed themselves).  A second fallacy is  that in fact it is impossible to use such a definition for any practical purpose, because how can we know whether really  Did the speaker lie only to us or did he also lie to himself? Third, it often happens that even in non-demagogic messages the speaker misleads his listeners, for example in the sentence 'If you don't do your homework, you won't succeed in matriculation'.

The proposed definition of demagoguery

All this brings us back to the main definition 'demagoguery is simplistic, one-sided and emotional rhetoric'. This definition helps us make sure that all examples of non-demagogic rhetoric are left out and those that are demagogic rhetoric are included. If we examine the previous examples, it seems that John Kennedy was indeed simplistic, but certainly not one-sided because he made sure to present the arguments of the other side. It seems that Bill Clinton is emotional, but not simplistic, but actually very complex, and it seems that we don't need to be examiners of kidneys and heart to know who is a 'really' demagogue and who is just a 'mistaken' demagogue.

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