Feburuary Blog Post

Blog Post #2 Symbolic Action by Madeline Gresick

Symbolic action stood out to me the most in all of our reading because in a way I believe it brought it all together. Symbolic action is defined as “ expressive human action, the rhetorical mobilization of symbols to act in the world” (Palczewski, Ice, Fritch). Symbols being either verbal, visual or multisensory, but something that creates an arbitrary representation. That representation not only stand for something we associate it with but the meaning we create to have with it.

The constant use of symbols help us to create our own reality that we live in. Many people may share a common meaning with a visual representation, such as a stop sign. For example, we all know it means to stop. However many people may see a red rose and think of love, so many express their love for another person with the gift of a red rose however someone else may think of hatred. Hatred of someone who broke their heart by once loving them and expressing it with those red roses but now gone. Visual representations help hold a meaning created by an emotion and often displayed or re-lived when we see it. By creating our own meaning and identifying and object with that meaning we construct our own reality.

By living within our own reality amongst others who have created their own reality we come across a shared reality built upon shared meaning. What we then face is how do we describe this reality to those we interact with or care about? How do we share our thoughts or feelings with the people around us? We do so verbally, by using the symbols that have created the language we use all around us. These symbols are then used to help create our own meaning as we share it with others. We invite them to listen as we describe how we feel using these symbols to create meaning. In other words these symbols become a form of constitutive rhetoric, defined as the “character, community and culture” (Palczewski, Ice, Fritch). With this we begin to build a bond, trust, creating credibility that our own reality is the one that matters most.

The reason I chose symbolic action is because there are so many parts to it. Symbolic action is used everywhere. We use it everyday and we don’t even know it. I think that if we understood more about it as a population then maybe we could begin to understand other people as a whole. If we can learn to share our own ideas and realities then perhaps we can begin to come to terms and conditions while meeting in the middle on controversial topics. I think that using symbolic action can help persuade opinions and build bridges to creating a reality that is best for everyone.

This brings me to the topic of the three proofs, ethos, pathos, and logos. These three proofs are used in everyday life to help us enhance and create the realities as we share them with others.  Ethos helps the speaker or rhetor build credibility, character and charisma as they gain trust with the listener. Pathos works on leading the audience to capture the emotion that lies within the speaker's’ message. Logos helps the audience find logic in all of it, helping to understand the logistics and stats of everything. Together these three proofs not only help to share the symbolic meanings we have created but we form a bond with that person. With that, it a vital part of communication we have with those around us, it is something we use every day and need desperately to get by.