Appeal to the Intellect; L.E. Read

To illustrate: Sales researchers have discovered that a price of $4.95, for instance, gives the im pression to most people that the item is more in the $4 than $5 range. While nearly everyone be lieves with Ben Franklin that "a penny saved is a penny earned," it is not necessarily a mark offru gality to spend 99 nickels to save one. It may be false economy and bad arithmetic. But such weak nesses are exploited. This explains why an item may be priced at $99.99 - 9,999 cents - rather than $100. "Why," I asked a passenger 609 610 THE FREEMAN October agent in an airport lounge, "do you advertise a trip to Hawaii for $159.95? Why not $160?" At least he was honest with me: "It fools people; that figure makes it look like a bargain." However, I must not leave the impression that this appeal to ignorance rather than to intelligence is a practice peculiar to business. We find it featureed in every field of human activity.

Political Promises Appeals to weakness are the stock in trade of politicians. What will the people fall for? If it is something-for-nothing, then political platforms will promise delivery. So-called teachers, economists, clergymen by the tens of thou sands stoop as often to such cheap tricks as do labor unions, cham bers of commerce, PTA's, and countless other organizations. Find out what weak and thought less people will demand, support, cheer, follow - be .it consumerism or socialism - and "away we go." Further, those who deplore this appeal to ignorance are well ad vised to look in the mirror. Any such widespread error tends to "rub off" on everyone. Is there an identifiable form of immunity to this malady? Yes; merely observe if integrity prevails. If one is saying or writing only that which his highest conscience dictates as truth, then, definitely, he is ap pealing to strength or intellect rather than to weakness. Why this claim?

When one acts with integrity, his eye is not cast on cheers, ap plause, fame, fortune, profits, and other worldly emoluments. In stead, the pursuit of truth and its accurate reporting commands the individual's attention. Is this to wave aside the things of this world? Hardly! Seek ye first Truth and Righteousness, and these things shall be added unto you. To Reverse the Trend How, then, are we to reverse course and be rid of this mischiev ous habit of appealing to. weak ness? The answer: appeal to intel lect. No matter with whom one is communicating - whether a custo mer, student, voter, employee, spouse, child, or other - assume his intelligence. How? By making certain that every utterance written or oral - accurately re flects the truth as one sees it. And watch the recipient of the mes sage rise to the challenge. To ex pect and believe in another's intel ligence has a drawing power, an attractive or magnetic effect.

To test this conclusion, simply ask yourself: When do I best re~ spond? When someone assumes I am stupid and tries to "pull the 1973 APPEAL TO THE INTELLECT 611 wool over my eyes," or when he assumes I am as bright as can be? As the famous psychiatrist, Dr. Fritz Kunkel observed: "Immense hidden powers lurk in the uncon scious of the most common man - indeed, of all people without exception." Tap these immense hidden powers by an appeal to in tellect. Let integrity feature one's every word and deed. "What? You expect me to give up the practices that are keeping me in business or in office?" Frankly, I do. I expect better of those who are now or who have been appealing to weakness. But when a switch is made, if at all, it Knowledge and Learning will be in response to explanations and demonstrations by a few that an appeal to intellect is the way best to serve one's self-interest. Noone can prosper for long materially, intellectually, morally, spiri tually - in a society based on appeals to weakness, be the ap peals intentional or not.

Always address our appeals to the other person's intellect. For all you or I know, his hidden or latent powers may be greater than yours or mine. In any case, we will have tried our best, not our worst and, by so doing, will have helped ourselves. , IDEAS ON LIBERTY THE INTELLECT, which has been disciplined to the perfection of its powers, which knows, and thinks while it knows, which has learned to leaven the dense mass of facts and events with the elastic force of reason, such an intellect cannot be partial, can not be exclusive, cannot be impetuous, cannot be at a loss, can not but be patient, collected, and majestically calm, because it discerns the end in every beginning, the origin in every end, the law in every interruption, the limit in each delay; because it ever knows where it stands, and how its path lies from one point to another. CARDIN AL JOHN HENRY NEWMAN The Idea of a University Who Profits from East-West Trade?