an estrangement or cause something to seem unfamiliar in a supernatural way Scholasticism. Rhetorical study of Christianity that was intellectually prominent in 11th–15th-century Western Europe, emphasizing rhetorical concepts by Aristotle and a search for universal truth. Scientific method. A system of observing and analyzing data through induction; prominent school of thought since the 17th century whose proponents are often critical of rhetoric. Scientific reasoning. Moving from axioms to actual conclusions. Also Syllogistic logic. Scientism. In Weaver, applying scientific assumptions to subjects that are not completely natural. Scientistic. Kenneth Burke. Way of looking at the nature of language as a way of naming or defining something. ex. 'It is' or 'It is not.' Second Sophistic. Rhetorical era in Rome that dealt primarily with rhetorical style through some of the Greek Sophists' concepts, while neglecting its political and social uses because of censorship. Semantics. Philosophical study of language that deals with its connection to perceptions of reality. Semiotics. Branch of semantics concerning language and communication as a system of symbols. Sensus communis. A society's basic beliefs and values. Sententia. Applying a general truth to a situation by quoting a maxim or other wise saying as a conclusion or summary of that situation. Shui. Formal persuasion in ancient China. Sign. Term from semiotics that describes something that has meaning through its connection to something else, like words. Signifying. Term from semiotics that describes the method through which meaning is created with arbitrary signs. Simile. A figure of speech that compares unlike things, implying a resemblance between them. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "He entered the combat in body like the strongest bull, in impetuosity like the fiercest lion." Skepticism. Type of thought that questions whether universal truth exists and is attainable by humans. Solecismus. Ignorantly misusing tenses, cases, and genders. Sophists. Considered the first professional teachers of oratory and rhetoric (ancient Greece 4th century BC). Soraismus. The ignorant or affected mingling of languages. Spin. In Vatz, the act of competing to infuse meaning into agenda items for chosen audiences. Spoonerism. The deliberate or involuntary switching of sounds or morphemes between two words of a phrase, rendering a new meaning. Sprezzatura. The ability to appear that there is seemingly little effort used to attain success. The art of being able to show that one is able to deceive. Baldessare Castiglione. Starting points. In Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, the place between the speaker and audience