ATLAS OF LANGUAGE

Contextual explanation · NAV-G01-050

Diversion

This explanation addresses the term in its originating context. It is not an additional canonical Atlas profile.

Explanation

Diversion shifts attention from one object to another. In rhetoric it may prevent an uncomfortable question from being addressed. As a general attentional event, however, it is neither necessarily deliberate nor automatically fallacious.

Movement of thought

1. Name the initial object. 2. Identify the new stimulus or topic. 3. Record the unfinished task. 4. Separate function from possible intention. 5. Enable return to the original issue.

Example

Asked about missing evidence, an invented speaker begins a lengthy description of the pleasant view.

Counter-test

A sudden noise may involuntarily distract someone; no rhetorical strategy follows from that fact.

Scientific use case

Discourse analysis can investigate whether shifts systematically accompany unanswered questions.

Effect

The original issue loses prominence without being resolved.

Resonance

Another impression overlays what remains unfinished.

Distinction

Distinguish digression in general, a legitimate pause and red herring as a narrower argumentative case.

Sources