Kairos and Exigence: A Powerful Combination

Killingsworth’s “Appeals to Time” article presents the idea that kairos and exigence are important issues in and of themselves.  It is necessary to choose ones argument carefully (kairos) and it is necessary to promote the urgency of one’s topic (exigence).  Therefore, when kairos and exigence work together in an argument, it proves to be extremely persuasive.

One of my favorite examples in “Appeals to Time” is Killingsworth’s explanation of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.  “Lincoln intensifies the argument by claiming that not just the nation but everything the nation stands for- liberty, equality, and union – risks death if the nation cannot endure.  The very principles of modern democracy hinge on the actions of this moment” (43).  Killingsworth shows, very clearly, how Lincoln the rhetoric of crisis to create forward motion, both of which are complex appeals to time.

The crisis is obvious - The Civil War.  [However, the situation for which Lincoln wrote was a dedication of funeral grounds for the fallen soldiers of Gettysburg.  Though the initial need for this speech was not to motivate (seeing as the dead do not need motivation), he grouped all the people who were present at the cemetery into one audience: “we are engaged in a great civil war” (43 italics added).] Lincoln presents this crisis as affecting all who live within the borders of the US and who still fight for “Liberty” and “equality.”  Making his kairetic rhetoric clear, Lincoln continues on (in the same sentence!) to pair it with exigence.

With the addition of a strong exigence, Lincoln makes his argument even more persuasive.  The presentation of a crisis may be moving, but how much more motivating is an invitation to action (without which “everything the nation stands for… risks death” (43)).  Lincoln doesn’t present his audience not with just any message but an urgent message (saying action must not be taken tomorrow, or the next week, or maybe the month after that, or that one can hope the issue will resolve itself; there must be deliberate action now).

These universal appeals to time reached the heart of many people.  In any form of persuasive writing, this combination of kairos and exigence is a must.  One without the other isn’t enough.  Killingsworth shows us how Lincoln used, to great success, these appeals to time, and it is a good thing to recognize the power they have in persuasive arguments.