STASIS THEORYDr. Keith Grant-DavieFirst developed in classical times, stasis theory has been revived in various forms by a number of modernrhetoricians. Read more about stasis theory is this article: Fahnestock, Jeanne, and Marie Secor, “TheStases in Scientific and Literary Argument.”Written Communication5 (1988): 427-443.The word “stasis” (plural “stases”) literally means a “slowing down” or a stopping point. In rhetoric,a stasisis an issue that may be contested or a question that needs to be resolved before the argument canproceed.The stases are expressed in the form of standard, recurrent kinds of question that arguments settle—questions that can be modified to apply to any given subject matter. Some theorists identify three stases(questions of fact, value, and policy). Others, including me, find it more useful to identify five stases atwhich disagreement may need to be resolved through argument.Examples in italics are typical questionsraised in a court of law, where progression through the stases, in the classical sequence from fact to policy,is most commonly found:FactWhat happens or what happened? What are the facts of the subject?Whathappened on the night of July 6, 2005?DefinitionHow should we name or classify the subject?Were the defendant’s actions illegal?Was the defendant legally sane during the shooting?Cause/EffectWhat caused the subject? Or, what consequences may result from it?Whatmotivated the defendant to commit the crime? What happened to the plaintiff as aresult of the crime?ValueHow good or bad is the subject? Is it right or wrong?How serious was thedefendant’s offense? How bad were his or her actions?PolicyWhat action should be taken concerning the subject?Should the defendant beconvicted or found not guilty? What sentence should the defendant receive?Stasis theory provides a way to classify the kindof argument that’s being made (or the kind thatshouldbemade in order to engage and persuade a particular audience). Stasis theory can help you in at least twoways:1)As a heuristic—a system for generating things to say about a subject or angles from which toapproach the subject in an argumentative paper. It can help you develop an argument you aretrying to make. You can ask yourself, “What questions can I generate about this issue at eachof thestases? Given the audience for this paper, which stasis or stases should I address most carefully, inwhat sequence, and why?”
