MANIPULATIVE POTENTIAL OF ANTONYMS AS IN PSEUDOSCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE

Abstract

The article reveals that pseudosciences use linguistic tools to manipulate the behavior and emotions of the target audience. In contrast to sciences, pseudosciences do not generate and spread scientific knowledge. Their main function is to imitate the image of the scientific knowledge to influence the target audience. By means of linguistic tools pseudosciences persuade the receiver that the information is proven without providing any scientific evidence. Such manipulation can be produced by means of antonyms. Creating the binary oppositions, the authors of the pseudoscientific texts shape a simplified image of reality, suggesting choosing one of the two variants. Antonyms, used in the oppositions, as a rule, have explicit connotation, which switches the target audience from the rational information processing to the emotional concerns. Lexical antonyms prevail over the contextual ones, as the former are able to evoke certain emotions in the target audience, which is easier to predict, because it is rooted in the linguistic culture. Using antonyms, the authors refer to the universal cultural values, which are linked to the ideas important for this particular culture, and leading to certain emotional reaction in the representatives of this linguistic culture. Widely used parallel constructions with antonyms are able to reduce the level of critical thinking, using repetitions, and intentionally suggesting the binary model of reality perception.