We all know what a rhetorical question is and that made me wonder whether there was such a thing as a rhetorical answer. To get to the root of this we must first define what a rhetorical question actually is.
The accepted definition is a question asked in order to produce an effect or to make a statement rather than to elicit information. However, that is what we accept as the definition because it's the form most commonly associated with the phrase. The other definition is that of a question used as part of rhetoric, which is the art of using language in the pursuit of persuasion. Using this definition a leading question is also a form of rhetorical question.
This definition of rhetoric leads us to conclude that the rhetorical answer is a device, in the form of an answer, that aids persuasion. Using this definition, just one example of a rhetorical answer would be an answer used to divert attention from a question, the truthful answer to which would be acutely embarrassing, and is achieved by responding with an answer totally unrelated to the question.
When you think about it, it's the stock in trade of many politicians. They start their answer with; "That's an interesting question, but what I can tell you is....," and then launch into an answer having bugger all to do with the question being asked.
Another that they're being trained to parrot is; "I don't recognise the premise of the question," although that's more of a shutdown than a rhetorical answer.
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