Bentham's Use Of Neutral Language In Save The Bees

Bentham’s idea of question-begging appellatives functions when the word or phrase puts forth ideological assumptions in an audience, or when the word or phrase pre-empts debate. Along with question-begging appellatives, Bentham has a concept of triplicate vocabulary, stating that there are dyslogistic, eulogistic, and neutral terms. However, Burke adjusts Bentham’s concept and states that neutral language does not exist (p.92). The phrase “save the bees” is a eulogistic question-begging appellative as the phrase deflects debate and directs the audience’s mind to a certain perspective.
Taking the concept of triplicate vocabulary into account, “save the bees” consists of the word “save” which means to help or rescue, which in turn is seen as an approving term. However, while bees pollinate crops, they are associated with injury and harm due to the pain and frequency of bee stings,
which results in a disapproving connotation to the term.
Taking the two factors into account, “save the bees” would results in a slightly eulogistic term rather than simply eulogistic. Burke states that one cannot have image without a corresponding idea (p.84), hence the image of “save the bees” also bears eulogistic ideas such as protecting the bee population for society to continue to have the food that bees pollinate. These ideas tie into the underlying environmental ideology, a structure of interrelated ideas (p.88) concerning our environment, of the question-begging appellative. The phrase “save the bees” assumes that society takes interest in protecting declining species, and that society is concerned about climate change as well as the dropping bee population; and so the phrase can be considered a censorial term, which “has the opportunity to establish this very assumption in the mind of [the] hearer” (p.94). Therefore, “save the bees” communicates to the audience that the drop in bee population
will largely affect society as a whole. The phrase “save the bees” brings about the main questions of how to save the bees, or why the bees need to be saved. If the question begging appellative is effective, the audience will carry out actions that contribute to the ideology behind “save the bees”. While the stated questions are crucial and relevant to the drop in bee population, the phrase diverts attention from the cause of the high rate of decline in bees, which is mainly due to climate change, parasites and pathogens, and bee-killing pesticides which is the most direct risk to bees. “Save the bees” emphasizes the fact that there is a reason that the bees need to be saved, and promotes solutions concerning the decline in bees and the importance of bees; which is beneficial to all of society due to bees pollinating approximately one third of our food. The tonality of “save the bees” contributes to the persuasiveness of the phrase due to the fact that it implies a certain tone of voice leading to the conclusion (p. 98) that saving the bees is the correct thing to do.
Through ideas associated with the image of “save the bees”, censorial assumptions, and as well as tonality, the question-begging appellative “save the bees” creates and maintains a subset of society that is concerned with Earth’s natural resources as well as the depleting population of bees which will affect the ecosystem. “Save the bees” has “without form, the force of an assumption” (p.98) making the phrase a question-begging appellative that diverts attention from the cause of the decline in bees and promotes methods to protect the bees as well as informing the audience of the reason there is a drop in bee population.