He makes a perfectly plausible argument to the effect that the question is grammatical rather than rhetorical.

他提出了一个貌似非常可信的论据,大意是说这个问句是语法型的，而不是修辞型的。

耶鲁公开课 - 文学理论导论课程节选

It would have been a perfect symmetry because last time we quoted Paul Ricoeur to the effect that these authors, Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud, were--and this is Ricoeur's word--"masters."

这里其实是很平衡的,因为上次我们提到保罗，里克尔的时候大意是说这些作者，包括马克思，尼采和弗洛伊德，按里克尔的说法，都是大师“

耶鲁公开课 - 文学理论导论课程节选