Giving Reasons: A Linguistic-pragmatic Approach To Argumentation Theory (argumentation Library 20)

This book provides a new, linguistic approach to Argumentation Theory. Its main goal is to integrate the logical, dialectical and rhetorical dimensions of argumentation in a model providing a unitary treatment of its justificatory and persuasive powers. This model takes as its basis Speech Acts Theory in order to characterize argumentation as a second-order speech act complex. The result is a systematic and comprehensive theory of the interpretation, analysis and evaluation of arguments. This theory sheds light on the many faces of argumentative communication: verbal and non-verbal, monological and dialogical, literal and non-literal, ordinary and specialized. The book takes into consideration the major current comprehensive accounts of good argumentation (Perelman’s New Rhetoric, Pragma-dialectics, the ARG model, the Epistemic Approach) and shows that these accounts have fundamental weaknesses rooted in their instrumentalist conception of argumentation as an activity oriented to a goal external to itself. Furthermore, the author addresses some challenging meta-theoretical questions such as the justification problem for Argumentation Theory models and the relationship between reasoning and arguing. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Argumentation and Its Study....Pages 1-15 Why Do We Need a New Theory of Argumentation?....Pages 17-51 Acts of Arguing....Pages 53-80 The Logical Dimension of Argumentation....Pages 81-116 The Dialectical Dimension of Argumentation....Pages 117-137 The Rhetorical Dimension of Argumentation....Pages 139-164 Argumentation Appraisal....Pages 165-200 Back Matter....Pages 201-209 Provides a linguistic approach to Argumentation Theory. This title integrates the logical, dialectical and rhetorical dimensions of argumentation in a model providing a unitary treatment of its justificatory and persuasive powers.