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Rhetorical Argumentation
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Rhetorical Argumentation
Principles of Theory and Practice



July 2004 | 224 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
The study of argumentation has primarily focused on logical and dialectical approaches, with minimal attention given to the rhetorical facets of argument. Rhetorical Argumentation: Principles of Theory and Practice approaches argumentation from a rhetorical point of view and demonstrates how logical and dialectical considerations depend on the rhetorical features of the argumentative situation. Throughout this text, author Christopher W. Tindale identifies how argumentation as a communicative practice can best be understood by its rhetorical features.

Rhetorical Argumentation uniquely presents argumentation through the idea of an invitational rhetoric by encouraging readers to think about the ways in which they encounter arguments. The book explores the processes involved in the argumentative exchanges between arguers and audiences-thus, emphasizing the collaborative nature of the arguer-audience relationship in the argumentative situation. That is, argument is presented not as a set of ideas imposed upon a passive audience, but rather as a dynamic exchange wherein the audience is involved in self-persuasion.

Key Features:

Explores the ancient foundations of rhetoric, from Aristotle to the relatively contemporary works of Perelman and Olbrechts-Tytecta, Toulmin, and Bakhtin

Includes numerous examples illustrating the ways in which the reasoning within arguments involves the audience from premise through to conclusion

Presents the idea of "dialogism" drawn from the theories of Mikhail Bakhtin to create a more dynamic and interactive sense of the argumentative context

Examines current theory as well as the historical relationship between argument and rhetoric

Provides detailed discussions of topics such as nature of the dialogical, rhetorical context, audiences, and standards of appraisal.

Rhetorical Argumentation is designed to provide advanced undergraduate and graduate students with a clear understanding of the rhetorical view of argumentation and how it can be effective in contemporary society. The book is an ideal text for courses in Communication, Rhetoric, Argumentation, Informal Logic, Critical Thinking, and Conflict Resolution.

 
1. Introduction: A Rhetorical Turn for Argumentation
Alice's Predicament

 
Models of Argument

 
Beyond the Logical

 
Beyond the Dialectical

 
Rhetoric and Rhetorical Argumentation

 
The Path Ahead

 
 
2. Argument as Rhetorical...
Introduction: Rhetoric's Origin

 
Argument's Origin

 
Rhetoric and Argument in Fifth- and Fourth- Century Greece

 
Sophistic Argument

 
Sophistic Argument and the Notion of 'Fallacy'

 
Rhetoric as Invitational

 
 
3. ...And Rhetoric as Argument
Introduction: Rhetorical Figures and Arguments

 
Reboul on Figures and Arguments

 
Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca

 
Fahnestock's Figural Logic

 
Figures as Arguments

 
Conclusion

 
 
4. Rhetorical Contexts and the Dialogical
Introduction: Dialogue and Dialogues

 
Bakhtin's Terminology

 
Dialogic Argument

 
Reflections on a Bakhtinian Model

 
Examples

 
Conclusion

 
 
5. Martians, Philosophers, and Reasonable People: The Construction of Objective Standards
Introduction

 
How Martians Reason

 
The Martian Standard and the Problems of Evaluation

 
Bakhtin's Superaddressee

 
Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca's Universal Audience

 
Conclusion

 
 
6. Developing the Universal Audience
Introduction: Why the Universal Audience Fails

 
Reading the Universal Audience: Two Views

 
Reappraising the Universal Audience

 
Applying the Idea of a Universal Audience

 
 
7. The Truth about Orangutans: Conflicting Criteria of Premise Adequacy
Introduction: Deep Disagreements Between Logic and Rhetoric

 
Hamblin's Orangutans

 
The Rhetoric of Philosophy: Metaphors as Argument

 
Acceptability

 
Conclusion

 
 
8. Rhetorical Conclusions
From Protagoras to Bakhtin

 
The Rhetorical Audience

 
Goals of Rhetorical Argumentation

 
Conclusions Without Conclusiveness

 

This is a great book with wonderful information. It is easy to read and would be beneficial to students. This text would work well with certain approaches to argumentation courses.

Mr Steven Farrar
Communication Dept, Utah Valley University
February 18, 2022

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