Rhetorical Argumentation

Rhetorical Argumentation
Author: Christopher W. Tindale
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2004-05-27
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1452238324

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.

Argument and Rhetoric

Argument and Rhetoric
Author: Ursula Lenker
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2010-02-23
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 311021606X

The book is the first corpus-based study giving a comprehensive overview of English items which have been used as adverbial connectors ('conjuncts', 'linking adverbials'), from Old English to Present-Day English. The author analyses different characteristics of the make-up, functions and use of connectives, and considers morphological and syntactic factors as well as pragmatic, textlinguistic and socio-cultural aspects.

The Rhetoric of Reason

The Rhetoric of Reason
Author: James Crosswhite
Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Press
Total Pages: 348
Release: 1996-02-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780299149543

Responding to skeptics within higher education and critics without, James Crosswhite argues powerfully that the core of a college education should be learning to write a reasoned argument. A trained philosopher and director of a university-wide composition program, Crosswhite challenges his readers—teachers of writing and communication, philosophers, critical theorists, and educational administrators—to reestablish the traditional role of rhetoric in education. To those who have lost faith in the abilities of people to reach reasoned mutual agreements, and to others who have attacked the right-or-wrong model of formal logic, this book offers the reminder that the rhetorical tradition has always viewed argumentation as a dialogue, a response to changing situations, an exchange of persuading, listening, and understanding. Crosswhite’s aim is to give new purpose to writing instruction and to students’ writing, to reinvest both with the deep ethical interests of the rhetorical tradition. In laying out the elements of argumentation, for example, he shows that claiming, questioning, and giving reasons are not simple elements of formal logic, but communicative acts with complicated ethical features. Students must learn not only how to construct an argument, but the purposes, responsibilities, and consequences of engaging in one. Crosswhite supports his aims through a rhetorical reconstruction of reason, offering new interpretations of Plato and Aristotle and of the concepts of reflection and dialogue from early modernity through Hegel to Gadamer. And, in his conclusion, he ties these theoretical and historical underpinnings to current problems of higher education, the definition of the liberal arts, and, especially, the teaching of written communication.

Acts of Arguing

Acts of Arguing
Author: Christopher W. Tindale
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 1999-11-04
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9780791443873

Approaches recent innovations in argumentation theory from a primarily rhetorical perspective.

The Philosophy of Argument and Audience Reception

The Philosophy of Argument and Audience Reception
Author: Christopher W. Tindale
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2015-04-30
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1107101115

This book approaches the topic of argumentation from the perspective of audiences, rather than the perspective of arguers or arguments.

Rhetoric and Discourse in Supreme Court Oral Arguments

Rhetoric and Discourse in Supreme Court Oral Arguments
Author: Ryan Malphurs
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2013-01-04
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1136182292

While legal scholars, psychologists, and political scientists commonly voice their skepticism over the influence oral arguments have on the Court’s voting pattern, this book offers a contrarian position focused on close scrutiny of the justices’ communication within oral arguments. Malphurs examines the rhetoric, discourse, and subsequent decision-making within the oral arguments for significant Supreme Court cases, visiting their potential power and danger and revealing the rich dynamic nature of the justices’ interactions among themselves and the advocates. In addition to offering advancements in scholars’ understanding of oral arguments, this study introduces Sensemaking as an alternative to rational decision-making in Supreme Court arguments, suggesting a new model of judicial decision-making to account for the communication within oral arguments that underscores a glaring irony surrounding the bulk of related research—the willingness of scholars to criticize oral arguments but their unwillingness to study this communication. With the growing accessibility of the Court’s oral arguments and the inevitable introduction of television cameras in the courtroom, this book offers new theoretical and methodological perspectives at a time when scholars across the fields of communication, law, psychology, and political science will direct even greater attention and scrutiny toward the Supreme Court.

Teaching Arguments

Teaching Arguments
Author: Jennifer Fletcher
Publisher: Stenhouse Publishers
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2015
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1571109994

No matter wherestudents' lives lead after graduation, one of the most essential tools we can teach them is how to comprehend, analyze, and respond to arguments. Students need to know how writers' and speakers' choices are shaped by elements of the rhetorical situation, including audience, occasion, and purpose. In Teaching Arguments: Rhetorical Comprehension, Critique, and Response, Jennifer Fletcher provides teachers with engaging classroom activities, writing prompts, graphic organizers, and student samples to help students at all levels read, write, listen, speak, and think rhetorically.Fletcher believes that, with appropriate scaffolding and encouragement, all students can learn a rhetorical approach to argument and gain access to rigorous academic content. Teaching Arguments opens the door and helps them pay closer attention to the acts of meaning around them, to notice persuasive strategies that might not be apparent at first glance. When we analyze and develop arguments, we have to consider more than just the printed words on the page. We have to evaluate multiple perspectives; the tension between belief and doubt; the interplay of reason, character, and emotion; the dynamics of occasion, audience, and purpose; and how our own identities shape what we read and write. Rhetoric teaches us how to do these things.Teaching Arguments will help students learn to move beyond a superficial response to texts so they can analyze and craft sophisticated, persuasive arguments-;a major cornerstone for being not just college-and career-ready but ready for the challenges of the world.