Preface: From Pragmatics and Dialectics to Argument Studies

Abstract

Pragmatics and dialectics are two disciplines which have been amongst the first and most important partners for argument studies in the exploration of the complex realm of communication. Treating argumentation as a construct consisting of premises and conclusion allows for investigating some interesting properties of the phenomenon of reasoning, but does not capture a variety of aspects related to the usage of natural language and dialogical context in which real-life argumentation is typically embedded. This special issue explores some of the fascinating research questions which emerge when we move beyond logic into the territory of the pragmatics and dialectics of argument.

Rhetorical figures as argument schemes – The proleptic suite

“…Allowing for a departure from more formal models of argument, this approach aligns with rhetorical accounts of argumentation that dwell in particular situations and unfold between rhetor (speaker or writer) and audience. Indeed, the mapping between this approach and rhetoric is most striking in rhetorical genre studies, where influence from speech-act theory is a common heritage, and attention to "macro-contextual dimensions" is a common enterprise [5].…”

“…Moves, 5 in the RhetFig framework, are identifiable discourse strategies deviating from some presumed default discourse patterns -for instance, a narrative order in which narrative events are related in the temporal order the events occur; or an argumentative order in which pro-arguments are spooled out in a linear flow, unconscious of any counter-arguments. Degree-zero speech is monologic signal production (again, classic Chomskyan grammar is the paradigm), so, "temporally," a counter-argument can only come in this idealization with another speaker.…”

Introduction: Argument Studies in Poland

“…The Polish School of Argumentation (Budzynska et al 2014) is a research movement that integrates different disciplines and institutions across Poland. It brings together people with a common research focus, complementary skills and an enthusiasm to work together.…”

“…The draft was then circulated among all the co-authors (contributors) for consultation in several iterations. The process was concluded with a version that was published as the opening article (Budzynska et al 2014) of this special issue.…”

“…The unique profile of SLGR lies in its exploitation of the three classical fields of the medieval trivium in its studies of communication phenomena. Since 2009 three volumes of the argumentation series have been released, dedicated to major research strands in the philosophy of argument (Koszowy 2009), computational approaches to argumentation , and pragmatics and dialectics of argument (Budzynska et al 2014). The release of the most recent volume coincides with that of this special issue of Argumentation, supporting further interaction between the Polish School and the international community; authors contributing to this volume of SLGR included John R. Searle (Berkeley), Francisca Snoeck Henkemans (Amsterdam), Peter Simons (Dublin), Jim Mackenzie (Sydney), and Jan Albert van Laar (Groningen).…”