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A Topical Approach to Argument

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A Topical Approach to Argument A TOPICAL APPROACH TO ARGUMENT: AN UN-ENLIGHTENED PARADIGM OF RHETORICAL INVENTION by THOMAS WILLIAM DUKE BETH S. BENNETT, COMMITTEE CHAIR ROBERT N. GAINES JASON EDWARD BLACK ALEXA S. CHILCUTT LUCAS P. NIILER A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Communication and Information Science in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2018 Copyright Thomas William Duke 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT In contemporary society, expertise is often a liability for those seeking to persuade the public. This work argues that the contemporary rejection of expertise is caused by a lack of proper rhetorical training, that the lack of rhetorical training is in turn an effect of rhetorical pedagogies rooted in Enlightenment values, and finally that rhetoricians must return to a pre- Enlightenment pedagogy if expertise is ever to obtain the recognition it deserves. Contemporary rhetorical training in argument is examined through a discussion of the argument systems of Stephen Toulmin, Chaïm Perelman, and Aristotle. The important aspects of these argument systems, the Toulmin model of argument, Perelman’s universal audience, and the Aristotelian enthymeme, are reviewed and critiqued. In the latter portion of the work, the study describes a distinctly rhetorical method for inventing arguments and discusses its implications for the problem of popularizing expertise. ii DEDICATION I prepared this work for my own edification and understanding of the questions to which I hope it provides some answers. I hope that others may find some value in this rather public attempt to write my way to clarity. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I could not have completed this work without the valuable assistance of my overworked advisor Beth S. Bennett. Even before the manuscript was conceived, it was Beth who permitted me to teach an interim summer class on invention and limited preparation speaking that inspired me to investigate many of the concepts explored in the study. Later, at every stage of the manuscript’s construction, her matter-of-fact yet diplomatic advice tempered my worst stylistic and inventional excesses. In every way conceivable, she has supported my development as a scholar and teacher of rhetoric. For her support, I express my deepest thanks. I also want to acknowledge the eminent advice of Dr. Robert N. Gaines whose lengthy answers to my occasional questions made this work much richer than it would otherwise have been. iv CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1 APPROACHES TO TEACHING RHETORICAL ARGUMENT .......................... 1 The Unsung Expert’s Plight ........................................................................................................... 1 The expert’s problem defined ...................................................................................................... 4 The cause is pedagogical ........................................................................................................... 4 The solution is paradigmatic ..................................................................................................... 5 The primacy of invention .......................................................................................................... 6 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................... 7 Paradigmatic approaches to teaching rhetoric ............................................................................. 8 A paradigm that addresses the expert’s problem ....................................................................... 15 Defining the term ....................................................................................................................... 17 Parsing Aristotle’s account of topoi ......................................................................................... 17 Issues in translation .................................................................................................................. 20 Looking beyond Aristotle .......................................................................................................... 24 Looking back at Aristotle .......................................................................................................... 28 A valid approach to argument? .................................................................................................. 30 Borderline cases for validity ..................................................................................................... 31 vi Cognition as the basis for validity ............................................................................................ 33 Language as the basis for validity ............................................................................................. 33 Logic as the basis for validity .................................................................................................... 34 Ethics as the basis for validity .................................................................................................... 34 Resistance to valid argument in rhetoric .................................................................................... 35 Resistance based on the rejection of logic ................................................................................ 35 Alternatives to validity as a standard ........................................................................................ 36 Research Questions ...................................................................................................................... 37 Outline of the Study ..................................................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER 2 THREE SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM OF VALIDITY ............................... 39 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 39 Aristotle’s Enthymeme ............................................................................................................... 39 Aristotle and the problem of validity ......................................................................................... 45 The Aristotelian topoi ................................................................................................................ 48 Toulmin’s Model of Rhetorical Argument ................................................................................. 51 An invitation to Toulmin ........................................................................................................... 54 Brockriede and Ehninger’s topoi ............................................................................................... 56 Rhetorical Argument in The New Rhetoric ................................................................................. 61 Auditoire universel ..................................................................................................................... 63 The New Rhetoric’s topoi ........................................................................................................... 66 Revisiting the Problem of Validity ............................................................................................. 71 CHAPTER 3 CRITICAL VIEWS ON VALIDITY AND RHETORIC ..................................... 72 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 72 vi The Virtues and Vices of The New Rhetoric .............................................................................. 72 Criticism of Perelman ................................................................................................................ 73 Perelman redeemed? .................................................................................................................. 79 Stephen Toulmin the Revolutionary ........................................................................................... 83 A conservative revolution in logic ............................................................................................. 84 A gradual revolution in logic ..................................................................................................... 86 Praise and Blame for Aristotle .................................................................................................... 90 Re-examining the enthymeme ................................................................................................... 90 Finding value in Aristotle .......................................................................................................... 93 CHAPTER 4 A SYNTHETIC APPROACH TO ARGUMENT ................................................ 95 A System of Rhetorical Invention ..............................................................................................
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