A Pragmatic Theory of Fallacy (Studies in Rhetoric and Communication (Paperback)) - Softcover

Walton, MR Douglas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0817350470 ISBN 13: 9780817350475

Publisher: The University of Alabama Press, 2012

Synopsis

Although fallacies have been common since Aristotle, until recently little attention has been devoted to identifying and defining them. Furthermore, the concept of fallacy itself has lacked a sufficiently clear meaning to make it a useful tool for evaluating arguments. Douglas Walton takes a new analytical look at the concept of fallacy and presents an up-to-date analysis of its usefulness for argumentation studies. Walton uses case studies illustrating familiar arguments and tricky deceptions in everyday conversation where the charge of fallaciousness is at issue. The numerous case studies show in concrete terms many practical aspects of how to use textual evidence to identify and analyze fallacies and to evaluate arguments as fallacious. Walton looks at how an argument is used in the context of conversation. He defines a fallacy as a conversational move, or sequence of moves, that is supposed to be an argument that contributes to the purpose of the conversation but in reality interferes with it. The view is a pragmatic one, based on the assumption that when people argue, they do so in a context of dialogue, a conventionalized normative framework that is goal-directed. Such a contextual framework is shown to be crucial in determining whether an argument has been used correctly. Walton also shows how examples of fallacies given in the logic textbooks characteristically turn out to be variants of reasonable, even if defeasible or questionable arguments, based on presumptive reasoning. This is the essence of the evaluation problem. A key thesis of the book, which must not be taken for granted as previous textbooks have so often done, is that you can spot a fallacy from how it was used in a context of dialogue. This is an innovative and even, as Walton notes, "a radical and controversial" theory of fallacy.

About this title

Review:

"By bringing to bear the pragma-dialectical orientation of the Amsterdam School, Walton enables us to reconceptualize fallacies as instances of failed communication, rather than incorrect interference."--Lenore Langsdorf, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

About the Author:

Douglas Walton has published 33 books including Legal Argumentation and Evidence, One Sided Arguments: A Dialectical Analysis of Bias, Ad Hominem Arguments, Argumentation Schemes for Presumptive Reasoning, and A Pragmatic Theory of Fallacy.

About this edition

• Publisher: The University of Alabama Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0817350470
• ISBN 13: 9780817350475
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 344