The Aesthetics of Argument

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Aesthetics, Reference & Language, Language Arts
Cover of the book The Aesthetics of Argument by Martin Warner, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Martin Warner ISBN: 9780191056925
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: February 4, 2016
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Martin Warner
ISBN: 9780191056925
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: February 4, 2016
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

Argument and imagination are often interdependent. The Aesthetics of Argument is concerned with how this relationship may bear on argument's concern with truth, not just persuasion, and with the enhancement of understanding such interdependence may bring. The rationality of argument, conceived as the advancement of reasons for or against a claim, is not simply a matter of deductive validity. Whether arguments are relevant, have force, or look foolish—or whether an example is telling or merely illustrative—cannot always be assessed in these terms. Martin Warner presents a series of case studies which explore how analogy, metaphor, narrative, image, and symbol can be used in different ways to frame one domain in terms of another, severally or in various combinations, and how criteria drawn from the study of imaginative literature may have a bearing on their truth-aptness. Such framing can be particularly effective in argumentative roles which invite self-interrogation, as Plato saw long ago. Narrative in such cases may be fictional, whether parabolic or dramatic, autobiographical or biographical, and in certain cases may seek to show how standard conceptualizations are inadequate. Beyond this, whether in poetry or prose and not only with respect to narrative, the "logic" of imagery enables us to make principled sense of our capacity to grasp imagistically elements of our experience through words whose use at the imaginative level has transformed their standard conceptual relationships, and hence judge the credibility of associated arguments. Assessment of the argumentative imagination requires criteria drawn not only from dialectic and rhetoric, but also from poetics.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Argument and imagination are often interdependent. The Aesthetics of Argument is concerned with how this relationship may bear on argument's concern with truth, not just persuasion, and with the enhancement of understanding such interdependence may bring. The rationality of argument, conceived as the advancement of reasons for or against a claim, is not simply a matter of deductive validity. Whether arguments are relevant, have force, or look foolish—or whether an example is telling or merely illustrative—cannot always be assessed in these terms. Martin Warner presents a series of case studies which explore how analogy, metaphor, narrative, image, and symbol can be used in different ways to frame one domain in terms of another, severally or in various combinations, and how criteria drawn from the study of imaginative literature may have a bearing on their truth-aptness. Such framing can be particularly effective in argumentative roles which invite self-interrogation, as Plato saw long ago. Narrative in such cases may be fictional, whether parabolic or dramatic, autobiographical or biographical, and in certain cases may seek to show how standard conceptualizations are inadequate. Beyond this, whether in poetry or prose and not only with respect to narrative, the "logic" of imagery enables us to make principled sense of our capacity to grasp imagistically elements of our experience through words whose use at the imaginative level has transformed their standard conceptual relationships, and hence judge the credibility of associated arguments. Assessment of the argumentative imagination requires criteria drawn not only from dialectic and rhetoric, but also from poetics.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book Macro Markets by Martin Warner
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of the History of Ethics by Martin Warner
Cover of the book Realizing Reason by Martin Warner
Cover of the book Consumer Involvement in Private EU Competition Law Enforcement by Martin Warner
Cover of the book The Community of Advantage by Martin Warner
Cover of the book McMeel on The Construction of Contracts by Martin Warner
Cover of the book The English Parliaments of Henry VII 1485-1504 by Martin Warner
Cover of the book Bridging the Gaps by Martin Warner
Cover of the book Blackstone's Crime Investigators' Handbook by Martin Warner
Cover of the book Antipsychotic Long-acting Injections by Martin Warner
Cover of the book Trade in Goods by Martin Warner
Cover of the book Ratzinger's Faith by Martin Warner
Cover of the book Visionary Spenser and the Poetics of Early Modern Platonism by Martin Warner
Cover of the book EU Procedural Law by Martin Warner
Cover of the book Socrates: A Very Short Introduction by Martin Warner
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy