Practical Reasoning in Human Affairs: Studies in Honor of Chaim Perelman

398 Pages·1986·10.85 MB·English

by  James L. Golden

PRACTICAL REASONING IN HUMAN AFFAIRS
SYNTHESE LIBRARY
STUDIES IN EPISTEMOLOGY,
LOGIC, METHODOLOGY, AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Managing Editor:
J AAKKO HINTIKKA, Florida State University, Tallahassee
Editors:
DONALD DAVIDSON. University of California, Berkeley
GABRIEL NUCHELMANS, University of Leyden
WESLEY C. SALMON, University of Pittsburgh
VOLUME 183
PRACTICAL REASONING
IN HUMAN AFFAIRS
Studies in Honor of Chaim Perelman
Edited by
JAMES L. GOLDEN and JOSEPH J. PI LOTTA
Department of Communication. The Ohio State University
D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY
II.
~.
A MEMBER OF THE KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS GROUP
DORDRECHT/BOSTON/LANCASTER/TOKYO
Library of Congress CataIoging-in-Publication Data
Practical reasoning in human affairs
(Synthese library; v. 183)
Includes index.
1. Reasoning. 2. Perelman, Chaim. I. Golden, James L.
II. Pilotta, Joseph J. III. Perelman, Chaim.
BCI77.G59 1986 160 86-22024
ISBN-13: 978-94-010-8578-6 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-4674-3
001: 10.1007/978-94-009-4674-3
Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company
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All Rights Reserved
© 1986 by D. Reidel Publishing Company
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1986
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner
Chaim Perelman (I982)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EDITORIAL PREFACE ix
Introduction: Chaim Perelman's Address at The Ohio State
University 1
PART I: ARGUMENT 19
EDWARD P. J. CORBETT I The Changing Strategies of
Argumentation from Ancient to Modern Times 21
CARROLL C. ARNOLD I Implications of Perelman's
Theory of Argumentation for Theory of Persuasion 37
WA YNE BROCKRIEDE I Arguing: The Art of Being
Human 53
RALPH T. EUBANKS / An Axiological Analysis of
Chaim Perelman's Theory of Practical Reasoning 69
WAL TER R. FISHER I Judging the Quality of Audiences
and Narrative Rationality 85
JOHN O'NEILL I Mecum meditari: Demolishing Doubt,
Building a Prayer 105
M I C H ELM EYE R I Problematology and Rhetoric 119
PART II: JUSTICE 153
RA Y D. DEARIN I Justice and Justification in the New
Rhetoric 155
STANLEY K. LAUGHLIN AND DANIEL T.
HUGHES I The Rational and the Reasonable: Dialectic
or Parallel Systems? 187
RA YMIE E. McKERROW I Pragmatic Justification and
Perelman's Philosophical Rhetoric 207
RICHARD D. RIEKE I The Evolution of Judicial
Justification: Perelman's Concept of the Rational and the
Reasonable 227
GUY HAARSCHER I Perelman and the Philosophy of Law 245
vii
viii TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART III: SOCIAL APPLICATION 257
THOMAS B. FARRELL / Reason and Rhetorical
Practice: The Inventional Agenda of Chaim Perelman 259
JAMES L. GOLDEN / The Universal Audience Revisited 287
JOSINA M. MAKAU / The Contemporary Emergence of
the Jurisprudential Model: Perelman in the Information Age 305
ALGIS MICKUNAS / Perelman on Justice and Political
Institutions 321
JOHN W. MURPHY / Social Ontology and Responsive
Law 341
DAN NIMMO AND MICHAEL W. MANSFIELD /
The Teflon President: The Relevance of Chaim Perelman's
Formulations for the Study of Political Communication 357
JOSEPH J. PILOTT A / The Concrete-Universal: A Social
Science Foundation for the New Rhetoric 379
About the Contributors 393
About the Editors 398
Index of Names 399
Index of Subjects 402
EDITORIAL PREFACE
This anthology of original essays has been nearly .two and one-half
years in the making, and reflects the generous effort of many persons.
To begin with, we thank the contributors to the volume, who not only
cooperated with regards to their own works, but who also provided
valuable advice concerning the over-all volume.
One of the contributors was outstanding in his assistance and
warrants special mention: we thank Professor Michel Meyer, for his
encouragement, counsel, and dedication to see this project to comple
tion. We would also like to thank Professor Jaakko Hintikka for his
encouragement and Mrs. Kuipers of Reidel for her patience and under
standing along the way.
A project such as this could never have been completed without the
unique assistance of members of the Department of Communication,
Ohio State University: Ms. Kimberly Pasi and Mr. Charles Mawhirtcr.
Also, special thanks are due to our graduate research assistant Ms.
Susan Jasko, for her proofreading and bibliographic work.
The pressures of developing a Festschrift are considerable and could
not have been met without the cooperation and enthusiasm of Mrs.
Perelman, especially in allowing us to publish Professor Perelman's
address to Ohio State University as our introduction.
The reception of Perelman's philosophy continues to grow and touch
a number of disciplines in the international arena. Clearly his work has
influenced the field of rhetoric and communication. At Ohio State
University we were hoping to be influenced not only by his writing but
by his teaching as well. Professor Perelman was to be the Ohio State
University Distinguished Professor in 1984. Unfortunately, this became
impossible. In his memory we have prepared this Festschrift to carry on
his legacy. Professors John O'Neill and Daniel Nimmo, former Ohio
State University Distinguished Visiting Professors, have joined us in the
celebration for Professor Perelman as well as affirmed the value of
interdisciplinary scholarship which these awards have provided. For
this celebration we have invited scholars from different disciplines to
either address and/or extend three broad categories: theory of argu-
ix
x EDITORIAL PREFACE
ment, the concept of justice, and social application. It is our belief that
this volume creates a climate for debate and research in pursuing the
role of Practical Reasoning in Human Affairs.
Columbus, Ohio JAMES L. GOLDEN
December 1985. JOSEPH J. PI LOTTA
INTRODUCTION
We begin this volume on Practical Reasoning in Human Affairs by
printing for the first time a text of Chaim Perelman's remarks delivered
at The Ohio State University on November 16 and 17, 1982. His first
presentation, given on the 16th, was an address entitled: "Old and New
Rhetoric." This was followed by a forum period in which members of
the faculty and student body had an opportunity to participate in a
dialogue with the speaker. On the next day a select group attended a
seminar session with Professor Perelman. The format consisted of
questions and responses which were a natural extension of the earlier
lecture.
In almost every instance the words that appear in the transcript are
an accurate interpretation of the language used on this occasion. The
minor changes that have been made had as their purpose to strengthen
clarity and to eliminate needless repetition in phrasing.
What the speaker said in the lecture and in the subsequent dis
cussions, we feel, sets the tone for this volume. At all times his
arguments and responses reveal a strong commitment to the impor
tance of practical or informal reasoning. Indeed, as he tells us with
considerable force, a relevant rhetoric for him has a single overriding
end: to present reasonable arguments that are suitable to a given
audience. As we turn, first of all, to the lecture on "Old and New
Rhetoric," we will share with Professor Perelman his insights on the
theories of a group of influential rhetoricians of western thought; and
his reflections on his own personal experience as a student of philoso
phy who developed an abiding interest in rhetoric.
OLD AND NEW RHETORIC
An Address Delivered by Chaim Perelman
at Ohio State University, November 16, 1982
When I first began my studies on justice during World War II and the German
1. L. Golden and 1. 1. Pi/otta (eds.), Practical Reasoning in Human Affairs, 1-18.
© 1986 by D. Reidel Publishing Company.