Argumentation: What It Is & How to Do It

Abstract

Starting form a review of three theories of argumentation (the dialectical, the rhetorical and the logical) this essay proceeds to take yet another perspective on argumentation. A distinction between the probative and psychological levels of argumentation is introduced and both levels are shown to be pliable by practical reasoning. An argumentation theory based on practical reasoning suggests a way in which dialectic, rhetoric and logic, may be interconnected in the practice of argumentation.