Genealogy of Argument

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Genealogy of Argument
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Argumentation and its family
Signs
Symptoms
Symbols
Rhetoric
Metaphor
Narrative
Argument
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Signs, Symptoms, and Symbols
Signs Stand for, represent, or signal something
else

• Symptoms
• Naturally connected
• Value neutral
• World of nature

• Symbols
• Abstractly connected
• Value laden
• World of humans

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Rhetoric is an act people perform when they use
symbols for the purpose of communicating

• Action
• People
• Symbols
• Communicative purpose

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Modes of Rhetoric
Metaphor Focuses on Comparison
Narrative Focuses on Sequence
Argument Focuses on Reason
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Argumentation is form of symbolic rhetoric people
use to express, explain, or support value
positions to an interactive audience

• Audience
• Reason
• Values
• Interaction