Tijdschrift voor Taalbeheersing. Jaargang 28

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Abstracts Volume 28 no. 4 2006

Henrike Jansen
Leiden University, The Netherlands
Reductio ad absurdum: argument form versus argument scheme

ABSTRACT: This research aims to classify the reductio ad absurdum argument (RAA) in relation to the pragma-dialectical classification of argument schemes - i.e. argumentation based on a symptomatic relation, on a relation of comparison and on a causal relation. RAA is used to indicate an argument which appeals to the absurd consequences of a hypothetical proposition in order to refute this proposition. Although this kind of reasoning resembles pragmatic argumentation (or: the argument from consequences), both kinds of argumentation should not be confused. On the basis of a literature review, it can be concluded that a reductio ad absurdum-argument may contain any of the three types of inference license as distinguished in the pragma-dialectical theory. It is therefore argued that RAA is a form of argument instead of an argument scheme, because it cannot be defined in terms of the nature of its inference licence. It is discussed how RAA can be distinguished from pragmatic argumentation.

KEY WORDS: analogical argumentation, argument from consequences, argument scheme, causal argumentation, counterexample, form of argument, hypothetical reasoning, inference license, reductio ad absurdum, symptomatic argumentation

Paul van den Hoven,
Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Causal connectives in argumentation theoretical perspective

ABSTRACT: Recent results of corpus linguistic research on the distribution of Dutch causal connectives give rise to a reevaluation of the theories on which these corpus analyses are based. In this article, it is argued that causal connectives constitute the meaning of a causal relation, often as part of a complex speech act argumentation. This is a reason to reinterpret Sweetser's domain theory. Because speaker involvement is proposed as a (partial) explanation of the distribution of causal connectives, polyphony in causal relations is discussed. These considerations support the idea that a complex communicative analysis of corpus material is inevitable and that concepts of argumentation theory are relevant for such analyses.

KEY WORDS: causal connectives, argumentation, pragmatics

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Bert Meuffels and Huub van den Bergh
University of Amsterdam / Utrecht University, The Netherlands
The statistical testing of systematic and random variations between texts

ABSTRACT: In this article, the statistical implications of Clark's language-as-a-fixedeffect fallacy are discussed. The statistical implications (alpha-inflation) are introduced in a non-technical manner. It is demonstrated that the specific test statistic (F-ratio) depends on the characteristics of the research design. A data-set is simulated for four different multiple message designs (two within-subject designs and two between-subject designs). For each design the specific test statistics (F-ratio) is constructed. It is demonstrated how these F-statistics can be derived from SPSS- output.

KEY WORDS: fixed-effect fallacy; statistical implications of the fixed-effect fallacy; multiple message designs; construction of an adequate test statistic (F-ratio) for different multiple message designs; SPSS-output

Peter Jan Schellens
Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
‘Frequently flawless’. On argumentation and style in persuasive discourse

ABSTRACT: This article is a short version of the inaugural lecture given by Peter Jan Schellens in accepting the chair of Dutch Language and Communication at the Radboud University Nijmegen. In the first part of this article, he discusses ongoing research into the criteria used by laymen to evaluate different argument schemes, such as the argument from authority or the argument from cause to effect. The second part of the article deals with a recent project on language intensity: the stilistic means a speaker or writer can use to strengthen his or her claim. Both projects give a rhetorical perspective on language and communication research, aimed at theories about language processing and effective document design.

KEY WORDS: argumentation schemes, argument evaluation, language intensity, persuasion, rhetoric