Dr. Neli Stefanova, Assoc. Prof.
Sofia University
https://doi.org/10.53656/phil2024-01-06
Abstract. The study aims to analyze the changes in the status of rationality in the field of the New Rhetoric – the most influential direction in the modern theory of argumentation, which appeared in the 1960s with the scientific works of C. Perelman – L. Olbrechts – Titeka and S. Toulmin. The thesis presented is
that the practices of contemporary public discourse find their most logical and
comprehensive theoretical explanation in the teachings of the New Rhetoric, which change the traditional status of rationality and transform it into a logic of practical philosophy. The novelties are ascertained by tracking the dynamics in the understanding of the main categories of argumentation – evidence, argumentation, deductive validity, evaluation criteria, arguments, facts, assumptions, values, consent. Perelman’s model of rational argumentation outlines the transition from logical to communicative rationality, which introduces the factors of contextuality and functionality; affirms the validity of a communicative reasonableness in which the mechanisms of thought are synchronized with the processes of language;
introduces practical reasoning, which functions as a strategic interaction between
logical thinking, imagination, and language.
Keywords: New Rhetoric; theory of argumentation; Chaim Perelman –
Lucy Olbrechts –Titeka; Stephen Toulmin; rationality; contextualit
