Dow, J orcid.org/0000-0002-8241-6880 (2021) Dialectic, Persuasion and Science in Aristotle. Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, 36. pp. 1-28. ISSN 1059-986X
Abstract
What is dialectic and what is it for, in Aristotle? Aristotle’s answer in Topics 1.2 seems surprisingly lacking in unity. He seems to imply that insofar as dialectic is an expertise (τέχνη), it is a disposition to three (possibly four) different kinds of productive achievement. Insofar as dialectic is a method, it is one whose use is seemingly subject to multiple, differing standards of evaluation. The goal of the paper is to resist this problematic “multi-tool” view of Aristotelian dialectic, by explaining how dialectic’s contributions to training, encounters, and the philosophical sciences are of the same kind. What unifies them, I argue, is the kind of reasoning that improves the epistemic position of the person that engages with it. The kind of reasoning-based practices in which dialectic is the expertise are, at heart, tools of inquiry, tools for improving people’s understanding. This is why dialectic is beneficial for persuasive encounters: it is an expertise that enables its possessor to persuade by improving the understanding of their participants.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: | |
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Jamie Dow, 2021. This is an author produced version of a conference paper published in Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 25 Jan 2021 15:12 |
Last Modified: | 28 Nov 2021 18:32 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Brill Academic Publishers |
Identification Number: | 10.1163/22134417-00361P02 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:170286 |