Reconstruction of Metaphors in Argumentation : a Case Study of Lincoln’s Metaphor of “Swapping Horses While Crossing a Stream”
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Cogency: Journal of Reasoning and Argumentation |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://www.cogency.udp.cl/ediciones/12/cogency_12.html |
| Field | Philosophy and religion |
| Keywords | AMT model; endoxon; metaphor; pragma-dialectics; strategic maneuvering |
| Description | The paper deals with the possibilities of reconstruction of metaphors as a means of argumentation provided by pragma-dialectics. In the case of Lincoln’s famous statement, in which he uses the metaphor of “swapping horses while crossing a stream” for replacing the President, two methods of the reconstruction currently under consideration are first introduced: metaphor as an argument by analogy in the “standard” model of pragma-dialectics and as a presentation device in pragma-dialectics extended by the concept of strategic maneuvering. Then, a competing reconstruction of Lincoln’s metaphors in the Argumentum Model of Topics (AMT) is presented, which is based on the development of the pragma-dialectical concept of material and procedural starting-points. Lincoln’s argument is reconstructed as a complex argument, where the metaphor figures as a sub-argument using locus from analogy that is used to support a datum in the main branch of the argument. This reconstruction is compared with previous solutions, and benefits of AMT are presented: the transparency of the captured argument structure and a more complex view on the strategic function of metaphor. For research of the strategic function of metaphor, the concept of keyword and the results of the research of the interaction between datum and endoxon are used. It is proposed to consider metaphor as a lexical unit used to identify a keyword. |
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