Groundwork in the Theory of Argumentation: Selected Papers of J. Anthony Blair [Paperback]

J. Anthony Blair is a prominent international figure in argumentation studies. He is among the originators of informal logic, an author of textbooks on the informal logic approach to argument analysis and evaluation and on critical thinking, and a founder and editor of the journal Informal Logic. Blair is widely recognized among the leaders in the field for contributing formative ideas to the argumentation literature of the last few decades. This selection of key works provides insights into the history of the field of argumentation theory and various related disciplines. It illuminates the central debates and presents core ideas in four main areas: Critical Thinking, Informal Logic, Argument Theory and Logic, Dialectic and Rhetoric.

This book explores the foundations of argumentation theory and related disciplines, illuminating the central debates and core ideas in four areas: Critical Thinking, Informal Logic, Argument Theory and Logic, Dialectic and Rhetoric.

Preface and acknowledgements; J. Anthony Blair.-?Introduction: Christopher W. Tindale.-?Part 1: Critical Thinking.- Introduction.-?1.?Is there an obligation to reason well?.-?2. The Keegstra affair: A test case for critical thinking.-?3. What is bias?.- Postscript.-?Part 2: Informal Logic.- Introduction.-?4. Argument management, informal logic and critical thinking.-?5.?What is the right amount of support for a conclusion.-?6.?Premissary relevance.-?7. Premise adequacy.-?8.?Relevance, acceptability and sufficiency today.-?9. The 'logic' of informal logic.-?10.?Informal logic and logic.- Postscript.-?Part 3: Argument Theory.- Introduction.-?11. Waltons argument schemes for presumptive reasoning.-?12. A theory of normative reasoning schemes.-?13. Towards a philosophy of argument.-?14. Argument and its uses.-?15. A time for argument thl³(