Chapter 4. Arguing with illustrations
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Ian J. Dove
Abstract
In the absence of explicit and obvious assessment criteria for visual arguments, every such argument depends upon unique (and sometimes, reinvented) desiderata to do this work. This chapter considers the applications of, and modifications to, argumentation schemes – specifically, argument from analogy and argument from appearance – as a way of giving explicit criteria for visual argument assessment. The centerpiece of this account is a case study on an early debate in archaeology regarding the proper placement of Australopithecus africanus in the lineage of human ancestors. Participants in (and later analysts of) the debate appealed to competing illustrations and reconstructions of A. africanus in support of the rival hypotheses. Both argument from analogy and argument from appearance are relevant to the assessment of the debate. However, neither argumentation scheme is a perfect fit. Rather, a contrastivist account of comparison augments these schemes, which allows for a better analysis and evaluation of the actual argumentation.
Abstract
In the absence of explicit and obvious assessment criteria for visual arguments, every such argument depends upon unique (and sometimes, reinvented) desiderata to do this work. This chapter considers the applications of, and modifications to, argumentation schemes – specifically, argument from analogy and argument from appearance – as a way of giving explicit criteria for visual argument assessment. The centerpiece of this account is a case study on an early debate in archaeology regarding the proper placement of Australopithecus africanus in the lineage of human ancestors. Participants in (and later analysts of) the debate appealed to competing illustrations and reconstructions of A. africanus in support of the rival hypotheses. Both argument from analogy and argument from appearance are relevant to the assessment of the debate. However, neither argumentation scheme is a perfect fit. Rather, a contrastivist account of comparison augments these schemes, which allows for a better analysis and evaluation of the actual argumentation.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction. Argumentation and rhetoric in visual and multimodal communication 1
- Chapter 1. Rhetoric, argumentation, and persuasion in a multimodal perspective 25
- Chapter 2. The rhetorical and argumentative potentials of press photography 51
- Chapter 3. Editorial cartoons and ART 81
- Chapter 4. Arguing with illustrations 111
- Chapter 5. Perspective by incongruity 137
- Chapter 6. The argumentative relevance of visual and multimodal antithesis in Frederick Wiseman’s documentaries 165
- Chapter 7. Seeing the untold 189
- Chapter 8. Employing film form and style in the argumentative analysis of political advertising 217
- Chapter 9. Embodied argumentation in public debates 239
- Chapter 10. The “seeds” of charisma 263
- Name index 291
- Subject index 295
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction. Argumentation and rhetoric in visual and multimodal communication 1
- Chapter 1. Rhetoric, argumentation, and persuasion in a multimodal perspective 25
- Chapter 2. The rhetorical and argumentative potentials of press photography 51
- Chapter 3. Editorial cartoons and ART 81
- Chapter 4. Arguing with illustrations 111
- Chapter 5. Perspective by incongruity 137
- Chapter 6. The argumentative relevance of visual and multimodal antithesis in Frederick Wiseman’s documentaries 165
- Chapter 7. Seeing the untold 189
- Chapter 8. Employing film form and style in the argumentative analysis of political advertising 217
- Chapter 9. Embodied argumentation in public debates 239
- Chapter 10. The “seeds” of charisma 263
- Name index 291
- Subject index 295
