Chaim Perelman. The New Rhetoric and The Realm of Rhetoric

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1 H a r r i s / P e r e l m a n P a g e 1 Biographical Information Name Chaim Perelman Date of Birth 1912 Date of Death 1984 Chaim Perelman The New Rhetoric and The Realm of Rhetoric His tomb is inscribed with the words from Deuteronomy 16, verse 20: Justice, justice you shall pursue (Gross and Dearin ). Place of Residence Warsaw, Poland, then immigrated to Brussels, Belgium at the age of 13 (Jose de Oliveira). Work Highlights Jewish Polish philosopher. Devoted to logic, law, and argumentation. Promoted the adoption of old rhetoric in the style of Aristotle. Stressed the importance of audience in rhetoric. Worked at the University of Brussels. Perelman said the role of education is to transfer existing knowledge and values to the next generation and this can be corrupted by those in charge (Jose de Oliveira). The German occupation shaped his thinking and made him question the idea of justice and the rest of his ideas were founded from a judicial point of view (Gross and Dearin ). Achievements Held honorary degrees from the Universities of Florence, Jerusalem, and Montreal. Made an officer of the Order of Leopold in Received the Order of Merit in Italy in A great officer of the Order of the Crown in Kin Baudouin of Belgium made him a Baron. In 1983, an act of Belgian legislature recognized his philosophical and humanitarian accomplishments (Gross and Dearin ). Geography Belgium is a small country located between Germany and France. Germany occupied Belgium through the 1940s during World War II ( Brussels.info - Brussels History ). Brussels is the capitol city in the center of Belgium and was the site of several major international treaties during Perelman s lifetime. Culture Perelman was a part of the Jewish community in Belgium during the German occupation. (He was forced to wear a yellow star on

2 H a r r i s / P e r e l m a n P a g e 2 Significant Events: Publications Major Contributions his clothes, but was not sent to a concentration camp (Gross and Dearin ). While Perelman was a Jew and identified as a Jew, he disagreed with the Jewish theology. In Belgium an obligation to family is a person s first priority. Official languages of Belgium are Dutch, French, and German. People tended not to move to different areas, but preferred to stay in one area their entire lives ("Kwintessential"). When the Germans invaded Belgium, Perelman was asked to resign from his position at the University because he was a Jew. He refused, but eventually agreed not to teach. However, he still received his salary throughout the duration of the war. Perelman was a founding member of a Jewish resistance group called Comite de Defense des Juifs. He also published and distributed underground newspapers. Perelman helped rescue thousands of Jews from the Nazis through his position of deputy chief (and later chief) of the Association des Juifs en Belgique, the organization that managed the Jews under German authorities. He also used his position to divert ration stamps, money, and food to Jews in hiding. Perelman was also involved in the founding of the nation Israel and personally knew many key figures involved (Gross and Dearin ). Traité de l'argumentation - la nouvelle rhétorique, (1958). Coauthor: Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca. Rhétorique et Philosophie (1952). Justice et Raison (1963). Le Champ de l'argumentation (1970) (Jose de Oliveira). De La Justice (1945). An Historical Introduction to Philosophical Thinking (1965). Published in English (Gross and Dearin ) (Gross and Dearin ). His definition of rhetoric was built off of Aristotle s and others before him, he really just worked off of existing terms he used common language. During the 1940s, rhetoric was a largely forgotten topic. He liked to point out that the word rhetoric: was not in the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, or the French philosophical dictionary of Lalande. Perelman once said in a speech to the Wingspread Conference

3 H a r r i s / P e r e l m a n P a g e 3 Writing Sample PART I The teaching of rhetoric has been struck from the programs of both high schools and universities in Europe for over iffy years. Perelman continued working on rhetoric during the war. He worked on philosophy and the concept of justice. His findings were published in De La Justice (1945). Perelman thought rhetoric works like a courthouse, in where there is a debate of evidence from two or more opposing sides and the jury is the audience who decides the winner. The winner s argument should then be presented as the truth until new contradicting evidence comes to light and everything is back at square one. By the 1970s Perelman was recognized as a major contributor to contemporary rhetoric. His creation of the new rhetoric (the analogy of the courthouse) helped to resurrect rhetorical interest in Europe (Gross and Dearin). Please refer to the writing sample for a more complete list of Perelman s ideas about rhetoric. The New Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation Chaim Perelman and L. Olbrechts-Tyteca (Notre Dame: UND, 1969) Audience - the orator must pay attention to the audience, considering both the audience at hand and the universal audience (30 ff.). All audiences are partly or mostly incommensurate with the universal audience and with each other. One should not assume a perfectly rational audience. Nevertheless one should assume some commonality of values and adherence to common sense among the audiences and with the orator. On the other hand, to promote a new value in certain contexts often is an abuse in which "an educator turns propagandist" (53). Likewise, certain questions are beyond discussion, e.g. whether one should love one's parents, or whether snow is white (following Aristotle, 56). One may either persuade or convince a local audience, but to be valid for the universal audience an argument must be convincing. Negative argument shows the audience why it should have reacted in a certain way to the orator (but did not); the orator shows how the audience has been working from its own incorrect arguments or false motives (476). Dialogue differs from debate in that in dialogue there is a real discussion and an openness to being persuaded by the other party. In a debate, the discussion is between the debaters and the audience (in a courtroom, that is the judge or jury) (37). Diversion is often an attempt to prevent real discussion by calling attention away from the issues at hand (also see presence below) (485).

4 H a r r i s / P e r e l m a n P a g e 4 PART II Ambiguity: we tend to believe more easily those things which we desire to believe (following Pascal, James, et al., 61). Therefore we must be wary of persuasion into a belief which we also find pleasant (473-74). Nevertheless if we limit belief to a knowledge of absolute truth, we become either fanatics or skeptics on every point. Persuasion charts a middle course (62). Even scientific language profitably contains and uses a great deal of vagueness (130). We ought not devalue vague notions such as justice, liberty, wisdom even though the terms are inherently problematic. Ambiguity in fact becomes quite useful in a variety of arenas. We might agree on a concept even though we differ on the specifics of its interpretation (134). Oratorical definition attempts to interpret something in favor of a specific premise or endpoint (173). For example, in an oratorical definition of something that is uncertain, it is better not to say that your point is "ambiguous" but rather "flexible and rich." Your argument is flexible and widely applicable, while your opponent is ambiguous, on the one hand, or rigid and one-sided, on the other (138). We work often in probability and variability (256). In probability, when several separate lines of reasoning lead to the same end, all of them (as well as the end) are mutually reinforcing; this is called convergence (471). In a formal system, several modes of proof of the same fact make for consilience or congruence (472). But when there is too much convergence, the orator can be accused of cooking the data; "a certain measure of incoherence," on the other hand, "is taken as a sign of sincerity" (473). Premises are essential to an argument--many are implicit; many are made explicit to the audience. Depending on the audience, the orator may have to justify the premises prior to launching the argument proper. This requires choosing which premises to present and then determining how to present them (65-66). Premises are based in some way on conceptions of the real. Facts, so called, may be challenged by an interlocutor, on the basis of incompatibility with other facts or with the real, or because they are shown to be the result of faulty reasoning, and so these may also have to be defended (68). Presumptions of course are even more open to challenge. Common presumptions that are often not challenged include: we tend to trust what we are being told, "as long and insofar as we have no cause for distrust" (cf. Booth, R of Assent); we connect the quality of an act to the quality of the actor; whatever is made present to us is seen as inherently more interesting (at least at first); we presume that people are basically sensible. We presume the normal and the likely (70-71). "Texts of positive law or positive theology" become starting points, too (101). Values are most open to challenge, but argumentation requires them. Values usually come in hierarchies; e.g., qualitative and quantitative (80-81). We value "what appears unique" or what is in danger of being lost (89), i.e. in making decisions about actions, we prefer to avoid an irreparable situation (92; see "waste" below, Part III).

5 H a r r i s / P e r e l m a n P a g e 5 Possible Exam Questions Q. Which rhetorician did Perelman say rhetoric should be styled after? A. Aristotle. Q. What underground distribution movement was Perelman a part of? a) The Underground Railroad. b) Underground newspapers. c) Kitten smuggling. d) Boot-lagging. Q. Perelman said that Truth is a) The winner s argument supported by evidence. b) 42 c) There is no truth, only what people believe is the truth. d) God is the only truth. Crossword Puzzle Across 1. In the 1940s rhetoric was largely He did NOT smuggle 6. He wore a yellow 7. Rhetorician Perelman admired Down 2. The winner's argument was the 3. He did smuggle underground 5. Helped to found

6 H a r r i s / P e r e l m a n P a g e 6 Documentation "Belgium - Language, Culture, Customs and Business Etiquette." Kwintessential. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb < "Brussels.info - Brussels History." Brussels.info - Visit Brussels Tourist Information Belgium. Web. 05 Feb < Gross, Alan, and Ray Dearin. Chaim Perelman. New York: State University of New York Press, ebook. < rgfra8ae2yqc>. Jose de Oliveira, Renato. "Chaim Perelman and the Philosophy of Education." Encyclopaedia of Philosophy of Education. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Web. 5 Feb < philosophy_of_education.pdf>.