ABSTRACT
Classical rhetoric offers an elaborate art of devising and delivering convincing argumentation. From the beginning, there has been a divide between the logical/dialectical and the rhetorical in relation to argumentation. Understanding this distinction is essential for appreciating rhetoric as a valuable contribution to reasoning. The goal (telos) of rhetorical argumentation is audience adherence (pistis) to the rhetor’s message on the issue at hand (causa). Rhetorical argumentation is embedded in the situation (kairos), conventions (to prepon), and mind-set and beliefs (doxa) of the audience. The conceptual framework for this activity is discussed in this chapter, especially the definitions of and delineations between rhetoric, argumentation, and rhetorical argumentation. These overlap both in theory and in practice but remain separate as disciplines of argumentation theory (or informal logic) and rhetoric.
