Presence, Analogy, and Earth in the Balance

This essay explores the significance and critical utility of Perelman and Olbrechts-Tytecas concept of presence by reading this construct, as well as the New Rhetoric, in light of American pragmatists such as Richard Rorty and Cornel West. Using Vice-President Albert Gore, Jr.'s book Earth in the Balance as a case study, the essay examines the relationship between analogy and presence, arguing that the rhetorical power of Gore's book derives from the presence generated by three key analogies. The study concludes that presence is a flexible critical construct that allows for examination of the relationship between the style, substance, and structure of arguments. The essay concludes by exploring the possible relationships between Perelman and the pragmatic tradition.