Relevance and digressions in argumentative discussion: A pragmatic approach

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Digressions in argumentative discussion are a kind of failure of relevance. Examination of what actual cases look like reveals several properties of argumentative relevance: (1) The informational relevance of propositions to the truth value of a conclusion should be distinguished from the pragmatic relevance of argumentative acts to the task of resolving a disagreement. (2) Pragmatic irrelevance is a collaborative phenomenon. It does not just short-circuit reasoning; it encourages a failure to take up the demands of an argumentative task. (3) Pragmatic irrelevance can occur not simply by the absence of a connection between what is said and some standpoint in dispute, but also by the presence of a connection between what is said and a competing use of the information. (4) Pragmatic relevance must be accomplished through communicative action.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)161-176
Number of pages16
JournalArgumentation
Volume6
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1992
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Argument
  • coherence
  • conversation analysis
  • dialogue
  • digression
  • discourse
  • pragmatics
  • relevance
  • speech acts

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Philosophy
  • Linguistics and Language

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Relevance and digressions in argumentative discussion: A pragmatic approach'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this