Page 35 - Žagar, Igor Ž. 2021. Four Critical Essays on Argumentation. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 35
oi in critical discourse analysis
If we revisit our semi-hypothetical example with the topos of actual
costs of enlargement:
(1) If a specific action costs too much money, one should perform ac-
tions that diminish the costs.
(2) EU enlargement costs too much money.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) EU enlargment should be stopped/slowed down ... (Wodak 2009:
132–142)
and expand it into the Toulmin model, we could get the following:
Claim: EU enlargement should be stopped/slowed down …
What have you got to go on?
Datum: EU enlargement costs too much money.
How do you get there?
Warrant: If a specific action costs too much money, one should
perform actions that diminish the costs.
Is that always the case?
Rebuttal: No, but it generally/usually/very often is. Unless there
are other reasons/arguments that are stronger/ more important
… In that case the warrant does not apply.
Then you cannot be so
definite in your claim?
Qualifier: True: it is only usually… so.
But then, what makes
you think at all that if
a specific action costs
too much money one
should perform
actions …
Backing: The history of the EU shows…
If the analysis (text analysis, discourse analysis) would proceed in this
way18—applying the above scheme to concrete pieces of discourse each time
18 Our sample analysis is, of course, purely hypothetical. Concrete analysis would need
input from concrete discourse segments.
35
If we revisit our semi-hypothetical example with the topos of actual
costs of enlargement:
(1) If a specific action costs too much money, one should perform ac-
tions that diminish the costs.
(2) EU enlargement costs too much money.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) EU enlargment should be stopped/slowed down ... (Wodak 2009:
132–142)
and expand it into the Toulmin model, we could get the following:
Claim: EU enlargement should be stopped/slowed down …
What have you got to go on?
Datum: EU enlargement costs too much money.
How do you get there?
Warrant: If a specific action costs too much money, one should
perform actions that diminish the costs.
Is that always the case?
Rebuttal: No, but it generally/usually/very often is. Unless there
are other reasons/arguments that are stronger/ more important
… In that case the warrant does not apply.
Then you cannot be so
definite in your claim?
Qualifier: True: it is only usually… so.
But then, what makes
you think at all that if
a specific action costs
too much money one
should perform
actions …
Backing: The history of the EU shows…
If the analysis (text analysis, discourse analysis) would proceed in this
way18—applying the above scheme to concrete pieces of discourse each time
18 Our sample analysis is, of course, purely hypothetical. Concrete analysis would need
input from concrete discourse segments.
35
