Page 192 - Gabrijela Kišiček and Igor Ž. Žagar (eds.), What do we know about the world? Rhetorical and argumentative perspectives, Digital Library, Educational Research Institute, Ljubljana 2013
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What Do We Know about the World?
that a claim is justified because it is held by a credible person.” Willard
(1990) claims that public decision-makers are inescapably dependent on
authoritative testimony from experts. “The public decision-maker’s de-
pendence on authority is most apparent when we consider that most de-
cisions are inferences drawn from facts or, more accurately, drawn from
testimony interpreting facts” (1990: 12).
Authorities who were frequently cited, paraphrased or just referred
to included:
1. Paul Vandoren, Head of the Delegation of the European Commis-
sion to the Republic of Croatia who is referred to when explaining
job opportunities in EU in the speeches of the minister of foreign af-
fairs Vesna Pusić.
2. Stefan Fuele, Commissioner responsible for enlargement and Euro-
pean neighbourhood policy who announced the end of the negotia-
tion process; he was referred to in the speech of J. Kosor when argu-
ing for new economic opportunities Croatia is going to get when be-
coming a member of European Union.
3. Jose Manuel Barosso, President of the European Commission whose
words “this is a victory moment for all Croatian citizens” after Cro-
atia signed the ascension treaty were cited in the speech of president
Josipović who promised a higher standard of living.
4. Berndt Posselt, a German representative in the European Parliament
who was paraphrased in Jadranka Kosor’s speech as saying that Cro-
atia had the most difficult requirements to become a member and by
fulfilling them she becomes the most valuable member of EU.
Statements of European representatives were used to support the
position of the Europhiles on how important it is for Croatia to become
a member, how successful the negotiation process was (implying that
Croatia satisfied many of the EU’s criteria, and therefore improved on
its extant laws, judicial system, human rights etc.) and how important
and welcome Croatia is in the European Union.
As Walton (2006: 87) writes:
The appeal to expert opinion is based on the assumption that the source is
alleged to be in a position to know about a subject because he or she has ex-
pert knowledge of that subject. Appeal to expert opinion should, in most
typical cases, at any rate, be seen as a plausible but defeasible form of argu-
mentation.
Similarly, Wagemans (2011: 331) writes about the assessment of ar-
gumentation from expert opinion which is characterized as “argumen-
that a claim is justified because it is held by a credible person.” Willard
(1990) claims that public decision-makers are inescapably dependent on
authoritative testimony from experts. “The public decision-maker’s de-
pendence on authority is most apparent when we consider that most de-
cisions are inferences drawn from facts or, more accurately, drawn from
testimony interpreting facts” (1990: 12).
Authorities who were frequently cited, paraphrased or just referred
to included:
1. Paul Vandoren, Head of the Delegation of the European Commis-
sion to the Republic of Croatia who is referred to when explaining
job opportunities in EU in the speeches of the minister of foreign af-
fairs Vesna Pusić.
2. Stefan Fuele, Commissioner responsible for enlargement and Euro-
pean neighbourhood policy who announced the end of the negotia-
tion process; he was referred to in the speech of J. Kosor when argu-
ing for new economic opportunities Croatia is going to get when be-
coming a member of European Union.
3. Jose Manuel Barosso, President of the European Commission whose
words “this is a victory moment for all Croatian citizens” after Cro-
atia signed the ascension treaty were cited in the speech of president
Josipović who promised a higher standard of living.
4. Berndt Posselt, a German representative in the European Parliament
who was paraphrased in Jadranka Kosor’s speech as saying that Cro-
atia had the most difficult requirements to become a member and by
fulfilling them she becomes the most valuable member of EU.
Statements of European representatives were used to support the
position of the Europhiles on how important it is for Croatia to become
a member, how successful the negotiation process was (implying that
Croatia satisfied many of the EU’s criteria, and therefore improved on
its extant laws, judicial system, human rights etc.) and how important
and welcome Croatia is in the European Union.
As Walton (2006: 87) writes:
The appeal to expert opinion is based on the assumption that the source is
alleged to be in a position to know about a subject because he or she has ex-
pert knowledge of that subject. Appeal to expert opinion should, in most
typical cases, at any rate, be seen as a plausible but defeasible form of argu-
mentation.
Similarly, Wagemans (2011: 331) writes about the assessment of ar-
gumentation from expert opinion which is characterized as “argumen-
