Page 25 - Žagar, Igor Ž. 2021. Four Critical Essays on Argumentation. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.

topoi in critical discourse analysis

Consider the list of common topoi, usually attributed to Aristotle:12

Common Topoi Special Topoi
Definition Judicial
Genus/Species Justice (right)
Division Injustice (wrong)
Whole/Parts Deliberative
Subject/Adjuncts The good
Comparison The unworthy
Similarity/Difference The advantageous
Degree The disadvantageous
Relationship Ceremonial
Cause/Effect Virtue (the noble)
Antecedent/Consequence Vice (the base)
Contraries
Contradictions
Circumstances
Possible/Impossible
Past Fact/Future Fact
Testimony
Authorities
Witnesses
Maxims or Proverbs
Rumors
Oaths
Documents
Law
Precedent
The supernatural
Notation and Conjugates

If we compare them with the list of his categories from Metaphysics:

Substance
Quantity
Quality
Relation
Place
Time
Position
State
Action

Affection

12 This table is an extrapolated and reworked version of the topoi listed in Aristotle’s
Rhetoric B 23. It was taken from an excellent website on rhetoric, Silva Rhetoricae
(http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/Silva.htm).

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