A Plea for a Linguistic Distinction Between Explanation and Argument

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to offer a linguistic point of view on an old problem: distinguishing between explanation and argumentation. It will be argued that truth or certainty represented in a claim or a standpoint has a key role; hence, linguistic modalities will be used as a useful starting point to establish three cases: argumentation, explanation and apparent or pseudo-explanation. After having argued why the latter case is needed, the paper illustrates strategic rhetorical possibilities of connectives (in French) that exploit the blurring lines between argumentation and (apparent) explanation.