Aristotle’s Research on Topics: The Foundation of the Study of Inference in Argumentation

Abstract

Chapter 1 is devoted to Aristotle, the author we consider as the founder of the tradition of topics. The importance of Aristotle in relation to the study of inference in argumentation is immense: such is the finesse and richness of the Aristotelian analyses of argumentative procedures that they represent a source of copious theoretical and methodological suggestions for contemporary research on argument schemes. While presenting Aristotle’s approach, we discuss fundamental concepts concerning inference in argumentation that will be recurring in the volume, such as the definitions of inference, problem and premise, the distinction between knowledge-oriented and pragmatic argumentation, and the difference between constructive and destructive arguments. Within this network of definitions, the polysemic and central notion of topos in Aristotle’s work takes center stage.