1 March 2016, Logic Tea, Ellen Breitholtz

Abstract

In dialogue we frequently present arguments which involve commonly accepted non-logical inferences. In rhetorical theory, these types of argument are called /enthymemes/. In contrast to the conclusions of logical arguments like syllogisms, the conclusions of enthymemes do not follow by necessity. Rather, they are underpinned by generally accepted principles of reasoning which are expected to be present "in the mind" of the listeners. In rhetorical theory such principles are refered to as *topoi.*

In this talk I will elucidate the role enthymematic reasoning plays in language use, and suggest how it may relate to pragmatic phenomena like conversational implicature and metaphor [1]. The approach taken combines theories from philosophy of language, conversation analysis, and formal semantics using Type Theory with Records (TTR).

[1] Breitholtz (2014). https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/36005/1/gupea_2077_36005_1.pdf

For more information, please visit the website https://www.illc.uva.nl/logic_tea/ or contact Thomas Brochhagen (t.s.brochhagen at uva.nl), Johannes Marti (johannes.marti at gmail.com), Masa Mocnik (masa.mocnik at gmail.com) or Julian Schloder (julian.schloeder at gmail.com).