Metaphors for Argumentation: A Social Epistemological Approach

Catarina Dutilh Novaes (University of Groningen)

Argumentation is often conceived as a form of battle; as the title of an influential piece by D. Cohen (1996) summarizes, ‘Argument is war… and war is hell!’ This conceptualization of argumentation, while still widely held, has also been forcefully criticized in particular by feminist thinkers. But if argumentation is not war, what is it then? In this talk, I explore alternative metaphors/conceptualizations for argumentation, as well as their implications for philosophical practice. I discuss in particular the well-known argumentation-as-therapy metaphor, and a novel argumentation-as-social-exchange metaphor, which I am currently developing.