Subjectivity and Governance in Procedural Theories of Argument

In this essay I want to extend the brief discussion of higher-order conditions presented in Reconstructing Argumentative Discourse (Van Eemeren, Grootendorst, Jackson, and Jacobs, 1993). After a brief discussion of the scope and function of higher-order conditions, I will examine the modes of subjectivity entailed in their description of the ideal arguer. I will then move to a discussion of the relationship between governance and rationality underwriting their description of the socio-political environment conducive to critical discussion. I will conclude the essay with remarks on the role of procedural theories of argumentation in a deliberative conception of democracy

Debating Conviction: From Sincere Belief to Affective Atmosphere

We return to our history of the "debating both sides controversy" in speech education (1954-1966) to explore how conviction is re-assigned from a first order belief to a second order conviction assigned to the value of debate as a democratic procedure. In so doing, we isolate how our interlocutors to our original article (Greene and Hicks 2005) elide the unique intellectual history we tell about debate as a technology of self fashioning as one with a history in "american exceptionalism" and in class formation of the knowledge class. Moreover, we pick up on how recent trends debate performance in intercollegiate debate tournaments isolate a racial critique of debate as a cultural technology. In bringing the history the debating both sides controversy to the present racial critique, we explore how debate becomes a site for generate an affective orientation to conviction as an intensive commitment to debate as a procedural technology of democracy. This affective atmosphere permeates the controversy over debating both sides

Political Reasonableness: A Content Analysis of the New York Times 1860-2004

This paper reports the preliminary results of a content analysis of the use and functions of reasonableness in the New York Times editorial page from 1860-2004. We begin by setting out several reasons why we should devote our critical attention to the concept of reasonableness. We then justify our choice of the New York Times editorial page and describe our sample and analytic method. The body of the paper reports three results. First, the primary meanings of the concept are detailed. These include prudence, rationality, fairness, and appropriateness. Second, a distinction between an epistemic and a non-epistemic function of the concept was found in both the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data. Moreover, we found that the vast majority of the editorials employ the non-epistemic function--a fact that we argue has significant consequences for argumentation theory. Finally, we found that the topoi of reasonableness primarily concern the legitimacy of applications of social and political power. We conclude that to explicate the meanings and functions of reasonableness is to explicate the rhetoric of power in liberal democracies

Speaking in Teams: Motivating a Pattern Language for Collaboration

Collaborative work is increasing in frequency and importance in business, academia, and communities. The knowledge behind what makes for a successful collaboration is also increasing but is normally focused on only one aspect of collaboration theory. The understanding of how successful collaborations are built is greatly improved by the creation of a unified framework that organises and transfers knowledge and practices. The framework proposed in this paper is the concept of a pattern language for collaboration. The notion of a pattern language was first detailed in 1979 by Christopher Alexander in his book, A Timeless Way of Building [1]. A pattern language consists of a hierarchy of individual patterns that are used to solve problems associated with the parts in the pattern. When developed, researchers can use a pattern language for collaboration as a tool set to evaluate existing collaborations, repair unhealthy collaborations, and build future collaborations. The core concept is that the structure of an environment guides the pattern of events that occurs. A healthy collaboration is more likely to be responsive to the needs of its community and robust enough to overcome unanticipated challenges. The development and evolution of the pattern language is similar to a genetic process in that quality of the overall language emerges from the interaction of individual and complex patterns. The article applies the pattern language to the real world example of twenty eight different collaborations that are part of the Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative to illustrate the application of the pattern language in context. The article closes with recommendations for future development of the language

Speaking in teams: motivating a pattern language for collaboration

Collaborative work is increasing in frequency and importance in business, academia, and communities. The knowledge behind what makes for a successful collaboration is also increasing but is normally focused on only one aspect of collaboration theory. The understanding of how successful collaborations are built is greatly improved by the creation of a unified framework that organizes and transfers knowledge and practices. The framework proposed in this paper is the concept of a pattern language for collaboration. The notion of a pattern language was first detailed in 1979 by Christopher Alexander in his book, A Timeless Way of Building. A pattern language consists of a hierarchy of individual patterns that are used to solve problems associated with the parts in the pattern. When developed, researchers can use a pattern language for collaboration as a tool set to evaluate existing collaborations, repair unhealthy collaborations, and build future collaborations. The core concept is that the structure of an environment guides the pattern of events that occurs. A healthy collaboration is more likely to be responsive to the needs of its community and robust enough to overcome unanticipated challenges. The development and evolution of the pattern language is similar to a genetic process in that quality of the overall language emerges from the interaction of individual and complex patterns. The article applies the pattern language to the real world example of twenty eight different collaborations that are part of the Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative to illustrate the application of the pattern language in context. The article closes with recommendations for future development of the language. Classification-ACM-1998: J.4; Social and behavioral sciences - SociologyColorado Healthy Communities Initiative, collaboration, pattern language, evolutionary development, complexity