Читать книгу Making Arguments: Reason in Context - Edmond H. Weiss - Страница 27

Argument is purposive activity. Arguments take place for a reason. Argument is undertaken in anticipation of judgment. How an argumentative situation resolves itself is as important as the entire process. In a courtroom an argument is resolved by presentation of a verdict (or some other outcome). Advocates seek judgment: a deliberative assembly takes a vote; debaters hear the decision of a judge; a community of scholars weighs in on a scientific or interpretive finding. The idea that arguments resolve, that they are judged, drives human beings to continue to make them. Even the most sportive disputes—like games of skill with final scores—adhere to this standard. Every debater seeks a particular outcome—and it is rarely compromise or negotiation.