ARGUMENTS THAT ESTABLISH vs EXPLOIT A RELATIONSHIP
Analogy, authority, causality and definition are basic argumentative resources; they can be found in Cicero’s typologies (1st century BC, see Collections from Aristotle to Boethius), as well as in Janik, Rieke and Toulmin’s nine “forms of reasoning”, and many other contemporary authors, see Collections: Contemporary Innovations and Structurations).
The arguments associated with these four sources fall into two main categories.
(1) Arguments that establish (construct, justify …) the claim that:
— There is a causal connection between two facts
— There is an analogy between two beings or two organizations of reality
see Categorization; Intra-Categorical Analogy; Structural analogy.
— Such a source is authoritative: see Authority, §7.3
—Such a definition correctly defines such a word, or such a concept.
(2) Arguments that exploit a pre-established (assumed, known…) relationship:
— Causal connection,
See Cause-to-Effect arg.; Arg. from consequence and effect; Pragmatic arg.
— Analogical relationship:
See Intra-categorical analogy; Structural analogy.
— Authoritative source:
See Authority, §6 – 67
— Definition3: Arguments based on a definition
Arguments of this second type arguments can be refuted on the grounds that the underlying claim of type (1) is incorrect.
NB: Arguments “based on / establishing the structure of reality”:
a re-interpretation
According to the above distinction, Type (1) arguments establish the structure of reality Type (2) arguments are based on the corresponding local structurations of reality.
The interpretation to this distinction is different from the one found in the Treatise between “Argument based on the structure of reality” ([1958], §60-77) and “Relations establishing the structure of reality” ([1958], §78-88), see Collections (4). According to Perelman & Olbrechts-Tyteca,
— Causal arguments and authority are “based on the structure of reality”
— Analogy is a relation that “establish the structure of reality”
— Definition is a “quasi-logical” relation.