{"id":5736,"date":"2021-10-26T10:05:16","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T08:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/?p=5736"},"modified":"2025-05-04T13:16:53","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T11:16:53","slug":"topos-topic-commonplace-argument-scheme-argument-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/topos-topic-commonplace-argument-scheme-argument-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Topos, Topic \u2014\u00a0 Commonplace \u2014\u00a0Argument Scheme \u2014\u00a0Argument Line"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #ff0000;\">TOPOS &#8211; TOPIC &#8211; ARGUMENTATION SCHEME<\/span><\/h1>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: 12pt;\">1. Topic<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In general vocabulary, the word <em>topic<\/em> refers to (MW, <em>Topic<\/em>):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">1 a: <strong>one of the general forms of argument<\/strong> in probable reasoning<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">b:\u00a0argument, reason<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">2\u2028 a: a heading in an outlined argument or exposition<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">b: <strong>the subject of a discourse<\/strong> or of a section of a discourse<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The two meanings of <em>topic<\/em> go from <em>topic<sub>1<\/sub><\/em> a <em>formal, inferential<\/em> pole (meaning 1) to a <em>substantive <\/em>pole (meaning 2). They correspond to the two different meanings of <em>argument<\/em> used in its definition, see <a href=\"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/to-argue-argument-argumentation-argumentative-the-words-e\/\"><em>(to) argue<\/em>, <em>argument<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u00a0<em>Topic<sub>1<\/sub><\/em>: According to (1), <em>argument<\/em> in a \u201creasoning\u201d context, means \u201c<em>argument<sub>1<\/sub><\/em>\u201d. Correspondingly, a <em>topic<sub>1<\/sub><\/em> here is an argument<sub>1<\/sub> scheme or an argumentation derived from such a scheme. In this sense, it can be seen as a translation of the Greek word <em>topos<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u00a0<em>Topic<sub>2<\/sub><\/em>: According to (2), <em>argument<\/em> in an \u201cexposition\u201d and \u201csubject\u201d context,\u00a0 means\u00a0 <em>argument<\/em><sub>3<\/sub>. Correlatively, a <em>topic<sub>2<\/sub><\/em> is an argument<sub>3<\/sub>, that is to say, the matter, the content of a discourse.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: 12pt;\">2. Topos<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In contemporary English, the word <em>topos<\/em> is defined as \u201ca traditional or conventional literary or rhetorical theme or topic\u201d (MW, <em>Topos<\/em>).<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: 12pt;\">2.1\u00a0<em>Topos<\/em> as \u201cArgumentative Scheme\u201d and \u201cTopic<sub>1<\/sub>\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In Greek, the word <em>topos<\/em> (pl. <em>topoi<\/em>) has the basic meaning of \u201cplace\u201d. In argumentative rhetoric, <em>topos<\/em> is used metaphorically to refer to \u201cthe place where arguments are found\u201d; a <em>topic<\/em> is an argumentative scheme.<br \/>\nThus the Greek word <em>topos<\/em> is translated as <em>topic<\/em> by Freese and as <em>argumentative line<\/em> by Rhys Robert in their respective translations of Aristotle&rsquo;s <em>Rhetoric<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In Latin, the corresponding word is <em>locus<\/em> (pl. <em>loci<\/em>), which also means \u201cplace\u201d, translated as <em>topic<\/em> by Hubble in his translation of Cicero&rsquo;s <em>Topica<\/em>, as \u201cpresumptive proof\u201d by Caplan in his translation of the <em>Rhetorica ad Herennium, <\/em>etc. In a famous metaphor, Cicero defines the <em>argumentative places<\/em> (Lat. <em>loci<\/em>, sg. <em>locus<\/em>) as \u201cthe name given by Aristotle to the \u2018regions\u2019 from which arguments are drawn\u201d\u00a0(<em>Top<\/em>, I, 8, p. 387). \u201cRegion\u201d is translated from the Latin <em>sedes<\/em>, which also means \u201cposition, ground\u201d; the <em>loci<\/em> are the foundations or \u201cpatterns\u201d of arguments (<em>id<\/em>., I, 9, p. 389).<\/p>\n<p>In the argumentation in language theory, the concept of an inferential topos is redefined as a <em>pair of semantically related predicates, <\/em>see<a href=\"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/topos-in-semantic\/\"> topos in semantics<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: 12pt;\">2.2\u00a0<em>Topos<\/em> as \u201ctopic<sub>2<\/sub>\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In the substantive sense, <span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\">a <em>topic<\/em> (<em>topos<\/em>, <em>commonplace<\/em>) is an endoxon<\/span>, a formulaic element corresponding to an answer to a \u00ab\u00a0topical question\u00a0\u00bb; or the whole discourse developing such a formula, \u00ab\u00a0<em>the lawyer developed the topos of the well-known peaceful character of the Syldavians<\/em>\u00ab\u00a0, see <a href=\"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/doxa-e\/\">doxa<\/a>. Such discourses are suspected of being false and insincere, because they are traditional:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">it is not easy to distinguish fact from topos in these documents (<em>OD<\/em>, <em>Topos<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: 12pt;\">2.3 Topos in Literary Analysis<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The concept of <em>topos <\/em>(pl. <em>topoi<\/em>) was introduced into literary analysis by Ernst-Robert Curtius to refer to <span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\">a substantial, traditional idea that the writer develops, comments on and expands in the light of the circumstances.<\/span> From a cultural and psychological point of view, a topos is \u201can archetype, [&#8230;] a representation of the collective unconscious as defined by C. G. Jung\u201d (Curtius [1948], vol.1, p.180).<br \/>\nFor example, the topos of \u201cthe old man and the child\u201d is consistently exploited in advertisements for wealth management and inheritance arrangements.<\/p>\n<p>The topoi can be used to fill an obligatory discursive slot. Thus, at the end of a presentation, the speaker declares that \u201c<em>he is quite ready to submit to possible negative observations, objections or even refutations, which<\/em> <em>are really considered as a contribution to a better understanding of his own data<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Curtius&rsquo; suggestions have led rise to an important research trend on the topoi, especially in Germany (Viehweg, 1953; Bornscheuer 1976, Breuer &amp; Schanze 1981).<\/p>\n<h1><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: 12pt;\">3. Common place<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><strong>1. In argumentation theory<\/strong>, <span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\">the term <em>commonplace<\/em> corresponds to the Latin <em>locus communis<\/em>, translated from the Greek <em>topos<\/em><\/span>.<br \/>\nOften reduced to <strong><em>place<\/em><\/strong> (<em>locus<\/em>, pl. <em>loci<\/em>), an <em>inferential commonplace<\/em> is an inferential topos, or <em>argument scheme<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>A substantive commonplace<\/strong> is an <em>endoxon<\/em>, <em>a formulaic expression of common thought<\/em>. Traditional rhetoric specialized in the argumentative use of <a href=\"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/common-place-e\/\">substantive commonplaces<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. In the general vocabulary<\/strong>, the expression <em>commonplace<\/em> is synonymous with <em>clich\u00e9<\/em>, both having the same depreciative orientation. <em>Topos<\/em> can be used with the same value.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. In literary analysis<\/strong>, a commonplace is a \u201csubstantial topos\u201d, in the sense of Curtius [1948].<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: 12pt;\">4. Argument Schemes<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"background-color: #ffff00;\">The terms <em>argument type,<\/em> or <em>argument scheme,<\/em> or <em>presumptive proof <\/em>unambiguously denote a general, formal, inferential scheme.<\/span><br \/>\nThe terms <em>topic<\/em> and <em>commonplace<\/em> are ambiguous between a formal and a substantive meaning.<\/p>\n<p>The term <em>argument line<\/em> is somewhat ambiguous, since it can be used to refer to an argument scheme or to a whole, coherent argumentative <a href=\"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/strategy-e\/\">strategy<\/a>, see <a href=\"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/scheme-argument-scheme-e\/\">argument scheme<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/collections-i-and-typologies-of-arguments-schemes-e\/\">collections (I)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: 12pt;\">4. Line of Argument<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The term <em>argument line<\/em> can refer to:<br \/>\n\u2014 A discourse that develops a series of <em>co-oriented<\/em> or <a href=\"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/convergent-arguments-e\/\"><em>convergent<\/em><\/a> arguments, developed by the same arguer or by allied arguers to support a conclusion, either in the same interaction or in different verbal or written interventions.<br \/>\n&#8211; Marginally, to an <em>argument scheme<\/em>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TOPOS &#8211; TOPIC &#8211; ARGUMENTATION SCHEME 1. Topic In general vocabulary, the word topic refers to (MW, Topic): 1 a: one of the general forms of argument in probable reasoning b:\u00a0argument, reason 2\u2028 a: a heading in an outlined argument or exposition b: the subject of a discourse or of a section of a discourse [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5736"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5736\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14176,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5736\/revisions\/14176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}