Michael Billig's rhetorical approach has been key to the discursive turn in the social sciences. His witty and original book examines argumentation and its psychological importance in human conduct, and traces the connections between ancient rhetorical ideas and modern social psychology. In a new Introduction, he offers further reflections on rhetoric and social psychology, discusses the recent scholarship, and allows some forgotten voices in the history of rhetoric to be heard. This book will be enjoyable and provocative reading for scholars in social psychology, English language and the history of philosophy.
Contents
Second thoughts, second arguments: a new introduction; 1. Antiquarian psychology; 2. Rules, roles and arguments; 3. Protagoras and the origins of rhetoric; 4. The science of persuasion; 5. The art of witchcraft; 6. Categorization and particularization; 7. Advocacy and attitudes; 8. Dilemmas of common sense; 9. The spirit of contradiction.
Review
"A breakthrough book in three different fields--sociology, psychology, and the rhetoric of inquiry...Beautifully written and, as suits the topic, engagingly argued. Arguing and Thinking brings together the two fragments of our broken culture. It's science and humanism combined, as of course they should be." Donald McCloskey, University of Iowa
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