The Promise of Reason: Studies in The New Rhetoric

“Gage’s excellent collection is notable for gathering international contributions from a range of disciplines into a single volume. It is one of the few volumes to feature scholars from the United States, Europe, and the Middle East side-by-side, demonstrating not only the international appeal but also the continuing intellectual pull of The New Rhetoric. . . . In putting international approaches together, Gage succeeds in opening up a multidisciplinary, transnational conversation, and provides a path for this dialogue to grow and develop in the next 50 years and beyond.”—Rhetoric Public Affairs

“If anyone needs to be persuaded of the lasting impact Chaïm Perelman’s thought still has on contemporary philosophy, rhetoric, science, and beyond, some fifty years after the appearance of The New Rhetoric, this book is a perfect guide. From sixteen essays by leading experts, there emerges a magnificent panorama of the various interpretations, extensions, and applications inspired by that treatise. The collection is made unique by the touching personal memoir by Perelman’s daughter Noémi that opens it.”—Manfred Kraus, lecturer in classics and rhetoric at the University of Tübingen, Germany 

“Leading scholars of Chaim Perelman’s work from a variety of disciplines prepared these essays on the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The New Rhetoric. They sharpen understanding of Perelman’s key concepts, explicate the ethical norms underlying the work, and extend the reach of Perelman’s theories and their practical implications. Anyone interested in Perelman and contemporary argumentation theory will want to be familiar with this book.”—David Zarefsky, Owen L. Coon Professor Emeritus of Argumentation and Debate, Northwestern University.

“Promise of Reason shows that the work of Chaim Perelman and Lucy Olbrechts-Tyteca, in its current and historical context, continues to challenge our understanding of the potentials and pitfalls of deliberation through argumentation. The New Rhetoric is simultaneously foundational and cutting edge. The collection pursues issues until now ignored in Perelman scholarship, ranging from the role Olbrechts-Tyteca played in the text to specifics of Perelman’s biography. It is an exciting and engaging collection, and will, as it is intended to do, reawaken interest in The New Rhetoric.”—Patricia Roberts-Miller, professor, department of rhetoric and writing, University of Texas at Austin

“The Promise of Reason, written by famous specialists from all over the world, brilliantly illuminates Perelman and Olbrecht-Tyteca’s seminal work by emphasizing its defense of reason in the public sphere, and by analyzing its close relation to ethics. Confronting New Rhetoric with various rhetorical traditions, it also extends its realm to fields such as the visual and the new media, encompassing science and religion as well as literature or education. ThePromise of Reason both accounts for the importance of the in exploring the role of reasoning and communication in human affairs, and shows how it can help us analyze contemporary issues and practices.”—Ruth Amossy, Tel-Aviv University, chief editor of Argumentation et analyse du discours  

John T. Gage is a professor of English at the University of Oregon. His other books include The Shape of Reason and In the Arresting Eye: The Rhetoric of Imagism.