---

This book provides a new, linguistic approach to Argumentation Theory. Its main goal is to integrate the logical, dialectical and rhetorical dimensions of argumentation in a model providing a unitary treatment of its justificatory and persuasive powers. This model takes as its basis Speech Acts Theory in order to characterize argumentation as a second-order speech act complex. The result is a systematic and comprehensive theory of the interpretation, analysis and evaluation of arguments. This theory sheds light on the many faces of argumentative communication: verbal and non-verbal, monological and dialogical, literal and non-literal, ordinary and specialized.
The book takes into consideration the major current comprehensive accounts of good argumentation (Perelman´s New Rhetoric, Pragma-dialectics, the ARG model, the Epistemic Approach) and shows that these accounts have fundamental weaknesses rooted in their instrumentalist conception of argumentation as an activity oriented to a goal external to itself. Furthermore, the author addresses some challenging meta-theoretical questions such as the justification problem for Argumentation Theory models and the relationship between reasoning and arguing.

---

Preface.- I Argumentation and Its Study.- II Why Do We Need a New Theory of Argumentation?.- III Acts of Arguing.- IV The Logical Dimension of Argumentation.- V The Dialectical Dimension of Argumentation.- VI The Rhetorical Dimension of Argumentation.- VII Argumentation Appraisal.- References.

---

From the reviews:

"Bermejo-Luque´s book Giving Reasons has the ambition of developing a new theoretical approach to argumentation that integrates logical, dialectical and rhetorical aspects. The author uses speech act theory to realize her ideal of ´a linguistic-pragmatic approach´ to argumentation. ... provide a coherent, systematic and comprehensive model for argument analysis and evaluation which overcomes the shortcomings of the current models and approaches to argumentation. ... Giving Reasons will be of interest to argumentation theorists, as it raises some important issues." (C. Andone, Argumentation, Vol. 26, 2012)

---