Acceptable Premises: An Epistemic Approach to an Informal Logic Problem [Hardcover]

This is the first book to provide a comprehensive theory of premise acceptability.When, if ever, is one justified in accepting the premises of an argument? What is the proper criterion of premise acceptability? Can the criterion be theoretically or philosophically justified?This is the first book to provide a comprehensive theory of premise acceptability and it answers the questions above from an epistemological approach that the author calls common sense foundationalism. It will be eagerly sought out not just by specialists in informal logic, critical thinking, and argumentation theory but also by a broader range of philosophers and those teaching rhetoric.When, if ever, is one justified in accepting the premises of an argument? What is the proper criterion of premise acceptability? Can the criterion be theoretically or philosophically justified?This is the first book to provide a comprehensive theory of premise acceptability and it answers the questions above from an epistemological approach that the author calls common sense foundationalism. It will be eagerly sought out not just by specialists in informal logic, critical thinking, and argumentation theory but also by a broader range of philosophers and those teaching rhetoric.When, if ever, is one justified in accepting the premises of an argument? What is the proper criterion of premise acceptability? Providing a comprehensive theory of premise acceptability, this book answers these questions from an epistemological approach that the author calls common sense foundationalism . His work will be of interest to specialists in informal logic, critical thinking and argumentation theory as well as to a broader range of philosophers and those teaching rhetoric.Part I. Acceptability: Dialectical and Epistemological Considerations: 1. Why do we need a theory of acceptability?; 2. Acceptability and presumption; 3. Factors determining presumption: basic considerations; 4. Epistemological considerations: acceptabilitlc¡