Philosophy of language as philosophy of linguistics. The case of argumentation theories

Argumentation is a field of study that has gained particular interest during the last fifty years, especially because of the works by Toulmin and Perelman. This renowned interest may be due to some factors: democratic contexts in societies after totalitarian regimes, the mass media boom, information access, and new expression possibilities offered by information technologies. This paper deals with a theoretical reason for this interest: the philosophy of language as philosophy of linguistics (Korta, 2002) has been considered the basis of argumentation theories, such as Toulmin's New Rhetoric and Pragma-Dialectics. I propose that the particular place of daily language in philosophical discussion has contributed to the development of pragmatic theories on language and contemporary argumentation theories. In this sense, philosophy of language finds in argumentation theories a breeding ground for getting discussions about reason, language, and epistemology of human disciplines.