The goal of this book is to ascertain Lessing's views on
argumentation and rhetoric. I intend to establish that these views
constitute a systematic and coherent theory and to argue that for
Lessing rhetoric in argument can yield philosophical truth.
Analysis of Lessing's views also sheds light on the general
significance of rhetoric in the 18th century. The denial that
rhetoric has claims to truth is a long-standing prejudice of
Western thought. This position is evident in Kant's rejection of
rhetoric in philosophical discourse. But in my view, the situation
in the 18th century in Germany was somewhat more complex. Rhetoric
did not die a quiet death but was very much alive in polemical
tracts, and Lessing was a pivotal figure in a culture dominated by
argument and disputation. I asked myself why and how this polemical
age came to an end and how does the rejection of polemics by the
19th century affect our understanding of the 18th century? In the
Introduction, I address some of these questions and establish a
historical framework for the development of polemics in the 18th
century. Another reason this polemical age has traditionally been
seen as problematic for the scholars of the period is because
argument, disputation and debate cannot be submitted to the same
easy analysis as the systematic treatises produced at the end of
the century.
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