Frame structures

pp. 175-229

in: Harald R. Wohlrapp, The concept of argument, Berlin, Springer, 2014

Abstract

Frames are analyzed in terms of "B-as-A" structures that shape the relationship between the object and the perspective of the subject as well as between the cognitive and the active approach of the subject in facing the object. Every thesis and argument exhibits certain frame structures. As different subjects (persons, collectives) frame issues in different ways, argumentation often has a heterogeneous structure. Heterogeneity, which is caused by divergent frame structures, is the secret of incommensurability. In order to overcome the heterogeneity of arguments, four strategies are explained. Two extensive examples are provided to illustrate the complex interaction between frames and arguments in heterogeneous settings: an episode from Tom Sawyer's adventures and the trial of the deposed King Louis XVI during the French Revolution.