Philosophical roots of argumentative writing in higher education

Abstract

The split between analytic philosophy (AP) and Continental philosophy (CP) has mainly preoccupied scholars of philosophy so far, but in fact, it has broader pedagogical implications. This article argues that conventions of argumentative writing, as taught in colleges today, have their roots in analytic philosophy and its assumptions regarding ways of disseminating knowledge. Behind writing instructors’ emphasis on the ‘thesis and evidence’ structure lie analytic tendencies such as verifiability and intersubjectivity. By contrast, Continental philosophy emphasises the subjective human experience, which leads to a more experimental form of writing. This split and the embeddedness of argumentation in analytic philosophy is indispensable in comprehending the rationale behind the conventions of academic writing taught in colleges today.

Keywords:

• Argumentation
• academic writing
• humanities
• analytic philosophy
• Continental philosophy

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their critical input, which helped me clarify my argument in this article. A shorter version of this article was presented at the “Lehre in den Geisteswissenschaften” Conference in German at the Goethe University in Frankfurt on November 8, 2018.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 This philosophical dichotomy clarifies confusion in different geographies as well. Higher education institutions in the Anglo-American world have predominantly followed the analytic path, not only in philosophical terms but also in their approach to the dissemination of knowledge. Yet, Continental texts also abound. In the same way, many universities in Continental Europe did not forget their Continental background and its way of writing. In other words, there is confusion on both sides of the Atlantic. Considering the fact that universities in other parts of the world are profoundly influenced by the universities in North America and Continental Europe, any modern humanities department in the world faces confusion with regard to academic writing. Underscoring this philosophical divide and the embeddedness of argumentative writing in analytic philosophy is a useful and necessary strategy in clarifying the confusion students might have regarding what they read and write in different geographies.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Erhan Şimşek

Erhan Şimşek studied English, European Studies and American Studies in Ankara, Berlin, Amherst, and Heidelberg. In 2017, he received his PhD in American literature from Heidelberg University. Since then, he has been teaching academic writing at Bielefeld University, Germany. He is the author of Creating Realities: Business as a Motif in American Fiction, 1865-1929. His research interests include composition studies, intercultural communication, and literary theory.