Sound arguments

Sound can be an argument. To make this claim, this essay eschews traditional formalist definitions of argument in favor of Wayne Brockriede's perspectivem. I focus on how sound satisfies the three conditions of argumentation: inference, choice, and common value framework. Then, I outline three unique features of sound argument: it is embodied, immediate, and immersive. These unique features beget a style of reasoning that provokes visceral memories, conveys urgency, and attunes arguers. I also theorize three new criteria for evaluating sound reasonableness: force, velocity, and masking. Sound arguments may exert too much or too little force, occur at too quick or slow of a velocity, or may mask another's position. If a sound argument violates any or all three of these conditions, then it is no longer considered an argument. KEYWORDS Sound studies; argumentation theory; sound argument; Brockriede; perspectivem
Introduction In the early days of the 'visual turn,' many scholars appealed to the ubiquity of media, like television, to justify the expansion of the object domain. In their essay, [...]