Argumentation by Self-Model: Missing Methods and Opportunities in the Personal Narratives of Popular Health Coaches

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jul 2018

Argumentation by Self-Model: Missing Methods and Opportunities in the Personal Narratives of Popular Health Coaches

Maria E Gigante

Abstract

This essay expands Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca’s concept of argumentation by model to bring more attention to the persuasive effects of using the self as a model. To illuminate this technique, I analyze the personal narratives of popular health coaches, who are championing a holistic health movement toward what I refer to as “do-it-yourself healthcare.” This case involves arguments regarding the efficacy of methods in evidence-based medicine and “alternative” or holistic health, as popular health coaches predicate their ability to heal themselves and others on abandoning traditional medicine. In brief, the purpose of this article is twofold: first, to characterize the rhetoric of the movement toward alternative or holistic health, and, second, to extend Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca’s concept of argumentation by model and address the implications of this expansion.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 2018-07-01
DOI: 10.1177/0047281617696984
Open Access: Closed
Topics: multimodality argument

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

Bakke (2019)

Trust-Building in a Patient Forum: The Interplay of Professional and Personal E…

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Hannah et al. (2018)

Mapping the Terrain: Examining the Conditions for Alignment Between the Rhetori…

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