The duality of scientific ethos: Deep and surface structures |
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Authors: | Helen Constantinides |
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Affiliation: | Doctoral student in the Department of Rhetoric , University of Minnesota |
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Abstract: | Aristotle's concept of ethos is primarily one based on civic duty, and as such loses its specificity when extended to the scientific forum. By adapting Aristotle's traditional concept of ethos to contemporary social norms of science, a link can be established between classical theory and contemporary practice. In this essay, I use Robert Merton's theory of the normative conditions of science to perform a meta‐critique of the use of ethos in four case studies. This meta‐analysis reveals the dual structure of ethos as reflected in a surface structure of style and a deep structure of argument. |
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Keywords: | rhetoric of science scientific ethos ethos social norms rhetorical critique |
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