preview

Three Spheres of an Argument

Decent Essays

According to Goodnight, there are three spheres of an argument. These spheres are personal, public and technical. Arguments in the personal sphere are often unrestricted and unsophisticated interactions with family and friends. Arguments in the technical sphere are based on a specific expertise or specialized knowledge. Arguments in the public sphere transcend private and specialized communities and engage the public at large. The public sphere provides a forum for the resolution of controversy and for public deliberation. Goodnight (1985) theorizes: Members of "societies" and "historical cultures" participate in vast and not altogether coherent superstructures which invite them to channel doubts through prevailing discourse practices. In the democratic tradition, we can categorize these channels as the personal, the technical and the public spheres. "Sphere" denotes branches of activity–the grounds upon which arguments are built and the authorities to which arguers appeal. (p.2) Goodnight contends that the independence of each of these spheres is governed by a different set of standards and thus is distinct from each of the others. For example “the independence of the spheres is protected by a variety of laws protecting privacy and discouraging government intervention in private affairs” (Goodnight, p.3). However, he also suggests that the borders between these spheres are not inflexible and at times argument can exist within multiple spheres simultaneously. Goodnight

Get Access