The Dissociation of Concepts in Context: An Analytic Template for Assessing Its Role in Actual Situations

Dissociation is a key argument technique in Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca's new rhetoric. In this essay, I consider how dissociation work in argumentative contexts. I explore dissociation in two rhetorical exchanges: one features the representation of the post-World War II Romanian Diaspora and the second, the Aron-DeGaulle confrontation in France. My examination of actual cases of argumentation about Jewish identity reveals two expressions of dissociation. The first, dichotomous dissociation, is agonistic and consists of contested values that may be mutually exclusive. The second, pluralistic dissociation, is more ecumenical, assuming that contested values might coexist. Both types of dissociation are present in many rhetorical exchanges, and should be included in any taxonomy or theory of argumentation.