Home
FUTURE STUDENTS ask.UWindsor SUPPORT UWINDSOR

Christopher W. Tindale, Director & Research Fellow

Dr. Tindale

Dr. Tindale received his PhD from the University of Waterloo. He worked for almost 20 years at Trent University in Ontario, moving in 2006 to the University of Windsor to become a fellow of the Centre of Research in Reasoning, Argumentation, and Rhetoric and a professor in the department of Philosophy. He also lectures in the Argumentation Studies PhD and supervises students in that program. He is the co-editor (with J. Anthony Blair) of the journal Informal Logic; and the co-editor (with Leo Groarke) of the Windsor Studies in Argumentation book series. His books include Acts of Argument (1999), Rhetorical Argumentation (2004), Fallacies and Argument Appraisal (2007), Reason’s Dark Champions (2010), The Philosophy of Argument and Audience Reception (2015), and The Anthropology of Argument (2021). His work has been translated into a number of languages, and a selection of his essays appeared in Spanish in 2017: Retórica y teoría de la argumentación contemporáneas: ensayos escogidos de Christopher Tindale.

Research Interests:

Dr. Tindale’s research concentrates on argumentation and rhetoric, including the development of argumentation in ancient Greek philosophy. He is currently engaged on two projects: ‘Argumentation and Extremism’, and ‘Plato’s Reasons’.

Recent Publications (2015-2024):

Books:

Articles and Chapters in Books:

  • “Speech Act Theory and Informal Logic,” In Cambridge History of Rhetoric: Volume V 1900- (Daniel M. Gross, Steven Mailloux, LuMing Mao, Eds.) (forthcoming)
  • “What is Extremism? Advancing Definition in Political Argumentation” (with L. Farine, H. Hassan, N. Kinnish, and D. Mejia) Topoi: An International Review of Philosophy. (February 2023) https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-023-09895-5
  • “Two Wrongs Reasoning and the COVID-19 Pandemic” (with Leo Groarke). In Teoria e Prassi dell’ Informatica Giurudica. Per una Riflessione Filosofica. M. Manzin (Ed.) (2023) Milano: Mimesis Edizioni. pp.39-53.
  • “Patterns of Argument: Aristotelian Topoi and Argumentation Schemes,” In Routledge Handbook of Language and Persuasion (Jeanne D. Fahnestock and Randy Allen Harris, Eds.): (2023) pp.27-44.
  • “Logical fallacies persist in invasion biology and blaming the messengers will not improve accountability in this field: a response to Frank et al.” (with R. Guiaşu) Biology & Philosophy (2023) 38 (3): 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-023-09892-3
  • “Utterer Meaning, Misunderstanding, and Inter-Cultural Argumentation” Languages (Special Issue on Argumentation and Pragmatics) 7, 172. (2022): 1-11. doi.org/10.3390/languages7030172
  • “Mind the Gap: Kairos in the Spaces of Silence,” Philosophy and Rhetoric Vol 55 (1). (June 2022): 66-71.

Selected Papers:

  • “Legally Speaking: Public Perception and the Fine Print of the Law,” Javnost - The Public, 27 (4):380-392. 2020, November. DOI: 10.1080/13183222.2021.1843857
  • “The Moral Sense in the Time of the Recluse,” Philosophy and Rhetoric, 53(3), 326-331, 2020, June.
  • “Self-Deliberation and the Strategy of the Pseudo-dialogue,” Coherencia: Revista de Humanidades, 17(32), 159-178, 2020, June.
  • “Of Place and Time,” Argumentation, 34(1), 1-11, 2020, January.
  • “Informal Logic and the Nature of Argument,” in Informal Logic: A ‘Canadian’ Approach to Argument, Federico Puppo (Ed.) Windsor: Windsor Studies in Argumentation. (2019): 375-401.
  • “Alternative Lives: The Power of Rhetoric in Plato’s Polis.” In D. Iordanoglou & J. Tralau (Eds.) The Origins of Political Thinking in Ancient Greece. Special Issue of Eranos: Acta Philologica Suecana. Vol. CIX, (2016-2018): 93-103.
  • “Persuasion and Statecraft,” in F. Piazza, M. Serra & S. Di Piazza (Eds) Paradigmi: Rivista di critica filosofica. XXXVI, 3, (2018): 443-460
  • "Logical Fallacies and Invasion Biology," (with R. Guiaşu) Biology & Philosophy (2018) 33:34 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-018-9644-0
  • “Replicating Reasons: Arguments, Memes, and the Cognitive Environment,” Philosophy and Rhetoric 50 (4): 2017: 566-88. [Invited paper for the 50th-anniversary issue.]
  • “Narratives and the Concept of Argument,” in P. Olmos (Ed.) Narration as Argument. Springer (2017): 11-30.
  •  “Collateral Beliefs and the Rashōmon Effect,” Cogency 8.2 (2016): 125-45.
  • “On Cognitive Environments” Argumentation and Reasoned Action: Proceedings of the First European Conference on Argumentation, Lisbon, 9-12 June 2015, D. Mohammed and M. Lewinski (Eds.). Volume I. London: College Publications, (2016):689-706.
  • “Rhétorique, argumentation et adaptation des moyens de persuasion.” In Persuasion et Argumentation. M. Dufour (Trans), G. Roque & A.L. Nettel (Eds.). Paris: Classiques Garnier, (2015):35-53.
  • "Reasoning under Conditions of Uncertainty: Aristotle’s Three Rhetorical 'Proofs.'" Studies in Logic 8.3 (2015): 1-12.

Presentations (2015-2021):

  • “Addressing Others: The Audiences of Argumentation and the Commitments Involved,” Keynote Address: SIG 26, European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), ‘argumentation, dialogue and reason’ Conference, Utrecht. August.
  • “Mere Dispositions: Durability and the Teaching of Values,” Keynote address: 6th Tokyo Argumentation on Conference. August.
  • “Under Thrasymachus’ Gaze: The Populist Debate in the Republic,” International Society for the History of Rhetoric, New Orleans, July 25, 2019.
  • “Deep Diversity and Deep Disagreement,” 3rd European Conference on Argumentation, Groningen, Netherlands, June 27, 2019.
  • “Discourse for Minotaurs: Back in Plato’s Labyrinth,” Annual Conference of the Classical Association of Canada. McMaster University, Hamilton May 7, 2019.
  • “Someone Passed This Way: Argument Events and the Venatic Tradition,” Keynote Address: Opening Conference for the European Network of Argumentation (COST Action), Lisbon, March 19, 2019.
  • “Local Knowledge and the Range of Reasons,” Osgoode Law School, September 26, 2018. Invited talk.
  • “Encounter Rhetorics and the Blending of Argumentative Cultures: Towards an Anthropology of Argument. 9th Conference of the International Society for the Study of Argumentation, Amsterdam, July 3-6, 2018.
  • “Govier versus Govier: Reviewing what Lies Hidden,” NCA. Dallas, Texas. November 2017
  • "Responsibilities: Six Notes on Philosophy & Rhetoric," for the Panel: Fifty Years of Philosophy & Rhetoric: Legacies, Relevance, and the Question of Responsibility. National Communication Association Annual Meeting, Dallas Texas, November, 2017. 
  • “The Common, the Uncommon, and the Radically Different: Argumentation and the Challenge of Extremism,” Keynote address: II Coloquio Argumentación. Universidad EAFIT, Medellin, Colombia, August 15, 2017.
  • “Disrupting the Course of Civilization: How Argumentation Transforms Reason.” Keynote address: Value and Argumentation conference, New University of Lisbon, Lisbon, June 28, 2017.
  • “Rhetoric and the Polis in the Late Plato,” Invited talk: Department of Government, Uppsala University, Sweden, September 2016.
  • “Replicating Reason: Arguments, Memes, and the Cognitive Environment,” Invited talk: Universidad EAFIT, Medellin, Colombia, August 8, 2016
  • “Narratives and the Concept of Argument,” Invited talk: VI Congreso de Filosfia, Universidad del Norte Colombia, Barranquilla, August 10, 2016.
  • “More Artful Methods: Techniques of Narrative in Argumentation,” Keynote address: 3rd Conference for the Days of Ivo Skaric, Croatia, April 20-23, 2016.
  • “Arguing with Extremism,” Martin Wesley talk, University Of Windsor: December 2, 2015.
  • “Inventing Arguments,” Invited Talk at “Beyond Critical Thinking: A Symposium,” York University, November 13, 2015.
  • “Extremism as a Philosophical Problem,” Invited talk, Colby College, Maine. November 5, 2015.
  • “On Cognitive Environments,” 1st European Conference on Argumentation, Lisbon, Portugal, June 9-11, 2015.
  • “The Prospect for Rhetoric in the Late Plato,” Annual Conference of the Classical Association of Canada. University of Toronto, Toronto, May 20-22, 2015.

Interviews:

  • Enough with Slippery Slopes, Freakonomics podcast. June 2023.
  • “Rhetoric and Interdisciplinarity: A Conversation with Christopher Tindale” (in English, and in Spanish and Portuguese translations) EID&A – Electronic Journal of Integrated Studies in Discourse and Argumentation [Brazil]. (June 2022): 153-200.