The Theory of Productive Multiplicity

An Alternative on communication and Discourse Analysis

Abstract

The study presents Ṭāhā ʿAbd al-Raḥmān’s approach to rhetoric and discourse analysis through using of logic in classification, analysis, and inference. It also sheds light on the methodological and pragmatic dimensions of his intellectual project, particularly what he terms the Theory of al-Takawthur. al-Takawthur  is conceived as a Mental act aimed at beneficial multiplication.The study examines Ṭāhā’s treatment of communicative activity through the concept of discursive takawthur of speech, by analyzing its rhetorical, argumentative, and figurative properties, as well as through argumentative takawthur of speech, based on two defining epistemic intentions: assertion and objection.The study further elaborates Ṭāhā’s conception of argumentation, which he designates as evaluative argumentation, in its various levels. It also discusses the principles of communicative interaction through Ṭāhā’s engagement with the works of several philosophers of language and rhetoric, including Paul Grice, George Lakoff, Brown, Stephen Levinson, and Leech.In addition, the study presents models of discursive communication in Ṭāhā’s analysis, across three levels: linking (waṣl), transmission (īṣāl), and communication (ittiṣāl), depending on whether the argument functions as evidence, as an intentional act, or as a normative instrument.The study concludes that speech, discourse, and argumentation constitute fundamental components of human enunciative reality. They are interconnected through specific relations and collectively contribute to the construction of a comprehensive and integrated communicative architecture aimed at understanding and intellectual mobilization.