As the dedication ofthis book suggests, the genesis ofthis book arises
from my association with Cha'im Perelman. Because I was one of the few
Americans to comment on his TraUe de l' argumentation: la nouvelle
rhetorique, before it was translated into English, I was invited to a
conference celebrating the translation ofthat monumental work into
English that was held in August 1970 in Santa Barbara, Califomia at the
Center for the Study ofDemocratic Institutions, which was then under the
directorship of the late Robert M. Hutchins. From that beginning,
Professor Perelman and I developed a strong and warm friendship which
was cemented when Professor Perelman and his wife, Fela, came to North
Carolina in 1979 as a fellow at the National Humanities Center. I
enjoyed the occasions on which I was able to participate in the
activities of the Centre National de Recherehes de Logique which had
been established, under Professor Perelman's aegis, in Belgium. A trip
to Brussels was always something to which I looked forward. Since
Professor Perelman's sudden and untimely death in January 1984, shortly
after he had been singularly honored by being made a baron by King
Baudouin, I have benefited greatly from my participation in the programs
of the Perelman Foundation which was established through the generosity
and efforts ofBaronne Fela Perelman; a remarkable woman in her own right
who has now sadly also passed away.
