A representation model of argumentative complexity: the Friedman speech

Abstract

From a qualitative method following the procedures established by the grounded theory, this paper proposes a model for representing argumentative complexity at the discoursal level. In order to establish its suitability, this work describes the formal strategies in the macrostructural organization that are found in the introduction to Milton Friedman´s Free to Choose. Special attention has been paid to the category of 'topos' since it constitutes a formal device through which ideology unfolds in discourse texture, density or complexity. The analysis revealed a complex discoursal organization that allows upholding the conclusions of the author within an ideological framework that sustains and supports them.