Abstract

This study examines two aspects of science that have become important in the post-logicist period. It shows how the organization of scientific discourse is more clearly disclosed when it is analyzed as a persuasive rhetoric. Logic itself shifts from being taken as a universal grammar to being seen as one among several devices for securing the conviction of readers or audiences. This work provides a formal characterization of aesthetic criteria, and an awareness of the influence of social factors from outside the scientific community. It explores several ways in which their mutual influence can be identified.