Banca de DEFESA: MARIA GRAÇA MANOELA PESSOA DOS SANTOS

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : MARIA GRAÇA MANOELA PESSOA DOS SANTOS
DATE: 31/07/2026
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: meet.google.com/pdm-sguz-zkc
TITLE:

 

 

Points of View and Argumentative Sequence in First Corinthians 8:1–9

KEY WORDS:

 

 

 

Quotation. Refutation. Point of view. Argumentative sequence.

PAGES: 161
BIG AREA: Lingüística, Letras e Artes
AREA: Lingüística
SUBÁREA: Teoria e Análise Lingüística
SUMMARY:

Scholars generally agree that chapter 8 of First Corinthians contains Corinthian quotations. Despite this consensus, however, there is still no agreement regarding where these quotations begin and end. Within this interpretive context, some studies argue that Paul prohibits the consumption of food offered to idols, whereas others maintain that the prohibition is only partial. Fotopoulos (2005) contends that the apostle ultimately does not regard such a practice as legitimate. This conclusion is based on the understanding that the text contains a rhetorical partitio, that is, Corinthian quotations originating from the group commonly referred to as the “strong,” who approved of eating such food, interspersed with Pauline refutations throughout verses 1–9 of the epistle.In order to assess the validity of this proposal, the present study aims to investigate the points of view (PDVs) that permeate verses 1–9 of chapter 8 of First Corinthians. To this end, the analysis is grounded in Adam’s Textual Analysis of Discourse (2011, 2019), in dialogue with Discourse Analysis and Enunciative Linguistics, particularly Rabatel’s theory of Point of View (2016, 2025), the studies of Passeggi, Rodrigues, Silva and Neto (2016), Rodrigues (2021), Rabatel’s categories of point-of-view modalities and enunciative postures (2016), and Adam’s theory of argumentative sequences (2011, 2019).The specific objectives are: (i) to identify the voices inscribed in the passage; (ii) to identify the PDVs that traverse verses 1–9; (iii) to analyze the arguments supporting these PDVs; and (iv) to identify Paul’s argumentative orientation. Methodologically, the study adopts a mixed analytical approach, which allows the researcher to begin with categories previously established on the basis of the selected theories and to progressively refine and transform this initial framework throughout the analysis of the corpus.The findings corroborate Fotopoulos’s (2005) proposal that the passage contains both Corinthian quotations and Pauline refutations functioning as PDVs that are evaluated, hierarchized, and argumentatively reoriented. The analysis shows that the so-called “strong” justified the consumption of food sacrificed to idols on the basis of PDVs associated with gnosis, the nonexistence of idols, and monotheism. Paul, however, shifts the focus of the discussion by replacing the centrality of gnosis with the PDVs of love and responsibility toward the community. The study also identified processes of co-enunciation, sub-enunciation, and over-enunciation through which the apostle retrieves, comments on, relativizes, and refutes the discourse of others. Furthermore, Adam’s analysis of argumentative sequences revealed that the progression of Paul’s reasoning is constructed through argumentative operators such as “but,” “however,” “because,” “if,” and “although,” which introduce contrasts, justifications, restrictions, and reformulations. The results also demonstrate that Paul does not treat the consumption of such food as an ethically neutral matter, since the practice may affect the conscience of more vulnerable members of the community and hinder their edification. Therefore, it may be concluded that Paul’s argumentation does not seek to authorize the consumption of food offered to idols.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 349685 - MARIA DAS GRACAS SOARES RODRIGUES
Interno - 349707 - LUIS ALVARO SGADARI PASSEGGI
Externa ao Programa - 1801855 - ALESSANDRA CASTILHO FERREIRA DA COSTA - UFRNExterno ao Programa - 1168647 - MARIO LOURENCO DE MEDEIROS - UFRNExterna à Instituição - FERNANDA FAUSTINO DA SILVA RIBEIRO DE AGUIAR
Externo à Instituição - LUIZ ANTONIO DA SILVA