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Any attempt to offer a summary of Perelman's work, to engage in a criticism of his thought, and to pretend that we have surpassed his contributions by a superior wisdom, would be a classical example of banality. First, the range and depth of his erudite scholarship cannot be addressed and encompassed in one essay. Second, the variety of topics discussed in his work require more than an acquaintance with such topics; one has to confront their complex interrelationships and implications. Third, the precision of his analyses cannot be surpassed; they can only be repeated. Yet such a repetition would make any essay on Perelman's work redundant. Consequently, we are left with a specific option and a task: to honor professor Perelman and his work, we must learn from him and extend his work toward what was important for him and indeed for us. His work embodies the noblest quest of the Western tradition: justice and the open forms of dialogue by which justice could be attained among free and rational beings. The purpose of the essay, then, is to establish the basis within the modern context of freedom and justice and the form of socio-political institutions which would be equal to Perelman's conception of justice and the new rhetoric.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-009-4674-3_17

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