The concept of topos, despite its frequent use across theoretical traditions, remains notorious-ly elusive and resistant to rigid categorization. This article addresses the problem of conceptual ambiguity and semantic multiplicity associated with topoi, focusing particularly on their role in legal reasoning, where they are key elements of non-deductive argumentation. The object of this study is to reconstruct the most recurrent meanings attributed to the term, identifying its central conceptual and functional features. The method employed is a critical and comparative reading of specialized literature, grounded in legal topics and enriched by insights from the philosophy of language, rhetoric, argumentation theory, and discourse analysis. Rather than fixing a closed defi-nition, the article proposes a cartography of topoi operations across discursive fields. The analysis is structured around three main axes: general characteristics attributed to topoi; their practical functions in argumentation; and a proposed classification tailored to the legal field
Ian Fernandes de Casilhos (Wed,) studied this question.