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Basics of Argumentation

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Title: Basics of Argumentation


1
Basics of Argumentation
Victoria Nelson, Ph.D.
2
What is an argument?
  • An interpersonal dispute.

3
Argument is also
  • A set of reasons or evidence in support of a
    conclusion ( Weston).
  • Or a series of claims supported by reasons or
    evidence.

4
What is argumentation?
  • Argumentation can be thought of as the study of
    arguments. It is a specialized form of human
    communication concerned with influencing
    audiences through reasoning.
  • It is both process (the act of arguing), and
    product (text).
  • It is a dimension of the field of study known
  • as rhetoric.

5
Rhetoric
  • The ability to discover, in a particular case,
    the available means of persuasion.
  • from The Rhetoric of Aristotle
  • Aristotle d. 322 BC

6
Where do we find argument?
  • Argument is found wherever there is controversy.
  • If we all agree, there is no need for argument.
  • If an issue is trivial, there is no need for
    argument.

7
Claims and Evidence
  • a CLAIM is a statement that the speaker or arguer
    asks the audience to accept.
  • EVIDENCE is information used to support the
    claim.

8
Types of Evidence
  • Statistics
  • Objective data
  • Tangible objects
  • Documents
  • Scientific findings
  • Social consensus

9
Evaluating Evidence
  • Where does this evidence come from?
  • Who is the source?
  • Is the source qualified and competent to address
    this issue?
  • Is the source reliable?
  • Is the source biased?
  • Is the evidence relevant?
  • It is current or outdated?
  • Is it representative?

10
In general, the better the evidence, the better
the claim.
11
What is reasoning?
  • Reasoning is the process by which we link the
    evidence to the claim.
  • We can think of it as the drawing of a conclusion
    from the evidence.
  • We use many types of reasoning in argument.
  • Reasoning may be formal or informal.

12
Validity
  • Rather than using terms such as right and
  • wrong, we describe arguments as being more or
    less VALID.
  • Valid reasoning is solid, well-constructed and
    error free.

13
Deductive reasoning
  • Major premise All men are mortal.
  • Minor premise Socrates is a man.
  • Conclusion Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
  • In deductive reasoning, we move from the general
    to the specific.

14
Inductive reasoning
  • Uses examples to move to general conclusion.
  • Less formal than deductive reasoning.

15
Argument by Analogy
  • An analogy is a comparison.
  • When making a comparison, we need to determine
    whether two things are more similar than they are
    different.

16
Narrative
  • Stories can be persuasive.
  • Narrative involves drama and conflict.
  • It can appeal to our emotions.

17
Sign
  • The presence of one thing predicts the presence
    of another.

18
Cause
  • One factor has influence over another, or one
    causes the other to occur.

19
Authority
  • We are persuaded by people we believe are
    credible, competent, and have good will.
  • This is the concept of ethos.

20
Fallacies in Argument
  • A fallacy is a deficiency in the form of
    argument.
  • Fallacies result from faulty reasoning.

21
Some common fallacies
  • Post hoc ergo propter hoc after this therefore
    because of this.
  • Straw Man distorting your opponents view, then
    attacking the distortion.
  • Red Herring a tactic that diverts the argument
    away from the issue.
  • Ad hominum attacking the person rather than his
    or her qualification.
  • There are many more fallacies.

22
Analyzing Argument
  • The philosopher Stephen Toulmin identifies
    several parts of the structure of arguments,
    which can then be diagrammed.
  • According to Toulmin, the parts of an argument
    consist of

23
  • CLAIMS the central assertion of the argument.
  • GROUNDS the evidence or reasons that support the
    claim.
  • WARRANTS used to justify the move from the
    grounds to the claim.
  • BACKING information that supports the warrant.
  • QUALIFIER anything that modifies the strength of
    the claim.
  • REBUTTAL a counterargument to the claim

24
A sample diagram
  • GROUNDS CLAIM (qualifier)
  • WARRANT
  • BACKING (rebuttal)

25
Applying the Toulmin model
  • Claim Gays and lesbians have been denied their
    constitutional rights.
  • Grounds they are denied the right to legally
    recognized marriage.
  • Warrant It is illegal to deny them the right to
    marry.
  • Backing the Constitution provides equal
    protection under the law.

26
Important reminders
  • Pay attention to LANGUAGE. It can be vague,
    confusing, connotative, or emotional. What sort
    of language does the arguer choose, and why?
  • Definition is crucial in argument. Words may have
    more than one interpretation.

27
Audience
  • Arguments are constructed to persuade specific
    audiences.
  • What is persuasive to one audience might be
    rejected by a different audience.
  • If the aim of argument is persuasion, then the
    arguer must make a claim, support it with
    evidence, and reason in a way that the audience
    will accept.

28
We all participate in argument
  • Controversy is likely to continue.
  • In a democracy, we argue about issues rather than
    enforce views through violence.
  • Public debate is essential to civic life.
  • The ability to understand, analyze and critique
    arguments is the duty of every citizen.

29
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