Reasoning Critically about Argument and Evidence

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Reasoning Critically about Argument and Evidence

• Solid versus Sloppy Thinking

Chapter 9 of Dees Pages 183-189
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Reasoning Critically about Argument and Evidence.

• Logical Reasoning.
• The Toulmin Method of Argument.
• Looking Critically at the Evidence.
  
• Be aware of Logical Fallacies.

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The Toulmin Method of ArgumentMade of Three
Parts

• A claim
• a conclusion based upon evidence like the thesis
  of your research paper, it is an assertion you
  make and then defend.
• The evidence
• Supports the claim by including facts,
  statistics, expert opinions, and other
  information that supports or leads to a
  conclusion.

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The Toulmin Method Continued

• The warrant
• This is the rational behind the argument it is
  an assumption or belief that you and your
  audience share

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The Need to Qualify Arguements

• Since it is rare that we can state any opinion
  with absolute certainty--and rarer still that we
  can think of every possible exception to an
  argument--Troulmin logic calls for adding a
  qualifer
• examples
• some,
• probably,
• most

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The Toulmin Method reminds us of the existence of
the stated and unstated elements of argument.

• Often the warrant of the argument can be assumed
  but sometimes it is helpful to remind the reader
  of a basic common assumption
• The Historic position of the Nazarene Church on
  Womens Ministry.
• What is meant by believing in Evolution?
• The Historic position of the nature of scripture.
• Check the Manuel dont just ask your pastor.

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Toulmin's Analysis
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• Stephen Toulmin, a modern rhetorician, believed
  that few arguments actually follow classical
  models of logic like the syllogism, so he
  developed a model for analyzing the kind of
  argument you read and hear every day--in
  newspapers and on television, at work, in
  classrooms, and in conversation.
• Toulmin's model focuses on identifying the basic
  parts of an argument. As a researcher and writer,
  you can use Toulmin's model two ways
•  to identify and analyze your sources by
  identifying the basic elements of the arguments
  being made, and
• to test and critique your own argument.

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Notice that commercials which might try this
don't usually bother trying to convince you that
you want whiter teeth instead, they assume that
you have bought into the value our culture places
on whiter teeth. When an assumption--a warrant in
Toulmin's terms--is unstated, it's called an
implicit warrant. Sometimes, however, the warrant
may need to be stated because it is a powerful
part of the argument. When the warrant is stated,
it's called an explicit warrant. Toulmin says
that the weakest part of any argument is its
weakest warrant. Remember that the warrant is the
link between the data and the claim. If the
warrant isn't valid, the argument collapses.
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Looking Critically at the Evidence

• In a Inductive Argument
• the evidence leads logically to the conclusion.
• In a Deductive Argument
• the evidence is stated in the premis
• In a Toulmin argument
• the evidence supports the claim or thesis.
• Use Example and Authority

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Examples

• Provide details
• facts,
• Statistics
• authoritative opinion
• Should be numerous enough to demonstrate the
  extend and variety of cases that support the
  conclusion
• Should be typical (not flukes)
• Should be more than one.

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Types

• Statistical Evidence
• Hypothetical Evidence
• Examples by Authority

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Sites Cited

• Research and CitationToulmin. The Toulmin
  Project Home Page. University of Nebraska
  Lincoln. http//owlet.letu.edu/contenthtml/researc
  h/toulmin.htmlgt22 April 2010.