THE ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

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THE ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

• An essay is argumentative when it argues in favor
  of a particular position.
• The essays arguments are designed to support the
  position argued for in the essay.
• Remember that an argument is a set of claims, the
  conclusion of which is supported by one or more
  premises.
• Thus, arguments consist of claims, and recall
  that a claim is a statement which is true or
  false.
• If an argumentative essay is good, then it
  contains credible claims, that is, those which
  are known to be true, or for which there is good
  even if not conclusive evidence.

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PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZING AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY I

• 1. Focus. State what you are addressing, and what
  your position is on the matter. Thus focus
  states in a single word the need to inform your
  reader of the subject matter of your essay.
• Avoid trite phrases.
• Be as concise as possible.
• 2. Stick to the issue. Say only what needs to be
  said in relation to the topic being considered,
  and avoid irrelevancies.
• Points made in an essay should either support,
  illustrate, explain, clarify, elaborate on, or
  emphasize the position being argued for or
• serve as responses to anticipate objections.

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PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZING AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY II

• 3. Order. Arrange the essays parts in a logical
  sequence.
• Make a point before you attempt to clarify it, if
  such clarification is required.
• Put the clarification after the point which
  requires it, and not in some other spot in the
  essay.
• Support points with examples, if necessary, and
  put the examples after the point which requires
  them.
• A reader should be able to follow through the
  points of the essay in an order which makes sense
  and is not confusing.

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PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZING AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
III

• 4. Be complete. The position argued for should be
  supported fully and adequately, but not
  exhaustively if the topic is too large for such
  thorough treatment.
• anticipate and respond to possible objections.
• sentences should be complete, and paragraphs
  should be unified wholes.
• Both a sentence and a paragraph should usually
  have a single point to keep things as clear and
  simple as possible for comprehension.
• the essay should reach a conclusion. (Note that
  a conclusion and a summary are different things.
  Only a long and complicated essay will require a
  summary.)

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SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ESSAY ORGANIZATION

• 1. Focus. Inform the reader of the issue of the
  essay and your position on it.
• 2. Stick to the issue. Say only what needs to be
  said in relation to the topic being considered,
  and avoid irrelevancies. (Less is more.)
• 3. Order. Arrange the essays parts in a logical
  sequence.
• 4. Be complete.
• The last three points taken together mean that
  you should say what needs to be said and only
  what needs to be said, and do so in an order
  which makes sense.

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GOOD WRITING HABITS

• 1. Use an outline. Either begin by making an
  outline of the main points of the essay, or write
  a first draft of the essay, and then make an
  outline. (MP recommend the latter method.)
• The outline should be logical, and the parts of
  the essay should fit the outline.
• 2. Revise your work. MP Revising is the secret
  to good writing, and you may have to revise
  several times.
• 3. Get another opinion. Revise, if necessary,
  according to that opinion.
• 4. Proofread aloud to detect problems with
  grammar and punctuation.
• 5. Reread later. When you think that your work is
  finished put it aside and read it again later. Be
  critical of yourself. Act as if you are grading
  someone elses essay.

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ON WRITING I

• JS Both life and writing are challenging. Each
  is worth taking up for that reason.
• JS A man who has written well has at least
  lived that part of his life well.
• JS I have yet to see a pencil, pen, or Pentium
  act on its own volition to fill a page with
  either prose or verse. Im not sure, but I think
  that this says something important about
  humanity.

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ON WRITING II

• JS Writing is the principle means by which
  philosophic thoughts become part of the public
  progress of culture. When a thought expressed is
  original and true, then something of novel
  importance has been communicated. When such a
  thought expressed is also well expressed, then
  insight and beauty are united in a single
  intellectual object, and a mind digesting it is
  doubly rewarded.

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ON WRITING AND REWRITING

• JS As living is mostly reliving, so writing is
  mostly rewriting. However, there is a notable
  difference between reliving and rewriting. It is
  the difference between repetition and revision.
  Repetition and revision in turn have different
  consequences. In reliving, the same kind of
  thing is experienced once again, and its lack of
  novelty is such as to make it likely that
  consciousness takes no special note of it. (An
  exception is works of art.) In rewriting, on the
  other hand, mind attends to the project of
  completing something incomplete, of perfecting an
  imperfection. When the revision is
  satisfactorily concluded, life is not relived but
  renewed.

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ESSAY PROBLEMS I

• 1. The windy preamble. In this problem the writer
  delays getting to the point of the paper with
  introductory remarks that are unnecessary.
• Solution Avoid the unnecessary, and get to the
  point.
• 2. The stream-of-consciousness ramble. Here
  thoughts are written simply as they occur.
• Solution Organize your thoughts in logical
  order.
• 3. The knee-jerk reaction. Here only the authors
  initial response to an issue is considered.
• Solution Consider the issue in the depth
  required to treat it properly.

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ESSAY PROBLEMS II

• 4. The glancing blow. Issues are addressed
  indirectly rather than directly.
• Solution Address issues head on.
• 5. Let the reader do the work. Reading is made
  difficult by bad writing involving non
  sequiturs, abrupt shifts in direction, and huge
  gaps in logic.
• Solution Make your writing reader-friendly by
  writing in a linear, logical fashion.

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CLARITY

• A good writer always strives for clarity in his
  or her writing.
• The successful communication of thoughts from
  writer to reader depends on making it clear just
  what thoughts the writer is attempting to
  communicate.
• Difficult ideas can demand difficult expression,
  but every attempt should be made to be as clear
  as possible.
• Deliberate obscurity is an insult to the reader,
  and may indicate that the author does not
  understand the subject himself. Unintentional
  obscurity should be eliminated through rewriting
  and through getting another opinion.
• Write as if your life depended on the successful
  communication of your ideas.

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PARTS OF DEFINITIONS

• In any definition, there is the term or
  expression being defined, and the term or
  expression that defines.
• That which is being defined is called the
  definiendum. (The plural is definienda.)
• That which defines is called the definiens. (The
  plural is definientia.)
• A table (definiendum) is a piece of furniture
  consisting of a smooth flat slab fixed on legs.
  (definiens)
• The early bird catches the worm (definiendum)
  means rise early if you want to be successful.
  (definiens)
• broke (definiendum) penniless (definiens)

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TYPES OF DEFINITION AND THEIR PURPOSES I

• Stipulative definition df. A definition which
  introduces an unusual or unfamiliar word, or a
  coined word, (a neologism) or gives a new meaning
  to a familiar word.
• Example A concipient, (definiendum) as I am
  using the term, is a subject who produces an
  object with which an artwork or one of its parts
  is meant to be identified in virtue of
  comprehending language which singles out an
  object which the comprehension of the language
  has an essential role in producing. (definiens)

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TYPES OF DEFINITION AND THEIR PURPOSES II

• Explanatory definition df. A definition which
  explains, illustrates, discloses, or clarifies
  an important aspect(s) or feature(s) of a
  difficult concept.
• Example The term artwork (definiendum)
  signifies an object which was produced through an
  intentional action or actions. (definiens)

The Return of the Hunters, Pieter Brueghel, 1565
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TYPES OF DEFINITION AND THEIR PURPOSES III

• Precising definition df. A definition which
  reduces vagueness and eliminates ambiguity.
• Example The precise meaning of non-objective
  art (definiendum) is art entirely without
  reference to anything beyond itself. (definiens)

No. 14, 1960, Mark Rothko (1903-1970)
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TYPES OF DEFINITION AND THEIR PURPOSES IV

• Persuasive definition df. A definition intended
  to influence the attitude of the reader.
• Example Capital punishment (definiendum) is
  the name of the only appropriate response of
  society to the crime of first degree murder.
  (definiens)

Electric Chair, Andy Warhol, 1971
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TYPES OF DEFINITION AND THEIR PURPOSES V

• Definition by synonym df. A definition which
  gives another word or phrase that means the same
  thing as the the word or phrase being defined.
• Example Capital punishment (definiendum) means
  the death penalty. (definiens)

Electric Chair, Andy Warhol, 1971
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DEFINITION BY SYNONYM?

• Not every philosopher or logician agrees that
  definition by synonym is really a definition of
  the definiendum (term or phrase being defined) as
  opposed to a means of making the meaning of the
  definiendum understood through the use of an
  equivalent term or phrase.
• For instance, to say that valor is courage is
  not accepted as a definition of valor by L.
  Susan Stebbing, who maintains that the defining
  expression definiens must contain more words
  (or symbols) than the defined expression
  definiendum.
• For Stebbing we would need something like valor
  means strength of mind or spirit that enables a
  person to encounter danger with firmness to have
  a definition of that term.

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TYPES OF DEFINITION AND THEIR PURPOSES VI

• Definition by example df. A definition which
  points to, names, or describes one or more
  examples of something to which the defined term
  applies.
• Example Willem de Koonings Excavation
  (definiens) is an example of Abstract
  Expressionism. (definiendum)

Excavation, de Kooning, 1950
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DEFINITION BY EXAMPLE? I

• Again, not every philosopher or logician agrees
  that definition by example is really a definition
  of a word or phrase being defined, rather than
  being a means of making it clear to what the
  definiendum refers.
• Stebbing also objects to this kind of definition,
  since one could point to examples of a kind of
  thing, like a sonnet, without being able to
  define it. She says We must be careful not to
  use definition so widely that it comes to stand
  for any process enabling us to learn the
  application of terms.
• Ostensive definition df. The act of indicating,
  presenting, or introducing the object to which
  the name is to apply. W. E. J. Johnson.
• Although Stebbing recognizes that we can learn
  the meaning of terms ostensively, she disagrees
  that it constitutes definition, since names
  simply demonstrate they dont define, and this
  is to confuse understanding a symbol with
  defining it.

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DEFINITION BY EXAMPLE? II

• Definition by example may be all we have in
  certain cases, or at least what we have until we
  are able to produce an explanatory definition of
  the definiendum. For instance, no one has yet
  succeeded in giving an explanatory definition of
  either art or artwork. We may be left with
  giving painting as an example of art, and
  pointing to an artwork such as the landscape to
  the left by Chaim Soutine as an example of art.

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TYPES OF DEFINITION AND THEIR PURPOSES VII

• Analytical definition df. A definition which
  specifies a) the type of thing the term applies
  to, and b) the differences between the things the
  term applies to and other things of the same
  type.
• Example A readymade is a work of art which is
  not a new thing created, but is a preexistent
  object which is merely selected by the artist
  whose work it is.

Fountain, Marcel Duchamp, 1917
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TYPES OF DEFINITION AND THEIR PURPOSES VIII

• Not every term can be given a complete
  definition.
• Abstract terms like goodness, truth,
  knowledge, and beauty cannot be completely
  defined.
• MP A writer may have to settle for providing
  mere hints of their subtle meanings.
• Hence, although MP do not do so, we might refer
  to definitions which hint at the meaning of terms
  which cannot be completely defined as suggestive
  definitions.
• Example By reality I mean the things that
  most of us agree have independent existence apart
  from our perceptions of them.

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TYPES OF DEFINITION AND THEIR PURPOSES IX

• If we exclude definition by synonym and
  definition by example, then not every term can be
  defined.
• Terms which cannot be defined except through
  synonym or example are basic or primitive parts
  of our conceptual scheme.
• JS A concept is basic or undefinable when any
  attempted definition of the concept must employ a
  term which refers to a concept synonymous with
  the concept to be defined, so that the definition
  utilizes the concept itself of which it is meant
  to be the definition, and no meaning of the term
  is thereby provided.

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TYPES OF DEFINITION AND THEIR PURPOSES X

• Example The term object names a primitive
  concept in our conceptual scheme, and so does not
  admit of definition apart from synonym or
  example.
• JS One might attempt to define object by
  saying that An object is anything of any sort of
  which a property or properties can be
  predicated. But since thing in anything is
  a synonymous means of indicating what is meant by
  the basic concept of object, the concept is not
  here defined, but something is merely said about
  it which may or may not be true.
• JS Or if it be said that An object is whatever
  can be presented in any way to mind we would
  have to inquire into the meaning of the term
  whatever, and in doing so would discover that
  it means anything or everything that, and so we
  would be utilizing once again a synonym of our
  basic undefinable notion.

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TYPES OF DEFINITION AND THEIR PURPOSES XI

• We could say that object means entity or
  thing and this would be a definition by
  synonym.
• Or we could give as examples of objects things
  like chairs, trees, the sky, thoughts, emotions,
  numbers, and so forth.
• Or we might attempt a suggestive definition by
  saying something like (JS) Everything is an
  object, including the concept of object. Not
  only is the concept of object primitive, but it
  has unrestricted application. As such, the
  concept of object will apply to anything of
  which we, as subjects, are or can be aware, and
  anything of which we think as not depending on
  awareness will also be an object.

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TYPES OF DEFINITION AND THEIR PURPOSES XII

• MP Most terms convey meaning beyond the
  literal sense of the written or spoken words.
  This meaning is a terms emotive or rhetorical
  force its tendency to elicit certain feelings
  or attitudes.
• For instance, the term abortion literally means
  deliberate termination of pregnancy. But that
  term can have different emotive or rhetorical
  force for someone depending on his or her view on
  the morality of abortion. For one person it may
  elicit feelings of revulsion, and that person may
  think of abortion as baby murder. Another
  person may think that abortion represents freedom
  of choice, and that person may think of
  abortion as expression of an individual
  right.
• MP The emotive or rhetorical force of a term
  is subjective, and can vary considerably from one
  person to another, and is usually not taken to be
  part of the literal meaning of a term.

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SIMPLICITY AND COMPLEXITY IN WRITING

• A general rule of thumb in good writing is to be
  as simple as possible. Dont use two words if
  one will do, dont use a longer word if a shorter
  one will get the meaning across. Avoid
  repetition and unnecessary complexity. Thus
  writing should be direct and to the point when
  possible.
• However, complicated ideas can demand complicated
  expression. And there may be cases where to
  attempt to simply an idea may pervert the idea or
  destroy its force. It may even be necessary at
  times to be complicated to be clear. And some
  repetition may be necessary to get across novel
  and difficult ideas.
• Also, to write simply need not mean to write for
  an uneducated audience. There is nothing wrong
  with good academic writing which shows a command
  of vocabulary as it expresses intelligently
  difficult concepts.

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AMBIGUOUS CLAIMS I

• A claim is ambiguous if a) it can be assigned
  more than one meaning and b) if the particular
  meaning which it should be assigned is not made
  clear by the context. (See example on p. 49.)
• A claim can be ambiguous for different reasons.
• A semantically ambiguous claim df. A claim whose
  ambiguity is due to the ambiguity of meaning of a
  particular word or phrase. (See examples of
  semantic ambiguity on p. 50.)
• To remove semantic ambiguity substitute an
  unambiguous word or phrase for the word or phrase
  which causes the claim to be ambiguous.

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AMBIGUOUS CLAIMS II

• A syntactically ambiguous claim df. A claim
  which is ambiguous because of the structure of
  the claim. (See examples on p. 50.)
• To eliminate syntactic ambiguity rewrite the
  claim.
• Syntactic ambiguity can result when it is not
  clear what a pronoun refers to. Example John
  peeled the skin from the tomato and then ate it.
  To what does it refer, the skin or the tomato?
• Syntactic ambiguity can also result from careless
  use of modifying phrases. Example Joan filed
  her nails on the sidewalk. Was the sidewalk the
  place of filing or was it used as the tool of
  filing?

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AMBIGUOUS CLAIMS III

• A grouping ambiguity occurs in a claim when it is
  not clear how groups referred to in the claim
  relate to the claim.
• Example Social drinkers actually consume more
  alcohol than alcoholics.
• To remove the ambiguity, it must be made clear
  whether we are talking about individual members
  of the group or about the group as a collection
  of individuals.

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FALLACIES OF COMPOSITION AND DIVISION

• The fallacy of composition df. Thinking that,
  because something holds true of a group of things
  taken individually, it must hold true of the same
  things taken collectively, or as a group.
• Example Joan, John, Jane, and Joe are the best
  musicians of all musicians on the different
  instruments which they play. It follows
  necessarily then that together they would make
  the best band.
• The fallacy of division df. Thinking that,
  because something holds true of a group of things
  taken collectively, it must also hold true of the
  things which compose that group as they are taken
  individually.
• Example The best band is The Four Js. The Four
  Js is composed of Joan, John, Jane, and Joe, each
  of whom plays a different instrument. Therefore
  since The Four Js is the best band, Joan, John,
  Jane, and Joe must each be the best musician of
  all musicians on the particular instrument which
  he or she plays.

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VAGUE CLAIMS I

• A vague claim df. A claim with a meaning that
  is indistinct or imprecise.
• Vague claims and ambiguous claims are two
  different things. (Recall that an ambiguous claim
  is one with a meaning which can be interpreted in
  more than one way, and whose meaning is not made
  clear by the context.)
• Vague claims should be avoided because they lack
  sufficient precision to convey the information
  appropriate to the claim.

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VAGUE CLAIMS II

• Some vague claims are due to fuzzy words like
  smart, heavy, warm, and heap. However,
  not all claims made with fuzzy words are too
  vague for use. And just because a claim lacks
  fuzzy words, it doesnt mean that it is
  automatically precise and clear rather than
  vague.
• A vague claims vagueness is a matter of degree,
  and what is to be avoided in clear writing and
  critical thinking is an undesirable degree of
  vagueness, not vagueness of any kind.
• For instance, saying that you should study for a
  couple of hours or so for each hour that you are
  in class each week is less precise than saying
  that you should study precisely two hours and ten
  minutes for each hour spent in class, but it is
  acceptable for getting an idea of study time.
• Absolute precision in a claim is not always
  possible and not always necessary. MP The
  appropriate criticism of a claim is not that it
  is vague, but that it is too vague relative to
  what you want to communicate or know.

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COMPARATIVE CLAIMS

• In a comparative claim one thing is either
  specifically compared with another A Ford runs
  quieter than a Rolls Royce or it is implicitly
  compared with another as in, Fords are better
  (than all other cars).
• Things to ask in assessing the truth of
  comparative claims
• 1. Is important information missing? Thus, how
  was the claim that a Ford runs quieter than a
  Rolls Royce determined?
• 2. Is the same standard of comparison being used
  when Fords are compared with other cars? Were the
  Ford and the Rolls driven over the same
  territory?
• 3. Are the items being compared really
  comparable? Was it a new Rolls that was being
  compared with a new Ford?
• 4. Is the comparison expressed as an average? If
  so, make sure again that important information
  isnt missing. MP Comparisons that involve
  averages omit details that can be important,
  simply because they involve averages.
• Example On average, women are better students
  than men. Where? When? How big was the student
  group sampled? What were the backgrounds of the
  students compared?

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KINDS OF AVERAGE

• Mean df. The number that results when the sum of
  a group of numbers is divided by the number of
  members in the group.
• Median df. The number in a group of numbers
  which has as many numbers larger than it as
  smaller than it.
• Mode df. The number which occurs most frequently
  in a group of numbers.
• Example Five people in a small firm make the
  following yearly amounts 40,000, 40,000,
  60,000, 75,000, and 100,000. This totals
  315,000. Divided by 5 employees that gives an
  average salary of 63,000. That is the mean
  salary. The median salary is 60,000, and the
  mode is 40,000.

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PRINCIPLES OF PERSUASIVE WRITING

• MP The primary aim of argumentation and an
  argumentative essay is to establish something, to
  support a position on an issue.
• To do this in a critical essay
• 1. Discuss issues, not personal considerations.
• 2. Anticipate and discuss possible criticisms of
  your view.
• 3. Dont be rude or insulting.
• 4. Admit that an opponents argument is good if
  it is good.
• 5. Concentrate on those things which are most
  important.
• 6. Refute objections to your position before
  presenting arguments for your view.
• 7. If you have a number of arguments for your
  position, put your stronger arguments first.