Basics of Argumentation

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Basics of Argumentation
Victoria Nelson, Ph.D.
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What is an argument?

• An interpersonal dispute.

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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.

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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.

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Rhetoric

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

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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.

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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.

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Types of Evidence

• Statistics
• Objective data
• Tangible objects
• Documents
• Scientific findings
• Social consensus

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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• It is current or outdated?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?

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In general, the better the evidence, the better
the claim.
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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.

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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.

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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.

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Inductive reasoning

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

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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.

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Narrative

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

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Sign

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

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Cause

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

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Authority

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

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Fallacies in Argument

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

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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.

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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

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• 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

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A sample diagram

• GROUNDS CLAIM (qualifier)
• WARRANT
• BACKING (rebuttal)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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