argument and persuasion

proposition of value

statements that advance judgements about morality, beauty, merit, or wisdom

criteria

1. clarify the criteria of evaluation - the standard on which a value judgement is based

2. provide evidence supporting evaluation

3. set out evidence to show that criteria of evaluation have been satisfied

credibility

a reputation for accuracy and reliability

accessibility

availability of evidence for examination

internal consistency

the requirement that evidence and sources must not contradict themselves

external consistency

the requirement that evidence must not be sharply at odds with either the majority of evidence from other sources or with the best evidence from other sources

recency

the requirement that the evidence be up to date and not superseded by more timely evidence

relevance

whether the evidence advanced has any bearing on the arguments conclusion

adequacy

whether the evidence presented when taken together, is sufficient to support its claim

representative

accurately reflects the presence of a particular quality in the entire population

1. size of the population

2. degree of variation

lay testimony

a report of personal observation, experience or opinion on a topic not requiring special expertise

expert testimony

the judgment or opinion of a qualified specialist in a discipline about matters relevant to that discipline

individual

from a single source

concurrent testimony

testimony that is consistent with other available source of testimony on the topic

biased

testimony from individuals who stand to gain if what they say is accepted

unbiased

testimony from individuals who will neither gain nor lose if their testimony is accepted as true

reluctant

testimony from sources who will lose something as a result of their testimony

argumentative defintion

definition employed strategicaly to categorize an object or event so as to support a particular conclusion to an argument

euphemism

less objectionable and often less accurate terms exchanged for harsh, condemning, or emotionally charged terms, deflect meaning

reclassification

strategic placement of an objection, person, or idea under a new heading, facilitate defense or accusation

labeling

characterizing a person, group, idea, or institution by introducing a suggestive name or term, obscure issues “fake news” “hoax”

circular

definition of a term by reference only to factors inherent in or strongly implied by the definition

distinction without a difference

a definition that suffuses that a category exists, without explaining how objects in this category differ from objects in similar categories

common usage

the meaning of a term in everyday language

etymology

origin

paradigm case

a representative example of the term or category in question; a typical member that defines the entire category

original intent

the meaning of a word or phrase in its original context, or what the initial definer of a term meant by it

semantic ambiguity

occurs when a word or phrase carries more than one meaning in a particular context

syntactic ambiguity

structure or grammar of a sentence renders the meaning of a word or phrase uncertain

equivocation

changing meaning of a key term in the course of an argument

redundancy

unnecessary repetition of an idea

mixed metaphor

a linguistic combination of images that do not belong together

analogy

comparison of something which we are familiar to something with which we are less familiar, often used to explain or clarify.

literal analogy

direct comparison between two allegedly similar things

evidence case

a familiar or widely established instance that is used as the basis for the argument

conclusion case

an instance in the argument about which a claim is being advanced

testing literal analogies

1. are the cases being compared dissimilar in some critical respect

2. are the cases presented accurately

3. is a better analogy available

a fortiori

literal analogy that asserts that what is true of its evidence is even more likely or even less likely to be true of its conclusion case

judicial analogy

literal analogy that insists on similar treatment for people, ideas or institutions in similar circumstances

1. literal is evidence case to conclusion case

2. figurative is evidence relationship to conclusion relationship

figurative analogy/metaphor

a comparison between things that are not of the same type, that come from different realms of experience

evidence relationship

the familiar relationship pair that is used as support for the conclusion

testing figurative analogies

1. is analogy advanced as illustration or as argument

2. does figurative analogy appear with other types of argument

3. is the relationship between two pairs of terms comparable

argument from example

an argument that draws a conclusion about an entire class of objects or events based on a particular instance or a limited number of cases, rather than about a single member of a group

1. is the example representative of the class from which it draws

2. is it reported accurately

3. is counter-example available

sign

an argument that reasons from an effect back to a cause

infallible sign

an effect that virtually always and only accompanies a particular cause

falliable sign

an effect with more than one possible cause, though one cause is typical

analogy

establish a casual claim

enumeration

processes of elimination

hypothesis

an explanatory statement affirming that one or more events cause another event to occur

causal generalization

an argument that affirms a causal relationship between two categories or classes of events

arguing from correlation alone

attributing cause simply on the basis of events occurring or varying simultaneously

1. are the two events correlated

2. does the cause actually precede the effect

3. does the cause have an agent that could act to bring about the effect

test of succession

assurance that the suspected cause consistently occurs b before the alleged effect

post hoc fallacy

attributing cause simply on the basis of one event preceding another

pragmatic argument

an argument that recommends or discourages a course of action on the basis of its practical consequences

1. is the action likely going to have the suggested consequences

2. will the proposed action have serious undersiable consequences

3. does the proposed action violate an important principle

argument from principal

affirms that we should abide by values, principles and duties and avoid actions that violate the same

1. is the principle relevant to the issue under discussion

2. does the proposed action violate the principle at issue

3. do other considerations outweigh this principle

argument from quantity

an argument that affirms numerical considerations as an index of significance

1. is the quantity claim accurate

2. are other considerations more important than quantity

fallacy

an argument that is invalid or otherwise so seriously flawed as to render it unreliable

appeal

persuasive strategy directed to the audiences emotions, sense of humor or deep held loyalties and commitments

arguing from ignorance

falsely assuming that a conclusion can be reached on the basis of the absence of evidence

continuum

a false assumption that qualitative changes along a line of progression do not occur if we cannot agree about exactly where such changes occur

question begging

a fallacy that assumes a debatable question can be treated as already answered

poisoning the well

dismissing an individual as unqualified to speak on a topic based on an accident of circumstance

poisoning the well

dismissing an individual as unqualified to speak on a topic based on an accident of circumstance

ad hominem

an intentional effort to attack a person rather than an argument by damaging an opponents character or reputation or by engaging in name calling

tu quoque

hypocritical

ad populum

appealing to the audience and its sentiments rather than to the merits of the argument

straw man

responding to awakened version of the opponents argument so as to give it a strong interpretation

majoring on minors

a fallacy that focuses attention on minor or inconsequential points to draw attention away from important ones

under description

the fallacy of creating a false sense of meaning by failing to fully describe a proposal or crucial component in an opponents case

paralepsis

the strategy of making a claim about an issue by stating that you will not bring up that issue or that the matter is insignificant

selection

promoting a false interpretation by presenting only some of the relevant evidence in a case, while intentionally excluding other evidence that would contradict the suggested interpretation

arrangement fallacy

the fallacy that creates a false impression by ordering, associating, or grouping items in a misleading way

appeal to authority

an appeal that urges compliance with the directive of a person, group or document possessing power

1. is there sufficient reason to heed their authority in this case

2. is the group or individual authority for me in this case

emotional appeal

engaging the audiences emotions for the purpose of persuading

1. does the emotional appeal appear in the absence of other arguments and evidence

2. is the appeal to powerful that the audience will have difficulty exercising reason

3. does the appeal place the audience in the proper frame of mind for making a reasonable decision

reductio ad absurdum

an appeal that asks an audience to recognize an idea as either self-contradictory or so unreasonable as to be absurd

similarity

we expect cause to be similar to effect, but cause is not always similar to effect and sometimes size of cause is not always similar to size of effect

sufficiency

finding a reason that is sufficient enough so we do not have to look for another one, dismissing other reasons

necessity

not all necessary conditions are casual

abnormality

People who are considering exactly the same event may draw different causal conclusions based on perspectives they bring to it

action

it’s easier to think about one specific action we wish we hadn’t done than to imagine all the things we might have done in cases where we did nothing

recency

When we give too much credit to the most recent event, we are not only ignoring the other factors that are responsible for the outcome, but depriving them of their fair share of credit or blame

controllability

our tendency to assign blame drastically changes our emotions even with the same outcome

negativity bias

tendency to focus more on the negative information than on positive

loss aversion

the insight that we treat the same monetary values differently depending on whether they are gains or losses

endowment effect

the owner thinks it is more valuable than the buy does

invisibility cloak illusion

When you are in a public place, it is the illusion that you are more invisible than you think. Ex you don’t think people “see” you in a crowded restaurant.

spotlight effect

a psychological phenomenon where individuals tend to overestimate how much attention others pay to their actions, appearance, or flaws

power of audiences

By inviting people to speak to you, you acquire the power that comes with being their audience, of making them win you over, and potentially convincing themselves along the way. 

saying-is-believing-effect

A speaker says something to their audience to appeal to them and the audience responds enthusiastically, and the speaker walks away having convinced themselves of what they said as much as everyone else.

overconfidence

refers to an inflated sense of one’s own skills, knowledge, or prospects, leading individuals to overestimate their abilities and underestimate potential risk

under confidence

entails a lack of faith in one’s capabilities, resulting in individuals undervaluing their skills and potential for success

liking gap

the disparity between how much a person believes that another person likes them and that other person's actual opinion

liking principle

people are more likely to say "yes" to requests from individuals they like

inclination to agree

a tendency or preference to agree with something, whether it's a statement, a viewpoint, or a proposed course of action. It suggests a natural disposition towards positive or affirmative responses.

fuzzy trace theory

proposes that memories are not unitary but consist of two distinct traces: a verbatim trace (detailed, literal details) and a gist trace (general meaning and relationships).