SSR Lec1 Cr-Th CH1

Argument

An attempt to persuade by giving a reason

3 Attitudes for Critical thinking:

1. Open mindedness

2. Intellectual courage

3. Intellectual autonomy

1. the willingness to revise and relinquish our beliefs if they are shown to be faulty

2. being willing to engage in argument and to open one’s own beliefs and reasoning up to scrutiny

3. Being willing to go against the tide of popular and widely held opinions, or to adopt unpopular ones if there are good reasons to do so.

Rhetoric

Any verbal or written attempt to persuade someone to believe, desire or do

something that does not attempt to give good reasons for the belief, desire or

action, but attempts to motivate that belief, desire or action by other means.

What is the difference between arguments and claims?

An argument needs at least two claims: : it needs the claim of which the arguer hopes to convince his or her audience, plus at least one claim offered in support of that claim.

Otherwise it is just an unsupported claim

What is the primary claim?

The conclusion

What is the supporting claim?

Premises, used to give us reasons for accepting the conclusion

Definition argument

A set of propositions of which one is a conclusion and the remainder are premises, intended as support for the conclusion.

Inference bar

Line between premises and conclusion

Why do we write arguments in standard form

Writing the argument in standard form provides us with the most comprehensive and clearest possible view of it, ensuring that while discussing the argument and attempting to evaluate it we do not lose track of exactly what the argument is.

Common conclusion indicators

• Therefore

• Hence

• Thus

• It can be concluded that

• So

Common premise indicators

• My reason is …

• My evidence for this is …

• This is so because …

Should indicator wordt be added to premises and conclusions in the standard form?

No

Difference between Argument and explanation

With an example, the speaker assumes that his or her audience already accepts the proposition. With an argument, the speaker tries to persuade the audience in accepting their proposition.

Extended arguments

Arguments that have conclusions which act as a premise for a following conclusion

Intermediate conclusions

Conclusions that act as a premise for a following conclusion.