Argumentation

If you agree with the quote, "I have won and I have lost-winning is better," then what follows is for you, especially if you've ever lost an argument.

Winning an argument is much like winning in sports, cards or chess-much depends on how well one knows the rules, the moves and the point of the activity. Unlike learning to play tennis or cards or chess, few of us are ever taught how to argue. In fact, not many people can correctly say what an argument is. Let's begin there.

Arguments and Argument Analysis

(a very brief account)

Why do we argue? What are arguments for?

• Well, we don't always agree on what is the case. This is called having an issue, which is when something is up for debate, needs to be settled or for which there are opposing sides. An issue takes the form: "Whether or not something is the case." An argument is offered in order to settle an issue. So, we construct and offer arguments to convince someone that something is or is not the case.
  
  
• Suppose, for example, someone claims that one can be a good teacher and not respect students. This raises the issue of whether or not this is so. In response, one might offer that whatever a teacher does that inhibits or impedes learning cannot be called good teaching. Add to that the claim that learning is impeded when a student does not feel respected by the teacher. If these two claims are true, it follows that the one cannot be a good teacher without respecting students. This settles the issue, unless someone wishes to raise objections to the argument just offered, in which case the issue is still alive and the series of arguments and counter-arguments continues. The series comes to an end when one side presents an unassailable argument.

So, what exactly is an argument?

• An argument is a series of two or more claims, one of which, called the premise, is offered as support for, or reason to believe, the other, called the conclusion. The purpose of an argument is to convince, to show that there is good reason to believe that something is or is not the case. Arguments, then, are what we offer to settle an issue.

When is an argument Valid?

• If the conclusion does indeed follow from the premises, that is, if the conclusion would have to be true were the premises true, or, put another way, if it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false at the same time, then the argument is said to be valid. Validity, then, has to do with the structure of the argument, not with its content. Validity concerns the formal relationship between the premise(s) and the conclusion. So, it's possible for an argument to be valid and have a false premise, as is the case with the following argument:

           o All U.S. presidents have been truck drivers.

           o George Washington was a U.S. president.

           o Thus, George Washington was a truck driver.

• The argument is valid because there is no way that the conclusion could be false if the premises were true. That's all that validity requires. So, just because an argument is valid doesn't mean that it's a good argument. In fact, we can actually have a good argument that isn't valid, such as the following argument:

           o The sky is clouding over.

           o The barometer is falling.

           o A storm is heading our way.

           o Usually when the sky clouds over, the barometer drops and a
              storm is heading our way, it rains.

           o So, it's going to rain.

• Now, even if the premises were true, it still might not rain, so this argument is not valid. However, if the premises were true, they would give us good reason to cancel today's picnic or be prepared to move it indoors. In other words, given the premises, one would pretty much have to be a fool not to expect rain. A good argument is simply one that gives us good reason to believe the conclusion. It follows from this that some good arguments are technically invalid. Most of the arguments that we offer are like this. The premises we give are not offered as absolute, iron-clad evidence. These are called inductive arguments, which by their nature admit of the possibility that the premises could be true and still the conclusion might be false. Inductive arguments fall on a continuum from very strong to very weak. A very strong (inductive) argument is one in which it is very nearly impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false. For many issues, a very strong or relatively strong (inductive) argument is the most that can be expected or is needed. The other kind of argument, where the premises are offered as proof-positive that the conclusion is true, is called a deductive argument. An example of that is the previous argument about U.S. presidents.
  

What makes an argument Sound?

• An argument is sound when it is valid and the premises are true. This is the strongest possible argument, since such an argument must have a true conclusion. Only deductive arguments can properly be called sound or unsound, for only deductive arguments purport to offer premises that guarantee the conclusion. But, an argument can be valid and not sound: it may have a false premise, as in the case above about the U.S. president.

• Thus, there are two major ways to criticize an argument:
  
  
  1. show any of the premises false, in which case even if the argument were valid, the conclusion might still be false,  
     
     or
     
     

  2. show that the conclusion does not follow from the premises, in which case, even if the premises were true, the conclusion might still be false.

There are, of course, other attacks that can be made on arguments, and other questions raised.

The Steps in Argument Analysis and Evaluation

• Identify the argument.
  
  
• Locate the conclusion (the claim being argued for).
  
  
• Identify the premises (the reasons offered to support the conclusion).
  
  
• Reconstruct the argument by writing out the premises and conclusion, leaving out all other sentences.
  
  
• Critically analyze the argument by asking the following questions:
  • Are there any terms that are unclear or ambiguous in meaning? If so, what affect does this have on the argument or the truth of any of the claims?
    
    
  • Are the premises true?
    
    
  • On what basis is their truth established? What evidence is offered or could be offered in support of the premises?
    
    
  • How strong is this evidence and how reliable is the source?
    
    
  • Does the conclusion follow from the premises?
    
    
  • Does the argument depend upon any crucial and/or questionable assumptions?
    
    
  • If the argument is sound, what significant implications result?
    
    
  • What evidence/reasons count against the argument?

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