lecture 2 the basic structure of argument

8/8/2019 Lecture 2 the Basic Structure of Argument

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Critical Thinking

Chapter 2

The Basic Structure ofArgument


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Overview of Todays Lecture

Recognising components in arguments

Understanding the process of

reconstruction The role of questions in arguments

Diagramming arguments

TEXTBOOK READING : CHAPTER 1


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Remember this .. A good critical thinkerhas the cognitive skills

and intellectual dispositions needed toeffectively identify, analyze and evaluatearguments and truth claims.

Before that , one must understandcomponents that are available in argumentssuch as :

i) Statementsii) Conclusion

iii) Pr emises

iv) Supporting statements


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Astatement (or also known as a claim) is defined as adeclarative sentence that is either true or false, but not bothsimultaneously. Simple statements convey exactly oneidea.

In order for a sentence to qualify as a statement, it mustsatisfy the following conditions:

1. The sentence must make a declaration.

2. You must be

capable

of de

te

rmining whe

the

r the

statement is True or False.

NOTE: You may not know the answer to whether thedeclarative sentence is true or false, but with someresearch, you know that the sentence can be determined tobe true or false.

Statements / Claims


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Sentence Truth or Falsity Statement

Radio provides a means ofcommunication.

True. Radio is one way tocommunicate.

Yes

2 + 1 = 6 False, since 2 + 1 = 3 Yes

President Theodore Teddy

Roosevelt was the 28th President of

the United States.

Unknown whether it is True or

False. We can certainly find out

by going to the library and doing alittle research.

Yes

Trey Yuen restaurant serves Peking

duck.

Unknown whether it is True or

False. We can certainly find out

by going to the restaurant and try

and order it for dinner.

Yes

he said it Unknown whether it is True or

False. We need to know what "it"

is.

No

Source: www.geocities.com/rharney3/115/old_notes/section6_1.doc


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Statements / Claims

But not all sentences are statements.

Shut the door! (command)

What day is it? (question)

Lets go to Singapore. (proposal)

Hello, teacher! (greeting)

Please send me your latest brochure. (request)

Place the wooded plank on top of the roof. (instruction)

Oh, my goodness! (exclamation)


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Statement / Non statement?

1. Can I get you something to drink?

2. Lets party!

3. Capital punishment is wrong.

4. Please write your name clearly.

5. What do you say we have break for lunch?

6. Cant you see that pornography insults women?

No

No

No. Suggestion

Yes

No. Request.

As it stands, it is not a statement. BUT, we might rewrite it as

Pornography insults women.

We shall learn form of questions that can take on the role of a

premise or a conclusion.


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Why is it important to differentiate

between statements and non-statements

By mistakenly treating non-statements asstatements, we can possibly draw a wrong

inference about an argument such as extractingwrong conclusion(s) or premises.

Remember, sometimes in arguments containmany noises (such exclamations, command,

threats). A critical thinker should be able to spotnoises and concentrate on theessence of the

argument , particularly, the main claim (conclusion)and its premises.


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At this Point in

BCT 1024, W

e

Are Most Interested in

Examining Statements to

Figure Out ... whether they serve asconclusions, premises, orsupport in an

argument


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Understanding the Meaning of

Argument

Usually, when we refer to an argument,

we

are

thinking of some

sort of dispute

between individuals or groups.

But, an argument has a very different meaning

when were talking about critical thinking.


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What is an argument

It is not a quarrel.

Aclaim defended with reasons.

Composed of a group ofstatements.

One or more statements (premises) support

another statement (conclusion).


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What is an Argument

(in terms of critical thinking)

An argument is a series of statements used to persuade

someone of something.


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Greg Basshams Definition ofan Argument

An argument is a a claim that is defended with reasons.More precisely, an argument is a set of statements, one

of which (called the conclusion) is intended to be

supported by the others (called the premises).


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The idea about which you aretrying to persuade someone

is calle

d the

:CONCLUSION

Or the

MAIN CLAIM


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These words or phrases are usually

combined with a CONCL

USION:

Accordingly

As a result

Consequently

Hence

It follows that

So

Thats why

Therefore ...

This shows that

This means that

This would suggest

that

Thus

in which case

Theeffect was/is

In conclusion ...

Refer to textbook page 63 .


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Another type of statement thatmustbe present for the

collection of statements to be

an argument is called the:

An argument is a series of statements used to persuadesomeone of something.

Premise


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Premises

Premises are statements that directlysupport the conclusion.

A simple argument has two premises and aconclusion.

A more complex argument may contain many

claims, but these can always be divided up

into premises and a conclusion. In an argument, the conclusion is only

supported by its premises, but each premise

itself can be supported in a number of ways.


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These words or phrases are usually

combined with a PREMISE:

As indicated by

As shown by

Because

For

Given that

Inasmuch as

Since

The reason is that

As illustrated by

On account of

In view of

By virtue of

Due to

As long as

A reason is

premised on ...


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A simple argument must have

(i) a CONCLUSION

(ii) at least two PREMISES

Premise

Conclusion

Premise

However, a complex argument may contain many more

conclusions and premises linked together


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Consider this Argument

The project to build a bridge from Malaysia to

Indonesia, which is expected to cost billions of ringgit,

should be abandoned because this money would bebetter spent on developing the infrastructure of both

countries, and the project is unlikely to result in

economic benefit to either country.

Now ask:What is the main claim about which the

speaker is trying to convince us??


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Indonesia, which is expected to cost billions of ringgit,should be abandoned because this money would be

better spent on developing the infrastructure of both

countries, and the project is unlikely to result in


The CONCLUSION is .

The projectshould be abandoned


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Indonesia, which is expected to cost billions of ringgit,should be abandoned because this money would be

better spent on developing the infrastructure of both

countries, andthe project is unlikely to result in


And what are the PREMISES?

The billions advocated fort

heprojectshould bespenton

infrastructure

There will be noeconomic benefit

P1:

P2:


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But sometimes, it can be verydifficult to logically analyze

someones attempts to persuade

you. You might want to examinethe arguments that another

person is making, but it is hard to

figure out exactly what they are.


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Why?? Because the argumentsare buried in a mass of language

that includes illustrations,

background, personal opinion andarguments, all mixed together.

And also many tim

es indicator wordsareabsent.


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The mix of messages that we

are receiving from the other

person is known as the:

RawMaterial


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And the process of finding the

arguments and then

dissecting the arguments into

their various parts is known

as:

Reconstruction

Reconstruction involves a series of techniques

where you look for indicator words.


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Donald Norman is a famouscognitive psychologist who

hasstudied the most effective

ways to design equipment

especially computerequipment.

Example 1: Findingthe Main Idea:


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D

esigning well is not easy. The manufacturerwantssomething that can be produced

economically. The store wantssomething that

will be attractive to its customers. The

purchaser hasseveral demands. In the store,the purchaserfocuses on price and

appearance, and perhaps on prestige value. At

home, the same person will paymore attention

to functionalityandusability. The needs ofthose concerned are different and often

conflict.(p. 28)

Example 1: Findingthe Main Idea:

by D. Norman

Whatisthe CONCLUSION

about which Dr Norman is

trying to persuadeus?

We askourselves:

What is the most

important idea?


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To identify the premises,

ask the key questions ...

Hey, Prof. Donald

Why do you think that its not easy

to design well?

How do you know that its not easy

to design well?

What proof do you have that itsnot easy to design well, sir?

Prove it, buddy!


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Designing well is not easy. The manufacturer

wantssomething that can be producedeconomically. The store wantssomething that

will be attractive to its customers. The purchaser

hasseveral demands. In the store, the

purchaserfocuses on price and appearance,and perhaps on prestige value. At home, the

same person will paymore attention to

functionalityandusability. The needs of those

concerned are different and often conflict.

Nonetheless, the designermaybe able to satisfy

everyone.

Whatdo youthinkhisanswerwillbe??

by D. Norman

I think its not easy to

design well because:

(1)Th

ere aremanydifferent needs(2)Thedifferent needsoften conflict

witheachother


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Whats the CONCLUSION in

the

following case

?

Rear-end accidents have become a serious

problem in traffic, as indicated by the 40%increase during the period from 1987 to 1997.

Studies of car-following are central if one is to

understand those factors that generate rear-end

accidents. A car-following situation also involvesspecific stress factors, such as the annoyance of

being followed too closely. This stressful situation

can have implications for safety, as well.

Askourselves:What is the most important idea?


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Whats the CONCLUSION in

the

following case

?






being followed too closely. This stressful situation

can have implications for safety, as well.

Askourselves:What is the most important idea?

Weshouldstudy why people follow

tooclosely when driving theircars


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Studies of Car Crashes


problem in traffic, as indicated by the 40%

increase during the period from 1987 to 1997.Studies of car-following are central if one is to


accidents. A car-following situation also involves

specific stress factors, such as the annoyance ofbeing followed too closely (and) This stressful

situation can have implications for safety, as well.

What reason does the author have forsaying that itis important to studywhypeople drive too closely?

P1

P2


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Studies of Car Crashes






being followed too closely. (and) This stressful

situation can have implications for safety, as well.

What reason does the author have forsaying that

it is important to studywhypeople drive too closely?

Its important to study why people follow tooclosely in cars because:

(1) there are a lot of rear-end car crashes

(2) following too closely can lead to stress, which

in turn, contributes to car accidents


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Sometimes, when another person is

making an argument, he or she will

assume that you can figur

eout th

eargument without having to include

all the premises oreven without

having to tell you th

econclusion.


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When the conclusion is not stated outright and the

arguer assumes that you will know it we call thatan:

implicit conclusion

And, when the premise is not stated outright and the

arguer assumes that you will know it we call that an:

implicit premise


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During reconstruction of anargument, one of the things

you have to do is to figure outif any of the premises or if the

conclusion are implicit.


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Lets practice finding the

implicit conclusion


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More music

More variety

(Listen toMIX-FMradio)


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Air Asia is affordable for everyone


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Youre late again!

The boss isnt going to be happy!

(Dont belate

on anymore

work-days)


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Sometimes, you need to fill

in theimplicit premise


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Letme tellyou a story


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O.J. Simpson


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O.J. Simpson


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O.J. Simpson


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O.J. Simpson


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O.J. Simpson


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O.J. Simpson

When the

gloves dont

fit

You have to acquit

(Nicoleskiller wore

these gloves)

(The glovesdont fit OJ)


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O.J. Simpson


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Sometimes, you need to fill

in both the implicit premise

andthe implicit conclusion


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Letme tellyou another

story


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My Trip to Japan


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My Trip to Japan


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We visited:

1- Asakusa (akin to Petaling Street in Malaysia)2- Fuji Television Studio3- Akihabara (theelectronic city shopping )4- Tokyo Disneyland5- Shopping @ Aeon Gunma

6- Sushi House7- Mombashi shopping mall and South Indian

restaurant)8- Nagasakiya gunma (another shopping trip )9- 100 bucks shops (another shopping trip , again?)10- Kusatsu resort (Now Resort volcano hot spring

spa, and karoke time , cozy sleeping COLD!!)


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My Trip to Japan

The trains

coming!!

(Thetrain wontwait forus)

(Mysistertriedto persuadeustostop

shopping sothat wecouldcatchthetrain)

While we were atAsakusa,

my sister ,Aisyah said :

Implicit premise

Implicit conclusion


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Finally, we were in the train excited, exhausted

and sleepy ZzzZZ


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Another example ...


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Star Trek

Resistance isfutile!

(Weretougherthan

you are)

(Therefore,youshouldjust giveup andletus

takeover)


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Determining conclusion and premises

from the advertisement

Implicitconclusion: This property website is clearly the best

in Malaysia.

Implicit premise: This website achieved a remarkable

achievement with 12,000 listings within 8 months.


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Determining conclusion and premises

from the advertisement

Implicitconclusion: Digi Prepaid SIM pack is clearly the best buy.

Implicit premise: Considering other things is getting expensive,

Digi prepaid SIM pack is still considered cheap.

Make this statement

sounds less

significant that it is.


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There is one more aspect of

the reconstruction process that

can be a little difficult.

That has to do with the role

that questions play in the raw

material.


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Do you remember when we

were discussing statements?

And we said that questionscould never be statements

because they can neither be

right nor wrong.


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Well, theres a certain form of

question that can take on the

role of a premise or a

conclusion in an argument.


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QUESTIONS

Interrogative

Questions

Rhetorical

Questions

Questionsintendedto

solicitsomeinformation

fromyou

Questionsintendedto

solicityour agreement

ortomotivateyouto

takesome action


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Interrogative Questions

Where were you born?

Which team won the championship in the

Barclaycard English Premiership League

in 2006?

What is the square root of 25?

Do you like BCT1024?

Who is your favourite lecturer?


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InterrogativeQuestions

differ from

Rhetorical

Questions

trying to findoutsomeinformation

trying toencourage

someoneto agree

orencouragethemto

actin some way


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Rhetorical Questions

as Conclusions

Rh t i l Q ti


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as Conclusions

You were late again!

The boss is really going to be angry.

Dont you think maybe you should make

more of an effort to be on-time?

(I wantto persuadeyouto arrive at workat

thetimeyoushould)

Rh t i l Q ti


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as Conclusions

Ive been waiting here for an hour while

youve been taking photos

Im beginning to get bored and impatient

Isnt it time to go yet?

(I wantto persuadeyoutostop taking photos

so wecan leave)

Rh t i l Q ti


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as Conclusions

Our budget projections are due

tomorrow.

Ive noticed that you still havent finished

them.

Youre going to get them in by thedeadline, arent you?

(I wantto persuadeyouto getthe projections

finishedon-time)


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as Premises

Rh t i l Q ti


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Rhetorical Questions as

PremisesThe prosecution found some bloody

gloves at the murder site.

But, did you hear that the gloves didnt fitthe person (O.J Simpson) they accused?

He must not be guilty after all.It can be written this way:

Ifa person fit the bloodygloves, the person is guilty

O.JSimpson does notfit the gloves

Therefore, O.JSimpson is not guilty

Rh t i l Q ti


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Rhetorical Questions as

PremisesWell, you know that all dogs bark, dont

you?

And Ralph is a dog, right?

Therefore, Ralph barks.

It can be written this way:

All dogs bark

Ralph is a dog,

Therefore, Ralph barks


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We have another type of

questions called

Leading Question


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What is a Leading Question?

It is a question that is worded in a way

that will guide the person being

questioned in making his or her

response.

In a leading question, the questioner

uses language which suggests a

particular answer.


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RhetoricalQuestions

differ from

Leading

Que

stions

trying toencourageagreementor action

trying to guidesomeones

answerin a certain

direction trying to getthemtosaythethings

you wantthemtoAspecial formof

interrogative

questions


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Instead of asking a witness on the stand ,

Where were you on the night ofDecember 20th, 2008

The questioner would say: You were driving to Klang onthe night ofDecember 20th, 2008, werent you?

Note that:

Many leading questions are framed as yes or no questions,in a way which lead to the information that the questionerwishes to elicit.

LEADING QUESTIONS

Q


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A Leading Question

Is David Beckham a loving husband?

Wouldnt you agree that David Beckham

is one of the most loving husbands in

the world today?

Look at the difference between these questions:

A L di Q i


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A Leading Question

How did you feel about your retirement

savings when the share prices started

dropping?

Werent you scared that all your retirementsavings would be lost when the share prices

started dropping?


A L di Q i


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A Leading Question

Would you like to come and see the new Pirates

of the Caribbean movie with me on Friday?

How could you even think of refusing to come andsee the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie with

me on Friday?



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Interesting reading material about leading

questions :

http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepag

e/faculty/Swann/docu/swegner.pdf


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Why Do PeopleUse

Rhetorical and LeadingQuestions

More powerful persuasion can be

achieved if you involve the other personin theexchange of ideas.

By putting a premise in the form of a

rhetorical question, you are inviting theperson to be pulled into thinking about the

argument, rather than just listening to it.

Practical Applications of this


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Practical Applications of this

Knowledge

When writing a

recommendation or

giving a spee

ch insupport of an idea,

use rhetorical or

leading questions to

capture

the

attentionof your audience, to

pull them onto your

side.

When critically

analysing the arguments

of others, dont allow

your own objectivity to

be swayed by the fact

that you were pulled into

agreeing with an earlier

premise by a rhetorical

or leading question.


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Whyare we studying about

this?IF youcan develop a habit, when youwriteorspeak,of firstidentifying theidea in which

you want peopleto believe(main claim) andthen

telling yourreasons(premises) for agreeing withthemain claim andthen finding waysofhelping

peopletounderstand and believein yourpremises ...

THEN you will become a better writer/speaker,capableofexplaining andsupporting yourideas

clearly !


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Whyare we studying about

this?IF youcan develop a habit, when youwriteorspeak,of firstidentifying theidea in which

you want peopleto believe(main claim) andthen

telling yourreasons(premises) for agreeing withthemain claim andthen finding waysofhelping

peopletounderstand and believein yourpremises ...

THEN you will become a better writer/speaker,capableofexplaining andsupporting yourideas

clearly.

AND people who are better atexplaining and

supporting theirideastendto achieve a greaterdegree

ofsuccess..

As students: In business:

Th th h


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Theres another reasons why

we

study about the

parts of anargument ...When people are abletocritically analysetheinformation

thattheyrehearing -- todetermine whethertheyshould

believetheclaimsthatothers aremaking byexamining the

conclusion,the premises andstatements-that-support-the-

premises,

then theytendtomakebetterdecisions andtoavoid being

misled.

Betterdecision-makers and people whocan avoid being

misled

tendto bemoresuccessful also!


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Diagramming arguments

Arrow Diagramming:


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Arrow Diagramming:

Five Steps1. Read through the

argument and circle any

premise or conclusion

indicators you see.

2. Bracket and Numberthe statements

consecutively (1, 2, 3,

etc)

3. Arrange the numberson a page with

premises placed above

the conclusions they

are claimed to support.

4. Omit any statements

that dont function as

either premises or

conclusions in theargument

5. Finally, using arrows to

mean therefore (or is

offered as evidence

for), create a flowchart

that indicates

relationships of

argumentative support.

1 ) Read through the argument and


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1.) Read through the argument and

circle any premise or conclusion

indicators

You should come to Critical Thinking

lectures because we cover a lot ofmaterial, missing classes can get you

barred and the lecturer is cute.

Remember that, okay?

INDICATORWORD

FORAPREMISE

2.) Bracket each premise and


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conclusion, and number the statements

consecutiv

ely as th

eapp

ear in th

eargument

[You should come to Critical Thinking

lectures] because [we cover a lot ofmaterial], [missing classes can get

you barred] and [the lecturer is cute].

Remember that, okay?

1

2

3

4

5

3 ) Arrange the numbers on a page


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3.) Arrange the numbers on a page

with premises placed above the

conclusion(s) they support




[ Remember that, okay? ]

1

2

3

4

5

3

1

2 4

4 ) Omit statements that dont function


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4.) Omit statements that don t function

as a conclusion or premise within the

argument





1

23

4

5

3

1

2 4

5 ) Add arrows to show the


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5.) Add arrows to show the

relationships of argumentative

support





1

23

4

5

3

1

2 4

Sometimes the premises are


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Sometimes the premises are

linked

[Nobody whostaking BCT1024likesArsenal].

[Philip istaking BCT1024].

Therefore [Philip doesntlikeArsenal].

1

2

3

1 2

3

+

Sometimes there are


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Sometimes there are

supporting arguments

[Dont goscuba-diving byyourself]. [You need a partner]

because [sometimes accidentscan happen] and

[youcannotrescueyourself]. [Also,there areregulations

stating thatyoushouldonly godiving with a partner].

1 2

3

4 5

1

2

3 4+

5


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Additional Readings

Try exercises on pg 388.

lecture 2 the basic structure of argument

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