Rumessa Naqvi November 22, 2018 ARGUMENTATION Rumessa Naqvi November 22, 2018

What is an argument? An argument involves the process of establishing a claim and then proving it with the use of logical reasoning, examples, and research. Activity: This slide offers a definition of the term “argument.” The facilitator may invite the audience to offer answers to the title question. Students often assume that building an argument is simply a confrontational activity designed to denigrate the opposition’s position. The facilitator may choose to explain to students that the focus of a strong argument should be upon a cohesive explanation of claims effectively paired with correlating evidence. Click mouse to reveal the answer to the question.

What is an Argument? Argument: A set of statements, some of which serve as premises, one of which serves as a conclusion, such that the premises purport to give evidence for the conclusion. Premise: A premise is a statement that purports to give evidence for the conclusion. Evidence: To say that a statement A is evidence for another statement B is to say that if A were true, this would provide some reason to believe that B is true. Conclusion: The statement in an argument that is supposedly supported by the evidence.

Elements of an Argument Claim Support Assumption Claim High school students should be restricted to no more than two hours of TV viewing per day. Support An important new study, as well as the testimony of educational specialists, reveals that students who watch more than two hours of TV a night have, on average, lower grades than those who watch less TV Assumption Excessive TV viewing is linked to poor academic performance.

Argument An argument can be supported by... logic (logos), an appeal to reasoning such as deductive and inductive ethics (ethos), an appeal to one's sense of right and wrong or good sense emotions (pathos), an appeal to one’s patriotism, fears, or sympathies

Common Logical Fallacies to avoid Statements that weaken arguments...

Weak Arguments Weak arguments rely on illogical statements called fallacies. The following slides contain examples of logical fallacies...

Hasty Generalization Making a generalization on the basis of inadequate sample of evidence. My friend Ellen lives in a small town and is afraid of cities. I guess that’s what all small town people are like.

Non-sequitur- ("it does not follow") “Non-SECK-quit-er” An inference or conclusion that does not follow from established premises or evidence. Examples: The President graduated from Harvard. He can't make mistakes.

Begging the Question Basing an argument on an assumption that has not been proven or that is impossible to prove. Examples: Synthetic vitamins are dangerous to one's health, so all of them should be removed from the store shelves. People who watch little or no TV are generally more active than people who watch a lot of TV because the major networks send subliminal messages to make people passive, sleepy, and wanting more TV.

Circular Reasoning repeats a premise rather than giving a valid reason. Examples: Martha is a good supervisor because she supervises the company's personnel office effectively.

Ad Hominem (to the man) attacks the person rather than the issue. Examples: Sam is divorced, so how can he make sound financial decisions for the city?

Over-generalization draws a conclusion about an entire group based on insufficient evidence. Examples: I know five Italians who like pizza, so all Italians must like pizza.

Post hoc, Ergo Procter Hoc (“after this; therefore because of this”) attributes a cause/effect relationship simply because something occurs after something else. (“black cat” reasoning) Examples: A black cat crossed my path before I took the math test; I ended up failing the test because of that cat! Our weather patterns have changed since we began launching the space shuttle into space.

False Dichotomy ...based on the false assumption that there are only two possibilities. Sometimes called the “Either/Or” fallacy. Most situations provide more than two possible outcomes. Examples: Either you are with America's fight against terrorism or you are America's enemy.

Red Herring ...named after a strong-smelling fish, the scent of which throws hounds off the scent of a trail. The Red Herring occurs when one draws attention away from the main issue by focusing on a side issue or on something irrelevant.  Example: "So you think that doctor-assisted suicide is morally acceptable? You probably also think that an unborn human being is just a 'choice'.”

Many more logical fallacies exist...

Assignment Identify an example of a logical fallacy used in a magazine or television advertisement Write a brief description of the ad Explain which logical fallacy was used Describe how the ad might get the same message across without using a logical fallacy