Phil 148 Chapter 3

What makes an argument good? It is often taken to be the case that an argument is good if it is persuasive, that is, if people are inclined to accept it. People accept all kinds of foolish things. This is no standard of quality. In fact, Western philosophy was born when some people drew a distinction between philosophy and sophistry.

What makes a good argument: Validity – Means that IF the premises are true, then the conclusion has to be Soundness – Means the argument is valid AND – Means that the premises ARE true

Example: Bill and Hillary Clinton have the same last name People with the same last name are siblings :. Bill and Hillary Clinton are siblings

Example: Whoever wrote the Bible is a great author Charles Dickens wrote the Bible :. Charles Dickens is a great author

Beyond Soundness Circular arguments are obviously not useful to us, but where do we stop giving reasons? The answer to this question has had profound impact on the history of philosophy. Our textbook authors express a characteristically 20 th century view. 3 strategies for shortening argument: – 1. Assuring – 2. Guarding – 3. Discounting

The principle of charity There are very few true fools out there, so when evaluating an argument or filling in an unstated premise, use a principle of charity. The principle of charity assumes the best possible argument is the argument your opponent intended. This becomes especially important when people offer shortened versions of their arguments.

Assuring (1) Assuring is a strategy for asking someone to accept a premise on evidence that is not explicitly stated. – Sometimes this is done by citing authorities – Sometimes this is done by making our own confidence in the claim explicit.

Assuring (2) Abusive assurances don’t do either of the previous two things, but instead just abuse the potential opponent of a claim. We can give assurances that something is true or that something is false. Assurances can be legitimately used for brevity, or to avoid going on tangents. However, assuring terms often indicate weakness in an argument.

Guarding (1) A guarding term is sometimes known as a ‘weaseler’. It makes a claim weaker, but more likely to be true. Used legitimately, a guarding term keeps us from asserting or proving more than we have to. Used illegitimately, guarding terms just provide a fall-back point in case our argument is questioned.

Guarding (2) 1. Weakening the extent of what is said 2. Using probability terms 3. Diminishing our level of commitment Be sure that guarding terms don’t creep in over the course of an argument. Be sure that guarding terms don’t disappear in the course of an argument.

Discounting (1) Discounting is a way of anticipating some objection by stressing that one fact is more important than the other. Discounting can also be used to block a conversational implication.

Evaluative Language Evaluative statements serve a variety of crucially important purposes, and are versatile in their application. The same evaluative term (e.g. ‘good’) can be applied to all kinds of things, but it will operate differently depending on the standards that we apply.

Standards When people have a conflict of opinion on whether something is good, it is usually because they imply different standards (in other places called ‘criteria’) Becoming clear on what standards underlie each use of an evaluative term is the single most important and most overlooked part of value debate. Consider: what makes a good… – Baseball player? – Automobile? – Person? – Cat?

Positive and Negative Evaluation Sometimes whether evaluation is positive or negative is contained in the meaning of the term (e.g. wasteful, deceitful, beautiful, honest). Sometimes extra words make an ordinarily neutral evaluative term into a positive or negative one (too_____, not _____ enough). Sometimes whether evaluation is positive or negative is buried in context: – A: “Do you think Calvin would be good at basketball?” – B: “He’s tall”

Eupehemism/Dysphemism (1) A Euphemism is a word or phrase intended to make something bad sound neutral or good. A Dysphemism is a word or phrase intended to make something good or neutral sound bad.

Euphemism/Dysphemism (2) The name of every piece of legislation passed at any level of government is a euphemism. Euphemisms often replace euphemisms (e.g. toilet, shell-shock) Sometimes euphemisms are used out of politeness or sensitivity (e.g. euphemisms for death, PC language) Euphemisms sometimes lose their euphemism-hood (e.g. lesbian)

Lesbian… The Island The Poet

Spin Doctoring When Euphemism is used as a form of attempted mind-control (effective so often it’s shameful to our species) we call it spin doctoring As an exercise, try to spot euphemistic language in political debate, and change all the euphemisms to the most neutral language you can. This is a decent way to evaluate some political debate and disagreement.

When euphemisms go bad… Slogans: often used to mislead and avoid real issues; remember, a slogan is NOT a position or an argument, though it may hint at a loose grouping of positions and arguments. Most slogan pairs are not even mutually exclusive. Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life Progressive Education vs. Back to Fundamentals Liberal vs. Conservative Alternative Lifestyle vs. Family Values