1. Logic & Critical Thinking @ Herman J. SuhendraProduced by Herman J. Suhendra A.B. Gadjah Mada University & M.A. University of Santo Tomas, Manila MEETING 6 Diagramming Argument

3. Arguments - Part 1 (of 3) 1. Distinguishing Fact & Opinion 7. Evaluating Arguments 2. What is an Argument? 5. Deduction & Induction 6. Analyzing Arguments 8. Writing Arguments 3. Identifying Premises & Conclusions 4. What Is Not an Argument?

4. “Formal education will make you a living; “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” - Jim Rohn

5. Analyzing Argument Identifying Premises & Conclusions (Refer to meeting 4) Diagramming Short Arguments Summarizing Longer Arguments To analyze an argument means to break it up into various parts to see clearly what conclusion is being defended and on what grounds.

6. Diagramming Arguments REMEMBER! 1.A (simple) argument is a set of one or more premise with a conclusion. 2.Complex argument is a set of arguments with either overlapping premises or conclusions (or both). Complex arguments are very common because many issues and debates are complicated and involve extended reasoning. 3.To understand complex arguments, we need to analyze the logical structure of the reasoning involved. Drawing a diagram can be very helpful.

7. Diagramming Arguments Diagramming Diagramming is a quick and easy way to analyze arguments (roughly a paragraph in length or shorter). Six (6) basic steps: 1.Read through the argument carefully, circling any premise and conclusion indicators you see. 2.Number the statements consecutively as they appear in the argument (Don’t number any sentences that are not statements.) 3.Arrange the numbers spatially on a page with the premises placed above the conclusion(s) they are alleged to support. 4.Using arrows to mean “is evidence for,” create a kind of flowchart that shows which premises are intended to support which conclusions. 5.Indicate independent premises by drawing arrows directly from the premises to the conclusions they are claimed to support. Indicate linked premises by placing a plus sign between each of the linked premises, underlining the premises to the conclusions they are claimed to support 6.Put the argument’s main conclusion at the bottom of the diagram.

8. Diagramming Arguments 1.Find the main conclusion first. premise and conclusion indicators 2.Pay close attention to premise and conclusion indicators. and 3.Remember that sentences containing the word and often contain two or more separate statements. single statements 4.Treat conditional statements (if-then statements) and disjunctive statements (either-or statements) as single statements. not a statement 5.Don’t number or diagram any sentence that is not a statement. irrelevant statements 6.Don’t diagram irrelevant statements. redundant statements 7.Don’t diagram redundant statements. Tips

9. Simple Argument Diagram: Example 1 Life is short, and so we should seize every moment. Step 1: Number each statement and note each indicator words (1) Life is short, and so (2) we should seize every moment.

10. Life is short, and so we should seize every moment. Step 2: Which of claim(s) is the conclusion? Which are the premises? Premise: (1) Life is short Conclusion: (2) we should seize every moment. (note indicator word, “SO” (1) Life is short, and so (2) we should seize every moment. Step 1

11. Life is short, and so we should seize every moment. Step 3: Use arrows to represent the intended relationship between claims Premise: (1) Life is short Conclusion: (2) we should seize every moment. (note indicator word, “SO” Step 2 1. 2.

12. Simple Argument Diagram: Example 2 Jakarta is in Indonesia, and Indonesia is in Asia. So obviously Jakarta is in Asia. Step 1: Number each statement and note each indicator words (1) Jakarta is in Indonesia, and (2) Indonesia is in Asia. So (3) obviously Jakarta is in Asia.

13. Jakarta is in Indonesia, and Indonesia is in Asia. So obviously Jakarta is in Asia. Step 2: Which of claim(s) is the conclusion? Which are the premises? Premise: (1) Jakarta is in Indonesia Premise: (2) Indonesia is in Asia Conclusion: (3) obviously Jakarta is in Asia. (note indicator word, “SO”) Step 1 (1) Jakarta is in Indonesia, and (2) Indonesia is in Asia. So (3) obviously Indonesia is in Asia.

14. Jakarta is in Indonesia, and Indonesia is in Asia. So obviously Jakarta is in Asia. Step 2: Premise: ( 1 ) Jakarta is in Indonesia Premise: ( 2 ) Indonesia is in Asia Conclusion: ( 3 ) obviously Jakarta is in Asia. (note indicator word, “SO”) Step 3: Use arrows to represent the intended relationship between claims 12 3

15. Jakarta is in Indonesia, and Indonesia is in Asia. So obviously Jakarta is in Asia. The two premises are connected together before linking to the conclusion. This merging of the links indicate that the two premises are co-premises which work together in a single argument to support the conclusion. In other words, they do not provide independent reasons for accepting the conclusion. Without one of the premises, the other premise would fail to support the conclusion. 1 2 3

16. Simple Argument Diagram: Example 3 Smoking is unhealthy, since it can cause cancer. Furthermore, it also increases the chance of heart attacks and strokes. Step 1: Number each statement and note each indicator words [1] Smoking is unhealthy, since [2] it can cause cancer. Furthermore, [3] it also increases the chance of heart attacks and strokes.

17. Smoking is unhealthy, since it can cause cancer. Furthermore, it also increases the chance of heart attacks and strokes. [1] Smoking is unhealthy, since [2] it can cause cancer. Furthermore, [3] it also increases the chance of heart attacks and strokes. Step 2: Which of claim(s) is the conclusion? Which are the premises? Step 1: Premise: (2) It can cause cancer (note indicator word, “Since”) Premise: ( 3 ) It also increases the chance of heart attacks and strokes. (note indicator word, “SO”) Conclusion: (1) Smoking is unhealthy

18. Smoking is unhealthy, since it can cause cancer. Furthermore, it also increases the chance of heart attacks and strokes. Step 2 Step 3: Use arrows to represent the intended relationship between claims 2 3 1 Premise: (2) It can cause cancer (note indicator word, “Since”) Premise: ( 3 ) It also increases the chance of heart attacks and strokes. (note indicator word, “SO”) Conclusion: (1) Smoking is unhealthy

19. Smoking is unhealthy, since it can cause cancer. Furthermore, it also increases the chance of heart attacks and strokes. 2 3 1 In this example, the premises are not co-premises. They provide independent reasons for supporting the conclusion. [2] and [3] are independent reasons supporting [1]. In other words, without [2], [3] would still support [1], and without [3], [2] would still support [1]. (Although the argument is stronger with both premises.)

20. Simple Argument Diagram: Example 4 Gold is a metal. So it conducts electricity. It also conducts heat. Step 1: Number each statement and note each indicator words [1] Gold is a metal. [2] So it conducts electricity. [3] It also conducts heat.

21. Gold is a metal. So it conducts electricity. It also conducts heat. Step 1 [1] Gold is a metal. [2] So it conducts electricity. [3] It also conducts heat. Step 2: Which of claim(s) is the conclusion? Which are the premises? Premise: (1) Gold is a metal. Premise: ( 2 ) it conducts electricity (note indicator word, “So”) Conclusion: (3) It also conducts heat.

22. Gold is a metal. So it conducts electricity. It also conducts heat. Step 2 Step 3: Use arrows to represent the intended relationship between claims 1 23 Premise: (1) Gold is a metal. Premise: ( 2 ) it conducts electricity (note indicator word, “So”) Conclusion: (3) It also conducts heat.

23. Gold is a metal. So it conducts electricity. It also conducts heat. 1 23 It is also possible to have a single reason (1) giving rise to multiple conclusions (2) and (3)

24. Complex Argument Diagram 1.Identify the most important or main conclusion(s) of the argument. 2.Identify the premises used to support the conclusion(s). These are the premises of the main argument. 3.If additional arguments have been given to support any of these premises, identify the premises of these additional arguments as well, and repeat this procedure. 4.Label the premises and conclusions using numerals or letters. 5.Write down the labels in a tree structure and draw arrows leading from sets of premises to the conclusions they support.

25. Shall We Try ! Po cannot come to the party because her scooter is broken. Denny also cannot come because he has to pick up his new hat. I did not invite the other teletubbies, so no teletubby will come up to the party.

26. Shall We Try again! Po cannot come to the party because her scooter is broken. Denny also cannot come because he has to pick up his new hat. I did not invite the other teletubbies, so no teletubby will come up to the party. Step 1: Number each statement and note each indicator words (1) Po cannot come to the party. (2) Po's scooter is broken. (3) Denny cannot come to the party. (4) Denny has to pick up his new hat. (5) I did not invite the other teletubbies. (6) No teletubby will come up to the party.

27. Shall We Try again! Step 1 (1) Po cannot come to the party. (2) Po's scooter is broken. (3) Denny cannot come to the party. (4) Denny has to pick up his new hat. (5) I did not invite the other teletubbies. (6) No teletubby will come up to the party. Step 2: Which of claim(s) is the conclusion? Which are the premises? Premise: (1) Po cannot come to the party. Premise: ( 2 ) Po’s scooter is broken. Premise: (3) Denny cannot come to the party. Premise: (4) Denny has to pick up his new hat. Premise: (5) I did not invite the other teletubbies. Conclusion: (6) No teletubby will come up to the party.

28. Step 2 Step 3: Use arrows to represent the intended relationship between claims 24 1 Intermediate C: (1) Po cannot come to the party. Premise: ( 2 ) Po’s scooter is broken. Intermediate C: (3) Denny cannot come to the party. Premise: (4) Denny has to pick up his new hat. Intermediate C: (5) I did not invite the other teletubbies. Conclusion: (6) No teletubby will come up to the party. 35 6

29. 24 135 6 1.An intermediate conclusion is used as a premise in another argument. So [1] and [3] are the intermediate conclusions, which together with [5] lead to the main conclusion [6]. 2.This complex argument is therefore made up of three overlapping simple arguments in total. 3.Of course, in this particular case you can understand the argument perfectly well without using this diagram. But with more complicated arguments, a picture can be an indispensable aid.

30. Exercise 1-2 Since Maria visited a realtor and her bank’s mortgage department, she must be planning on buying a home. Sandra can’t register for her classes on Wednesday. After all, Sandra is a sophomore and sophomore registration begins on Thursday. Draw Argument Diagram!

31. Exercise 3-4 Pool maintenance can cost hundreds of dollars a year and we really don’t have that kind of money. So, I don’t think we should put a pool in this summer. Besides, pools pose a real drowning danger to small children. (We don’t want dangerous things in the yard). You’ve often complained that mainstream television doesn’t have quality programming so I think you should support public broadcasting. Besides, you watch RCTI all the time and fair is fair. Since support means money, you should write a check to RCTI immediately. Draw Argument Diagram!

32. Exercise 5-6 This computer can think. So it is conscious. Since we should not kill any conscious beings, we should not switch it off. If Deni is here, then Po should be here as well. It follows that if Deni is not here, Deni is also absent, and indeed. Po is not here. So most likely. Deni is not around. Draw Argument Diagram!

33. Exercise 7 Many people think that having a dark tan is attractive. But the fact is that too much exposure to the sun is very unhealthy. It has been shown that sunlight can cause premature aging of the skin. Ultraviolent rays in the sun might also trigger off skin cancer. Draw Argument Diagram!

34. Exercise 8 Marriage is becoming unfashionable. Divorce rate is at an all time high, and cohabitation is increasingly presented in a positive manner in the media. Movies are full of characters who live together and unwilling to commit to a lifelong partnership. Even newspaper columnists recommend people to live together for an extended period before marriage in order to test their compatibility. Draw Argument Diagram!

35. Exercise 9 All university students should study critical thinking. After all, critical thinking is necessary for surviving in the new economy as we need to adapt to rapid changes, and make critical use of information in making decisions. Also, critical thinking can help us reflect on our values and purposes in life. Finally, critical thinking helps us improve our study skills. Draw Argument Diagram!

36. Group Activity 20 minGroup discussion 5 minSummarize discussion findings 15 minGroup presentation & discussion The Group leader must submit their findings in hard or soft-copy format to the lecturer and send to his email before or during the next class.

37. Summary 5. Deduction and Induction Deductive arguments Deductive arguments are arguments in which the conclusion is claimed or intended to follow necessarily from the premises. Inductive arguments Inductive arguments are arguments in which the conclusion is claimed or intended to follow probably from the premises. 2. Analyzing Arguments analyze To analyze an argument means to break it up into various parts to see clearly what conclusion is being defended and on what grounds. Diagramming Diagramming is a quick and easy way to analyze relatively short arguments (roughly a paragraph in length or shorter). Standardizing Standardizing is a method used to analyze longer arguments, which involves paraphrasing and finding missing premises and conclusions.

38. Any Questions?

39. The End – Thank You!

40. Failed!

41. http://mycriticalthinking.pbworks.com