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Understanding Arguments

Understanding Arguments. The Key to Critical Thinking. In order to be a critical thinker, you must understand arguments. According to Aristotle persuasion works by making 3 kinds of appeals. Logos. Ethos. Pathos. According to Aristotle persuasion works by making 3 kinds of appeals. Logos.

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Understanding Arguments

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  1. Understanding Arguments The Key to Critical Thinking

  2. In order to be a critical thinker, you must understand arguments.

  3. According to Aristotle persuasion works by making 3 kinds of appeals. Logos Ethos Pathos

  4. According to Aristotle persuasion works by making 3 kinds of appeals. Logos Ethos Pathos

  5. Arguments are persuasiveacts that appeal to reason. • All arguments involve persuasion • But all persuasive acts do not involve arguments Persuasive Acts Argument

  6. Rhetorical strategies: An argument is a form of persuasion. • A good argument makes a claim that is backed up with logic and reasons. • Claim • Evidence/Data • Warrant

  7. An argument is a form of persuasion. • A good argument makes a claim that is backed up with logic and reasons. • Claim • Evidence • Warrant We shouldn’t rob the Union Pacific Flyer

  8. An argument is a form of persuasion. • A good argument makes a claim that is backed up with logic and reasons. • Claim • Evidence • Warrant We shouldn’t rob the Union Pacific Flyer Because we’ll rob it on the return trip

  9. An argument is a form of persuasion. • A good argument makes a claim that is backed up with logic and reasons. • Claim • Reason • Warrant We shouldn’t rob the Union Pacific Flyer. Because we’ll rob it on the return trip when there will be more money. What is the underlying assumption?

  10. An argument is a form of persuasion. • A good argument makes a claim that is backed up with logic and reasons. • Claim • Evidence • Warrant We shouldn’t rob the Union Pacific Flyer Because we’ll rob it on the return trip when there will be more money. We want to get the most money possible.

  11. A critical thinker listens to the counterargument.

  12. A critical thinker listens to the counterargument. \ • Claim • Reason • Warrant We should rob the Union Pacific Flyer on this trip and on the return.

  13. A critical thinker listens to the counterargument. • Claim • Reason • Warrant We should rob the Union Pacific Flyer on this trip and on the return Because if we rob it now, they’ll think we won’t rob it on the return trip and will load it up with money.

  14. A critical thinker listens to the counterargument. • Claim • Reason • Warrant We should rob the Union Pacific Flyer on this trip and on the return Because if we rob it now, they’ll think we won’t rob it on the return trip and will load it up with money. We want to get the most money possible.

  15. Stephen Toulmin,The Uses of ArgumentCambridge Univ. Press, 1958). • Claim: A statement that something is so. • An arguable statement. Rhetoricians commonly identify three general types of claims: claims of fact, claims of value, and claims of policy. • Data: The backing for the claim. • Warrant: The connection between the claim and the evidence. • Backing: Support for the warrant. • Modality: The degree of certainty employed in offering the argument. • Rebuttal: Exceptions to the initial claim.

  16. Let’s say you want to make this claim: • “The United States should establish a system of national health insurance.”

  17. Identify the evidence and the warrant. • “Uninsured Americans are going without needed medical care because they are unable to afford it. Because access to health care is a basic human right, the United States should establish a system of national health insurance.”

  18. “Argumentation is not an end in itself; rather, it is a means to achieving good decisions.” • Clarifying the issues • Exposing the complexities of the issue • Uncovering assumptions • Revealing flaws of logic and evidence Ramage and Bean, 2000

  19. Analyzing The Unforeseen

  20. Persuasiveness of argument advanced by 2 images of Barton springs Barton Springs 1996 Barton Springs 2004

  21. Telling the story from many perspectives complicates the film’s ethos. Gary Bradley, developer Marshall Kuykendahl, property rights advocate Robert Redford, environmentalist Judah Folkman, cancer researcher Ann Richards, former governor Curtis Petersen, farmer

  22. Which “characters” make which appeals? Logos Ethos Pathos

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