Elements of Arguments
An argument, in Critical Thinking, is not just a conversation in which two people hurl abuse at each other. Neither is it the same thing as straightforward disagreement; there’s a difference between arguing with someone and merely contradicting them.
As Monty Python’s Argument Clinic sketch puts it, an argument is “a collected series of statements to establish a definite proposition”, an attempt to persuade by offering reasons. Any statement that attempts to persuade you that something is true by offering at least one reason for thinking that it is so counts as an argument.
The main Elements of Arguments are thus reasons and a conclusions. The ability to read a passage and pick out its conclusions and the reasons offered in support of it is perhaps the most basic skill required for Critical Thinking.
As you progress to more complicated arguments, you’ll also need to be able to spot intermediate conclusions and counter-arguments. Indicator Words can be helpful in flagging up how different parts of a passage are functioning in the argument that it contains.
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Elements of Arguments 2
Elements of Arguments: Reasons 2
Elements of Arguments: Conclusions 3
Elements of Arguments: Intermediate Conclusions 3
Elements of Arguments: Assumptions 4
Elements of Arguments: Counter-Arguments 4
Elements of Arguments: Indicator Words 5
Evidence Sampling 6
Evidence Sampling: Misrepresenting the Data 6
Evidence Sampling: Insufficient Data 7
Evidence Sampling: Unrepresentative Data 7
Logical Fallacies 9
Logical Fallacies: Ad Hominem 9
Logical Fallacies: Appeal to Authority 9
Logical Fallacies: Appeal to History 9
Logical Fallacies: Appeal to Popularity 10
Logical Fallacies: Circularity 10
Logical Fallacies: Confusing Necessary and Sufficient Conditions 11
Logical Fallacies: Correlation not Causation 11
Logical Fallacies: Inconsistency 11
Logical Fallacies: Generalisation 12
Logical Fallacies: Restricting the Options 12
Logical Fallacies: Slippery Slope 13
Logical Fallacies: Straw Man 13
Logical Fallacies: Tu Quoque 14
Logical Fallacies: Weak Analogy 14
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