LECTURE 2

RECOGNIZING ARGUMENTS
Tolbayeva Akbota
 To explore the concept of an argument
TABLE OF
CONTENT To distinguish arguments from nonarguments
WHAT IS AN ARGUMENT?
 WHAT IS AN ARGUMENT?
Argument quarrels or
shouting matches??

Argument = a claim defended

with reasons!!
 Is this an argument?
John: The government ought to ban handguns.

Mary: That’s not a good idea.

John: Why not? I think it’s a good idea.

Mary: Well, I don’t.

Essential parts/building blocks of an
argument

A=P+C
Argument=Premise(s)+Conclusion
 ARGUMENTS

ONE OR MORE PREMISES A CONCLUSION

Premises are statements in an argument offered as evidence Conclusion is the statement in an argument that the
or reasons why we should accept another statement, premises are intended to prove or support.

An argument, accordingly, is a group of statements, one or more of which (called the premises)
are intended to prove or support another statement (called the conclusion).
1. Hi! My name is Tom, and I'm the right man for this job!..
2. I'm the right person for the job. I'm the best qualified and i'm avallable
now..
3. I have plenty of work experience from around the world; i'm a great
worker..
Gun control—for
Premise 1: Restricting ownership of handguns would reduce crime.
Premise 2: The government should pursue the goal of reducing crime.
Conclusion: The government should restrict the ownership of handguns.

Gun control—against
Premise 1: Restricting ownership of handguns would violate the right
of self-defense.
Premise 2: Criminals will still be able to pursue handguns in case of
restrictions.
Conclusion: The government should not restrict ownership of
handguns.
 STATEMENT
A statement is a sentence that can be viewed as either true or false.

Red is a color.
Canada is in South America.
Abortion is morally wrong.

Each of them is a statement because each can be prefaced with the phrase
“It is true that” or “It is false that.”
 44things
thingsshould
shouldbe
benoted
notedabout
aboutstatements
statements

1.
1. aasentence
sentencemay
maybe
beused
usedto
toexpress
expressmore
morethan
thanone
onestatement.
statement.

Roses
Roses are
are red
red and
and violets
violets are
are blue.
blue.

declarative
declarativesentence
sentence declarative
declarativesentence
sentence
 2.
2.aastatement
statementcan
cansometimes
sometimesbe beexpressed
expressedasasaaphrase
phraseororan
an
incomplete
incompleteclause,
clause,rather
ratherthan
thanas
asaacomplete
completedeclarative
declarativesentence.
sentence.

With
With mortgage
mortgage interest
interest rates
rates at
at thirty-year
thirty-year lows,
lows, you
you
owe
owe itit to
to yourself
yourself to
to consider
consider refinancing
refinancing your
your home.
home.
(radio
(radio ad)
ad)

defend
defendthis
thisassertion
assertion
3.
3.not
notall
allsentences
sentencesare
arestatements,
statements,that
thatis,
is,sentences
sentencesthat
thateither
either
assert
assertor
ordeny
denythat
thatsomething
somethingisisthe
thecase.
case.

What
Whattime
timeisisit?
it?(question)
(question)
Hi,
Hi,Dad!
Dad!(greeting)
(greeting)
Close
Closethe
thewindow!
window!(command)
(command)
Please
Pleasesend
sendme
meyour
yourcurrent
currentcatalog.
catalog.(request)
(request)
Let’s
Let’sgo
gototoParis
Parisfor
forour
ouranniversary.
anniversary.(proposal)
(proposal)
Insert
Inserttab
tabAAinto
intoslot
slotB.
B.(instruction)
(instruction)
Oh,
Oh,my
mygoodness!
goodness!(exclamation)
(exclamation)
 4.statements
4. statementscan
canbe
beabout
aboutsubjective
subjectivematters
mattersof
ofpersonal
personal
experienceas
experience aswell
wellas
asobjectively
objectivelyverifi
verifiable
ablematters
mattersof
offact.
fact.

II feel
feel aa slight
slight twinge
twinge in
in my
my left
left knee
knee

ititisiseither
eithertrue
trueor
orfalse
false
5. Some sentences that look like nonstatements are actually
statements and can be used in arguments. Here are two examples:

Alyssa, you should quit smoking. Don’t you realize how bad that
is for your health? rhetorical question

Commencement address: Do not read beauty magazines. They

will only make you feel ugly. ought imperative
 How can we tell when a sentence that looks like a command or
suggestion is really an ought imperative?

Can we accurately rephrase the sentence so that it refers to what someone should
or ought to do? YES? then it is regarded as a statement.
Close that window, soldier! It’s freezing in here!
Don’t blow-dry your hair in the tub, Bert! You could electrocute yourself!

To recap: Imperative sentences are not statements if they are intended as orders,
suggestions, proposals, or exhortations. They are statements if they are intended as pieces
of advice or value judgments about what someone ought or ought not to do.
IDENTIFYING
IDENTIFYING PREMISES
PREMISES AND
AND CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
 Indicator
(words or phrases that provide clues that premises or conclusions are being put forward)

Premise indicators indicate Conclusion indicators indicate that

that premises are being offered conclusions are being offered.

since because therefore thus hence

for given that consequently so accordingly
seeing that considering that it follows that for this reason that is why
inasmuch as as which shows that wherefore this implies that
as a result this suggests that this being so
we may infer that
The following examples illustrate the use of premise indicators:
The following examples illustrate the use of premise indicators:

Having fun can be the spice of life but not its main course,
Having fun can be the spice of life but not its main course, because when it is over,
because when it is over, nothing of
nothing of lasting value remains. (Harold Kushner)
lasting value remains.
(Harold Kushner)
Since effective reasoning requires reliable information, it’s important to be able to
Since good
distinguish effective reasoning
sources requires
and trustworthy reliable
experts information,
from less it’s E.
useful ones. (Drew
important to be able to distinguish good sources and
Hinderer)
trustworthy experts from less useful ones. (Drew E. Hinderer)
These examples illustrate the use of conclusion indicators:
The following examples illustrate the use of premise indicators:
Rapid economic improvements represent a life-or-death
imperative throughout the Third World. Its people will not be
Having fun can be the spice of life but not its main course, because when it is over,
denied that hope, no matter the environmental costs. As a
nothing of lasting value remains. (Harold Kushner)
result, that choice must not be forced upon them. (Al Gore)
Your life is what your thoughts make it. That is why it is
Since effective reasoning requires reliable information, it’s important to be able to
important for all of us to guard our minds from unhealthy habits
distinguish good sources and trustworthy experts from less useful ones. (Drew E.
of thinking, habits that hold us back from what we could be
Hinderer)
accomplishing. (Tom Morris)
 I haven’t seen you since high school.
The following examples illustrate the use of premise indicators:
You’ve had that jacket for as long as I’ve known you.
Thus far everything has been great.
It was
Having so be
fun can cold
the that
spice even
of life the skiits
but not resorts shut because
main course, down. when it is over,
I wouldn’t
nothing of lasting mind seeing (Harold
value remains. that movie again.
Kushner)
There is water on the fl oor because the sink overfl owed.
Since effective reasoning requires reliable information, it’s important to be able to
distinguish good sources and trustworthy experts from less useful ones. (Drew E.
Hinderer)
 Cats are smarter than dogs. You can’t get eight cats to pull a
The following examples illustrate the use of premise indicators:
sled through snow. (Jeff Valdez)
I can’t be completely responsible for my life. After all, there are
many
Having factors
fun can be theoutside mybut
spice of life control, people,
not its main and
course, forceswhen
because thatit create
is over,
obstacles
nothing of lastingand
valueundermine my efforts.
remains. (Harold Kushner)And we are subject to
pressures and influences from within ourselves: feelings of
Sincegreed,
effective reasoning
fear requires
of death, reliable impulses,
altruistic information,sexual
it’s important to be able to
compulsions,
distinguish good sources and trustworthy experts from less
need for social acceptance, and so on. (John Chaffee, emphasisuseful ones. (Drew E.
Hinderer)
omitted)
The following examples illustrate the use of premise indicators:

WHAT IS NOT AN ARGUMENT?

Having fun can be the spice of life but not its main course, because when it is over,
nothing of lasting value remains. (Harold Kushner)

Since effective reasoning requires reliable information, it’s important to be able to

distinguish good sources and trustworthy experts from less useful ones. (Drew E.
Hinderer)
Something counts as an
argument when
(1) it is a group of two or
more statements and
(2) one of those statements
(the conclusion) is claimed
or intended to be supported
by the others (the
premises).
5 types of nonargumentative
discourse that are sometimes
confused with arguments:
• reports
• unsupported assertions
• conditional statements
• illustrations
• explanations

REPORTS
The purpose of a report is simply to
convey information about a subject.
Sweeping changes occurred in demographics,
economics, culture, and society during the last
quarter of the 20th century. The nation aged,
and more of its people gravitated to the Sunbelt.
Sprawling “urban corridors” and “edge cities”
challenged older central cities as sites for
commercial, as well as residential, development.
Rapid technological change fueled the growth of
globalized industries, restructuring the labor
force to fi t a “postindustrial” economy.
 UNSUPPORTED
ASSERTIONS
Unsupported assertions are
statements about what a speaker or
writer happens to believe.
I believe that it is not dying that people are
afraid of. Something else, something more
unsettling and more tragic than dying frightens
us. We are afraid of never having lived, of coming
to the end of our days with the sense that we
were never really alive, that we never fi gured out
what life was for.
 If it rains, then the picnic will be canceled.
CONDITIONAL
You must speak French if you grew up in Quebec
STATEMENTS If at first you don’t succeed, don’t try skydiving.
A conditional statement is an if-then
statement.

If Sturdley fails Critical Thinking, he’ll be placed

Conditional statements, accordingly,
are not arguments. They can, however, on academic probation.
be parts of arguments. Sturdley will fail Critical Thinking.
So, Sturdley will be placed on academic probation.
 Many wildflowers are edible. For example, daisies
and day lilies are delicious in salads.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Illustrations are intended to provide
examples of a claim, rather than
prove or support the claim.
 Distinguishing arguments from illustrations can be tricky for
two reasons.

First, phrases like for example and for instance Second, there is sometimes a fine line between
sometimes occur in arguments rather than in illustrating a claim and providing sufficient evidence for
illustrations. the claim.

Purists sometimes insist that we should say between when Many of the world’s greatest philosophers were bachelors.
two and only two objects are present, among if there are For instance, Descartes, Locke, Hume, and Kant were all
more than two. This, however, is an oversimplifi cation. unmarried.
For example, no one would object to between in “ The
main stumbling block in the present delicate exchanges
between Paris, Athens, London and Ankara. . . .”
 EXPLANATIONS
An explanation tries to show why something is
the case, not to prove that it is the case. Titanic sank because it struck an iceberg.

Explanations have two parts. The statement that Capital punishment should be abolished because
is explained is the explanandum. The statement innocent people may be mistakenly executed.
that does the explaining is the explanans.

I fell down because I tripped .

 4 ways (tests) of distinguishing arguments from explanations

The Common-Knowledge The Past-Event The Author’s Intent The Principle of Charity

The North won the Mel flunked out because Kevin is majoring in political Jeremy won’t come to
American Civil War he never went to class science because he wants to the frat party tonight
because it had a larger go to law school. because he has an
population and a greater important exam
industrial base tomorrow.
The expansion of the runways at the Bay City Airport will allow larger planes to
use the airport. These new planes will create a large amount of noise, a
nuisance for residents who live near the airport. However, many of the
residents in this neighborhood work in construction, and the contract to
expand the runways has been awarded to a local construction company. Thus,
the expansion of the runways will lead to an increased quality of life for the
residents of this neighborhood.

What is this author actually arguing?

What are the pieces of this argument?
How do they fit together?
The expansion of the runways at the Bay City Airport will allow larger
planes to use the airport.

Hmm. This is a fact. It could be a premise or it could just be background. I'm not sure yet.

These new planes will create a large amount of noise, a nuisance for
residents who live near the airport.

Now they're moving into claim territory. Something negative will come from this project.
Why are they telling me this? I can't figure that out until I know the conclusion.
However, many of the residents in this neighborhood work in
construction, and the contract to expand the runways has been awarded
to a local construction company.

The word "however" indicates a contrast between sentences 2 and 3. What's the
contrast? The noise is a negative consequence of the expansion, while winning a work
contract is a positive consequence. Looks like I've got a premise and a counterpoint in
these two sentences, but I don't know which one is which yet.
Thus, the expansion of the runways will lead to an increased quality of
life for the residents of this neighborhood.

The word "thus" usually indicates a conclusion.

Yes, this does seem like a conclusion-this project will have a certain outcome (better
quality of life in this neighborhood), and I can now see how the previous two sentences
fit into this conclusion.
Sentence 3 is a premise because it provides one way in which the quality of life might
be better for these people (they might make more money), and sentence 2 is a
counterpremise because it tells me a negative consequence.
 Background
Counterpoint
The expansion of the runways at the Bay City Airport will allow larger
planes to use the airport. These new planes will create a large amount of
noise, a nuisance for residents who live near the airport. However, many
of the residents in this neighborhood work in construction, and the
contract to expand the runways has been awarded to a local construction
company. Thus, the expansion of the runways will lead to an increased Premise
quality of life for the residents of this neighborhood.

Conclusion

Background - Counterpoint - Premise - Conclusion

 HOME ASSIGNMENT

EXERCISE 2.1
EXERCISE 2.2
EXERCISE 2.4