Vocabulary of an argument... Basic principles PSAT registration deadline is this week!

Vocabulary of an argument...Basic principles

PSAT registration deadline is this week!

Assertions

a claim or statement of opinion

not a fact

be skeptical

never should stand alone

conclusions without evidence

Thesis and Topic Sentences

A really big, main assertion which the whole paper is trying to prove

Body paragraphs contain smaller assertions which prove the larger

Assertion

Evidence

support

fact, figure, statistic, poll, scientific data, example, testimony from an expert, other forms in literature

proves the assertion

should be accurate, recent, sufficient and fair

college poll

interview 5 students about the administration and approval.

report that 4 out of 5 approve

80% of the campus approves

What’s wrong with the report?

2 Types of Evidence

Primary

Secondary

Primary

letters

diaries

first hand accounts, interviews, witnesses

surveys, polls

scientific research from reputable scientist

author, director (sometimes questionable)

in the work (story, drama, poem)

Secondary

criticism

journalist’s story

interpretations, explanations

Assertion

Evidence

AssertionLogi c

Evidence

Logical Reasoning

2 types

inductive

deductive

Inductive

Moves from specific pieces of evidence to a general conclusion

An inductive leap

Common sense

Can never be certain

The better your evidence, the less likely you will be proven wrong

Deductive

less common

more certain

based on syllogism - 2 general,true premises lead to 1 valid conclusion

socrates is a man

all men are mortal

Socrates is mortal

Deductive

If the premises are true, then the conclusion is 100% valid, in other words, “I win.”

To identify other dogs, all dogs use their noses to sniff other dogs’ butts

My dog meets dogs regularly on our walks

I should not kiss my dog on her nose

The problem with logic...

Everybody wants to be logical; everyone thinks they are logical, but not very many people actually ARE logical.

It is a rare quality, but one CAN LEARN to be more logical.

Logical Fallacies

Errors in logical thinking

Sometimes difficult to see

Many types

They are EVERYWHERE

Top 27 Logical Fallacies

These are the ones most often used

This is not an extensive list

Fallacies of Ethos or Pathos

False Authority (False Ethos) - When the authority does not have obvious, pertinent experience

Even Denzel Washington, who portrayed Colin Powell in a movie, believes the US should not be in a war.


Appeal to Pathos (Emotion: Pity, Fear, Patriotism, etc.) - good for persuasion, bad for argument based on REASON. Argumentation is supposed to be objective. USed to make the reader want to act, and if used instead of real evidence for action, it is a fallacy.

Examples


Bandwagon - Appeals to the desire to be popular, or with the “in” crowd. Argues that a person will like something because everyone else likes it. OR Because something is popular, it is right.

Fallacies of Distraction

Designed to get you off track, you guys are good at this!

Red Herring - Rubbing a new topic into the argument so opponent follows the scent of the new topic and leaves the old argument (which you are probably losing)

"We admit that this measure is popular. But we also urge you to note that there are so many bond issues on this ballot that the whole thing is getting ridiculous."


Ad Hominem (Argument to the person) - type of red herring where you make a personal attack on your opponent to try to get them off track of the true issue. (It usually works because we don’t like to be attacked. It makes us angry, and we can’t think when we are angry.)

Bill: "I believe that abortion is morally wrong." Dave: "Of course you would say that, you're a priest."


Poisoning the Well - Trying to completely discredit an opponent, making his words suspect.

It’s hard to believe a journalist’s facts when he spent two years in jail for perjury.


Guilt by Association - Associating opponent with something negative, illogical association

Dr. Spelman was Hitler’s doctor in Germany during WWII.

Fallacies of DistractionTu Quoque (“You’re another”) - when a person is attacked with an Ad Hominem and counters with another. (This works because the opponent thinks that if he/she doesn’t address the remark then people will believe it is true when the correct response would be to point out the ad hominem.)

Peter: "Based on the arguments I have presented, it is evident that it is morally wrong to use animals for food or clothing." Bill: "But you are wearing a leather jacket and you have a roast beef sandwich in your hand! How can you say that using animals for food and clothing is wrong!"


Common Practice (Everybody does it) - When an individual, group, or corporation gets caught doing something wrong but claims that at the time, every individual, group, or corporation was doing it OR that other groups did worse. (You guys are REALLY good at this.)


Shifting Terms - When you establish one term to discuss an issue, but change to another. (this happens when the opponent is hostile towards the initial term)


Shifting Ground - Making an assertion, and later changing (usually because he is losing the original assertion)

Fallacies of OversimplificationIgnore the complex situations, try to convince using a false “common sense”

Hasty Generalization - a really bad inductive leap, you do not have enough or the right kind of evidence

Stereotyping - unsubstantiated claims about a whole group using little to no evidence

Post Hoc (False Cause) - Because A happened first, then B happened later, A must have caused B.

Joan is scratched by a cat while visiting her friend. Two days later she comes down with a fever. Joan concludes that the cat's scratch must be the cause of her illness.

Fallacies of Oversimplification


Slippery Slope - the title is based on a metaphor - if you take one step down a slippery slope, you will have to take another quicker step to keep from falling, which causes you to speed up and need to take an even quicker step - a series of future false causes, none proven A causes B, B causes C, C causes D, and so on until tragedy occurs.

"We have to stop the tuition increase! The next thing you know, they'll be charging $40,000 a semester!"


False Analogy - an analogy is when you compare two very different things, all analogies are false as in they are inherently different. If the argument relies SOLELY upon analogy, you should not trust it. Valuable teaching tool to relate to the audience, but again, all you have to do to win that type of argument is point out the differences in the compared things.

Government is like business. Just as business, government also must be sensitive primarily to the bottom line


Either, Or - When you want to force your opponent into a single course of action or intellectual position by narrowing all possibilities down to only two and then makes one of them completely undesirable.

The Ultimatium

Fallacies of UnfairnessThese distort or dismiss evidence to favor your case or weaken your opponents

Begging the Question - when you make an assertion and then use that assertion as evidence to defend the point without proving it true.

Circular Logic - used interchangeably with “Begging the Question” when you make an assertion and then defend the assertion by rewording the assertion

• "If such actions were not illegal, then they would not be prohibited by the law.“

• Bill: "God must exist." Jill: "How do you know." Bill: "Because the Bible says so." Jill: "Why should I believe the Bible?" Bill: "Because the Bible was written by God."

Fallacies of Unfairness

Card Stacking - one of the most common, easily avoided by a concession and counter argument - When you ignore opponent’s strong points.

ShamWow only shows us how well it soaks up liquid but doesn’t show its durability or toughness.


Straw Man - When you describe your opponents positions in an unfair (incorrect) manner, making it weaker than it really is. Thus, your argument beats up on a lesser opponent (scarecrow) instead of the real powerful argument (Spiderman).

"Senator Jones says that we should not fund the attack submarine program. I disagree entirely. I can't understand why he wants to leave us defenseless like that."


Reductio Ad Absurdum (Arguing to the absurd) - similar to straw man except that instead of weak you make opponent appear absurd, crazy, or evil by pushing arguments to extreme.

I am going into surgery tomorrow. Please everyone, pray for me, so I will have a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.

Fallacies of UnfairnessSelf-Contradiction - A 2 or 3 part statement where at least two parts disagree.

We don’t pollute the air with our exhaust, we just drive everywhere we go.

I don’t care what you believe, as long as your beliefs don’t harm others.


Ad Ignoratiam (Appeal to Ignorance) - asserts that since there is no evidence to prove my argument false, it is true. Assertion based on no evidence, admits none, but then says that lack of evidence (or ignorance) is proof of truth.

"No one has ever proven that UFOs exist. Therefore, they don't exist."


Proving a Negative - a relative to Ad Ignorantium, No evidence is possible for an event that did not occur. This is impossible.

There is a purple dragon behind the moon that created the earth…now prove me wrong.


Out of Context - When a writer cites only a part of a statement in such a way as to distort the overall meaning of the original statement. BE CAREFUL.

However, sometimes the person who says something stupid later claims that it was taken out of context.

Praying for help and letting God guide your finger.


Ambiguity and Equivocation - when a statement is written in a way that can be understood in more than one way, tricking you into interpreting the text in the one way the writer intends.

President Clinton: “I did not have sex with that woman, Monica Lewinsky, not one time.


Non-Sequitur (It doesn’t make sense) - When the conclusion bears no logical relation to the statements which precede it.

Bill Morrison is a great writer, so he will make a great US Senator.

Americans love movies, so Garfield will be very popular.

Vocabulary of an argument... Basic principles PSAT registration deadline is this week!

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