Vocabulary of an argument...

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Vocabulary of an argument...

• Basic principles

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Assertions

• a claim or statement of opinion
• not a fact
• be skeptical
• never should stand alone
• conclusions without evidence

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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

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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

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college poll

• interview 5 students about the administration and
  approval.
• report that 4 out of 5 approve
• 80 of the campus approves
• Whats wrong with the report?

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2 Types of Evidence

• Primary
• Secondary

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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)

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Secondary

• criticism
• journalists story
• interpretations, explanations

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Evidence
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Logi c
Evidence
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Logical Reasoning

• 2 types
• inductive
• deductive

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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Logical Fallacies

• Errors in logical thinking
• Sometimes difficult to see
• Many types
• They are EVERYWHERE

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Top 27 Logical Fallacies

• These are the ones most often used
• This is not an extensive list

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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.

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Fallacies of Ethos or Pathos

• 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

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Fallacies of Ethos or Pathos

• 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.

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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."

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Fallacies of Distraction

• 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 dont like to
  be attacked. It makes us angry, and we cant
  think when we are angry.)
• Bill "I believe that abortion is morally wrong."
  Dave "Of course you would say that, you're a
  priest."

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Fallacies of Distraction

• Poisoning the Well - Trying to completely
  discredit an opponent, making his words suspect.
• Its hard to believe a journalists facts when he
  spent two years in jail for perjury.

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Fallacies of Distraction

• Guilt by Association - Associating opponent with
  something negative, illogical association
• Dr. Spelman was Hitlers doctor in Germany during
  WWII.

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Fallacies of Distraction

• Tu Quoque (Youre another) - when a person is
  attacked with an Ad Hominem and counters with
  another. (This works because the opponent thinks
  that if he/she doesnt 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!"

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Fallacies of Distraction

• 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.)

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Fallacies of Distraction

• 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)

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Fallacies of Distraction

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

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Fallacies of Oversimplification

• Ignore 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

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Fallacies of Oversimplification

• 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.

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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!"

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Fallacies of Oversimplification

• 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

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Fallacies of Oversimplification

• 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

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Fallacies of Unfairness

• These 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

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• "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."

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Fallacies of Unfairness

• Card Stacking - one of the most common, easily
  avoided by a concession and counter argument -
  When you ignore opponents strong points.
• ShamWow only shows us how well it soaks up liquid
  but doesnt show its durability or toughness.

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Fallacies of Unfairness

• 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."

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Fallacies of Unfairness

• 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.

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Fallacies of Unfairness

• Self-Contradiction - A 2 or 3 part statement
  where at least two parts disagree.
• We dont pollute the air with our exhaust, we
  just drive everywhere we go.
• I dont care what you believe, as long as your
  beliefs dont harm others.

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Fallacies of Unfairness

• 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."

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Fallacies of Unfairness

• 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 earthnow prove me wrong.

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Fallacies of Unfairness

• 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.

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Fallacies of Unfairness

• 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.

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Fallacies of Unfairness

• Non-Sequitur (It doesnt 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.