Argumentation

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Argumentation
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• Definition
• Typically, argumentation carries a negative
  connotation, based upon the notion that whoever
  is most aggressiveor whoever shouts loudest and
  most insistentlywins.
• In the academic sense of the word, it carries no
  such negative connotation. Instead,
  argumentation is an acknowledgment of the
  reasonable differences which exist among people.
• The Academy recognizes that no two human beings
  think alike, since we are products of our
  parentage, our places of origin, our ethnicities,
  our religions, our upbringing, our educations,
  our experiences, and even of the books we read.

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What this suggests, of course, is that when
people hold opinions different from our own, we
have to assume that those opinions are sincerely
held, are based upon reasoned analysis, and are
not subscribed to arbitrarily, peevishly,
maliciously, or as a matter of sheer
deviance. In other words, we need to take other
people seriously, to hear them out, to weigh
their arguments against what we already know,
andafter careful analysis, synthesis, and
evaluationto reformulate our own world view.
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Ethics of Argumentation When presenting
argument, we have an ethical responsibility to be
fair, reasonable, and well-informed about the
issues at handaware of the counter arguments,
and open-minded enough to engage in meaningful
dialogue. We also have a responsibility to avoid
both animosity and polarization. We do not wish
to create an us versus them mentality.
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When confronted with an argument, there are
three appropriate ways to respond 1. Refutation
2. Acknowledgment 3. Acceptance
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• Vocabulary of Argumentation
• Issues
• Claims
• Evidence
• Assumptions
• Backing
• Authority

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Issues are of three types 1. Issues of
substantiation 2. Issues of evaluation 3. Issue
s of policy
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Let us take the issue of smoking and see how it
operates under each of these types 1. Issue of
substantiation Second-hand cigarette smoke is
harmful to non- smokers. 2. Issue of
evaluation Smoking is essentially
immoral. 3. Issue of policy Smoking ought
to be banned in all public settings.
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• A claim states your position in regard to an
  issue
• Prince Hamlet, who is clearly sane at the
  beginning of the play, slowly descends into
  madness when he recognizes both his uncles
  treachery and his mothers perfidy.
• Prince Hamlet is not, in fact, mad, but
  deliberately feigns madness, so that he is more
  easily able to take revenge upon his uncle.
• It is time for the United States to withdraw
  from Iraq, and to seek reconciliation with the
  international community which it has up until
  now chosen to alienate.
• Gay demands for equality threaten the very
  fabric of our society. If we are to save the
  family, we must insist upon marriage as a
  contract between one man and one woman, yielding
  no quarter to activist judges or to the gay
  agenda.

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Claims, of course, need to be backed up with
facts, examples, statistics, evidence, expert
testimony, or personal (and therefore anecdotal)
experience. Because our experiences and
expertise lead us to variant conclusions, it is
not always possible to brand someone right or
wrong. Consider the following examples
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1. Claim Professor X is a bad
teacher. Evidence He doesnt grade our papers.
He simply places a check mark in the right-hand
margin and expects us, over the course of the
semester, to figure out whats wrong and to make
corrections. The grade is only assigned at the
end of the semester. Assumption Good teachers
assign grades. 2. Claim Professor X is an
excellent teacher. Evidence He doesnt grade
our papers. He simply places a check mark in
theright-hand margin and expects us, over the
course of the semester, to figure out whats
wrong and to make corrections. The grade is
only assigned at the end of the
semester. Assumption Good teachers foster
inductive learning.
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Who is to say that either argument is right or
wrong? All that remains is to examine a wider
array of factual and anecdotal evidence, and to
draw reasonable conclusions based on what we
learn.
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Remember always that an academic thesis (the
basic claim) has each of the following
qualities 1. It is CLEAR 2. It is
ARGUABLE 3. It is QUALIFIED By qualified is
meant that the conlusions are not stated
categorically. They are not phrased in such a
way as to suggest a definitive response or to
suggest that the answer offers proof positive
that there is no alternative to the
conclusion. To state definitively that
homosexuality is wrong, that the lifestyle is
sinful, and that God hates homosexuals, so there
can be no justification for gay marriage
(particularly since the term marriage belongs
to the Church) is an example of an unqualified
conclusion. One might reach the same conclusion,
but on the basis of less categorical criteria It
would seem that gay marriage, though affording
comfort to homosexual couples, would not serve
society in the same way that heterosexual
marriage does, by guaranteeing the continuation
of the species. Because society has a vested
interest in fostering family life, gay couples
are not owed the same societal privileges or
protections as heterosexual couples.
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Impartiality or Open-Mindedness Academics have
a basic responsibility to approach research
impartially, to conduct it with an open mind, and
to do so without some foregone conclusion in
mind. The researcher should have no vested
interestfinancial, intellectual, emotional, or
otherwisein the outcome of the research, and
should be willing to present all of the issues,
arguments, and counter arguments, without
concealment or fabrication. The Academics basic
responsibility is to honesty and truth, even (and
perhaps particularly) where the findings might be
unsettling or unpopular, or where they might
challenge the researchers own closely cultivated
prejudices. Although these may be the ideals of
academic research, they are not always easy to
live up to, and research is often flawed in
consequence.
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The Ideals The basic principles of research
involve (a) thoroughly informing yourself of the
issues, whether you agree with them or not, (b)
presenting those issues to your readers in a fair
and balanced way, and (c) reaching logical
conclusions based on your research, rather than
on your prejudices. In other words, you do not
make the research fit your conclusions, you allow
your conclusions to emerge from the
research. These, then, are the ideals. Try to
incorporate them into your thinking and into your
writing.

• Balance
• Fairness
• Honesty
• Impartiality

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PowerPoint Presentation by Mark A. Spalding, BA,
MEd, MA (2008).
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