THE NATURE OF

ARGUMENT
By MA. DO THI HA PHUONG
SESSION OBJECTIVES
■ ARGUMENT & NON – ARGUMENT
■ CIRCULAR & COUNTER ARGUMENT
■ THE BURDEN OF PROOF (& THE APPEAL TO IGNORANCE)
■ FACTS & OPINIONS
■ DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE AGURMENT
ARGUMENT & NON – ARGUMENT
WHAT IS AN ARGUMENT?

ARGUMENT
PREMISES CONCLUSION

A statement
Evidence or of fact or
reasons to opinion (being
support a said or
claim written)
A CONCLUSION IS NOT…
a summary or an overall review

BUT
The logical consequence of what’s
been said
Words to recognize : so, consequently, thus, therefore,
it follows that, hence, shows that, proves that,
accordingly, ect. but DO NOT depend on them
indicating a conclusion.
 PREMISES ARE IDENTIFIED BY…

■ Indicating words: because, since, given that, as

shown by, as indicated by, due to, and so on.

■ Ask yourself “What are the reasons or the

evidence given in support of the conclusion?

■ Depend on the nature of the claim

ARGUMENT IN STANDARD FORM

NON - ARGUMENT
AN APPEAL
TO
EMOTION

AN APPEAL
TO
INTUITION

AN APPEAL
AN APPEAL
TO
TO REASON
INSTINCT

AN APPEAL
TO FAITH
SOME EXAMPLES

■ SANTA CLAUS MUST BE REAL; THE CHILDREN WILL BE VERY SAD

OTHERWISE
■ SANTA CLAUS MUST BE REAL; I HAVE A STRONG FEELING ABOUT THAT
■ SANTA CLAUS MUST BE REAL; MY INSTICT TELLS ME THAT
■ SANTA CLAUS MUST BE REAL; I BELIEVE THAT
IMPLIED CONCLUSIONS AND
PREMISES (ASSUMPTIONS)
1. Implied conclusions

■ Conclusions are sometimes implied instead of being articulated outright.

■ YOU figure out where the given premises lead

-> You should be clear about your conclusions

2. Assumptions

■ It’s more likely the person is either unaware of the premises s/he is using, or the assumption is so unquestionable, as
to be taken for granted

■ If an assumption is unwarranted, then the conclusion it was apparently supporting is also unwarranted

3. Missing connections

■ Miss a clear identification of a claim as a premise or as a conclusion

EXAMPLES
■ Implied conclusion

The weather is below zero, how can you go out?

He doesn’t have enough money for that, so….

■ Assumptions

John is lazy, he will fail the exam.

She is so beautiful, he will love her right away.

■ Missing connections

Children are watching more and more television.

Children are becoming more and more violent.

CIRCULAR & COUNTER
ARGUMENT
CIRCULAR ARGUMENT
 Abortion is wrong because it’s murder
- Abortion is murder (Assume abortion is
murder)
- Murder is wrong
Premise
 Abortion is wrong

Conclusion  She is popular because everyone loves her

- Everybody loves her (assume everyone
loves her)
- Anyone loved by everybody is popular
=> She is popular
COUNTERARGUMENT
An argument whose conclusion in some way counters that of another argument

• Presents an alternative explanation for a given phenomenon

Eg: Women in Asian societies are more likely to get married because they respect the traditional values
more.

Counnter: Women in Asian societies are more likely to get married because the social institutions force them
to do so.

• Explicitly challenges the original argument—it suggests that it is incorrect

Eg: Women in Asian societies are more likely to get married because they respect the traditional values
more.

Counter: Women in Asian societies are not more likely to get married because they respect the traditional
values more
THE ISSUE OF CONTENTION
■ Identifying the issue of contention often involves separating a number of issues–it may
help to know what sorts of things people may disagree about

-> the people participating in the discussion have to be addressing the same point.

• facts: the facts of the matter

• interpretation: what the facts of the matter
indicate or imply
• definition: how the matter is best defined
• evaluation: how the matter should be
judged morally, aesthetically, practically
• recommendation: what should be done with
regard to the matter
THE BURDEN OF PROOF
 THE BURDEN OF PROOF

■ The responsibility for providing proof, or more

loosely, for providing supporting evidence of some

kind, for some claim—is on the person making

the claim .

■ The person making the positive claim has the

burden of proof
■ The more extraordinary the claim, the more
extraordinary the proof must be
BURDEN OF PROOF IN LAW
THE APPEAL TO IGNORANCE

■ This error in reasoning occurs because of an incorrect understanding of who has the burden of

proof

■ Just because a claim hasn’t been proven to be false, it doesn’t mean it’s true. Conversely, just

because a claim hasn’t been proven to be true, it doesn’t mean it’s false.

-> When there is insufficient proof one way or the other, you should suspend judgment .
EXAMPLES

1. You cannot prove that God does not exist; therefore, God exists.

2. If someone is guilty, they always try to deny their guilt. This man has never said
that he is not guilty, and therefore he must be innocent.

3. No one has ever proven that UFOs haven’t visited Earth yet, so I believe that
they have.

4. You can’t prove that you are innocent, therefore you are guilty to me.
FACTS & OPINIONS
WHAT ARE FACTS & OPINIONS?
FACTS OPINIONS

- A statement about the world as - A statement about the world as

it is; it is a statement verifiable, one thinks it is or should be or
at least in theory, by empirical could be.
observation, objectively - Support for an opinion usually
- You know how to verify it even consists of reasons, but facts, or
though, for some reason, it’s at least empirical evidence, may
impossible. also be involved

Arguments can, and should, be made to support both facts and opinions
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM

■ The difference between fact and opinion is loosely paralleled by the difference between
knowledge and belief. We know—or can come to know—facts. We believe opinions—or
more precisely, we believe they are worth endorsing, worth acting on.

■ Because established facts are generally uncontestable (they’re established), people often
call opinions “facts”—hoping to manipulate us into uncritical acceptance.

Eg: Tran Thanh is a bad emcee, this is a fact, because he cannot control his emotions thus
resulting many unexpected incidents online.
DEDUCTIVE & INDUCTIVE
ARGUMENT
HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT?
DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENT INDUCTIVE ARGUMENT

- The conclusion makes explicit what’s already - The conclusion goes beyond the information of
implicitly contained in the premises the premises.
- As long as the premises are true, the - The degree to which you accept the conclusion
conclusion is true. of an inductive argument depends on the
- true premises + valid form = sound argument strength of the argument.
- Eg: All monkeys are apes - true/acceptable + relevant + sufficient premises
Apes breastfeed their children. = strong argument
Monkey breastfeed their children. - Eg: The orange is round and it rolls
The ball is round .
Thus, the ball will probably roll.
VALIDITY & SOUNDNESS
■ Validity is about the way the premises relate to each other and the conclusion
Take this example :
1. All leopards have spots.
2. My pet gecko has spots.
3. Therefore, my pet gecko is a leopard.
■ An argument is sound only if it’s valid and the premises are true
Take this example
1. All US presidents live in the White House.
2. Barack Obama lived in the White House.
3. Therefore, Barack Obama was a US president.
DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS
■ Categorical logic deals with categories of things

Eg: All fruits with red colors are rich in vitamin C.

Strawberries are fruits with red colors

Strawberries are rich in vitamin C.

■ Propositional logic deals with propositions about things

Eg: All singers who sings beautifully have good breathing techniques.

My Tam sings beautifully.

My Tam has good breathing techniques when singing.

PROCESS FOR DEDUCTIVE RESEARCH

General steps for deductive research:

1.Select a research problem and create a problem statement.
2.Develop falsifiable hypotheses.
3.Collect data with appropriate measures.
4.Analyze and test your data.
5.Decide whether to reject your null hypothesis.
INDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS
■ Can be classified into: generalizations, analogies, general principles, and causal
reasoning

Take this example

Humans and laboratory rats are extremely similar biologically, sharing over 90% of their
DNA.

Lab rats show promising results when treated with a new drug for managing Parkinson’s
disease.

Therefore, humans will also show promising results when treated with the drug.

■ The strength of an inductive argument depends on what type of argument it is

PROCESS FOR INDUCTIVE RESEARCH

General steps for inductive research:

1. Collect observations
2. Analyze the data to spot any patterns.
3. Develop a theory to test in a follow-up study.