arguments

MODULE: Argument Analysis

An important part of critical thinking is being able to give reasons, whether it is to support or to criticize a certain idea. To be able to do that, one should know how to identify, analyse, and evaluate arguments.

Identifying Arguments

A01.1 What is an argument?
To be able to think critically, it is very important that you can identify, construct, and evaluate arguments.
We shall be using the word "argument" in a way that is somewhat different from its ordinary meaning. In its ordinary usage, the word is often used to refer to a quarrel between two or more parties. But here we shall understand an argument as a piece of language. In particular, we shall take an argument to be a list of statements, one of which is the conclusion and the others are the premises or assumptions of the argument.
To give an argument is to provide a set of premises as reasons for accepting the conclusion. To give an argument is not necessarily to attack or criticize someone. Arguments can also be used to support other people's viewpoints.
As an example, suppose I want to convince you that you should be hardworking. I might give the following argument:
If you want to find a good job, you should be hardworking. You do want to find a good job. So you should be hardworking.

The first two sentences here are the premises of the argument, and the last sentence is the conclusion. To give this argument is to offer the premises as reasons for accepting the conclusion.
Dogmatic people tend to make assertions without giving reasons. When they are criticized they often fail to give arguments to defend their own opinions. To become a good critical thinker, you should develop the habit of giving good arguments to support your claims. Giving good arguments is one of the most important ways to convince other people that certain claims should be accepted.

A01.3 How to look for arguments
How do we identify arguments in real life? There are no easy mechanical rules, and we usually have to rely on the context in order to determine which are the premises and the conclusions. But sometimes the job can be made easier by the presence of certain premise or conclusion indicators. For example, if a person makes a statement, and then adds "this is because ...", then it is quite likely that the first statement is presented as a conclusion, supported by the statements that come afterwards. Other words in English that might be used to indicate the premises to follow include :
• since
• firstly, secondly, ...
• for, as, after all,
• assuming that, in view of the fact that
• follows from, as shown / indicated by
• may be inferred / deduced / derived from
Of course whether such words are used to indicate premises or not depends on the context. For example, "since" has a very different function in a statement like "I have been here since noon", unlike "X is an even number since X is divisible by 4".
Conclusions, on the other hand, are often preceded by words like:
• therefore, so, it follows that
• hence, consequently
• suggests / proves / demonstrates that
• entails, implies
Here are some examples of passages that do not contain arguments.
When people sweat a lot they tend to drink more water. [Just a single statement, not enough to make an argument.]
Once upon a time there was a prince and a princess. They lived happily together and one day they decided to have a baby. But the baby grew up to be a nasty and cruel person and they regret it very much. [A chronological description of facts composed of statements but no premise or conclusion.]
Can you come to the meeting tomorrow? [A question that does not contain an argument.]

Presenting arguments in the standard format
When it comes to the analysis and evaluation of an argument, it is often useful to label the premises and the conclusion, and display them on separate lines with the conclusion at the bottom :
(Premise 1) If you want to find a good job, you should be hardworking.
(Premise 2) You do want to find a good job.
(Conclusion) So you should be hardworking.

Let us call this style of presenting an argument a presentation in the standard format. Here we rewrite two more arguments using the standard format:
We should not inflict unnecessary pain on cows and pigs. After all, we should not inflict unnecessary pain on any animal with consciousness, and cows and pigs are animals with consciousness.
(Premise 1) We should not inflict unnecessary pain on any animal with consciousness.
(Premise 2) Cows and pigs are animals with consciousness.
(Conclusion) We should not inflict unnecessary pain on cows and pigs.
If this liquid is acidic, the litmus paper would have turned red. But it hasn't, so the liquid is not acidic.
(Premise 1) If the liquid is acidic, the litmus paper would have turned red.
(Premise 2) The litmus paper has not turned red.
(Conclusion) The liquid is not acidic.

In presenting an argument in the standard format the premises and the conclusion are clearly identified. Sometimes we also rewrite some of the sentences to make their meaning clearer, as in the second premise of the second example. Notice also that a conclusion need not always come at the end of a passage containing an argument, as in the first example. In fact, sometimes the conclusion of an argument might not be explicitly written out. For example it might be expressed by a rhetorical question:
How can you believe that corruption is acceptable? It is neither fair nor legal!
In presenting an argument in the standard format, we have to rewrite the argument more explicitly as follows:
(Premise) Corruption is not fair and it is not legal.
(Conclusion) Corruption is not acceptable.

If you want to improve your reading and comprehension skills, you should practise reconstructing the arguments that you come across by rewriting them carefully in the standard format.