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CONTENTS

Chapter1:fromclaimstoarguments 1

Claimsandtheirsignificance 1Claimsandarguments 4 Themeaningofargument 4 Argumentsaspersuasive 5 Thecomponentsofarguments:reasons 5 Thecomponentsofarguments:conclusions 6

Thecomponentsofarguments:languageclues 7Argumentswithtwoormorereasons:jointandindependentreasons 7

Findingargumentsexercise 9Jointandindependentreasonsexercise 9

Chapter2:Explanations 10 Disputesinexplanations 11

Lookingatargumentsandexplanationsexercise 14

Chapter3:Assumptions 15

Thenegativetestforfindingassumptions 17

Findingassumptionsexercise 19

Chapter4:Unravellingmorestructureinarguments 20 Counterclaims 20 Counterarguments 21 Evidenceandexamples 22 Intermediateconclusions 22

Findingthestructureofargumentsexercise 24 Scenesetting 25

Chapter5:Somecommonissueswithinference 26 Deductionandinduction 26 Interpretingevidenceinarguments 27 Generalisation 29 Issuesofcorrelationandcausation 31

Credibilityofevidence 34 Motive 34 Vestedinterest 34

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Expertise 35 Sufficientaccess/abilitytoperceive 35 Neutrality 36

Lookingattheuseofevidenceinargumentsexercise 3739

Chapter6:Flawsinarguments 40

Slipperyslopes 40 Strawman 41 Adhoc 42 Adhominem 43

Attackingthearguernottheargumentexercise 44 Tuquoque 44 Restrictingtheoptions 45 Goingroundincircles 46 Conflation 47 Confusingconditions 47 Makinginsignificantobjections 49

Appeals 49 Appealtopity/emotion 49 Appealtopopularity 50 Appealtoauthority/expertise 51 Appealtohistory 51

Appealtotradition 52

Weaknessesinargumentexercise 5457

Chapter7:Analogies 58Analogiesexercise 61

Chapter8:Furtherwaysofarguing 62

Principles 62

Findingprinciplesexercise 63Assumedprinciplesexercise 63 Definitions 65 Hypotheticalreasoning 67 Absurdityandtwootherthings 69

Chapter9:Pullingitalltogether 71

Pullingitalltogetherexercises 7276

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Answerstoanddiscussionofexercises 79102

Findingarguments 80Jointandindependentreasons 81Lookingatargumentsandexplanations 82Findingassumptions 83Findingthestructureofarguments 85Lookingattheuseofevidenceinarguments 86Attackingthearguernottheargument 90Weaknessesinargument 91Analogies 94Findingprinciples 95Assumedprinciples 95Totattooornottotattoo 9698Nomorecheapdrink 99100Thepriceofalcoholisnottheproblem 101102

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CHAPTER4:UNRAVELLINGMORESTRUCTUREINARGUMENTS

Wehave so far lookedatarguments inwhichoneor two reasonsareused todrawor supportaconclusion.InChapter2wenotedthatthereisnoupperlimittothenumberofreasonsanargumentcanhave.Wellnowlookatargumentswiththreereasons.Using genetic modification, whats called golden rice has been created such that it can provide 60 per cent of a childs vitamin A daily requirement. According to the World Health Organisation, 170 million to 230 million children (and 20 million pregnant women) are vitamin A deficient. The companies that produce golden rice are prepared to let rice farmers have the seeds for free. For the sake of the health of millions of children, golden rice should be licensed for use as soon as possible. Wecansee that the first tworeasons (the first twosentences)act jointlyandprovideveryusefulsupport for the conclusion in the fourth sentence.The third reason (the third sentence)providessupportfromacompletelydifferentdirection(andisthusanindependentreason).Thestructurecanbeshowninthisway.R1+R2R3CCounterclaimsHeresanotherexample,althoughwithsomethingdifferentaboutit.Many people see wind power as the perfect solution to our energy needs. However, we should build no more wind turbines and take down the ones that have been built. Each year millions of birds and bats are killed by these wind turbines. (In Spain, the number could be as high as 18 million each year.) Endangered species, such as wedge-tailed eagles and Egyptian vultures, could well become extinct because of wind turbines. The amount of energy generated is very, very small (for example, only one per cent of the UKs energy is met by wind power). Whatsgoingoninthisargument?This,likethepreviousone,hasthreereasons.Wellshowthese.Many people see wind power as the perfect solution to our energy needs. However, (C) we should build no more wind turbines and take down the ones that have been built. (R1) Each year millions of birds and bats are killed by these wind turbines. (In Spain, the number could be as high as 18 million each year.) (R2) Endangered species, such as wedge-tailed eagles and Egyptian vultures, could well become extinct because of wind turbines. (R3) The amount of energy generated is very, very small (for example, only one per cent of the UKs energy is met by wind power).

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Thethreereasonsareindependentreasons.Thoughthefirsttwoareconcernedwiththesamepointaboutbirdsbeingkilledbywind turbines, theyoperate independently.Eithercouldbe takenout,leaving the other, and the argumentwould still stand. The third reason, of course, supports theconclusionfromatotallydifferentdirection.R1R2R3CWhat elsewas going on? Two thingswere. Lets look at the first of these. This is the openingsentence.Many people see wind power as the perfect solution to our energy needs.Ithasnotbeen labelledaspartof thereasoning.This isbecause it isntpartofthereasoning. Itspretty clear that itpresents theother sideof the argument.Butwhywould anyonepresent theothersideoftheargument?Quitesimply,toknockitdown.Theauthorsargumentismeanttoshowthatwindpowerisafarfromperfectsolutiontoourenergyneeds,sotheoriginalclaimisrejected.Thistypeofclaimisreferredtoasacounterclaim(oracounterassertion).Ausefulwayofspottingthatacounterclaimhasbeengivenistolookforthewordhowever(oranequivalent such as on theotherhand, alternatively, and soon).We can see this in the aboveargument.Whathappensisthathowever(orsomethingsimilar)indicatesthattheauthorisgoingtoargueagainstwhatsjustbeengiven,sofindingthisorasimilarwordingisoftenanindicationthatanargumentisabouttostart.Thisisnotalwaysthecase,soyoullstillneedtoreadapassagewithcare.Forexample,lookatthenextone.The cost of building more motorways (or increasing the size of existing ones) is very, very high. However much we might want more and bigger motorways, the country cant afford them. So we need to look at alternative solutions to our congested roads. Inthisargument,thewordhoweverdoesnotindicatethebeginningofanargumentinresponsetoacounterclaim.Itserveshereasawordlikethough.CounterargumentsIn theargumentagainstwind turbines,we saw thata counterclaimhadbeengiven. In thenextversionofthatargument,thecounterpositionisgivenalittledifferently.Many people see wind power as the perfect solution to our energy needs, given that its pollution-free. However, we should build no more wind turbines Inthisversion,theauthorarguesagainsttheotherside inthesameway,butthere isadifference.Ratherthangivingnomorethanacounterclaim,wehavehereacounterargument:Windpowerispollution free, therefore its the perfect solution to our energy needs. If a counterargument isgiven,wemightexpectthattheargumentshouldrespondtothereasoninginthecounterargument.Many people see wind power as the perfect solution to our energy needs, given that its pollution-free. However, if we see pollution-free as meaning having no adverse effect on our environment, then wind power doesnt fit this category.

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Each year millions of birds and bats are killed by these wind turbines. (In Spain, the number could be as high as 18 million each year.) Endangered species, such as wedge-tailed eagles and Egyptian vultures, could well become extinct because of wind turbines. The amount of energy generated is very, very small (for example, only one per cent of the UKs energy is met by wind power). We should build no more wind turbines and take down the ones that have been built. Thisargumentrespondsdirectlytothecounterargumentbyattackingthespecificreasonusedinit.Ofcourse,thepreviousversionoftheargumentcouldstillhavebeenused,byprovidingageneralresponsetotheclaimthatwindpoweristheperfectsolutiontoourenergyneeds. EvidenceandexamplesWhenweidentifiedacounterclaimintheoriginalversionoftheargument,wenotedthatthiswasthe firstof two things thatweregoingon in it.Thesecond is thesentence InSpain, thenumbercouldbeashighas18millioneachyear. Many people see wind power as the perfect solution to our energy needs. However, we should build no more wind turbines and take down the ones that have been built. Each year millions of birds and bats are killed by these wind turbines. (In Spain, the number could be as high as 18 million each year.) Endangered species, such as wedge-tailed eagles and Egyptian vultures, could well become extinct because of wind turbines. The amount of energy generated is very, very small (only one per cent of the UKs energy is met by wind power). Herewehaveaspecificpieceofevidence,anexampleofthe millionsofbirdsandbatskilledbythesewindturbines. Itdoesntprovideanadditionalreason inthisargument,butactstosupportthe first reason. In this way, it strengthens the possible force of this reason in the argument.However, evidence (including examples) can not only provide support for reasons, but can alsooperateasareasonitself.Youwillrememberthefirstargumentinthischapter,aboutwhygoldenriceshouldbemadeavailableassoonaspossible.Inthisthefirstreasonwasapieceofevidence. 170 million to 230 million children (and 20 million pregnant women) are vitamin A deficient. Thus,whenwere lookingatthe functionofevidence (andexamples) inarguments,weneed toseewhetheritdirectlysupportstheconclusionoroneofthereasons.Ifitistheformer,thenitisareasonitself.IntermediateconclusionsThere is another feature of argumentstructure thatwe need to look at.Have a look at the nextargument.Recent studies have shown that exposure to sunlight reduces blood pressure. This is because the UV light releases nitric oxide from the skin which dilates the arteries and so reduces blood pressure. A lowering of blood pressure will lead to a lowering of the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Thus exposure to sunlight is good for our health. So people should ensure that they dont avoid this exposure.

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Findingargumentsexercise Which of the following passages are arguments and which are not? For those you think are arguments, work out which parts are reasons and which part is the conclusion. (1) People who buy houses often borrow more they can afford to repay. Interest rates can

go up and down. House prices have been falling over the past few years. (2) Local representatives should serve the community. The only way to serve the

community is to be independent of any political party. Local representatives should be independent.

(3) Banning the sale of ivory is not necessarily a good idea. Since the sale of ivory has

been banned, the price of ivory has increased enormously. Ivory poachers are motivated solely by money.

(4) Cigarette manufacturers have to include health warnings on their packets. Another way

of highlighting the dangers of smoking needs to be found. Young people who smoke are not likely to be put off by these warnings on cigarette packets.

(5) There is an increasing number of species that are becoming endangered. Most of

these are declining because of human activity. This can include over-fishing, destruction of habitats, and hunting.

Jointandindependentreasonsexercise In which of the following arguments do the reasons operate independently and in which do they operate jointly? (1) Dumping toxic waste in the sea is safer than dumping it on land. It's also much

cheaper. Therefore we should dump such waste at sea. (2) Smoking can cause heart disease. It can also cause many different types of cancer. It

should therefore be strongly discouraged. (3) Smoking can cause heart disease. Heart disease costs the nation millions of pounds to

treat. Therefore, tobacco companies should pay for at least part of this extra cost. (4) Australian soap operas feature a lot of teenage romances. In addition, their story-lines

are often unrealistic. It's surprising, then, that they're so popular with adults. (5) Some members of the authority have been shown to have taken bribes. They have

also falsified some of their financial claims. Therefore these members should resign. (6) In order to reduce environmental pollution, we need to use nuclear-powered power

stations rather than coal-fired ones to generate electricity. Coal-fired power stations produce high levels of environmental pollution. Nuclear power stations do not pollute the environment.