BASIC ARGUMENTATION

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont

World Schools Debate Academy, Slovenia, 2015
Induction, deduction, causation, fallacies
INDUCTION
Definition: studying a sufficient number of analogous factual
examples, finding a common characteristic, and naming it as a
general law or truth.
Looking at examples to construct a generalization. From the specific
to the general.
Useful in proving propositions of past or present fact or value.
Historical trends.
Public opinion polls.
Social science research.
Whether a current or past policy is working.
We accept many generalizations even though they may not always
be true.
The Roman empire ended, the Mongol empire ended, the Persian
empire ended, the British empire ended, all empires end, and none
lasts forever.
CHARACTERISTICS OF INDUCTION
Examples must be factual.
Examples must be analogous same type, species or category.
Sufficient number of factual examples.
Conclusion is a generalization
Features an inductive leap.
May use fact or statistical terms and methods.
USE OF INDUCTION
Induction and the sampling process, not a complete counting.
Public opinion polls controlled, uncontrolled, range of error.
Case study method lot of knowledge from one example, can
add to it.

 Experimental study number of examples can be reduced by

using a control group. Critical thinking example.
Empirical method objective, trained observer-reporting
observations.
Induction and universal laws many things do not need to be
proven separately but are accepted rain makes you wet, all
humans die, falling objects can hurt us, etc.
Induction is the way in which we learn most things early in life.
LINES OF ARGUMENT ON INDUCTION
Are the facts true?
Are the examples isolated or universal New Orleans vs. many
cities on organized crime.
Do examples cover a proper period of time many times, now,
long period of time.
Are the examples typical or atypical?
Are there significant negative instances?
Is the conclusion properly stated?
So what? Truth of an argument does not make it significant.
DEDUCTION
Is useful for:
Determining future possibilities
Propositions conditioned by if
Choice between alternatives
Defined:
Deductive reasoning is that form of reasoning in which a
conclusion is drawn from premises.
That which is proven is always the conclusion.
The syllogism:
Humans die (major premise, general truth)
You are a human (middle premise, specific)
Therefore, you will die (conclusion, general applied to specific)
The enthymeme:
One of the three statements is generally omitted.

 This involves the audience, and they are more persuaded when
they participate
Plus it avoids condescension.
Testing an enthymeme involves finding the missing part,
inserting it, and seeing if the argument still works.
Types of deduction
Categorical deduction:
Assertion about a category of persons, places or things
Specific case is in that category
Therefore, the assertion is true of that specific case
Faculty members at UVM have advanced degrees
Ms. Windplenty is a UVM faculty member
Therefore, Ms. Windplenty has an advanced degree
Major premise may be untrue or unproven: some people at
UVM teach based on their life experience, not with advanced
degrees.
Minor premise may be untrue or unproven: Ms. Windplenty is
not a UVM faculty member
Conclusion is untrue: not all members of that category have
that characteristic. Utah is conservative state, Mary is from
Utah, Mary is conservative.
Conclusion is untrue: characteristic is not confined to just that
category. Terrorists believe in destruction of property for their
cause, ALF believe in destruction of property for their cause,
therefore they are terrorists. Use the word only to reveal this
flaw. Avoid overstatement.
Wrong use of major term. Cats are animals, dogs are not cats,
and therefore dogs are not animals. If only cats are animals,
then it would be true.
Wrong use of minor term. All judges are trained in law, all
judges are citizens, and therefore all citizens are trained in law.
Conclusion should be some citizens re trained in law.
Middle term must be used universally to have a universally.
Democrats believe in national health care coverage, Mary

believes in national health care coverage, therefore Mary is a

democrat; you need to say only democrats.
Fallacy of four terms. Stripped down, a deductive categorical
argument should have only three terms. People of India are
Asians, Chinese are Orientals, and therefore Indians are
Orientals.
Two negative premises: no sound conclusion from two
negatives. Americans are not Asians, Europeans are not
Americans, and therefore Europeans are Asians.
Disjunctive deduction: Two possible outcomes are outlined, one is
negated, and the other is proven. Identified by the terms either or
or.
For you to pass the course you must either study harder or the
professor must become more lenient; the professor will not become
more lenient, therefore in order to pass you must study harder.
Tactics for analyzing disjunctive deduction:
False or unproven major premise.
Other alternatives not mentioned.
Do both.
Deny alternative that is affirmed.
Affirm alternative that is denied.
Hypothetical deduction: different from cause
Differing conditions can influence the outcome of something.
Expression of a hypothetical or conditional relationship. If is
the key word to look for.
If our captain cannot play tonight we will lose the game, our
captain cannot play tonight, we will lose the game.
If it had rained, the ground would be wet; the ground is not wet;
therefore it did not rain.
Tactics:
Major premise affirms the conditional clause, conclusion must
affirm the result. Captain argument
If the minor premise denies the result, the conclusion must
deny the conditional clause. Rain argument

 Other forces may be at work. If we increase spending for

education it will improve, we will not increase spending,
therefore it will not improve.
Apply lines of reasoning about causation.
CAUSATION: one thing leads to another
Cigarette smokers get lung cancer, you smoke, so you will get
lung cancer
Cause a leads to effect b
1. Look at conditions - some crucial, some irrelevant.
2. Locate a precipitating cause, right before the effect.
3. Look for alternate and remote causes.
4. Look for strength of causation of one factor vs. Others.
5. Look for the necessary cause.
6. Look for sufficient cause.
7. Look for absence of a blocking cause.
8. Look for reciprocal causes that feed on each other.
FALLACIES
1. Hasty Generalization
2. Transfer fallacies:
Fallacy of composition: true of part is true of whole
Fallacy of division: true of whole is true of part
Fallacy of refutation: straw person
3. Irrelevant arguments - non-sequiturs does not follow.
4. Circular reasoning: conclusion is restatement of claim.
5. Avoiding the issue
Evasion
Attack the person
Shifts in ground
Seizing a trivial point - red herring
6. False dichotomy - bring lunch OR walk to school.
7. Appeal to ignorance - failure to disprove is not proof. Atlantis.
8. Appeal to the crowd - bandwagon effect
9. Appeal to emotions - no substitute for reasoning
10. Appeal to authority - no substitute for reasoning
11. Appeal to tradition - no substitute for reasoning
12. Appeal to humor - no substitute for reasoning

13. Ambiguity & equivocation - different use of words,

change meaning.
14. Technical jargon.
15. Post hoc fallacy.
16. Damning the origin
17. Wishful thinking
18. Lip service
19. Personification
20. Cultural bias
21. Pointing to another wrong
22. Nothing but objections
23. Demand for perfection.
Identify the fallacy (or fallacies) found in the following political
arguments.
1. BUSH claimed he would fight budget deficits both in 2000 and
2004. He never changed that position, and deserves credit for that.
2. After Pahor was elected the Slovenian economy did poorly, and
we should punish in the next election.
3. We are changing so fast that we are losing our true Slovenian
roots. Slovenia needs to retain its traditional ways of doing things.
4. The recent attack on homosexuals in Slovenia is the fault of the
police minister for not protecting them..
5. Democrats are the more liberal party in America. Therefore, their
candidate will be a liberal.
6. If you are a laborer, you should vote for the UK Labour party!
7. Because Jankovic have not solved Ljubljana's problems, it is time
for a change, time to vote for someone else.
8. If violence leads to more violence, Why did WW2 end? Violence
does not lead to more violence.
9. America needs to move more cautiously. Uncle Sam is old and
tired and needs a rest.
10. The EU is the world's foremost democracy. Other nations who
want to be democratic need to copy the EU system.
11. Berlusconi vacations in Sardinia with young scantily dressed
models, he cannot be trusted to govern Italy.
12. Merkel brought shame on Germany by allowing herself to be
photographed at the beach showing her bare butt
13. Republican: I'm not running against Obama, I'm running against
his Socialist ideology. We all know Socialism has failed.

14. Gordon Brown had a mental breakdown. If I told you how I found
out you would all know my sources.
15. Berlusconi is a rich media man, so he won't make decisions in
the interests of the common person.
16.If the Slovenian government wants to spend more on social
programs, they will have to raise taxes.
17. Putin met with space aliens in 2007, and it cannot be disproven.
18. Since Obama is going to win, voting for his opponent is throwing
your vote away.
19. Republicans love the USA flag more than Barack Obama. Only
patriots should be president.