its USS asTOPICS COVERED IN THIS CHAPTER eet UNE reas See Wee eae ne cel * Recognizing arguments: Premise indicators and conclusion ered * Arguments without premises and conclusions CRO cue meee re rer arene)86 Chapter S + Arguments sve We must follow the argument wherever it leads. ~SocraTes “Watson, follow the money wherever it leads.” “ARTHUR CONAN DOvLE (SHERLOCK HOLMES) Definition of an Argument The Greck philosopher Socrates (470-399 8.¢.8.) spent much of his life engaging people in discussions about topics in which they claimed expertise In the course of these “discussions” (called Socratic Dialogues), Socrates would invariably reveal through unrelenting questioning that the expert's opinions were unfounded. Although this critical attitude did not endear him to the ruling class, which eventually led to his imprisonment and death, his method of arriving at the truth has survived throughout the ages. One of the ‘most important lessons Socrates taught us is that we should never accept any statement without having good reasons to support it. The practice of estab lishing good reasons and the ability to distinguish them from bad reasons are essential to critical thinking, Whether you are trying to comprehend, analyze, or evaluate the communication of others, or trying to develop your own’ effective communication in constructing a convincing thesis to get your point across, the ability to distinguish good reasoning from bad reasoning is. necessary skill for critical thinking at work and in everyday experience Reasoning that is presented to convince others of the truth of some stat ‘ment is called an argument, the topic of this chapter. ‘As stated in Chapter 1, opinions become more secure when people give, reasons for accepting them as true. The process of trying to prove that yo opinions are true requires that you lend support to them. This process of soning from evidence to a conclusion is called an inference. It identifies statements that are being offered as evidence for some other statement, a then demonstrates that connection. The result of this reasoning process is argument. An argument is a collection of written or oral statements wh+ Chapter 5 + Arguments 87 at least one of the statements is presented as grounds for (or reasons for) accepting that one of the other statements is truc. You can call the statements you are trying to prove the conclusions and the statements you are pre~ senting as exidence to prove the conclusions the premises Here is an example of an argument. ‘This job description is inadequate because it is too vague. It doesn’t even list the specific tasks that should be performed, and it doesn't say how my performance will be evaluated. “This job description is inadequate” is the conclusion and is stated first in the argument. The reasons advanced to support this conclusion are: “It is too vague,"“It doesn’t list specific tasks” and “It doesn’t state how performance will be evaluated.” They are the premises. If you accept the premises as truc, you have good grounds for accepting the conclusion “The job description is, inadequate” is true, ‘This technical definition should be distinguished from more common defini- tions of an argument, which are characterized as quarrels or emotional debates or disagreements. Rather, the definition here is intended in the sense of developing an informed, reasoned point of view."o be informed by rea- sons is to be able to support a point of view. Whether you are taking a posi- tion in defense of your own ideas or critiquing the ideas of an opposing position, you will need to present an argument. In other words, if you want to convince others to accept, adopt, or at least consider your point of view, you need to construct an argument to persuade them of its truth, Just turn to any newspaper or journal editorial, a legal brief, or TV“opinion piece!'to find good examples of arguments as attempts to persuade an audience. However, ‘unlike Chapter 4, this chapter is concerned with the formal aspects of per- suasion—their logical coherence, reasonableness, and support rather than their emotional elements. It should also be noted thar the definitions of “conclusion” and “premise” are stated in terms of each other. Although this makes the definition circular it is intentional, The circularity is due to treating these concepts as purely rela- ional; their meaning is derived only in relation to each other. Just as the con- cept of a parent is understood only in relation to offspring, a conclusion is understood only in relation to a premise, and vice versa. It follows from this definition that any statement can be a premise and any statement can be a conclusion, depending on its status as either providing proof or being proved.A premise in one argument can be a conclusion in a completely dif ferent argument, and a conclusion in one argument can be a premise in88 Chapter 5 + Arguments another. In the previous example, “It is too vague” is a conclusion for the subargument whose premises are “It doesn't list specific tasks" and “It doesn't state how performance will be evaluated.” The latter two statements are rex sons to accept the conclusion about vagueness, which in turn implies that the job description is inadequate. A summary of the argument’s structure would be as follows: Premises: It doesn't list specifics. It doesn't state how performance will be evaluated. Conclusion #1:Ttis too vague. Conclusion #2: It is inadequate. Here is another example: 1. I we set aside at least an hour and a half for two days to set goals, we should be able to establish a strategic plan for our new focus teams. Once a plan is established, we can then develop another strategy for implementing the goals outlined. 2. If the new focus team concept is to be successful we should involve both management and staff at various levels in the initial discussions. ‘Therefore, three hours on each of the next three days will be set aside for staffmanagement group “brainstorming’ 3. If we decide to develop focus teams, we will need time to first sit down. and establish a clear sct of goals for these teams to accomplish, ‘Therefore, we should designate the first hour and a half of the first two ‘mornings to setting goals. | In paragraph 1 above, setting aside time for establishing a goal is a premise Having a plan in place is an additional premise. The conclusion is that we can develop a strategy for implementing the plan. In 2 and 3, setting aside time is a conclusion.Chapter 5 + Arguments 89 irguments and Explanations EXPLANATIONS ‘When you give reasons for believing that a statement is true, you present an argument. However, when you give reasons or other information to try to explain why something is what it is, or explain how something came to be ‘what it is,you are giving an explanation. A good deal of the process of defin- ing what a concept means is by way of an explanation, For example, as we saw in Chapter 3, determining which sense of the ambiguous word “work” is intended required that you define or explicate (make clear by removing ambiguity and vagueness) the word in precise language. The definition func- tioned as an explanation of the concept. But this is only one among many functions of explanations. An explanation can also make clear how something works by elaborating what it does. Explanations can describe what the object is good for, why it works the way it does, how it compares to something else, or why it was assembled the way it was. Explanations can provide reasons why it costs as much as it does, why we need it now, and why it will not work, and so on. As you can see, expla nations are given in response to the questions why and bow? Unlike argu- ‘ments, their primary function is not to persuade or convince you that some statement is true, or express a point of view about the subject, nor is their function to show how some statements follow logically from some other statements. Rather, explanations tell you what is the case, whereas arguments convince you as to what should be the case. Arguments draw an inference to a conclusion based on the reasons offered in support of it. Explanations offer reasons that make clear why and how things were, are, or will be. Unfortunately, there are many times when it is difficult to tell whether an argument or an explanation is being presented. For example, your coworker says, If you live at least 30 miles from work, you must use a lot of gas each week, With the price of gas so high and that 30-mile commute you have, it must cost you a small fortune. ‘The person is advancing an argument whose general structure goes like this:90 Chapter S + Arguments Since you travel 30 miles each day, and it takes a considerable amount of gas to travel 30 miles, and it is expensive; you should, therefore, spend a good deal of money each week. If your coworker had said,*The reason you spend so much for gas is that gas prices have soared and you travel close to 30 miles each way’ he or she is giv- ing an explanation. The explanation tells you why the cost of commuting is so expensive. There is no inference to persuade you to accept the statements or a conclusion drawn from one statement to the other. The statements mere- fy offer reasons why the events happen the way they do. ‘To determine if the passage is an argument, ask,“Am I being persiaded to accept the truth of something? Am I asked to accept a certain point of view? Is there some kind of bottom tine (@ conclusion) to this message?” As we shall see in the next chapter, idemtifying the conclusion as the “bottom line” is a helpful strategy in determining an argument’s structure. Identifying the con- clusion first allows you to trace the various threads that make up the evi- dence that supports the conclusion of the argument. CONCLUSION AND PREMISE INDICATORS Although it is difficult if not impossible, in many cases to determine whether 4 passage is an explanation or an argument, there are some helpful hints. Following are words and phrases that indicate whether a conclusion or a premise is being inferred which are signs that an argument is being advanced, Conclusion Indicators: therefore, thus, hence, so, we conclude that, for these reasons, consequently, it follows that, as a result of, we may infer that, ‘which demonstrates that, which shows that, which entails that, which implies that, which allows us to conclude that, which allows us to infer that, which allows us to imply that, which shows that+ Chapter S + Arguments 91 Premise Indicators: for, since, because, due to, as demonstrated by, it follows from, inasmuch as, the reason is that, for the reason that, we may assume that, given that it may be inferred from, may be derived from, may be deduced from, in view of the following, as indicated by ‘The premise and conclusion indicators are italicized in the following argu- ment: ‘The librarian was trying to figure out why fewer students are seen browsing the stacks in the library during normal working hours. She concluded that students must be getting resource material elsewhere or they are simply not doing their work. I think the reason is that so many students are balancing ‘work, family,and schooling that they don’t have time to come into the library. Some try to find time during lunch hour, others make time at night for quick ‘rips to the library. However, it’s probably because they do their “browsing” on line when they can find the time. Since more students have access to on- line searches, they don’t need to come into the library to find sources for research. Thus, the real reason they are not browsing the library stacks is that they have found other ways to obtain the information Unfortunately, there will be occasions when neither a premise indicator nor a conclusion indicator is present in an argument. And there will also be times when an entire statement, either a premise or a conclusion, will be missing in an argument (Figure 5-1). For implicit expressions, context is your only. clue in determining which is a premise and which is a conclusion. In cases where there is doubt or confusion about premises and conclusions, ask, “Which statement is the speaker trying to conviztce me (an audience) should be true? Does the information attempt to settle a question about the truth of some statement(s)?"“Which statements am I being persuaded to accept as ‘true? What point of view am I being asked to adopt or accept? What is the bottom line (a conclusion) to this message?" On the other hand, if the speaker is trying to elaborate, define, or explicate what makes these statements true, you are presented with an explanation. Despite these helpful hints, however, the speaker himself might be confused as to whether he intends to advance an argument or an explanation. In such cases, only the context will clarify whether an argument or an explanation is being offered. But as critical thinkers, you should be familiar by now with ana-92 Chapter S » Arguments | GUESS WE CAN ASSUME THAT THOMPSON HAD TROUBLE GETTING OFF THE LIFT. FIGURE 5-1 Iyzing context. Rather than accepting the truth of the statements at face value, examining the context allows you to identify various parts of the communication, make connections among the parts, and clarify meanings, which will once again become important strategies as you analyze complex | arguments.sessesness Chapter 5 + Arguments 93 ions to questions marked with a W can be found in the section titled Selected Solutions to Exercises. Identify the premises and conclusions in the following arguments. 1, Since the government statistics show significant job growth in the technology area, I should plan to enroll in a training program soon in some technical field. 2. The new efficiency expert the company hired seems to be more sensitive to personal circumstances, than the last one. The reason he’s well liked is that he looks at your past performance history, con- siders your length of service, and considers a variety of options where you might fit elsewhere in the ‘company if things aren‘t working out. 3, If Lwork 50 to 60 hours per week, then I'm really tired when I get home evenings. And if I take two college courses per semester, then I have extra work to do when I get home. Hence, the reason Lam always beat is that I'm either studying or working. 4, The projected job growth in technology, especially in medical related fields, is encouraging, The more health care turns to technology to help patients without adding costs, the more this area will grow. Thus, itis important to develop skills that will position you for a future in this industry. # 5. The new efficiency expert is not liked very much, He's a bottom-liner. The only things important to ‘him are quotas and production. He never takes into account personal circumstances or past per- formance. (continued)94 Chapter $ - Arguments ‘'m just in a temporary slump tight now, but I've done a good job for this company. I've been dis- tracted by my wife's illness, that's the real reason, If Anderson gets the promotion, then Diaz will have been passed over twice. If Diaz is passed over a second time, then there will be a grievance filed. Thus, if Anderson gets that promotion, you will see a grievance filed. 7 If you crack an off-color joke now and then it might be tolerated, depending on the circumstances, IE you continue to tell off-color or sexually explicit comments and jokes, it can be rude, insensitive, and may offend others. But if you are warned and continue to tell these stories, and/or make unso- licited sexual advances, it’s against the law. If the quality control office sets minimum standards for exact measurement tolerances in measure- meat, then we must flag those items. It my recollection that these standards do exist in the operat- ‘ing manual. It follows that we should flag those items anyway. 10. If the quality control office sets minimum standards for exact measurement tolerances, then we should flag those items. But I can't find those standards anywhere. So, we don't need to flag those items. 7«Chapter S » Arguments 95 L State whether the speaker is presenting an argument or an explanation in the fol- lowing. If you believe that the exercise contains both, explain why you believe so. Then develop an argument to convince the reader of the truth of your belief that it is both. : 1. Tunwall is absent from work today because he has the flu. ‘Tunwall must have the flu, He didn’t show up for work. 3, Tunwall must have the flu. He was coughing and wheezing yesterday, He also had a temperature of 10. 4, There must be a reason why Tunwall didn’t show up for work today. 1 think the reason he's out is that he caught the flu from his children, (continued)96 Chapter 5. Arguments + eres 5. Whenever Tunwall misses work, you can bet that he is very ill with some kind of ailment. He almost never misses work. 7 6. It would be unfair to allow only married employees to come to work late on occasions. Just because ‘they have child care problems, it doesn’t mean they get special treatment. I would like to be allowed to come in late now and then too. 7. The reason DeSantis and Clough arrive 10 minutes late on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is that they have to drop off their daughters at the day care center. 8. ‘The reason I'm so confused about where I'm going in this company is that I never really figured ‘out what my greatest skills are and what makes me fee! satisfied the most. 9. T've heard that these job fairs are very helpful in identifying your skills and interests. They have selftests right there at the show. They have counselors who will talk with you. I think we should go the next time it’s at the city center.Chapter 5 + Arguments 97 10. If list all my past experiences In my resume without identifying the relevancy of them to the job 1 am seeking, I will not advance my credentials in the most effective way possible. Importance of Recognizing Arguments This seemingly purely academic discussion about two closely related con- cepts has important implications for critical thinking. In order to analyze thor- oughly alt facets of an argument, including its subarguments, implications, connections, flaws, and assumptions, you must first identify its structure. But to identify its structure you must first be sure you are dealing with an argu- ‘ment. In the process of making this determination, you must identify which statements are premises and which are conclusions. You are then able to dis- cern the connections among premises and conclusions and thereby capture the logical “flow” of the argument, an important skill in critically evaluating all aspects of persuasive communication. For example, when you carefully read an article, position paper, marketing report, or product analysis that is trying to convince you to adopt a certain marketing strategy, you need to know ‘where the argument is headed. What is its conclusion? What are the reasons that support the conclusion? Are the reasons themselves established or well | supported? Do they in fact support this conclusion? Only when you are satis- fied with the answers to these questions can you accept the conclusion of the argument. Their importance in resolving conflicts or problems was discussed earlier. A little practice in recognizing arguments and explanations will help. Consider the following: 1, a) The reason the stock market climbed today is that unemployment | figures were up. It may scem ironic, but according to economic ana- lysts, including Alan Greenspan, this indicates a loosening up of ‘workforce availability.The potential high cost of labor in the recent ‘economic boom could lessen profitability.98 Chapter 5 Arguments ) The reason the stock market goes up in times of low unemploy is that low unemployment always means higher costs for labor. Higher labor costs lead to lower profits, which in turn will stock values.That’s why they go up when unemployment goes down. 2. a) The wage increases for line supervisors were the result of added responsibility and added workload. Supervisors earn incremental increases with added responsibility, according to the number of people they supervise and their level of supervision, 'b) Whenever a supervisor assumes added responsibility, his or her ings should increase correspondingly. After all, more responsil ‘means more stress, more work, and more influence in the com direction. It is only fitting that he or she receives a raise. In the two examples above, the first example (a) explains why some decision was made. The second example (b) tries to convince you decision was a good decision. The reasons are offered in supporting position (the conclusion), which you are urged to accept. In both cases author had added to the last sentence a phrase such as “thus, itis that. ..", it would be clearer that you are dealing with an argument.IN THIS CHAPTER WE: + Demonstrated how to recognize arguments and explanations Chapter S + Arguments 99 + Defined arguments and how they compare with explanations + Explored the terms “premises” and “conclusions” + Discussed premise indicators and conclusion indicators + Explained the importance of identifying the basic structure of arguments, List three characteristics of arguments. List three characteristics of explanations. Explain why the distinction between an argument and an explanation is important. Explain wht recognizing the structure of arguments and identifying the relationships of constituent parts may help resolve problems, resolve conflicts, or aid in decision making. Determine which of the following are arguments and which are expla- nations Where there is doubt, explain your answer and then construct an. argument to convince the reader of your position. a) Kahled has been working overtime a lot lately. He should be receiving a nice bonus in his next check100 Chapter S + Arguments «+» by Itis true that the new contract is popular among younger employees. Bur that should not encourage older members to disapprove it. ©) The receptionist is rude and snappish on the phone. When you call asking for even the most basic information, she is gruff. However, when you ask why, you are always told that she is having a bad day. 4) The management training program is open to all employees who hold at least an associate degree or have three years of continuous employ- ment. So, ifI finish this semester, I can apply for the program. 6. Setting aside for now the persuasive devices, do you believe the author in the following paragraphs is explaining why a problem occurs or argu- ing for a position (point of view) with regard to a problem? @) A brainstorming session is designed to produce as many ideas as pos sible to solve the problem at hand The key ground rule is to delay crit- icism and evaluation of ideas until all ideas are on the table.The group simply invents ideas without considering their merits and without considering whether they are realistic or unrealistic. One idea should provoke another like a chain reaction. b) Since the divorce rate in the United States is over 50 percent and since women on average outlive men by more than seven years, it follows that many women will be either divorced or widowed at some time in their lives. Women's groups are urging women to plan ahead for the possibility of facing difficult financial times. They should develop a strong financial plan with a professional consultant or visit their human resources office now. ©) When Anita Battershell, herself the mother of a 16-year-old and 10- year-old, opened her travel agency, the 16-year-old was just a baby. But she set aside a room for him to play in when he visited.“Then I rea ized that my employees might like to use this room for their kids too,” she said. She's created an in-office kids’ club, with beanbag chairs, bunkbeds,and a television. This turned out to be a creative solution to problems of employees leaving carly, missing parts of the workday, or staying at home for childcare reasons."Chapter 5 + Arguments 101 VORA 1. Locate a recent report, company newsletter, or work-related journal, Identify arguments and explanations contained in the report or in one of the articles, letters to the editor, or opinion pieces, 2. Locate a popular magazine and turn to the editorial pages and Letters to, the Editor section. Describe at least two arguments and two explanations in these sections. 3. Construct a counterargument in response to two of the arguments dis- ‘cussed in Exercise 2 above.