CRITICAL THINKING

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What is not an Argument?

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 What is not
an Argument

01 Reports.

02 Unsupported assertions.

03 Conditional statements.

04 Illustrations

05 Explanations
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01
Reports
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 ● Argument: give reasons to support what we are
conveying
Premise Conclusion

● Report: convey information about a subject

● Report can be a premise or a conclusion, but alone it is

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not an argument.
  
REPORT ARGUMENT

Information Premise + Conclusion

INCLUDE

Give information about Give reasons to prove

AIM something something
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 “
Here is some example:

The university should implement a new Internet policy

because the current one is not working

The 1918 flu pandemic infected about 500 million people.

This was about one third of the world’s population.
Caution: Reports about arguments
 
Ex: John says that you shouldn’t vote in elections because all
politicians are dishonest.
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 02
Unsupported assertions
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 02

Definition

Unsupported assertions are statements about what a speaker

or writer happens to believe.
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 Evidences or reasons
Conclusion Premises
Unsupported
Assertions

In Unsupported Assertions:

-Indicate a belief Argument

-Without providing evidence
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 Example:

For the person who called and said Larry Bird was better
than Michael Jordan,wake up.No one was ever better than
Micheal Jordan,not even Kareem in his Glory and not even
Dr.j.
(From a newspaper call-in column)

1.His opinion
2.No evidence
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 Conditional statements
03
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 A conditional statement is an if-then statement.

Example:

If today is Wednesday, then yesterday was

Tuesday.

You can’t be shy if you want to make friends.

If opportunity knocks, open the door.

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 Conditional statements are made up of two basic parts.

Conditional statements

Then: consequent

If: antecedent
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 Conditional statements need not be explicitly in if-
then form

Example:

‘ If you wanted, I could help you study ’.

antecedent consequent
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 Conditional statements need not
be explicitly in if-then form. In
modern usage, “then” is usually
dropped. 

Example:

She will pass the test, provided she studies

hard.
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 Conditional statements are not
arguments (because there is no
claim that any statement follows
from any part of a conditional
statement)

Example:

If Lan doesn’t do her homework, she will be

punished.
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 Although conditional statements
are not arguments, some
conditional statements do involve
a process of reasoning.
Example:

If A is older than B, and B is older than C,

then A would be older than C. 
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 Such arguments are sometimes
called chain arguments

Example:

o If anything is a dog then it is a mammal.

o If anything is a mammal then it is an
animal.
o If anything is a dog then it is an animal.
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 04
Ilustrations
.
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   Argument Illustration
Include Premises and a conclusion A claim and examples of a
claim

Aim Provide reasons to prove Provide examples rather than

something prove or support something
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 Illustrations are intended to provide examples of a claim, rather
than prove or support the claim.
.
Example:

o Premises
Argument:

All human are mortal. Socrates is human. Therefore, socrates is mortal

\

Conclusion
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 .

Example:

Claim

Many wild flowers are edible. For example, daisies and day lilies are delicious in salads.

Example
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 Distinguishing arguments from illustrations can be tricky for two
reasons :

 Phrases like for example and for instance sometimes occur in arguments rather than in
illustrations

Example:
Although most form of cancers, if untreated, can cause death, not all cancers are life-
\
threatening. For example, basal cell carcinoma, the most common of all skin cancers,
can produce disfigurement, but it almost never results in death
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  There is sometimes a fine line between illustrating a claim and providing sufficient
evidence for the claim

Example:
Many of the world’s greatest philosophers were bachelors. For instance,
\
Descartes, Locke, Hume, and Kant were all unmarried
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 Often in an illustration, an
example is used to illustrate a
general principle. This general
rule that critical thinkers call it the
Example :
principle of charity
Many of the world’s greatest philosophers
were bachelors. For instance, Descartes,
Locke, Hume, and Kant were all unmarried
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 05
Explanations
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 Example:
 intends to so why or how a
Explanandum
statement is true
I am late for the meeting because my
train was late .
 tries to show why
something is the case, not Explanans

to prove that it is the case

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 In the given example:
I am late for the meeting because my train was late .

Explanandum Explanans

o The explanans is already known/ assumed to be true

o There can be various explanans for one explanandum.

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 Four basic tests in order to distinguish arguments
from explanations

01 Is the statement that the passage seeks to prove or explain a matter of

common knowledge?

02 Is the statement that the passage is seeking to prove or explain an

event that occurred in the past?

Is it the speaker’s or writer’s intent to prove or establish that

03 something is the case—that is, to provide reasons or evidence for

accepting a claim as true?

The principle of charity, requires that we always interpret unclear

04 passages generously and we never interpret a passage as a bad

argument when the evidence reasonably permits us to interpret it as
not an argument at all.
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 “
:

Some students find it frustrating that critical thinking

doesn’t always provide definite, clear-cut answers. In
this respect, however, critical thinking simply reflects
life. Life is complex and messy, and critical thinking,
because it helps us think intelligently about life,
naturally reflects this complexity and messiness.
 
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thank you!
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