Module 2

Recognizing Arguments
C/T is concerned with understanding, constructing,
and critically evaluating arguments,
arguments one of the
most basic C/T skills is that of recognizing
arguments
 What is an Argument ?
 In C/T, arguments are not a disagreement or a
form of verbal battle / quarrel / Shouting that we
have with our parents or friends
 In C/ T view –
'an argument is defended with reasons'
 Argument is a form of thinking in which certain
statements ( reasons) are offered in support of
another ( Conclusion)
 What is an Argument ( cont)

In other words, arguments are collection of statements
one of which is designated as the conclusion and
remainders of which are designed as the premises
Example: 1
 i. All humans are mortal. ( Premise)
ii.Brad Pitt is human. ( Premise)
iii. Ergo, Brad Pitt is mortal. (Conclusion)
In other words, Argument is a set of claims; one of which is supported by the
other(s).
-Arguments at their most basic level consist of conclusions and premises.
 Premises ( Reason)

 Premises are reasons / evidence for accepting

another statement / the argument
 In another words, premises are statements in
an argument offered as evidence / reasons
why we should accept another statement and
conclusion
 Statements
 A Statement is a declarative sentence that is
capable of being true / false
Examples:
iphone is handy
Sri Lanka is in a Pacific region
God does not exist
Abortion is morally right
Same sex marriage should be legalized
Some of the ex. are T/ some are F and Some are
controversial but each of them is a statement
 Identifying Claims/Statements
A claim is a statement that has truth-
value.
It is sunny today.
Barack Obama is the 44th President of the
United States.
Today is Saturday.
Mauritania is bordered by the
Mediterranean Sea.
 Statements ( cont)
 Not all sentences are statements but all statements are
sentences. Why?
What is your name ? (Q)
Hi ! Malli (G)
Switch off the AC (C)
Please submit your assigment on time (R)
Let's go for walk (Prpl)
Add P with Q ( Ins)
OMG (X)
 Statements ( cont)
 Some important notes on statements
-A sentence may be used to express more than one statement
e.g. This inst. is in Colombo and Peradeniya is in Kandy
-A Statement can sometimes be expressed as a phrase / an
incomplete clause, rather than as a complete declarative
sentence
e.g. 'With mortgage interest rates @ thirty year lows, you can owe
it to yourself to consider refinancing your home'
 Statements ( cont)
- Statements can be subjective matters as well as
objectively verifiable matters of facts
e.g. I feel slight twinge in my left knee ( T/F)
- Rhetorical questions should be regarded as statements
e.g.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothing?
life and body are greater than that which nurtures them physically

(The point of such "questions" is not to ask for information, but to make a
positive assertion that the speaker or writer expects at least some of his
readers or listeners to agree with)
 Are these Statements?
- Isn't it time African Americans receive the
reparations they deserve?
- Don't you realize the tax-and-spend Democrats
are leading this country straight into a recession?
 Conclusion

A statement that explains, asserts, or predicts on the basis
of statements ( known as reasons) that are offered as
evidence for it.
ex. There were 20 persons originally
There are 19 persons currently
So someone is missing
 What is an argument?
An argument is a set of claims; one of which
is supported by the others.

The conclusion is the claim that the arguer is

trying to prove.

The premise is a claim providing support for a

conclusion.
In the context of critical thinking, an argument means the
presentation of a reason(s) to support a conclusion(s), or:
Argument = Reason + Conclusion

Continuing Claim
A single sentence may contain more than one claim.
George owns a cat, and Jones owns a dog.
George owns a Siamese, which is a breed of cat.
George got a new cat because his other one died.
 Identifying Premises and Conclusions
 Look for premise indicators – words like..
because, since, for, given that, as, judging from,
indicated by, in that, may be inferred from, given
that, in light of, in view of
Look for conclusion indicators – Words like...
Therefore, thus, hence, so, as a result,
accordingly, consequently, implies that, it
follows that, and which shows that
If the argument includes no indicator words than follow
the following clues

- Ask yourself “What claim is the writer trying to

prove?” That claim would be the conclusion
- Try putting the word 'therefore' before each of the
statements in turn. The statement it fits best will be the
conclusion
- Look @ the beginning /end of passage: the conclusion
is often found in one of these places
 What is not an Argument (Cont)

- Argument is a group of statements

- One of these statements (the conclusion) is
claimed/ intended to be supported by the
premise(s)
 What is not an Argument (Cont)
Things to remember
- Arguments consist entirely of statements
- All sentences are not statements
- No single statement is an argument and arguments always
consist of @least two statements
- That is, a passage is an argument only if the writer intends to
offer evidence / reasons why another statement should be
accepted as true.
 Non Argumentative Discourse
The following five kinds of passages that are sometimes
confused with arguments
1. Reports
2. Unsupported assertions
3. Conditional statements
4. Illustrations
5. Explanations
 Non- Argumentative Discourse
1. Reports
A statement / group of statements that are
intended simply to convey information about a
subject.
eg. A powerful car bomb blew up outside the regional
telephone company headquarters in Medellin (a city
in Colombia), injuring 25 people and causing
millions of dollars in damage to nearby buildings,
local police said.
 REPORT
• Reports: statements made to convey information.
• The purpose of a report is simply to convey
information about a subject.
– “More people moved to the south this year.”
– “Oil prices dropped today, thus so did gas prices.”
• Notice that, even though there is a conclusion indicator, this is
still a report.
• Example – The SL Government has cancelled its Colombo
Port City Project.
 Non- Argumentative Discourse
2. Unsupported Statements of Belief/opinion
• A Statement or set of statements in which the speaker
or writer expresses his/her personal opinion but offers
no reason /evidence to back up that opinion
eg. For the person who called and said Dhoni was better than
Tendulker, wake up. No one was ever better than Tendulker,
not even Lara in his glory.
 Non- Argumentative Discourse
3. Conditional Statements

C/S are if-then statements. It asserts that such

and such is true if something else is true
eg. If it rains, then the picnic will be cancelled
 Conditional Statements
• Antecedent: Usually, the part that directly
follows “if.”
• Consequent: Usually, the part that follows
“then”
But conditionals don’t always have “if” or “then”
e.g., In the event of rain, the picnic will be
cancelled.
 Non- Argumentative Discourse
4. Illustration
It is a passage intended to provide examples of a
claim, rather than evidence or proof for the
claim
eg. Many wildflowers are edible. For example, daises
and day lilies are delicious in salads
 Non- Argumentative Discourse
5. Explanations
Explanations are statements intended to explain why
something is the case, rather than to prove that it is
the case
eg. I speak English because my parents sent me to
boarding school to the US
 EXPLANATIONS
• An explanation tries to show why something is
the case, not to prove that is the case.
• Example: Princess Diana died because she was
involved in a fatal car accident.
– Usually offers up a causal explanation for something
that is already accepted as true.
• Titanic sank because it struck an iceberg. (explanation)
• Capital Punishment is wrong because it is murder. (argument)
 Arguments vs. Explanations
 Both contain at least two claims.
 Both provide reasons.
 Different purpose.
Arguments prove that something is true.
Explanations describe how or why something is true.

The Titanic sank because it hit an iceberg.

(Explanation)

Capital punishment should be abolished because innocent people may be

mistakenly executed. (Argument)
 EXPLANATIONS – 4 TESTS
1. The common knowledge test

2. The past-event test

3. The author’s intent test

4. The Principle of Charity test

Exercises
1) Planet Earth was much drier in the Triassic than it is
now, and there were large deserts in inland areas. There
were no flowering plants or grasses--they evolved much
later. The most common trees were conifers, similar to
today's pines. Other large plants included yews, ginkgos,
and the palmlike cycads. Moisture-loving ferns and
horsetails thrived by lakes and rivers.
(Philip Whitfield, Simon & Schuster's Children's Guide to Dinosaurs and
Other Prehistoric Animals, 1992)
2.) If X comes to the party, then Y will come to the party

3) For the person who called and said Larry Bird was
better than Michael Jordan, wake up. No one was
ever better than Michael Jordan, not even Kareem in
his glory and not even Dr. J (From a newspaper )
4) Almost all groups agree in holding other groups to
be inferior to themselves. The American Indians
looked upon themselves as the chosen people,
specially created by the Great Spirit as an uplifting
example for mankind. One Indian tribe called itself
"The Only Men"; another called itself "Men of Men";
the Caribs said, "We alone are people."
5.When a democratic society is correctly understood to be
one in which the people live under constitutional
government with universal suffrage and with the
securing of human rights, economic as well as
political, for all citizens, it must then be recognized
that a democratic society is not yet fifty years old in
this country
(Mortimer J. Adler, The Paideia Proposal, 1984)

6. If a claim or position is being set forth and no other explicit

or implicit statement is used to support it, then the spoken or
written material in question is not an argument
(T. Edward Damer, Attacking Faulty Reasoning, 4th ed., 2001
Identify the premise(s) and conclusion in this
argument
A good society treasures its dissidents and
mavericks because it needs the creative thinking
that produces new hypotheses, expanded means, a
larger set of alternatives, and, in general, the
vigorous conversation induced by fresh ideas.
(Nel Noddings, Philosophy of Education, 1995)
The End