Argument & Reasoning

Argument & Reasoning

 rhetoric or the
According to Aristotle, ________,
“art of persuasion” is "the ability, in
each particular case, to see the
available means of persuasion.” He
described three main forms of rhetoric
(persuasion):
Three Forms of Persuasion
 ETHOS Appeal to ________.
_______: character When
the speaker is seen as trustworthy,
interested in
knowledgeable, and ___________
the audience, the audience will likely
accept what the speaker says as true.
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 Three Forms of Persuasion
 PATHOS Appeal to _______.
_______: emotion Pathetic
or emotional appeals, persuades audiences
arousing the emotions.
by _________
 Three Forms of Persuasion
 LOGOS Appeal to ______.
_______: reason Logos refers
to different systems of reasoning, working
together to persuade an audience.
 Three Types of Reasoning
1. _________
Deductive Reasoning: From general to specific.

General Spec

These types of arguments are called

Syllogisms
__________ and are proven by analyzing the
claims:
True
A. All men or mortal True
B. Socrates is a man True
C. Therefore, Socrates is mortal
 Deductive Reasoning
Not all syllogisms give true conclusions.
A. All cats are mortal True
B. Socrates is mortal True
C. Therefore, Socrates is ____
a cat False
When we use deductive reasoning in normal
conversation, we usually use an __________.
enthymeme
Enthymemes allow the audience to supply
common-sense evidence to support
the “_____________”
the claim.
 Deductive Reasoning
Enthymemes simplify the syllogism to two steps:
Ex. Connie is a cheerleader, therefore Connie is
very popular.
A. Connie is a cheerleader True
B. ____________________
Cheerleaders are popular ?
C. Connie is very popular ?
 Deductive Reasoning
Questions to ask about Deductive Arguments:
 Is the General Statement True?
 Is Connie a Cheerleader?
 Is the Specific Example True?
 Are Cheerleaders popular?
 Does the Specific Example apply to the
General Statement?

Is Connie popular? Is it because she is a
cheerleader, or for other reasons?
 Three Types of Reasoning
Inductive Reasoning from specific to
2._________:
general.
Spec General

We use inductive reasoning all the time,

however, it does not provide ________,
certainty
but only _________.
probability
 Inductive Reasoning
Ex. Evidence: I met 5 people from Conroe, they
were all mean.
Conclusion: People from Conroe are mean.
Questions: Are there enough examples?
(you only met 5 people)
Are the examples typical?
(anything unusual?)
Are there important exceptions,
or special cases? (at doctor’s
office / dentist?)
 Inductive Reasoning
Ex. Evidence: The sun has risen every day for
the past year.
Conclusion: The sun will rise tomorrow.
Questions: Are there enough examples?
(365+)
Are the examples typical?
(Yes, usual occurrence)
Are there important exceptions?

(none foreseeable)
 Three Types of Reasoning
Cause & Effect
3. _____________: All effects have a
specific cause.
CAUSE - - -> - - -> - - -> EFFECT
Ex1. Evidence: Jane studied for hours.
Conclusion: She will get an “A” on the test
Questions: Is the Cause connected to
the Effect? Will studying for
hours ensure an “A”?
 Cause & Effect
Ex2. Evidence: As the sale of ice cream increases,
the murder rate goes up.
Conclusion: Eating ice cream causes murder.
Questions: Is the Cause connected to
the Effect? Could there be
another explanation? i.e. More
ice cream is sold in the summer
when it is hot, heat causes
tempers to flair, etc.
Types of Faulty Reasoning
 Glittering Generality Vague and
________________:
general statements that cannot be
________
proven or _________.
disproven Ex. “Pepsi
is the best soda.”
 ____________:
Card Stacking Pilling up information
about an ____
idea without much ______.
backing
Ex. “Join the Army. You’ll meet new
people, go different places and can
even get a college education.”
Types of Faulty Reasoning
 _______________:
Bandwagon Appeal Everyone else is
doing it, ____
you should do it also. Ex.
“We are all going to the party, you
don’t want to be left out.”
 _________________:
Unrelated Testimonial An
endorsement by someone who is
___________
disconnected from the product /
idea. Ex. George Foreman endorsing
Meineke mufflers.
Types of Faulty Reasoning
 Name Calling Attacks the person
___________:
Ad Homenim
rather than the idea. (___________)
Ex. “Oh yeah, well I have a better
class average than you do.”