Teaching Argument Evaluation in An Introductory Philosophy Course
ABSTRACT: One of the greatest challenges in teaching an introductory philosophy course is convincing students that there are, indeed, reliable standards for the evaluation of arguments. Too often introductory students criticize an argument simply by contesting the truth of one of its claims. And far too often, the only claim in an argument that meets serious objections is its conclusion. For many students, the idea that an argument displays a structure which can be evaluated on its own terms is not very difficult to grasp. Unfortunately, the idea is grasped only in an abstract way, with insufficient appreciation of how structural problems manifest themselves in concrete
…show more content…
The introductory philosophy student's inability to recognize argument structure presents us with a problem that cannot be addressed simply by "teaching logic." The problem that confronts us addresses a fundamental pedagogical concern: Our task is to instill in the student the habit of clear thinking. When we send our students out into the world, we have to make sure that they're prepared for it. This is not simply a matter of providing them with "tools." We've looked at logic that way — and we've approached teaching logic that way — for far too long. Certainly logic may be employed as a tool; it can serve as an incredibly powerful tool, as we who teach it know full well. But it's not logic per se that we should be concerned with in our introductory courses. We want to teach our students how to think clearly and responsibly. There is certainly a moral edge to this view of the situation, and the manner in which we approach our pedagogical concern will not be without further philosophical prejudice. Ours is Aristotelian. We have found that giving our students the basics of term logic serves our purpose well. We do not introduce it as a tool for argument analysis — a strong case can easily be made for the superiority of truth-functional logic in that respect — we present it, rather, in the way that a kindergarten teacher brings toys into the classroom. And we make it clear that term logic has limitations — it's not an all-purpose tool.
-Some may disagree with me because banning larger drinks will just make people buy more smaller sized drinks allowing them to take in more sugar and calories.
For this discussion assignment, I will be briefly summarizing and analyzing Chaim Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca from The New Rhetoric, as well as the Realm of Rhetoric and The New Rhetoric; A Theory of Practical Reasoning. Through the readings, Perelman developed a kind of “new rhetoric” which was essentially a dense theory of argumentation, audience analysis, and values. He rejected the notion that deduction in persuasion is the key holder that can lead to truth, and advocated for a logic that takes into account categories and people’s understanding of phrases. Philosophy, Perelman argues, is a form of rhetoric (he attempts to connect philosophy and rhetoric again), a system of argument that tries to win the adherence of the “universal
An argument is a claim supported by reasons and pieces of evidence. Arguments have five primary attributes. Firstly, argumentation is a social process which involves two or more parties responding to one another’s proposal or claim. For the case of a written argument, the writer responds to the content of the essay through a critique process. The responses should not only involve restating the same claims and reasons but rather providing supportive pieces of evidence to the positions taken accordingly. Secondly, the aim of an argument is to make the audience adhere to the written critique. The objective is to influence the audience with the aim of gaining support to
Argumentation is a significant element, and people tend to use it every day. By using the word “argumentation” I do not mean to go against someone’s opinion and arguing with them, but what I mean is making others have faith or some sort of belief on the person who is arguing. However, these arguments can occur in two ways such as direct argument and indirect argument. Furthermore, these arguments work with elements and there are three types of elements ethos, pathos, and logos. These elements are engaged with practical reasoning which are divided into three parts datum, warrant, and claim. Accordingly, to discuss about the process of the argumentation “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” will be a notable example.
In this article titled “Analyzing Arguments: Those You Read and Those You Write” goes over multiple strategies and examples to help you analyze the meaning and purpose of a specific argument and how to strengthen your own.
In everyday life arguments happen quite frequently. In Thank You for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs, the author tries to go a day without persuasion or arguing and fails miserably. “For the time being my detector has nothing to say. But my cat does. She jumps on the bed and sticks her nose in my armpit. As reliable as my watch and twice as annoying, the cat persuades remarkable well for ten dumb pounds of fur. Instead of words she uses gesture and tone of voice- potent ingredients of argument.” (Heinrichs page 7) If kids are experiencing and using the argument skill from day one, then it should be the teacher’s job to refine and expand upon the skill. If
~If philosophy is the pursuit of truth, then arguing is the strategy that guides that pursuit. Arguing is a philosopher’s primary task; they love it.
An argument is a two-sided claim that has facts and evidence to back up and justify each side of the argument. The purpose of any argument is to persuade the opponent and the audience to one side or the other. The goal of the speaker or writer is to use persuasive techniques that end with the audience’s vote. These techniques include pathos, logos, and ethos. Each one of these tactics plays an important role in producing a strong case in a debate or argument. Recently, in this composition class, I have put these techniques to use to create a strong argument with two other classmates. Our debate topic was whether or not the death penalty should continue to be legal in the United States. My team served as the proponents of the argument and tried to use each one of these three main persuasive techniques, pathos, logos, and ethos.
This course has taught me that an argument will be most effective when both sides are presented to the reader. It is not enough to persuade the reader to agree with the opinion of the writer by only presenting evidence that proves his/her view point. Every person will have their own personal opinions on a topic. Most of the time there is no definite answer as to whether or not they are right or wrong.
I decided to read for my second book Teaching Argument by Jennifer Fletcher. I enjoyed reading this book and the strategies and key points that Fletcher decided to give. Some things that I will take away with me from the book are the idea of teaching ethos, pathos, and logos. When I was in school, teaching writing was completely different then teaching writing today. With FSA, students need to learn how to write an argument essay, and not just one way only. I just in my internship was grading students on making claims and counterclaims, and what they understood from ethos, pathos, and logos. I am finding that this book really helps teachers to teach argument in the best way, giving teachers great strategies to teach students how to fully understand
Read the following short essay, and then write a 3-5 page response (12-point font, double-spaced, normal margins, no cover page, no binders). Your response should do the following three things: (1) state what the main conclusion of the essay is; (2) state what the most important premises (including sub-conclusions) are—i.e., state which premises are most important if the argument is to rationally convince its audience; (3) evaluate the quality of the argument, giving detailed reasons to justify your evaluation. For purposes of evaluation, assume that the speaker is a contemporary Canadian philosopher and the audience is a group of students in Introduction to Philosophy.
BonJour begins his second half by elaborating on argumentation itself. An argument is a set of propositions in which one proposition (the conclusion) follows from the other propositions known as premises (BonJour 4). The transfer from the premises to the conclusion is known as an inference (BonJour 4-5). This is an idea that seems basic and all philosophers use arguments in order to justify their claims. An argument therefore underlies the whole philosophical discourse. BonJour commences his second argument by looking at the nature of reasoning
situation and give a clear forecast of the material you will cover in your essay. Your thesis
Many valid arguments are offered in chapter 7. For example, Hillocks argues that "argument should be part of the educational program at early stages" (200). I partly agree that argument should be introduced earlier in the students' curriculum. I feel that argument is taught briskly and students do not have much room to learn other than writing assignments. However, I feel that educators should focus on introducing and strengthening the research aspect when the students are younger. That way students have more time practicing finding quality evidence and resources. Teachers could begin giving them research based activities and prompts that would still align to their content objectives. Thus, they will learn effective and ineffective research
It is often assumed that failure is a deterrent to achievement. Rather, failure should be seen as a motivator for a person to keep trying until the objective or aim of a particular mission is fulfilled.