Chapter 7: Analyzing Arguments §

(F) Day of the week: Tuesday Class: IS209 Created Time: June 16, 2020 2:10 PM Database: Class Notes Database Date: June 16, 2020 2:10 PM Days Till Date: Passed Last Edited Time: June 9, 2021 10:42 AM Type: Lecture

To Analyze an Argument is to identifying what argument is being argued relying on what grounds to see if its strong or not.

I. Diagraming Short Arguments §

• Short Arguments: around 1 paragraph long

A because B, C, D.

Step 1: read and find premises and conclusion indicators

A because B, C, D.

Step 2: Number statements as they appear in the argument

(1)A because (2)B, (3)C, (4)D.

Step 3: put the premises above leading to the conclusion

(2) (3) (4)

(1)

Step 4: Omit irrelevant statements

Step 5: put arrows pointing from the premises to the conclusion

• Independent Support: is when a premise will stand on it’s own and will give the same amount of support to the conclusion either with or without other premises.

  $\begin{array}{rl}(1)& |(2)\\ \downarrow & \downarrow \\ (& 3)\end{array}$

• Linked Support: when premises rely on each other to keep their strength supporting the conclusion.

  $\begin{array}{rl}(1)& +(2)\\ & \downarrow \\ & (3)\end{array}$

Sub-Conclusion: a conclusion proved by two linked support premises, but the conclusion itself act as the premise for the final conclusion

💡 1. Read through the argument carefully, circling any premise or conclusion indicators you see. 2. Number the statements consecutively as they appear in the argument. Don’t number any sentences that are not statements. 3. Arrange the numbers on a page with the premises placed above the conclusion(s) they support. Omit any irrelevant or redundant statements. 4. Using arrows to mean “is offered as evidence for,” create a kind of flowchart that shows which premises are intended to support which conclusions. 5. Indicate independent premises by drawing arrows directly from the premises to the conclusions they are claimed to support. Indicate linked premises by placing a plus sign between each of the premises, and drawing an arrow from the underlined premises to the conclusions they support. 6. Put the argument’s main conclusion at the bottom of the diagram.

II. Summarizing Long Arguments §

To provide a short description of the argument

1. Paraphrasing §

to restate the original passage in a different way with the same intended meaning.

Accuracy §

to maintain the original intended meaning by the author without bias or misleading

Clear §

to replace technical terms and complex language with simple wordings and to the point wordings

Concise §

to remove unimportant details and put wordy answers into short to the point.

Charitable §

an unclear statement should be interpreted in the most plausible way

2. Finding Missing Premises and Conclusion §

Enthymeme: sometimes generally accepted or general knowledge is omitted from an argument but still supports the conclusion. It is implied

To fill a missing premise or conclusion in an Enthymeme:

Faithfully interpret the arguer’s intentions §

to figure out in what way the author intended for readers to fill in

Be charitable §

interpret the unclear statement in the best case possible for the author’s intention

3. Summarizing Extended Argument §

💡 Method to do Article Analysis Assignment

to analyze arguments with multiple linked premises and sub conclusions

1. Number the statements in logical order of premises to conclusion
2. Remove unimportant statements
3. Fill in missing premises or conclusions in square brackets [C]
4. put in parenthesis of the statement that support each statement 1. A (B)

🚫 Mistakes to avoid:

1. Don’t write in incomplete sentences.
2. Don’t include more than one statement per line.
3. Don’t include anything that is not a statement.
4. Don’t include anything that is not a premise or a conclusion.