t What are the 2 different ways to attempt to persuade?
- Argument: e.g. evidence, reasons
- Rhetoric: (Mere) persuasive power or force
What is the Rhetoric attempt to persuade?
- Any verbal or written attempt to persuade someone to believe, desire or do something that does not give good reasons for the belief, desire or action, but attempts to motivate that belief, desire or action solely through the power of the words used.
- e.g., emotional , threat of force
What is an Argument?
- A set of propositions of which one is a conclusion and the remainder are premises intended as support for the conclusion.
- Note: We’re concerned with the ways in which pieces of
verbal evidence support a certain conclusion
What is a Proposition?
- The factual content expressed by a declarative sentence on a particular occasion, “Bearers of Truth Values” = the sort of things that could be True or False
- e.g. Dublin is the capital of Ireland, The moon is made of green cheese. not Which way to the bus station?
- Rhetorical questions are declarative sentences disguised as an interrogative
What is the Principle of Bivalence?
- There are only two possible truth values (True and False), and every declarative sentence has one and only one(even if we do not know what it is yet).
What are Premises and Conclusions?
- Premise: Sentences that assert the evidence. (There may be many)
- Conclusion: A sentence asserting the thing that is argued for. (By
definition, an argument can contain only one) - if there are 2 conclusions = there are 2 arguments
What is an argument is “Standard Form”?
Standard Form”
- Number/label the premises and conclusion.
- Include the “inference bar” (≈ “therefore”)
- e.g. P1) Among all the chimpanzees, only Sultan is Male, P2) The only chimpanzees who will get a banana are the males, C) Therefore Sultan is the only chimpanzee who will get a banana.
How would you recognise arguments? (3 Rules)
- Work out the conclusion (What’s your point?)
- Work out what is supposed to support it.
- Work out whether that support is any good:
- Whether the premisses would support it if they were true. (Validity)
- Whether the premisses are actually true. (Soundness)
How are Indicator Words used in Arguments?
- ‘Therefore,’ ‘Hence,’ ‘Thus,’ ‘So’; all tend to indicate conclusions.
- ‘For’, ‘Since’, ‘Because’; all tend to indicate premisses
- Handy hints: Try to insert indicator words if you think something is
supposed to be an argument. - e.g., “Only Sultan should get the banana. He’s the only male, and only males get bananas.”
Can indicator words be used in an explanation?
- Sometimes the same indicator words can be used in an explanation and not just an argument.
- This is because explanations sometimes have the same logical structure (more in PH2019).
1. “The tap is leaking; it needs a new washer.”
2. “The tap is leaking; there is a sound of dripping water.” - In (1) the audience already accepts the proposition that the tap is leaking, but wants to know why that’s the case. (2) is designed to persuade them of the same proposition.
What is an extended argument?
- So, if there seem to be two conclusions then we’re dealing with an
“extended argument” (i.e., two arguments that are presented together, where the conclusion of one is a premise in the other). - E.g., “Myles is a dog. All dogs are mammals, so Myles is a
mammal. And since all mammals are warm-blooded, it follows
that Myles is warm-blooded
P1 C1 27 79
P2 P3 +52 +21
—– —– —– ——–
C1 C2 79 100
Give an example of a standard form of an argument
P1) Myles is a dog
P2) All dogs are mammals
=
C1) (Therefore) Myles is a mammal
P3) All mammals are warm blooded
=
C2) (Therefore) Myles is warm blooded
What are points when reconstructing arguments
- This is a general reminder that sometimes the premises in an argument need further support themselves.
- When reconstructing arguments, we may re-phrase things and legitimately omit extraneous information.
- Especially when they’re only part of the rhetorical force of an utterance.
