1. Distinguishing Arguments from Non-arguments The aim of this tutorial is to help you identify arguments and distinguish them from various kinds of non-arguments.
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3. Notice three important things that follow from this definition: 1. Arguments consist entirely of statements, i.e., sentences that it makes sense to regard as either true or false. Questions, commands, exclamations, and other kinds of nonstatements cannot be parts of arguments. (Keep in mind, however, that rhetorical questions should be treated as statements.) 2. No single statement, however long, complex, or controversial, is an argument. Arguments always consist of at least two statements. 3. Nothing counts as an argument unless it is claimed or intended that one statement follows from one or more other statements in the passage. In other words, a passage is an argument only if the speaker or writer intends to offer evidence or reasons why another statement should be accepted as true.
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19. Although you usually cannot eliminate the personal feelings that are influencing your perceptions, you can become aware of them and try to compensate for their bias. For instance, if you are asked to evaluate a group of people, one of whom is a good friend, you should try to keep these personal feelings in mind in order to make your evaluation as accurate as possible (John Chaffee, The Thinker's Way , 1998) Non-argument (illustration). In this passage, the words "for instance" signal us that the author is trying to illustrate a claim, not to prove it.
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22. Identifying Premises and Conclusions This tutorial will give you practice in distinguishing premises from conclusions.
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25. 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) Identify the premise(s) and conclusion in this argument.
26. 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) Premise : A good society needs the creative thinking that that produces new hypotheses, expanded means, a larger set of alternatives, and, in general, the vigorous conversation induced by fresh ideas. Conclusion : A good society treasures its dissidents and mavericks. Notice the word because in this passage. This tips us off that a premise is being offered.
27. Since in American schools every child is unique and of equal worth with every other child, academic competition, which subverts this egalitarian and individualist creed, must be discouraged. (Stated but not endorsed in E.D. Hirsch, Jr., The Schools We Need and Why We Don’t Have Them , 1996) Identify the premise(s) and conclusion in this argument.
28. Since in American schools every child is unique and of equal worth with every other child, academic competition, which subverts this egalitarian and individualist creed, must be discouraged. (Stated but not endorsed in E.D. Hirsch, Jr., The Schools We Need and Why We Don’t Have Them , 1996) Premise 1 : In American schools every child is unique and of equal worth with every other child. Premise 2 : Academic competition subverts this egalitarian and individualist creed. Conclusion : Academic competition must be discouraged. Here the premise indicator since helps us to identify the first premise.
29. Make a will. Otherwise, the state will determine who gets your stuff. (Andrew Tobias, "Isn't It Time You Faced the Future?" 2001) Identify the premise(s) and conclusion in this argument.
30. Make a will. Otherwise, the state will determine who gets your stuff. (Andrew Tobias, "Isn't It Time You Faced the Future?" 2001) Premise : If you don't make a will, the state will determine who gets your stuff. Conclusion : You ought to make a will. The word otherwise often functions--as it does here--as premise indicator. Notice that both the premise and the conclusion have been rephrased slightly. The premise has been rephrased in order to make it a complete sentence. The conclusion has been restated in order to make clear that it is intended as a statement rather than as a command.
31. Research universities also must aggressively support teaching. After all, a significant percentage of their students are undergraduates, and such institutions are clearly obligated to provide them a quality education. (Ernest L. Boyer, Scholarship Reconsidered , 1990) Identify the premise(s) and conclusion of this argument.
32. Research universities also must aggressively support teaching. After all, a significant percentage of their students are undergraduates, and such institutions are clearly obligated to provide them a quality education. Ernest L. Boyer, Scholarship Reconsidered , 1990) Premise 1 : A significant percentage of research universities' students are undergraduates. Premise 2 : Such institutions are clearly obligated to provide undergraduates with a quality education. Conclusion : Research universities also must aggressively support teaching. Notice the phrase "after all." This phrase is often used as a premise indicator.
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40. We have good reason to believe that people will exist in the future and that they will be similar enough to us that we can have a good idea of what their well-being requires. Knowing this and knowing that our present actions can influence their future well-being, it is reasonable to conclude that future people must be given some ethical consideration by presently living human beings. (Joseph R. DesJardins, Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy , 3rd ed., 2001) Premise 1 : We have good reason to believe that people will exist in the future and that they will be similar enough to us that we can have a good idea of what their well-being requires. Premise 2: We know that our present actions can influence future peoples' well-being. Conclusion : Future people must be given some ethical consideration by presently living human beings. In this passage, the conclusion indicator "it is reasonable to conclude that" helps us identify the conclusion. Notice that the second premise has been restated in order to make it a complete sentence.
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