arguments part 12352

8/11/2019 Arguments Part 12352

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Zaid Ali [email protected]

Module 3:Arguments

Part 1
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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All-Star Wrestling = Real?

Is All-Star Wrestling real?Do you watch Wrestling?Do you like Wrestling?

Why do you like Wrestling?


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Do You A gree? Wh y? The National Education Blueprint is aimed at bringing about a major change in the education system.

Below we compare the characteristics of a student today and what the blueprint promises in 2010 (NST, 18/01-2007).

The Student in 2007 The Student in 2010Lacks confidence Self-confident

Lacks communication skills Able to communicate well

Lacks leadership skills Has leadership skills

May not be able to speak proper English Able to speak good English

Too dependent on tuition Wont be dependent on tuition

Does not mix freely with students of other races Mixes freely with students of other races

Studies in a very exam-oriented environment Studies in an environment that is not tooexam-oriented

Not IT-savvy Is IT-savvy

Not creative and innovative Is creative and innovative

May not take part in co-curricular activities Takes part in more co-curricular activities

May not know how to read, write and count Has no problems with reading, writing or

countingIs not very marketable More marketable

You mustunlearn what

you havelearned.


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Module 3: Arguments - Part 1 (of 3)

1. DistinguishingFact & Opinion

7. EvaluatingArguments

2. What is an Argument?

5. Deduction &Induction

6. AnalyzingArguments

8. WritingArguments

3. Identifying Premises& Conclusions

4. What Is Notan Argument?


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3.1 Distinguishing Fact & Opinion

Vinc e Carter is aB ask etball Player. Hep lays in the NBA and

represented USA in th e

Sydn ey Olym pic Gam es2000. He is cu rren tly th ebest p layer in the NBA .

Facts andOpinions, pleaseidentify.


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3.1 Distinguishing Fact & Opinion

Fact = Can be proved or disprovedOpin ion = Personal Belief

Gubra starts at 9.00 pm . Its a great movie !


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3.1 Facts

Tell who, what, when, where, or how much.Have a verifiable truth value.Can be quantified and is specific.

Are supported by evidence.

Fact OpinionKL is the capital of Malaysia. KL is the best city in the world.

UNITAR is a University inMalaysia.

I love studying at UNITAR.

Yao Ming is more than 7 feet tall. Yao Ming is very good looking.

(Source: The Oxford American Dictionary of Current English in English Dictionaries and Thesauruses; 2003)

"A fact is a thing thatis occurred, to exist,

or to be true."


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3.1 Opinions

Tend to be vague. Are personal beliefs or value judgments.

Fact Opinion

KL is the capital of Malaysia. KL is the best city in the world.UNITAR is a University in Malaysia. I love studying at UNITAR.

Yao Ming is more than 7 feet tall. Yao Ming is very good looking.

An opinion is a view about a particular issue.It is what the person believes or thinks, and

is not necessarily the truth.

Some Opinion Clues

JudgingGood, Better, Best, Bad, Worse,Worst, Should, Must

PredictingWillShall


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3.1 Exercise I: iPhone

Every once in a while a revolutionary product comesalong that changes everything It's the ultimatedigital device. It's like having your life in your pocket.

The iPhone will be ultra-slim - less than half-an-inch(1.3cm) thick - boasting a phone, Internet capabilityand an MP3 player as well as featuring a twomegapixel digital camera


I am SteveJobs, so you can

trust me.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tuaw.com/images/2005/05/steve_jobs.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.tuaw.com/2005/05/02/steve-jobs-should-be-a-blogger/&h=196&w=150&sz=20&hl=en&start=16&tbnid=tJq1YaLBpPgEwM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=80&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsteve%2Bjobs%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DGGLG,GGLG:2005-25,GGLG:en


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3.1 Exercise I: iPhone

This is a leapfrog product with a revolutionary newinterface with software five years ahead of anyother phone and desktop class applications, notthose crippled applications you find on those otherphones

"Most advanced phones are called smart phone.But they are actually not so smart , and really not soeasy to use . When you get a chance to get your

hands on it, I think you'll agree , we've reinventedthe phone.


I am SteveJobs, so you can

trust me.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tuaw.com/images/2005/05/steve_jobs.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.tuaw.com/2005/05/02/steve-jobs-should-be-a-blogger/&h=196&w=150&sz=20&hl=en&start=16&tbnid=tJq1YaLBpPgEwM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=80&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsteve%2Bjobs%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DGGLG,GGLG:2005-25,GGLG:en


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3.1 Exercise II: Read the Article

Making of the Creative Student

Facts andOpinions, please

identify.


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3.2 Example A Simple Argument

1. Lawyers earn a lot of money. ( Premise )

2. I want to earn a lot of money. ( Premise )

3. I should become a Lawyer. ( Conclusion )


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TIPS

3.3 Identifying Premises & Conclusions

Look for premise ind icato rs that provide clues when

premises are being offered.Examples : because , s ince , fo r , g iven th at , as ,

ju d g in g fro m , and seeing that .

Look for conc lus ion ind icato r s that provide clueswhen conclusions are being offered.Examples : th erefor e, th us , hen ce, so , as a resu l t ,

acco rd ing ly, co nsequen t ly , and wh i ch s h o w s t h at .


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3.3 Identifying Premises & Conclusions

If the passage con tains n o ind icato r w ords , try

these two strategies: Ask yourself, " What c laim is the wri te r orsp eaker t ry ing to p rov e? " That claim will be

the conclusion.Try putting the word " therefore " before each ofthe statements in turn. The statement it fits bestwill be the conclusion.

TIPS


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3.3 Exercise 2

Research universities also must aggressivelysupport teaching. After all, a significantpercentage of their students areundergraduates, and such institutions areclearly obligated to provide them a qualityeducation.

Ernest L. Boyer, Scholarship Reconsidered , 1990)

Identify the premise(s) and

conclusion ofthis argument.


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3.3 Exercise 3

No one who observes people can pretendthat in fact they always seek anything liketheir own long-run advantage. If this were thecase only stupidity could explain howfrequently and obviously they act contrary totheir own long-run advantage. People are notthat stupid!(Charles Hartshorne and Creighton Peden, Whitehead's View of Reality , 1981)




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3.3 Exercise 4

We have good reason to believe that people will existin the future and that they will be similar enough to usthat we can have a good idea of what their well-beingrequires. Knowing this and knowing that our present

actions can influence their future well-being, it isreasonable to conclude that future people must begiven some ethical consideration by presently livinghuman beings.

(Joseph R. DesJardins, Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy , 3rd ed., 2001)




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3.4 What Is Not an Argument?

More precisely, a passage is an argument if and only if:

It is a group of two or more statements.One of those statements (the conclusion) is claimed

or intended to be supported by the other(s) (thepremises).

An argument is a claim defended with reasons .


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3.4 What Is Not an Argument?

Notice three important things that follow from this definition:

Argu m ents cons is t en t irely o f s tatements (sentences that itmakes sense to regard as either true or false). Questions,commands, and other kinds of non-statements cannot be parts ofarguments (Keep in mind, however, that rhetorical questions should

be treated as statements.).

No sin gle s tatement is an argum ent . Arguments always consist ofat least two statements.

Nothing counts as an argument unless it is claimed or intended thatone statement fo l low s f rom one or more other statements in thepassage. In other words, a passage is an argument only if thespeaker or writer intends to offer evidence or reasons why anotherstatement should be accepted as true.


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3.4 Example: Report

Planet Earth was much drier in the Triassic than it isnow, and there were large deserts in inland areas.

There were no flowering plants or grasses--theyevolved much later. The most common trees wereconifers, similar to today's pines. Other large plantsincluded yews, ginkgos, and the palmlike cycads.

Moisture-loving ferns and horsetails thrived by lakesand rivers.

(Philip Whitfield, Simon & Schus te r ' s Chi ldren 's Guide to Dinosaurs and OtherPrehi s tor ic Ani m a l s , 1992)

3 4 E l U t d t t t f


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3.4 Example: Unsupported statements ofbelief or opinion

For the person who called and said Larry Bird wasbetter than Michael Jordan, wake up. No one wasever better than Michael Jordan, not even Kareemin his glory and not even Dr. J.

(From a newspaper call-in column)


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3.4 Example: Illustration

Almost all groups agree in holding other groups tobe inferior to themselves. The American Indianslooked upon themselves as the chosen people,

specially created by the Great Spirit as anuplifting example for mankind. One Indian tribe

called itself "The Only Men"; another called itself"Men of Men"; the Caribs said, "We alone are

people."

(Will Durant, Our Oriental Heritage , 1935)


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3.4 Example: Conditional Statement

If Aida comes to the wedding then I willcome to the wedding.


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3.4 Example: Explanation

I speak good English because my parentsencouraged me to practice it everyday.


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Group Activity

Break into groups of 4 - 6, read the article provided (Title: Making of the Creative

Student, NST, 18/01 -2007) and then reflect, discuss and answer the followingquestions:Yes? Which of the The Stud ent in 2007 characteristics do you have (your perception)?W h y ? Please discuss Why do you think that you lack this/thesecharacteristic(s)? H o w ? How can the education system (or student) encourage/facilitate The Student in 2010 characteristics?

* Use the template provided by your lecturer.

20 m in Group discussion5 min Summarize discussion findings15 m in Group presentation & discussionThe Group leader must submi t their f indings in hard or soft-copy format to the lecturer

before or dur ing the next class.

S


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Summary

1. Dis t ingu ishing

Fact & Opinio n

Fact = Can be proved or disprovedOpinion = Personal Belief

2 . What is an Arg um ent? An argument is a claim defended with reasons.

3. Identif yin g Premis es

& C onc lus ions

Look for premise indicators that provide clues whenpremises are being offered (e.g. because, since, for). Look for conclusion indicators that provide clues whenconclusions are being offered (e.g. therefore, thus,hence, so). If the passage contains no indicator words , try thesetwo strategies: 1) Ask yourself, " What claim is the writeror speaker trying to prove? " That claim will be the

conclusion. 2)Try putting the word " therefore " beforeeach of the statements in turn. The statement it fitsbest will be the conclusion.

4. What Is No t

an Argum ent?

Five kinds of passages that are sometimes confusedwith arguments are: Reports, Unsupported statements

of belief or opinions, Illustrations, ConditionalStatements , and Explanations


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Any Questions?


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Contact Details

Zaid Ali Alsagoff

UNIVERSITI TUN ABDUL RAZAK16-5, Jalan SS 6/1247301 Kelana Jaya

Selangor Darul EhsanMalaysia

E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: 603-7627 7238Fax: 603-7627 7246
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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arguments part 12352

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