Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning

Overview

Learn the fundamentals of argumentation and build a foundation for communication and reasoning that will benefit you in every area of your life.

Course No. 4294

What is effective reasoning? And how can it be done persuasively? These questions have been asked for thousands of years, yet some of the best thinking on reasoning and argumentation is recent and represents a break from the past.

These 24 engaging lectures teach you how to reason, persuade others that what you think is right, and judge and answer the arguments of others—understanding how they will judge yours. Professor Zarefsky makes argumentation accessible by breaking it into five easy-to-understand components.

Arguments can be divided into three parts: a claim, evidence, and an inference linking the evidence to the claim. All arguments fall into a handful of distinctive categories, and the same issues are at stake whenever one of these distinctive patterns occurs.

Three kinds of evidence can be advanced to prove an argument that something is true: objective data, social consensus, and personal credibility. There are six kinds of inference that link evidence to a claim: example, cause, sign, analogy, narrative, and form. The course explains how to use and challenge each. Along the way, you’ll examine numerous actual controversies that reveal the structure of disputes, allowing argument to become an exchange rather than just a flurry of words.

Video Lectures

• Introducing Argumentation and Rhetoric

32 min

Examine argumentation in its classical sense and relate it to the field of rhetoric, considering how it is ethical.

2. Underlying Assumptions of Argumentation

30 min

Focus on five key assumptions that guide argumentation as a means of decision-making.

3. Formal and Informal Argumentation

30 min

Review the defining features of deduction and induction and summarize three major forms of deductive reasoning.

4. History of Argumentation Studies

30 min

Trace the study of informal argumentation from ancient Greece to modern day critiques of formal logic.

5. Argument Analysis and Diagramming

30 min

Examine how controversies begin and analyze the structure of an argument: claim, evidence, inference, and warrant.

6. Complex Structures of Argument

30 min

Discuss how most arguments are embedded in complex structures and the advantages of mapping and analyzing these.

7. Case Construction-Requirements and Options

30 min

Understand the pattern of arguments used to support a claim and how to address all issues raised by that claim.

• Stasis-The Heart of the Controversy

30 min

Explore the focal point of dispute and how choices about stipulation and contestation determine it.

9. Attack and Defense I

31 min

Learn the processes of refuting and rebuilding cases, including strategic choices for effective attack.

• Attack and Defense II

31 min

Continue the discussion of attacking arguments, focusing on the arrangement of attacks and strategies for defense.

• Language and Style in Argument

30 min

Address language and presentational style in arguments and their impact on the presentation itself.

• Evaluating Evidence

31 min

Focus on the evidence supporting an argument, categorizing it for meaningful discussion.

• Reasoning from Parts to Whole

30 min

Review inference patterns and common errors, beginning with inferences from examples.

• Reasoning with Comparisons

30 min

Describe types of analogies and tests for reasoning with comparisons, addressing strengths and weaknesses.

• Establishing Correlations

30 min

Focus on inferences from signs, their predictive quality, and pitfalls to avoid.

16. Moving from Cause to Effect

31 min

Discuss causal inferences and methods to establish causal influence, along with potential undermining factors.

17. Commonplaces and Arguments from Form

30 min

Consider inferences based on social knowledge, commonplaces, and terms involved in argumentation.

• Hybrid Patterns of Inference

31 min

Examine reasoning patterns involving rules, values, and dissociation.

19. Validity and Fallacies I

30 min

Discuss what makes a good argument and errors specific to different inference patterns.

• Validity and Fallacies II

30 min

Continue exploring general errors, relevance, and the concept of fallacies.

21. Arguments between Friends

31 min

Examine personal sphere arguments and propose ideals for critical discussion as resolution methods.

22. Arguments among Experts

30 min

Explore field-specific patterns of inference and how argumentation is affected by the subject matter.

23. Public Argument and Democratic Life

31 min

Discuss public arguments about matters of interest and the importance of a robust public sphere.

24. The Ends of Argumentation

31 min

Consider the goals served by argumentation in society and its role in cultivating critical thinking skills.