I have been in many situations where I will try and argue/reason with a friend about a topic and she will not understand what I am talking about. Most times this occurs when I am more knowledgeable about a subject then my friend and they get lost in my reasoning because I jump from a premise to a conclusion without giving them a valid explanation/argument. After reading this section I understand the importance of being able to mentally repair my arguments I use in order to make them valid. An example of an argument that needs to be repaired is:
I have never seen Amber eat cheese therefore Amber must not like cheese.
This argument is not good because there is no argument linking the premise to the conclusion. It is possible that I have just not been around Amber enough to witness her eating cheese. In order to make the premise and conclusion stick together we need to add a premise. Something like Amber always specially orders food without cheese or that she is highly lactose intolerant would make the overall argument stronger thus linking the premise to the conclusion.
Hi MichSim,
ReplyDeleteYour explanation and example of repairing arguments is very clear and to the point. I like how in the first paragraph you relate the importance of using clear arguments into your every day life. I often find myself in the same situation where I am talking to people who don't understand what I am talking about because I am skipping important connecting details (or vise versa!) As you mentioned, the example you used was not a good argument; your explanation and repairing of the example was clear and easy for the reader (me) to understand. Thanks for providing a great example!