Argumentation I

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In this skills training we work from two fundamental assumptions regarding arguments: 1. They have a specific structure, which can be made visible and evaluated. 2. The quality of an argument depends on its structure as much as it depends on its content. In order to “get a grip” on arguments the course is divided into four parts that introduce information and exercises to gradually develop the skill of argument analysis. The first part will serve as an introduction discussing the general characteristics and typology of arguments. Furthermore, in this part students learn how arguments can be standardized and how their structure can be visualized by drawing patterns. The core question this part of the course seeks to answer is: What is the structure of arguments and how can one reveal that structure? This part of the course will also contain an introductory lecture, called “Standardizing Arguments”. In part two an informal but systematic method for evaluating the quality of arguments, the ARG-method, is introduced. By assessing acceptability of premises, relevance of premises with regards to the conclusion they are supposed to support, and the logical connection between premises and the following conclusion, the ARG-method enables us to examine both structure and content of an argument. During this part of the course an introduction to bad arguments, so-called fallacies, is provided as well. A Lecture, “Evaluating Arguments”, will accompany this part of the course. In the third part the knowledge and skills provided in the first two parts will be applied to complete texts, seeking to isolate the arguments they present in a systematic way and evaluate whether or not they are good arguments. Examples in the context of academic discourse and politics will be examined. Part four moves beyond the analysis of already existing arguments, instead standardization and patterns of arguments, as well as the ARG-method, are used as tools to construct arguments. Students considering enrolling for the skill trainings in argumentation should be aware that the course will not focus on rhetoric and debating skills (although it can be assumed that the analytical skills acquired in this course will be helpful for debates).