Couples fights are not arguments they are undefined emotions feelings which were unacknowledged or mis understood Two Kinds of Arguments A1 an utterance or communicative act Argument for something noun independent of others reason s for supporting an opinion or idea Argument a unit of rational justification for a claim Claim Opinion of the truth McDonalds is unhealthy Rational Justification support nutrition information Rationality quality of being reasonable based on facts reason not emotion or belief logical argument provides strong grounds for any reasonable person to accept the conclusion A2 a particular type of interaction to argue verb 2 people Aristotle emotional appeals and reliance on credibility essential elements of persuasion not just reason exchange of ideas debate cid 127 Why does reasoning matter Reason isn t the only persuasive mode Logos reason Pathos emotion Ethos perceived credibility 2 reasons using reason is essential Affirms humanity Produces best outcomes The Epistemic Significance of Rational Argument Epistemology is the inquiry into the nature of knowledge and justification study science of knowledge knowledge distinct from mere belief which is a persons opinion that a proposition is correct independent of the value of justification Knowledge requires 1 Justified 2 True 3 Belief often we do not have full knowledge must examine justification when truth is unknown rational argument is about giving and testing justifications for proposition Epistemic force refers to arguments that have strong justifications Rational Argument and Persuasion Rational argumentation and persuasion aren t synonymous terms Persuasion is the use of different kinds of appeals to get the listener to think or act in a certain manner These doesn t always means via rational argument Rational arguments can help persuasion appeals to reason builds credibility appeals to emotional need for justification Basic Inferential Arguments Toulmin model of argument basic components Claim the conclusion of the argument Data evidence or grounds the information that serves as the basis for the claim cid 127 Warrant line of reasoning that connects the data to the claim Additional components chart Backing support for Warrants line of reasoning Rebuttal restrictions on the extent of a claim cid 127 Qualifier description of the strength of a claim cid 127 Quality of the model matters just a map Each part must be evaluated Argument is not the same as persuasion Rational arguments main job is justification not persuasion cid 127 Goal in Public Debate is to use logical justification persuasion to persuade Rhetoric the study of persuasion we examine how people go about persuading people to adopt their point of view not debate but debate uses rhetoric Rhetoric is an inevitable part of persuasion we can t Avoid using rhetoric through discourse Public Debate use arguments to persuade meeting of the minds Example Chaim Perleman polish german philosopher Argument is intended to act upon an audience to modify an audiences convictions cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 arguments that do not persuade can not be deemed successes David Zarefsky the goal is to get the audience to feel act or believe a certain way the primary goal of candidates debates is to convince the media that they won the debate Debate is about the Audience Audiences are not monolithic Diverse in demography and viewpoints cid 127 Generalizations are inevitable cid 127 Must find the target audience s Persuasion Not a single step or thing Three possibilities depth strength and durability of a belief created by persuasion cid 127 Gaining concession admission that a point is correct begrudgingly cid 127 Gaining agreement achieving an accordance of opinion or feeling Building conviction establishing a deeply healed belief or opinion Endurance cid 127 Goals of persuasion goals are about expectations and what we hope to achieve adjusted depending on the situation relative Four Possible Goals for Persuasion strengthening commitment increase the audience s conviction in a belief they hold cid 127 Weaken commitment decrease the audience dedication to a belief you oppose Conversion Induce action cid 127 Move an audience fro one belief to an apposing belief cid 127 move an audience to act on a belief cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127
View Full Document