Everything’s an argument, chapter 1
Everything’s an argument
- Everything we do is a statement in some way
- What we choose to wear
- Who we associate with
- What we believe
- Maybe language itself is inherently argumentative
Types and purposes of arguments
- Arguments about winning
- Law, politics
- Clear goal - Win election, court case
- Invitational arguments
- Seek to find common ground, settle disagreements
- Arguments to convince
- To convince the undecided to support you
- Not to beat those already convinced to the other side
- Arguments to persuade
- About winning a point
- Convince the opposition
- Make people vote for you
- Arguments to explore
- Think about society
- Explore something puzzling
- No clear opponent
- Arguments to make decisions
- Strongly linked with exploratory arguments
- Explore the problem and come up with a decision
- Arguments to meditate/pray
- Academic arguments
- Just an argument held to academic standards
- Arguments about the past
- Forensic arguments
- Analyse evidence, witnesses
- Used in business, government, academia
- Dispute claims and present evidence
- Arguments about the future
- What should happen in the future?
- Relies on precedent, past events
- Extrapolates the past
- Arguments about the present
- Argue about contemporary values
- Explore culture
Kinds of arguments
- Arguments of fact
- Did the event happen?
- Is the ocean being polluted?
- Is it our fault?
- Arguments about the nature of things
- Are fetuses human beings?
- Arguments about quality
- Is the car good?
- Involves measurement against a standard
- This reminds me of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance
- Arguments about what actions should be taken
- What is the problem?
- What should we do to fix it?
Appealing to the audience
- Emotion: Pathos
- Use happiness, anger, fear to convince audiences to take action
- Show images, use stories
- Character: Ethos
- Show credibility, personal involvement
- Show good motives
- Logic: Logos
- Use evidence to reinforce a point