07/03/2022

Critical Thinking: A Student’s

Introduction

Chapter 2
Recognizing Arguments

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Arguments and Statements

Argument: Group of statements intended to prove

or support another statement
• Premises: Statements in an argument offered as
evidence or reasons why one should accept the
conclusion
• Conclusion: Statement that the premises support/prove

Statement: Sentence/utterance that can be viewed

as either true or false

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Statement Test

Does it make sense to put “it is true that” or “it is

false that” in front of a sentence?
• If so, it is a statement
• If not, it is not a statement

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Statements, 1

Examples
• Red is a color
• Abortion is morally wrong
• Canada is in South America

More than one statement may be expressed in a

sentence

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Statements, 2

Not all sentences are statements

• Examples of sentences that are not statements
• What time is it? (question)
• Close the window! (command)
• Oh, my goodness! (exclamation)

Statements can be about subjective matters of

personal experience as well as objectively verifiable
matters of fact

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Tricky Statements, 1

Rhetorical question: Sentence that has the

grammatical form of a question but is meant to be
understood as a statement
• Examples
• Don’t you know smoking will kill you?
• (Meaning: Smoking will kill you)
• How am I supposed to do that?
• (Meaning: I can’t do that)

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Tricky Statements, 2

Ought imperative: Sentence that has the form of a

command but is intended to assert what ought to
be done
• Examples
• “Do X!” really means “You should do X”
• “Don’t blow-dry your hair in the tub!” really means “You
should not blow-dry your hair in the tub”

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Identifying Premises and Conclusions

Indicator words provide clues that premises or

conclusions are being put forward
• Premise indicators: Since, for, seeing that, inasmuch as,
in view of the fact that, because, as, and given that
• Conclusion indicators: Therefore, hence, so, it follows
that, wherefore, thus, and consequently

Indicators:
• May be misleading
• May be absent in some cases
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Finding Conclusions When Indicators

Are Absent

• Find the main issue and determine the position of

the writer or speaker on that issue
• Look at the beginning or the end of the passage;
the conclusion is usually found in one of those
places
• A statement is probably the conclusion if the
word “therefore” fits well before it
• The “because” trick (fill in the blanks): The arguer
believes (conclusion) because (premise(s))
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What Is Not an Argument? 1

Reports: Convey information about a subject.

• Examples
• “More people moved to the south this year”
• “Oil prices dropped today, thus so did gas prices”
• Notice that, even though there is a conclusion indicator, this
is still a report

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What Is Not an Argument? 2

Unsupported assumptions: When someone puts

forth what he/she believes but does not intend for
any of his/her statements to support another
• Examples
• “People aren’t afraid of dying; they are afraid of not living”
• “People like this course because of the professor”
• Notice the presence of a premise indicator, but this is not a
premise

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What Is Not an Argument? 3

Conditional (“if-then”) statements

• Example: If it rains, the picnic will be canceled
• Most common forms: If A then B. B if A.
• Antecedent: Part of the statement that follows the word
“if”
• Consequent: Part of the statement that follows the word
“then”
• Do not always take the “if-then” form
• Example: In the event of rain, the picnic will be canceled

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What Is Not an Argument? 4

• Conditional statements are not arguments

• Conditional: “If I was taller, I would play basketball”
• Argument: “I am tall, so I would make a good basketball
player”
• Some conditional statements do involve a process of
reasoning
• Example: If Rhode Island were larger than Ohio, and Ohio
were larger than Texas, then Rhode Island would be larger
than Texas
• This statement asserts that if the first two statements are
true, then the third statement is also true
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What Is Not an Argument? 5

• Chain arguments: Arguments can be composed entirely

of conditional statements
• Take the form “If A then B. If B then C. Therefore, if A then
C.”
• Example
• If Bob is taller than Chris, then Bob is taller than Ann
• If Bob is taller than Ann, then Bob is taller than Lori
• Thus, if Bob is taller than Chris, then Bob is taller than Lori

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What Is Not an Argument? 6

Illustrations: Do not prove or support the claim but

provide examples of the claim
• Example: “Many wildflowers are edible. For example,
daisies and day lilies are delicious in salads.”
• Some arguments can look like illustrations because they
use “counterexamples”
• Example: “Many people think that all Star Trek fans are zit-
faced nerds. But that is not true. For example, Christian
Slater is a Star Trek fan, and he is not a zit-faced nerd.”

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What Is Not an Argument? 7

• When it is difficult to differentiate between an argument

and an illustration, one must use the principle of charity
• Principle of charity: When interpreting an unclear passage,
always give the speaker or writer the benefit of the doubt

Explanation: Tries to show why something is the

case, not to prove that it is the case
• Titanic sank because it struck an iceberg (explanation)
• Capital punishment should be abolished because
innocent people may be mistakenly executed (argument)
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What Is Not an Argument? 8

• Parts of an explanation
• Explanandum: Statement that is explained
• Explanans: Statement that does the explaining
• Format (fill in the blanks): Explanandum because
Explanans
• “I ski because I think it is fun” (explanation)
• “You should ski because it is fun” (argument)

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Tests to Distinguish Arguments and

Explanations, 1

Common-knowledge test
• If the statement that a passage is seeking to prove or
explain is a matter of common knowledge, it is probably
an explanation
• Most people don’t present arguments for things people
already believe
• Example: “TV is very influential in society because most
people watch it”

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Tests to Distinguish Arguments and

Explanations, 2

Past-event test
• If the statement that a passage is seeking to prove or
explain is an event that occurred in the past, it is
probably an explanation
• Usually, people don’t argue that “X occurred”
• Example: “The U.S. entered World War two because of
Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor”

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Tests to Distinguish Arguments and

Explanations, 3

Author’s intent test

• If the person making the statement is trying to “prove”
something, then the passage is an argument
• Example: “You want a college degree because you want a
better life”
• If the person making the statement is trying to explain
why something is true, then the passage is an explanation
• Example: “Kevin is majoring in political science because he
wants to go to law school”

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Tests to Distinguish Arguments and

Explanations, 4

Principle of charity test

• One must interpret unclear passages generously
• One must never interpret a passage as a bad argument
when the evidence reasonably permits one to interpret it
as not an argument at all
• The test: If you have a choice between interpreting a
statement as a “bad argument” or an “unsatisfactory
explanation,” do the latter
• A bad argument is a worse mistake

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