ENG333 Week 4.1

1. Week 4
Argumentation
DR. RUSSELL RODRIGO

2. What is an argument?

3. Watch the Monty Python comedy sketch and answer the
questions below.
1. According to the customer, what is an argument?
2. According to the customer, what is not an
argument?

5. Watch the Monty Python comedy sketch and answer
the questions below.
1. According to the customer, what is an argument?
2. According to the customer, what is not an argument?
3. Follow up:
1. What is an argument, according to you?
2. When was the last time you had an argument? Who
won? Why?

6. What is an argument?
 An argument is not a contradiction.
 Contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of any
statement the other person makes.
 Argument is an intellectual process.
 An argument is a connected series of statements intended
to establish a proposition.

7. Argument
 An argument tries to convince readers to think or act in a particular way.
 Advertisement
 Letter from the bank
 Travel brochure
 Movie poster
 Websites
 Campaigns etc.
 An argument is not a fight. It does not need to involve conflict.

8. Debatable statement
 Your claim about the issue you are writing about should be debatable.
 Debatable = possible to (dis-)agree with
 Are the following claims debatable? (D / ND)
1. Computers and automation increase unemployment.
2. Plants produce oxygen that the world needs to sustain life.
3. A good education is necessary for a successful and happy life.
4. Happiness is human being’s ultimate aim.
5. Cigarette smoking causes lung cancer.
6. Same sex marriage should be legalized in Thailand.
7. Master’s degree is the minimum requirement in teaching tertiary learners.

9. Practice 1
Now write a debatable and a non-debatable statement about each of
the following topics:
1. Public transport
2. The Thai education system
3. The Prime Minister of Thailand
4. University learning modality
5. Social media use

11. Using logic to argue your debatable statement
 Deductive arguments
 General premise / Assumption -> Conclusion
 Traditional logic
 Deduction: all statements in an argument are true -> Conclusion must be true
 Inductive arguments
 Individual Observation (Evidence) -> Conclusion
 No strict form
 Induction: all relevant evidence stated -> Conclusion must fit the evidence better than another
conclusion would

12. A a an argument connected definite
establish intended is of proposition
series statements to
Remember the definition of an argument?

13. What is an argument?

14. Practice: Analyze if the following statements are
argumentative or non argumentative.
1. __The earthquake in Gölcük, Turkey, was one of the most destructive in
history.
2. __ Prospective* parents should be required to get licenses in order to
have children. (Prospective: future, expected
3. __ The building codes Bangkok, Thailand are inadequate*. (Inadequate: not
enough)
4. __ Some of the Americans I have met are quite hospitable.
5. __ Students should have a say in the hiring and firing of teachers.
6. __ Pornographic books ought to be banned from the library.
7. __ The United States ought to allow more immigrants into this country.

15. Thesis Statement
 Summarizes the main point of the essay.
 It is normally a single sentence found at the end of the
paper's introductory paragraph.
 It acts as a guide to let your audience know the central
idea of the essay and to know what to expect in the
body of your paper.

16. How to write a thesis statement
 One method of writing a thesis statement comes in the form of “X is Y because Z.”
 "X" is your main subject
 "Y" describes your main subject
 "Z" provides the reasons about the description.
 For example
 Fast food negatively effects our health because of its many processed
ingredients.

17. Syllogisms
 The basic form of a deductive argument is
a syllogism.
 A syllogism consists of a major premise,
which is a general statement; a minor
premise, which is a related but more
specific statement; and a conclusion, which
is drawn from those premises.
 Deductive arguments should be valid and
sound.
 Premise should be true (= sound)
(unsound = a false premise).
 The conclusion should be correct
based on the premises (= valid)
(invalid cannot never be sound).
Major premise
Minor premise
Conclusion

18. What do you think of the following logical
arguments? Are they sound? valid?
1. All humans are mortal. Alfie l is human. Therefore, Alfie is mortal.
2. No reptiles have fur. A snake is a reptile. Therefore, a snake does not have
fur.
3. Venom is dangerous. Some snakes are venomous. Therefore, some snakes are
dangerous.
(valid and sound)
(valid and sound)
(valid and sound)

19. Identify the major and minor premises and
conclusion. Analyze if they’re sound and valid.
1. On the TV show Outlander, Claire's husband is either dead or alive. He's not alive.
Claire's husband is dead.
2. All crows are black. The bird in my cage is black. Therefore, this bird is a crow.
3. All women like to shop. John likes to shop. John is a woman.
4. If Lucinda smokes cigarettes every day, she increases her risk of lung cancer. Lucinda
doesn’t smoke cigarettes every day. Lucinda has no increased risk of lung cancer.
5. All birds lay eggs. A chicken lays eggs. A chicken is a bird.
6. All dogs bark. The basenji, which is mute, cannot bark. A basenji is not a dog.
7. All books contains words. A shopping list contains words. A shopping list is a book.
invalid
invalid
invalid
invalid
invalid
invalid
invalid

20. Syllogistic fallacy
 Syllogistic fallacy isn’t just a failure of logic. It is also a kind
of wit that people have relied on for centuries to forward
ridiculous conclusions while pretending to use reason.

22. Other kinds of syllogisms
 I will either give you dog or a cat. I didn’t give you a cat. Therefore,
I will give you a dog. (valid and sound)
 If you are a good boy, you will get a dog. You have been a good
boy. Therefore, you will get a dog. (valid and sound)
 If you eat ice cream every day, you might become overweight.
Russell does not ice cream every day. Therefore, Russell will not
become overweight. (invalid)

23. Inductive reasoning
 Induction has no distinctive form, and its conclusion is less definitive than
those of syllogisms.
1. Decide on a question to be answered, or a tentative answer to the question (= a
hypothesis).
2. Gather the evidence that is relevant to the question and helps you find the answer.
3. Move from your evidence to the conclusion (= making an inference – a statement about the
unknown based on the known).
 Danger: jumping to a conclusion!
 Jumping to conclusion: This cat is black. That cat is black. A third cat is black. Therefore all
cats are black.
 More obvious conclusion: There is a baseball on the living-room floor. The children were
playing baseball this afternoon. They are not here anymore. Therefore, one of the children
hit or threw the ball through the window; then, they all ran away.

24. Write your own syllogisms based on your Practice 1 answers.