Phil 148

Chapter 3

What makes an argument good?

• It is often taken to be the case that an argument is good if it is persuasive, that is, if people are inclined to accept it.

• People accept all kinds of foolish things. This is no standard of quality.

• In fact, Western philosophy was born when some people drew a distinction between philosophy and sophistry.

What makes a good argument:

• Validity– Means that IF the

premises are true, then the conclusion has to be

• Soundness– Means the argument is

valid AND– Means that the premises

ARE true

Example:

• Bill and Hillary Clinton have the same last name

• People with the same last name are siblings• :. Bill and Hillary Clinton are siblings

Example:

• Whoever wrote the Bible is a great author• Charles Dickens wrote the Bible• :. Charles Dickens is a great author

Beyond Soundness

• Circular arguments are obviously not useful to us, but where do we stop giving reasons?

• The answer to this question has had profound impact on the history of philosophy. Our textbook authors express a characteristically 20th century view.

• 3 strategies for shortening argument:– 1. Assuring – 2. Guarding– 3. Discounting

The principle of charity

• There are very few true fools out there, so when evaluating an argument or filling in an unstated premise, use a principle of charity.

• The principle of charity assumes the best possible argument is the argument your opponent intended.

• This becomes especially important when people offer shortened versions of their arguments.

Assuring (1)

• Assuring is a strategy for asking someone to accept a premise on evidence that is not explicitly stated.– Sometimes this is done by citing authorities– Sometimes this is done by making our own

confidence in the claim explicit.

Assuring (2)

• Abusive assurances don’t do either of the previous two things, but instead just abuse the potential opponent of a claim.

• We can give assurances that something is true or that something is false.

• Assurances can be legitimately used for brevity, or to avoid going on tangents. However, assuring terms often indicate weakness in an argument.

Guarding (1)

• A guarding term is sometimes known as a ‘weaseler’. It makes a claim weaker, but more likely to be true.

• Used legitimately, a guarding term keeps us from asserting or proving more than we have to. Used illegitimately, guarding terms just provide a fall-back point in case our argument is questioned.

Guarding (2)

• 1. Weakening the extent of what is said• 2. Using probability terms• 3. Diminishing our level of commitment

• Be sure that guarding terms don’t creep in over the course of an argument.

• Be sure that guarding terms don’t disappear in the course of an argument.

Discounting (1)

• Discounting is a way of anticipating some objection by stressing that one fact is more important than the other.

• Discounting can also be used to block a conversational implication.

Evaluative Language

• Evaluative statements serve a variety of crucially important purposes, and are versatile in their application.

• The same evaluative term (e.g. ‘good’) can be applied to all kinds of things, but it will operate differently depending on the standards that we apply.

Standards• When people have a conflict of opinion on whether

something is good, it is usually because they imply different standards (in other places called ‘criteria’)

• Becoming clear on what standards underlie each use of an evaluative term is the single most important and most overlooked part of value debate.

• Consider: what makes a good…– Baseball player?– Automobile?– Person?– Cat?

Positive and Negative Evaluation

• Sometimes whether evaluation is positive or negative is contained in the meaning of the term (e.g. wasteful, deceitful, beautiful, honest).

• Sometimes extra words make an ordinarily neutral evaluative term into a positive or negative one (too_____, not _____ enough).

• Sometimes whether evaluation is positive or negative is buried in context:– A: “Do you think Calvin would be good at basketball?”– B: “He’s tall”

Eupehemism/Dysphemism (1)

• A Euphemism is a word or phrase intended to make something bad sound neutral or good.

• A Dysphemism is a word or phrase intended to make something good or neutral sound bad.

Euphemism/Dysphemism (2)

• The name of every piece of legislation passed at any level of government is a euphemism.

• Euphemisms often replace euphemisms (e.g. toilet, shell-shock)

• Sometimes euphemisms are used out of politeness or sensitivity (e.g. euphemisms for death, PC language)

• Euphemisms sometimes lose their euphemism-hood (e.g. lesbian)

Lesbian…

• The Island• The Poet

Spin Doctoring

• When Euphemism is used as a form of attempted mind-control (effective so often it’s shameful to our species) we call it spin doctoring

• As an exercise, try to spot euphemistic language in political debate, and change all the euphemisms to the most neutral language you can. This is a decent way to evaluate some political debate and disagreement.

When euphemisms go bad…

• Slogans: often used to mislead and avoid real issues; remember, a slogan is NOT a position or an argument, though it may hint at a loose grouping of positions and arguments. Most slogan pairs are not even mutually exclusive.

• Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life• Progressive Education vs. Back to Fundamentals• Liberal vs. Conservative• Alternative Lifestyle vs. Family Values