The Uses of Argument, Updated Edition

Toulmin, Stephen

The turmoil and brutality of the twentieth century have made it increasingly difficult to maintain faith in the ability of reason to fashion a stable and peaceful world. After the ravages of global conflict and a Cold War that divided the world's loyalties, how are we to master our doubts and face the twenty-first century with hope? In Return to Reason , Stephen Toulmin argues that the potential for reason to improve our lives has been hampered by a serious imbalance in our pursuit of knowledge. The centuries-old dominance of rationality, a mathematical mode of reasoning modeled on theory and universal certainties, has diminished the value of reasonableness, a system of humane judgments based on personal experience and practice. To this day, academic disciplines such as economics and professions such as law and medicine often value expert knowledge and abstract models above the testimony of diverse cultures and the practical experience of individuals. Now, at the beginning of a new century, Toulmin sums up a lifetime of distinguished work and issues a powerful call to redress the balance between rationality and reasonableness. His vision does not reject the valuable fruits of science and technology, but requires awareness of the human consequences of our discoveries. Toulmin argues for the need to confront the challenge of an uncertain and unpredictable world, not with inflexible ideologies and abstract theories, but by returning to a more humane and compassionate form... Lire plus…

Mayer, Robert, Robert Mayer

Are you the parent of an argumentative teen or a teen with an argumentative parent? Are you anticipating an argument with your boss when you ask for a raise? Are you expecting trouble from a supplier, contractor, landlord, or subordinate? Or do you just ignore conflict situations hoping that they'll magically disappear or solve themselves? The art of argument. It's mysterious and powerful. It's the art of having things go your way. But also it's the art of getting out of your own way. It's having The Moves. But it's also about having The Touch. Arguing. There's the rough and tumble of the norm, the amateur's game. Then there's the pro's game--always knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. Winning arguments without quarreling, squabbling, tussling, wrangling, bickering, raising your voice, losing your cool, or coming to blows. Winning arguments without bulldozing and browbeating the other guy. Winning arguments by finessing rather than forcing, kickin' butt or being in the other guy's face. Winning arguments without offending or embarrassing anyone, including yourself. Winning arguments with confidence, grace and ease. The New York Times described Bob Mayer's winning methodology as " ... martial. It's mental judo. Where you use the other guy's energy to win. It's mind-set. It's charisma ... a non-threatening approach that in many ways builds on the principles laid out long ago in Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends & Influence People." So find yourself a... Lire plus…

Liliane M. V. Haegeman

Haegeman's Thinking Syntactically is probably the most accessible introduction to minimalist syntax that is presently available. I used it to supplement more formally-rigorous texts in an intro graduate syntax class and found its contribution to my understanding invaluable. Haegemen starts from a very basic description of auxiliary inversion in English to motivate a theory of main clause structure (while providing supporting examples from many other languages, especialy in the exercises). Her essential approach is minimalist, although her reliance on good examples and clear discussions of theoretical presuppositions make this a useful model of syntactic argumentation no matter what syntactic theory you are working in (I found it helpful in a GB course). Very little prior knowledge is presupposed- each step that is made in the development of the theory is explained and well-motivated by argument and very good examples. Recommended for anyone starting out in syntax. Lire plus…

Walton, Douglas Neil

Informal Logic is an introductory guidebook to the basic principles of constructing sound arguments and criticizing bad ones. Non-technical in approach, it is based on 186 examples, which Douglas Walton, a leading authority in the field of informal logic, discusses and evaluates in clear, illustrative detail. Walton explains how errors, fallacies, and other key failures of argument occur. He shows how correct uses of argument are based on sound strategies for reasoned persuasion and critical responses. Among the many subjects covered are: forms of valid argument, defeasible arguments, relevance, appeals to emotion, personal attack, straw man argument, jumping to a conclusion, uses and abuses of expert opinion, problems in drawing conclusions from polls and statistics, loaded terms, equivocation, arguments from analogy, and techniques of posing, replying to, and criticizing questions. This new edition takes into account many new developments in the field of argumentation study that have occurred since 1989, many created by the author. Drawing on these developments, Walton includes and analyzes 36 new topical examples and also brings in recent work on argumentation schemes. Ideally suited for use in courses in informal logic and introduction to philosophy, this book will also be valuable to students of pragmatics, rhetoric, and speech communication. Lire plus…

Stephen Edelston Toulmin

A central theme throughout the impressive series of philosophical books and articles Stephen Toulmin has published since 1948 is the way in which assertions and opinions concerning all sorts of topics, brought up in everyday life or in academic research, can be rationally justified. Is there one universal system of norms, by which all sorts of arguments in all sorts of fields must be judged, or must each sort of argument be judged according to its own norms? In The Uses of Argument (1958) Toulmin sets out his views on these questions for the first time. In spite of initial criticisms from logicians and fellow philosophers, The Uses of Argument has been an enduring source of inspiration and discussion to students of argumentation from all kinds of disciplinary background for more than forty years. Lire plus…

Stephen Toulmin, Richard D. Rieke, Allan Janik

First level of analysis : the soundness of arguments - Second level of analysis : the strength of arguments - Fallacies : how arguments go wrong - Critical practice - Special fields of reasoning. Lire plus…

Stephen Toulmin

"This book is an honest and successful endeavor to deal with the differences between science and philosophy as they really do exist and there is no one, philosopher or scientist, who would not be the better for reading it." - Cambridge Review Lire plus…

T. Edward Damer

Increasingly college courses and programs require a critical thinking component—and include assignments meant to measure your critical thinking skills. ATTACKING FAULTY REASONING: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO FALLACY-FREE ARGUMENTS, SIXTH EDITION, can help you brush up on these skills—and learn how to develop the logical, persuasive arguments you need now and throughout your career. This useful handbook addresses more than 60 common fallacies of logic with the help of over 200 memorable examples. It provides explanations and tips for avoiding fallacious thinking, and is an ideal resource when writing papers, essays, or arguments. Lire plus…

Roy Van Den Brink-Budgen

The skills of Critical Thinking are important whatever subject you are studying. They enable you to assess what's been said or written by asking the right questions: 'What does this mean?' 'What else could it mean?' 'What other evidence do I need?' With your answers, you can suggest other explanations or scenarios: 'Perhaps it's this rather than that'. As a creative, enquiring thinker, you can then move on to produce well-argued material of your own. This new edition has been totally updated, but it continues in the tradition of the earlier editions in that it is invaluable for all students, whether you're doing a course in Critical Thinking (like the AS-level) or not. It quite simply covers everything you need to become a skilled Critical Thinker. Lire plus…

Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Robert J. Fogelin

construct Effective Arguments With Understanding Arguments: An Introduction To Informal Logic, 8th Edition. Primarily An Introduction To Informal Logic, This Text Provides A Guide To Understanding And Constructing Arguments In The Context Of Academic Studies And Subsequent Professional Careers. Exercises, Discussion Questions, And Readings Help Clarify Difficult Concepts And Make The Material Meaningful And Useful. Lire plus…

David R. Morrow & Anthony Weston

__A Workbook for Arguments__ builds on Anthony Weston's __Rulebook for Arguments__ to provide a complete textbook for a course in critical thinking or informal logic __Workbook__ includes:• The entire text of __Rulebook__, supplemented with extensive further explanations and exercises. • Homework exercises adapted from a wide range of arguments from newspapers, philosophical texts, literature, movies, videos, and other sources. • Practical advice to help students succeed when applying the __Rulebook's__ rules to the examples in the homework exercises. • Suggestions for further practice, outlining activities that students can do by themselves or with classmates to improve their skills. • Detailed instructions for in-class activities and take-home assignments designed to engage students. • An appendix on mapping arguments, giving students a solid introduction to this vital skill in constructing complex and multi-step arguments and evaluating them. • Model answers to odd-numbered problems, including commentaries on the strengths and weaknesses of selected sample answers and further discussion of some of the substantive intellectual, philosophical, or ethical issues they raise. Lire plus…

Ernest Lepore & Sam Cumming

Praise for Meaning and Argument "Meaning and Argument is especially strong on the subtleties of translating natural language into formal language, as a necessary step in the clarification of expression and the evaluation of arguments. The range of natural language constructions surveyed is broader and richer than in any competing introductory logic text that I am aware of. As such, the book provides a solid and attractive introduction to logic not only for philosophy students, but for linguists as well." Richard Larson, University Stony Brook "I can thoroughly recommend Ernest Lepore's Meaning and Argument, particularly for those seeking to teach or learn how to paraphrase into formal symbolism, a much neglected aspect of logic. It contains a wealth of examples and is informed throughout by a deep theoretical knowledge of contemporary linguistics and philosophy of language." Alan Weir, Queen's University Belfast "Lepore's book is unusual for a beginning logic text in that it contains no natural deduction proof system but rather concentrates on finding models and countermodels by means of a semantic tableaux method. It is also unusual in containing many translation examples that exemplify constructions that linguists have found interesting in the last decades. In both of these ways the book is well suited for use in educating philosophy students in the importance of logic even when these students do not intend to go further in the study of formal logic as a... Lire plus…

Colin Swatridge

How do you approach an essay or discussion question? How do you review what claims others have made and offer counter-claims? And how do you weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of your own argument before putting together a persuasive conclusion?This accessible book takes you step by step through the art of argument, from thinking about what to write and how you might write it, to how you may strengthen your claims, and how to come to a strong conclusion. Engagingly written and featuring useful summaries at the end of each chapter, this new book offers easily transferable practical advice on assessing the arguments of others and putting forward effective arguments of your own. The book's strength lies in its clear guidance and the use of real-life arguments - both contemporary and historical - and real-life essay questions from a variety of disciplines across the humanities and social sciences. These interesting, relevant, and often entertaining, examples are used not to illustrate, but to make essential points about what can be learnt, what techniques can be borrowed, and what pitfalls to avoid in the area of analytical thinking and writing. __The Oxford Guide to Effective Argument and Critical Thinking__ is sure to improve the written work of any student required to demonstrate the key skills of critical writing and thinking. It is equally as valuable for professionals needing these skills (e.g. journalists, lawyers, researchers, politicians) as well as for anyone who... Lire plus…

Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Robert J. Fogelin

ADVANGEBOOKS - UNDERSTANDING ARGUMENTS: AN INTRODUCTION TO INFORMAL LOGIC, 9E shows readers how to construct arguments in everyday life, using everyday language. In addition, this easy-to-read textbook also devotes three chapters to the formal aspects of logic including forms of argument, as well as propositional, categorical, and quantificational logic. Plus, this edition helps readers apply informal logic to legal, moral, scientific, religious, and philosophical scenarios, too. Lire plus…

Douglas Walton, Professor Christopher Reed, Dr Fabrizio Macagno

This book provides a systematic analysis of many common argumentation schemes and a compendium of 96 schemes. The study of these schemes, or forms of argument that capture stereotypical patterns of human reasoning, is at the core of argumentation research. Surveying all aspects of argumentation schemes from the ground up, the book takes the reader from the elementary exposition in the first chapter to the latest state of the art in the research efforts to formalize and classify the schemes, outlined in the last chapter. It provides a systematic and comprehensive account, with notation suitable for computational applications that increasingly make use of argumentation schemes. Lire plus…