CMS1008 Clear Thinking and Argument

CMS1008 Clear Thinking and Argument

This Week’s Objectives Appreciate the importance of using logical and sound arguments in day-to-day communication Determine what constitutes an argument and how to identify its structure and validity Judge the quality/strength of an argument Identify, explain and counter fallacies used in arguments Apply theory to practice by analysing specific arguments Stop yourself from losing 20 marks in assignment 3

Logical Thinking Test The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and tells whether you are qualified to be a "professional".

Question Number 1 How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

Question Number 2 How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Wrong Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant and close the refrigerator. Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put inthe elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your actions.

Question Number 3 The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?

Correct Answer: The Elephant. The Elephant is in the refrigerator. Remember? This tests your memory.

OK, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your abilities.

Question Number 4 There is a river you must cross. But crocodiles inhabit it. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You swim across. Why? All the Crocodiles are attending the Animal Conference. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

According to Andersen Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong. But many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four year old.

Activity….. in pairs: • Discuss 2 or 3 times when someone tried to persuade you to do something or think in a certain way • Now discuss 2 or 3 occasions where you tried to persuade someone to do something or think in a certain way (Think of family, friends, tutors etc)

Definition of an argument: identifying its structure and validity • What is an argument? (see p.146, Tyler et al. 2002) • An argument is a persuasive device where one or more statements (called premises) support a conclusion • Cue words for premises include words such as ‘because’. ‘since’, ‘due to the fact that’, ‘if’, given that’ and ‘in view of’ • Cue words for conclusions include: ‘hence’, thus’, ‘therefore’, ‘so’, ‘consequently’ and ‘it follows that…’

Activity • Provide a statement • Turn it into an argument by adding • either a conclusion • or a premise

Identifying the quality (validity) of the argument • Is there a problem in the argument? • These problems are called fallacies • A fallacy is simply a weakness or flaw in an argument that affects its logic. • It may or may not affect its ability to persuade, depending upon whether the person being ‘persuaded’ is aware of these fallacies or not.

How to find a fallacy! • It could be either: • In the premise or • In the relationship between the premise and the conclusion • Either • Relate to a flaw in the reasoning or logic or • Try to either undermine or sidestep reason and logic by appealing to the heart • See Tyler et al. (2002, pp. 150-155) for examples of fallacies

Using faulty reason and logic to persuade you! Faulty generalisation: a generalisation based on insufficient evidence or developed from an unrepresentative sample. • “University students drink a lot of beer so they must have too much spare time and money” • “We had Jill for a class so all Arts lecturers must be crazy” • “Every body who lives in Toowoomba is boring” • “Nursing cultures are too regimented”

False analogy: • Tries to compare two things/situations which do not have enough in common • “The university, with its small rooms and long corridors, is like a prison” • “Our love is like a beautiful red rose - sweet and alive” • “Not supporting America in going to war with Iraq is like siding with Saddam Hussein” • Communicating with other cultures is like communicating blindfold.

False cause/effect relationships: when the link between one event and another is not strong enough. • Look for ‘if –then’, ‘therefore’, ‘because’, ‘since’, ‘as a result’ • “Since the mayor was elected crime has escalated”. • “After she changed to Nike running shoes her academic record improved”. • “She got better because she took vitamin c tablets”. • “I have done a lot of work on this assignment and therefore it should get more marks”.

False dilemma: Where the argument is phrased an either /or situation and where there are in fact other alternatives. • “We can either agree to the union’s demands or go out of business”. • “Either you sleep with me or we are through” (on an American soap). • “If I fail this course I will be thrown out of uni.” • “If you value the ANZACs then you should agree that we should keep the flag”. • “Either Santa is very quiet or he comes down the chimney when I am asleep”.

Misuse of statistics • Look for an numbers not supported by an in-text reference • Fallacy of the small sample – 80% of people agreed that Toowoomba needs a new pub. No. of respondents not given – actual number 10. • Fallacy of faulty comparison - There is more crime than 100 years ago. Official statistics prove this. • Unknowable statistics – 80% of all people in the 1920s drank bootleg whisky……..1,432,657 people were affected by the Chernobyle incident. • Biased statistics –60% of all Australians agree that nurses should receive higher wages (collected on a current affairs ring in-poll)

Appeals to authority: • While an appeal to authority or to experts is a pivotal part of supporting your argument in university study you need to be sure that the experts/ authority quoted is an expert in the field and a reference is provided • “As one of our respected surgeons we welcome his arguments that the government should ban the new agricultural legislation” • “My gran says that you should take this antibiotic to get better” • “Brad Pitt drinks ecosoft so you should too” • Research says that…without an in-text reference • Use of a general dictionary

Ambiguity • Using vague or double meanings to obscure the meaning and change the argument • “Our dog is like one of the family”. “Which one”? • “Sugar is an essential component of the human body therefore we should eat as much sugar as possible” • Not defining the essay’s key terms – ‘culture’ & ‘cultural awareness’ Begging the question • This is a circular argument • “We can believe what the USQ Handbook says because it is the official publication of the university” • “Rainy days are depressing as they can make you feel rather unhappy”

Fallacies which try to undermine or sidestep reason and logic by appealing to the heart / to the emotions • Ad hominem: Attacks against the person rather than addressing the issue. A personal attack that seeks to discredit the source of the argument by identifying personal shortcomings which are irrelevant to the issue • “Don’t listen to that doctor, she is a cranky old fusspot!” • “How can you have a personal opinion about abortion – you are not a woman so this is a decision you will not have to make” • That patient is really plump and shouldn’t be given priority treatment • He can’t stop smoking so he shouldn’t be given a new heart

Appeal to pity • An appeal to pathetic circumstances in an attempt to substitute feelings of sympathy and mercy for a cold weighting of merit. • Letter about the old age pension signed by John Smith (War veteran) • May I please have an assignment extension because I’ve got 2 assignments and 3 exams due this week, my boy friend dumped me and my cat got sick • I’m sorry I haven’t marked your assignments but I was too stressed & tired

Emotive language • Where emotive language is used to provoke feelings, for example, fear, hate, shame etc; to get you think with your heart not your head • “You can’t even be bothered doing the dishes” • “ Think what would happen if nurses went on strike, patients would die, disease would spread, children would be left fatherless and motherless”

Absolute terms • Use of absolutes such as “all always, hopeless, countless, vast, infinite, never, everybody, no one, every” • “All students drink whisky” • “Lecturers are always sensitive and kind” • “Students are never helpful”

Appeal to the masses: an idea held by a majority of people, plays on the likes and dislikes of the audience; you should think this way because everyone else does; peer pressure[Look for use of first person here – ‘we, our’, rhetorical question] • “All thinking Australians would agree that there is no need to change our flag” • All true Australians know that this is a great country” • “As we all know communication is a great subject”

Impact on academic writing • Use 3rd person: • It helps you be objective • Avoid ‘appeals to the masses” • Avoid emotive/creative language: ideal, merely, even, of course, still, even, very, truth • Helps you avoid “emotive language” • Avoid ‘absolute’ terms:all, extremely, never, every, countless • Helps you avoid an absolute fallacy • Avoid qualifying wordslike adjectives and adverbs: probably, perhaps, somewhat, seemingly • Helps you avoid “emotive terms”

Never define key terms out of an ordinary dictionary • Helps you avoid “appeals to authority” • Never give a definition or say ‘research says…….” without providing a reference • Otherwise it will be “an appeal to authority” • Giving statistics without an in-text reference • Otherwise it will be “an appeal to statistics” • Give a generalisation without an in-text reference • Otherwise it will be a ‘faulty generalisation” • In assignment 3 you will lose up to 20 marks altogether if your marker spots you using fallacies

Develop a repertoire of academic phrases According to, Jones (1999) found that, investigated, asserted, argued, claims, demonstrates, explores, presents the following case, reveals the importance of, testifies to, verifies, observes, discloses, examines, endorses, contends that, implies, indicates, justifies, regards, expands this concept further, comments on, shows that, affirms, challenges, questions the belief that,

So now? You know: • What a strong academic argument looks like? • What fallacies are? • That we all use useless, awful fallacies everyday? • How to avoid using fallacies when you write at university? • How to look out for them when someone is trying to persuade you to think or do something • How you can save yourself from losing 20 marks in assignment 3

CMS1008 Clear Thinking and Argument