Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric

by Kahane, Howard; Cavender, Nancy

• ISBN13: 9780534535841
• ISBN10: 0534535844
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-08-01
• Publisher: Wadsworth Pub Co

Table of Contents

Preface	xii
Good And Bad Reasoning	1	(30)
Reasoning and Arguments	2	(2)
Exposition and Argument	4	(2)
Cogent Reasoning	6	(3)
Two Basic Kinds of Valid Arguments	9	(3)
Some Wrong Ideas about Cogent Reasoning	12	(3)
Back ground Beliefs	15	(1)
Kinds of Background Beliefs	15	(1)
Worldviews or Philosophies	16	(2)
Insufficiently Grounded Beliefs	18	(4)
Two Vital Kinds of Background Beliefs	22	(1)
Science to the Rescue	23	(8)
Summary of Chapter 1	27	(4)
More on Deduction and Induction	31	(18)
Deductive Validity	31	(3)
Deductive Invalidity	34	(1)
Syllogisms	35	(2)
Indirect Proofs	37	(1)
Tautologies, Contradictions, and Contingent Statements	37	(1)
Inductive Validity (Correctness) and Invalidity (Incorrectness)	38	(5)
A Misconception about Deduction and Induction	43	(1)
Reasoning Cogently versus Being Right in Fact	43	(6)
Summary of Chapter 2	44	(5)
Fallacious Reasoning---1	49	(24)
Appeal to Authority	50	(4)
Inconsistency	54	(5)
Straw Man	59	(1)
False Dilemma and the Either-Or Fallacy	60	(1)
Begging the Question	61	(1)
Questionable Premise---Questionable Statement	62	(1)
Suppressed (Overlooked) Evidence	63	(2)
Tokenism	65	(8)
Summary of Chapter 3	66	(7)
Fallacious Reasoning---2	73	(18)
Ad Hominem Argument	73	(2)
Two Wrongs Make a Right	75	(3)
Irrelevant Reason (Non Sequitur)	78	(1)
Equivocation	79	(3)
Appeal to Ignorance	82	(1)
Composition and Division	83	(1)
Slippery Slope	84	(7)
Summary of Chapter 4	84	(7)
Fallacious Reasoning---3	91	(30)
Hasty Conclusion	91	(1)
Small Sample	92	(1)
Unrepresentative Sample	92	(1)
Questionable Cause	93	(3)
Questionable Analogy	96	(2)
Questionable Statistics	98	(2)
Questionable Uses of Good Statistics	100	(3)
Polls: An Important Special Case	103	(4)
False Charge of Fallacy	107	(14)
Summary of Chapter 5	109	(12)
Psychological Impediments to Cogent Reasoning: Shooting Ourselves in the Foot	121	(28)
Loyalty, Provincialism, and the Herd Instinct	122	(2)
Prejudice, Stereotypes, Scapegoats, and Partisan Mind Sets	124	(2)
Superstitious Beliefs	126	(1)
Wishful Thinking and Self-Deception	127	(2)
Rationalization and Procrastination	129	(3)
Other Defense Mechanisms	132	(1)
The Benefits of Self-Deception, Wishful Thinking, and Denial	133	(2)
The Pull of Pseudoscience and the Paranormal	135	(5)
Lack of a Good Sense of Proportion	140	(9)
Summary of Chapter 6	142	(7)
Language	149	(28)
Cognitive and Emotive Meanings	149	(1)
Emotive Meanings and Persuasive Uses of Language	150	(6)
Other Common Rhetorical Devices	156	(5)
Those Who Control the Definitions . .	161	(4)
The Reform of Sexist Language	165	(3)
PC (Politically Correct) Terminology	168	(9)
Summary of Chapter 7	170	(7)
Evaluating Extended Arguments	177	(28)
The Basic Tasks of Essay Evaluation	178	(7)
Quick Appraisals	185	(3)
The Margin Note and Summary Method	188	(5)
Dealing with Value Claims	193	(4)
Evaluating Ironic Works	197	(8)
Summary of Chapter 8	202	(3)
Writing Cogent (And Persuasive) Essays	205	(28)
The Writing Process	205	(1)
Preparing to Write	206	(1)
Writing the Essay	207	(4)
Supporting Reasons Effectively	211	(22)
Summary of Chapter 9	230	(3)
Advertising: Selling the Product	233	(36)
Promise and Identification Advertisements	234	(3)
Things to Watch Out for in Advertisements	237	(9)
New Marketing Wrinkles	246	(4)
Political Advertising	250	(19)
Summary of Chapter 10	264	(5)
Managing the News	269	(46)
The Media and the Power of Money	270	(12)
News-Gathering Methods Are Designed to Save Money	282	(2)
Misdirection and Lack of Proportion	284	(1)
News Reporting: Theory and Practice	285	(7)
Devices Used to Slant the News	292	(6)
Television, Film, and Electronic Information Sources	298	(2)
The Non-Mass Media to the Rescue	300	(2)
Recent Developments	302	(13)
Summary of Chapter 11	307	(8)
Textbooks: Managing Worldviews	315	(40)
High School History Textbooks	316	(6)
A Typical High School History Textbook	322	(6)
Social Studies (Civics) Textbooks Minimize the Great Gulf between Theory and Practice	328	(2)
Textbooks and Indoctrination	330	(2)
Textbooks and Politics	332	(4)
Censorship	336	(8)
Textbooks Fail to Give Students Genuine Understanding	344	(2)
Postscript on College Texts	346	(9)
Summary of Chapter 12	347	(8)
Appendix More on Cogent Reasoning	355	(9)
1 More on Cause and Effect	355	(1)
2 Scientific Method	356	(3)
3 Calculating Probabilities and Fair Odds	359	(5)
Answers to Starred Excercise Items	364	(8)
Bibliography	372	(6)
Glossary	378	(4)
Indexes	382