A Rulebook for Arguments

by Weston, Anthony

• ISBN13: 9780872205529
• ISBN10: 0872205525
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: Hackett Pub Co Inc

Summary

Updated examples, streamlined text, and the chapter on definition reworked in a rule-based format strengthen this already strong volume. Readers familiar with the previous edition will find a text that retains all the features that make Rulebook ideally suited for use as a supplementary course book -- including its modest price and compact size. Unlike most textbooks on argumentative writing, Rulebook is organised around specific rules, illustrated and explained soundly and briefly. It is not a textbook, but a rulebook, whose goal is to help students get on with writing a paper or assessing an argument.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction	xi
I. Composing a Short Argument: Some General Rules	1	(9)
Distinguish premises and conclusion	1	(2)
Present your ideas in a natural order	3	(1)
Start from reliable premises	4	(1)
Be concrete and concise	5	(1)
Avoid loaded language	6	(1)
Use consistent terms	7	(1)
Stick to one meaning for each term	8	(2)
II. Arguments by Example	10	(9)
Give more than one example	11	(1)
Use representative examples	12	(2)
Background information is crucial	14	(3)
Consider counterexamples	17	(2)
III. Arguments by Analogy	19	(5)
Analogy requires a relevantly similar example	21	(3)
IV. Arguments from Authority	24	(8)
Sources should be cited	25	(1)
Seek informed sources	26	(2)
Seek impartial sources	28	(2)
Cross-check sources	30	(1)
Personal attacks do not disqualify a source	30	(2)
V. Arguments about Causes	32	(8)
Explain how cause leads to effect	33	(2)
Propose the most likely cause	35	(1)
Correlated events are not necessarily related	36	(1)
Correlated events may have a common cause	36	(2)
Either of two correlated events may cause the other	38	(1)
Causes may be complex	38	(2)
VI. Deductive Arguments	40	(13)
Modus Ponens	41	(1)
Modus Tollens	42	(2)
Hypothetical Syllogism	44	(2)
Disjunctive Syllogism	46	(1)
Dilemma	47	(1)
Reductio ad absurdum	48	(2)
Deductive arguments in several steps	50	(3)
VII. Composing an Argumentative Essay A. Exploring the Issue	53	(6)
A1. Explore the arguments on all sides of the issue	54	(2)
A2. Question and defend each argument's premises	56	(1)
A3. Revise and rethink arguments as they emerge	57	(2)
VIII. Composing an Argumentative Essay B. Main Points of the Essay	59	(5)
B1. Explain the question	59	(1)
B2. Make a definite claim or proposal	60	(1)
B3. Develop your arguments fully	61	(1)
B4. Consider objections	62	(1)
B5. Consider alternatives	63	(1)
IX. Composing an Argumentative Essay C. Writing	64	(7)
C1. Follow your outline	64	(1)
C2. Keep the introduction brief	65	(1)
C3. Give your arguments one at a time	65	(2)
C4. Clarify, clarify, clarify	67	(1)
C5. Support objections with arguments	68	(1)
C6. Don't claim more than you have shown	69	(2)
X. Fallacies	71	(8)
The Two Great Fallacies	71	(2)
Some Classical Fallacies	73	(6)
Appendix: Definition	79	(7)
D1. When terms are unclear, get specific	80	(2)
D2. When terms are contested, work from the clear cases	82	(2)
D3. Don't expect definitions to do the work of arguments	84	(2)
Next Steps	86