(1) An analogy is utilized, however there are clearly and relevantly disanalogous aspects between the analogy and the thing that the analogy is being used to support.
Read more “Evaluating Arguments, Part 6: Analogies and Kicking the Can”
Evaluating Arguments, Part 5: Fallacies
I have discussed fallacies before, and in that post I provided some wonderful sources that pertain exclusively to logical fallacies. It would be entirely remiss of me, though, to ignore fallacies in relation to evaluating arguments. This post will, like all posts of this series, give some specific examples of fallacies in action. So, without further ado, let’s get into yet another way to assess/evaluate an argument!
Evaluating Arguments, Part 4: Defeaters and Definitions
You can either provide a rebutting defeater for a premise, or you can provide an undercutting defeater for a premise.
Read more “Evaluating Arguments, Part 4: Defeaters and Definitions”
Evaluating Arguments, Part 3: Science, Lack of Substantiation, and Contradictions
Continuing with my series on ways to evaluate arguments (premises, implications, assumptions, etc), the following post will discuss four more ways.
Read more “Evaluating Arguments, Part 3: Science, Lack of Substantiation, and Contradictions”
Evaluating Arguments, Part 2: Circularity
Circular motion was long thought to be the perfect form of motion, and as a result, it was postulated as the way heavenly bodies moved around the Earth. While circular motion may (or may not) be the “perfect” form of motion, circularity is certainly nowhere near perfect in argumentation. It is, in fact, a pernicious fallacy that seeps into much of our reasoning and argumentation, many times unconsciously. Today we will be looking at one way to critically assess an argument, namely establishing that it is circular.
Evaluating Arguments, Part 1: Introduction and General Dichotomy
Arguably the most important aspect of critical thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate arguments. While this new series will serve as a continuation of the critical thinking series recently concluded, I thought that the importance of argument evaluation warrants its own series. This post will introduce the structure and purpose of this series, and will also provide a general dichotomy which can be used to evaluate arguments.
Read more “Evaluating Arguments, Part 1: Introduction and General Dichotomy”