Chapter 7

  • Debates and Counterarguments
    1. An arguer may refute a premise, a conclusion, or even the logical strength of an argument.

      For example,
      if the Proponent says,
      And the Opponent responds,
      Taxes are too high, because state employees are overpaid.Civil servants are actually underpaid for the important work they do.
      Then the Opponent is trying to refute the Proponent's Premise.


      For example,
      if the Proponent says,
      And the Opponent responds,
      Taxes are too high, because state employees are overpaid.The State government has an efficiency record second to none, which has allowed personal income taxes to remain constant, after inflation, for the last five years.
      Then the Opponent is trying to refute the Proponent's Conclusion.


      For example,
      if the Proponent says,
      And the Opponent responds,
      Taxes are too high, because state employees are overpaid.There is no relationship between State employee salaries and income taxes collected from the public.
      Then the Opponent is trying to refute the Proponent's logic.


    2. You should identify first which part of the original argument is being refuted.

      • One of the Premises?
      • The Main Conclusion? Or one of the sub-conclusions?
      • The logical strength or validity of the argument?


      For example,
      if the Proponent says,
      And the Opponent responds,
      Snakes are beautiful creatures. Just the other day I saw a beautiful rattlesnake in my back yard. He must have been very hungry, since he didn’t even rattle at me! Apparently, when snakes come out of hibernation, they are hungry and full of venom. Therefore, this snake was certainly just coming out of hibernation. Yuk! Snakes are frightening, horrible creatures. They kill and eat the cute little fieldmice. They are vicious and vile.
      What part(s) of the argument is the Opponent is trying to refute?
      Which fallacy is the Opponent committing?


    3. In a diagram, use an arrow with a slash to show which statement is refuting which.

      Proponent
      Opponent
      1. If a singer sings, then that person is happy.
      2. If a singer plays piano, then that person is very unhappy.
      3. This singer is definitely not singing.
      4. So, this person is certainly unhappy.
        A. (Implied) This singer is playing piano.
      1. This person cannot be unhappy.
      2. This person has a pet gila monster.
      3. And people with gila monsters cannot be unhappy.
      The diagram would look like this:

Distilling Arguments | Debates | Question? | Self-test | Logic Page 1