Module 3: Arguments Part 3

Zaid Ali Alsagoff zaid_a@unitar.edu.my

How many times does the letter F appear in the following sentence?
These functional fuses have been developed after years of scientific investigation of electric phenomena, combined with the fruit of long experience on the part of the two investigators who have come forward with them for our meeting today.

You = Entrepreneur? Why?

Entrepreneurship is not genetic; it can be learned.

Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it NOW! - Goethe

Interesting Statistics!
The leading country for entrepreneurship is Brazil, where one in eight adults is an entrepreneur (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2000). United States (one in 10) Australia (one in 12) Germany (one in 25) United Kingdom (one in 33) Finland and Sweden (one in 50) Ireland and Japan (less than one in 100) The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 1999 defined entrepreneurship as: Any attempt at new business or new venture creation, such as self-employment, a new business organization, or the expansion of an existing business, by an individual, a team of individuals, or an established business."
Source: http://www.certificate.net/wwio/biz0210014.shtml

11 Essential Entrepreneurial Power Skills

1. Assess the present situation accurately 2. Go after bold visions 3. Be unstoppable 4. Negotiate firmly and win-winly 5. Solve problems 6. Make good decisions 7. Brainstorm 8. Mobilize powerful resources 9. Communicate effectively 10. Act decisively 11. Behave with integrity
Source: Entrepreneurship 101, Michael E. Gordon. URL - http://www.trumpuniversity.com/entrepreneurship101/ (exhibit 02-01)

Module 3: Arguments - Part 3 (of 3)

2. What is an Argument? 1. Distinguishing Fact & Opinion

3. Identifying Premises & Conclusions

8. Writing Arguments

4. What Is Not an Argument?

5. Deduction & Induction

7. Evaluating Arguments

6. Analyzing Arguments

Our very eyes are sometimes, like our judgments, blind

- Shakespeare

3.7 Evaluating Arguments

What is a good argument?

This definition is Not fully adequate.

A good argument, fundamentally, is an argument that is either deductively sound or inductively cogent.
A good argument (2 conditions) - All premises are true, and the premises provide good reasons to accept the conclusion. An argument is deductively valid if the conclusion must be true if the premises are true. An argument is inductively strong if the conclusion is probably true if the premises are true. Arguments that are both deductively valid and have all true premises are said to be deductively sound. Arguments that are both inductively sound and have all true premises are said to be inductively cogent.

3.7 Evaluating Arguments

Agree I do!

A good argument from the standpoint of critical thinking is: An argument that satisfies the relevant critical thinking standards that apply in a particular context.
The most important critical thinking standards are: Accuracy Are all the premises true? Logical Correctness Is the reasoning correct? Is the argument deductively valid or inductively strong? Also, other critical thinking standards must be taken into account, including clarity, precision, relevance, consistency, completeness and fairness.

3.7 Evaluating Arguments

General Guidelines (Key questions):
Are the premises true?

Is the reasoning correct? Is the argument deductively valid or

inductively strong? Does the arguer commit any logical fallacies (Module 4)? Does the arguer express his or her points clearly and precisely? Are the premises relevant to the conclusion? Are the arguers claims logically consistent? Do any of the arguers claims contradict other claims made in the argument? Is the argument complete? Is all relevant evidence taken into account (given understandable limitations of time, space, context and so on)? Is the argument fair? Is the arguer fair in his or her presentation of the

evidence and treatment of opposing arguments and views?

3.7 Evaluating Arguments

When is it reasonable to accept a premise?

Women are smarter than Men! Men gossip more than Women! Women are better leaders than Men! Men are more creative than Women!

Under what conditions is it reasonable to accept such claims?

In general, it is reasonable to accept and unsupported claim as true when: 1. The claim does not conflict with personal experiences that we have no good reason to doubt, 2. the claim does not conflict with background beliefs that we have no good reason to doubt, and 3. The claim comes from a credible source.

3.7 Evaluating Arguments

1. Does the Claim Conflict with our Personal Experiences?
My dog is as gentle as a kitten. Got it!
Really?

People often place too much trust in their own observation and experiences. Personal experiences are often less reliable than we think. We need to be aware that believing is often seeing and that things are not always as they appear.

Critical thinkers recognize that their beliefs, hopes, fears, expectations, and biases can affect their observations.

3.7 Evaluating Arguments

2. Does the Claim Conflict with our Background Beliefs? Background beliefs A vast network of conscious and unconscious convictions we use as a framework to assess the credibility of claims that cant be verified directly. It was snowing in Kuala Lumpur last 31st August. It was raining in Kuala Lumpur last 31st August.

Critical thinkers think very carefully about the beliefs they accept. Never believe without sufficient evidence and never believe more strongly than the evidence warrants. Watchwords of the wise.

3.7 Evaluating Arguments

3. Does the Claim Come from a Credible Source?
Is the source a genuine expert or authority? Does the source speak in his or her area of expertise? Is the source biased or has some other motive to lie or mislead? Is the accuracy of the sources personal observations or experiences questionable? Is the source contained in a source that is generally unreliable (e.g. gossip magazine) ? Has the source been cited correctly or has been quoted out of context? Is the issue one that can be settled by expert opinion? Is the claim made by the source highly improbable on its face?

Critical thinkers must ask, Are all premises true? and Do the premises provide good reasons to accept the conclusion?

3.7 Exercise
For each of the following unsupported claims, indicate whether or not it would be reasonable to accept the claim. Also, state the criteria you use in reaching your decision. Black cats bring bad luck. 98% of statistics are just made up. I read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica last summer (said by a stranger at a party). There is no hard scientific evidence that smoking is addictive (said by a tobacco company executive).

Ghosts really exist.

Aliens have visited the earth in some form.

Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world. - Cervantes

Writing Arguments
We construct arguments to: Decide Explain Predict Persuade Etc.
Although your objective might be to win, your success in an argument should be measured by how well you defend your claim and fair, accurate, and honest you are in presenting your case. Whether in the end your opponent agrees or disagrees with you, you should strive to put forward the most rational and even-handed presentation you can muster.

3.8 Writing Arguments

Before You Write
Know Yourself Why are you writing an argument? Are you willing to grant your opponent his or her good points and to defend your own fairly and honestly. Know Your Audience Adjust your style to the audience and anticipate their reactions. Always assume the best about your audience (open-minded, intelligent, rational and humane), which will prevent you from overstating your case. Choose and Narrow Your Topic Select a topic that is both controversial and interesting to you. Write a Sentence that Expresses Your Claim Provide a single statement of your central claim and organize your material in an manner that will allow your readers to easily recognize your premises. Gather Ideas: Brainstorm and Research List supporting and opposing premises. Distinguish between facts and opinions. Organize Your Ideas

3.8 Writing Arguments

Writing the First Draft
Provide an Interesting Opening Examples: Controversial, attention-grabber, surprising statistics, famous quote, interesting story, and a little-known fact. Include a Thesis Statement Give a clear and carefully worded statement of your claim somewhere in the opening paragraph. Develop your Body Paragraphs Start each body of paragraph with a topic sentence and develop the paragraph with details that support your topic. Be certain that you have defended your premises and any assumptions on which your argument is based. Defend your claim with factual evidence, expert opinion, examples and with appropriate analogies. Provide a Satisfying Conclusion Examples: Return to the opening, make a prediction, ask a question, call for action, end with a story different from the one you started with, and emphasize the importance of your claim.

3.8 Writing Arguments

After the First Draft
Read What You Have Written and Revise Look for both small issues (e.g. grammatically errors) and larger issues and evaluate your argument from the point of view of someone who disagrees with you. Be honest and question your evidence and logic. Consider What You Have not Written and Revise Try to disagree with what you have written by finding a way to reject each of the premises you have offered as support. It will help reveal areas where connections are left unexplored or where unexamined assumptions are guiding your thinking. Show Your Work Before your write your final, edited draft seek the advice of your professor, a tutor, or a peer who might alert you to any shortcomings in the argument you may have failed to notice. Edit Your Work Check for grammatical mistakes, misused or missing punctuation, misspellings, and typographical errors. Also, try reading your paper out loud to hear how it sounds. Doing so can sometimes help reveal awkward phrases or repetitive sentence structures. Hand It In Your argument will be evaluated on its strength, its form and content, its support, etc.

Group Activity
Break into groups of 4 - 6, read the articles (2) about entrepreneurship provided by the lecturer, and then:

Use the general guidelines (critical thinking standards) to evaluate the arguments stated in the articles.

Is Entrepreneurship Genetic or Can It be Learned?

What is your groups opinion based on the articles provided and your previous knowledge and experiences about entrepreneurship? Document the groups opinion and reasons to support it (less than 150 words).

10 min

Read the articles

10 min
5 min 15 min

Group discussion - Is Entrepreneurship Genetic or Can It be Learned?

Document the groups opinion and reasons to support it. Group presentation & discussion

The Group leader must submit their findings in hard-copy or soft-copy format to the lecturer before or during the next class.

Summary
7. Evaluating Arguments
A good argument from the standpoint of critical thinking is an argument that satisfies the relevant critical thinking standards that apply in a particular context. The most important critical thinking standards are: 1) Accuracy Are all the premises true? 2) Logical Correctness Is the reasoning correct? Is the argument deductively valid or inductively strong? 3) Also, other critical thinking standards must be taken into account, including clarity, precision, relevance, consistency, completeness and fairness.

8. Writing Arguments

Before You Write - Know yourself, Know your audience, Choose and narrow your topic, Write a sentence that expresses your claim, Gather ideas: brainstorm and research and Organize your ideas. Writing the First Draft - Provide an interesting opening, Include a thesis statement, Develop your body paragraphs and Provide a satisfying conclusion. After the First Draft - Read what you have written and revise, Consider what you have not written and revise, Show your work, Edit your work and Hand it in.

Any Questions?

The End

Contact Details

Zaid Ali Alsagoff

UNIVERSITI TUN ABDUL RAZAK 16-5, Jalan SS 6/12 47301 Kelana Jaya Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia E-mail: zaid_a@unitar.edu.my
Tel: 603-7627 7238 Fax: 603-7627 7246

References
Books Chapter 8 (Evaluating Arguments) & 13 (Writing Argumentative Essays): G Bassham, W Irwin, H Nardone, J M Wallace, Critical Thinking: A Student's Introduction, McGraw-Hill International Edition, 2007 Online Resources Entrepreneur checklist (group activity): http://www.sitepoint.com/article/entrepreneurs-checklist Nature Vs Nurture (group activity) http://www.cnn.com/2006/BUSINESS/08/11/execed.genes/index.html Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: http://www.gemconsortium.org/ Graphics Entrepreneurship 101 (book): http://www.trumpuniversity.com/lib/images/products/bkentrepreneurship101/entr101Cover.jpg Tony Fernandes: http://www.adasia2005.org.sg/images/speakers/TF.gif Nazir (CIMB): http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/storage/images/com.tms.cms.image.Image_3dedfd01-cb73c03a6279d000-d6e74387/1/Nazir_Razak_inside.jpg Lim Kok Wing: http://www.uptimax.com/smispro/N_samp/BrandEntrepreneurs_files/p3.jpg Richard Branson: http://www.richard-branson.com/rbranson.jpg Donald Trump: http://images.askmen.com/men/business_politics/pictures/folder_1/donald_trump/donald_trump_150.JPG Bill Gates: http://www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/images/Bill_Gates.jpg Sean Combs: http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/73/039_39751~Puff-Daddy-Posters.jpg Steve Jobs: http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040727/040727_10greatestJObs_vmed_12p.widec.jpg Warren Buffet: http://www.getrichslowly.org/images/warrenbuffet.jpg Oprah Winfrey: http://www.vh1.com/shared/media/images/movies/people/w/winfrey_oprah/150x223.jpg Mr Bean: http://home.zcu.cz/~petrx/bean/1.jpg Angry dog: http://www.pets.info.vic.gov.au/01/images/content/angry_dog.gif