ANALYZING

ARGUMENTS
De Guzman, Justine
Two analytical techniques
 Paraphrasing Arguments
- setting forth its propositions in clear
language and in logical order

 Diagramming Arguments
- representing the structure of the
argument graphically
Paraphrasing Arguments
 setforth clearly what the premises
indubitably assert.

 Itsimply connotes a “rewording” or

“restatement” of something written or
spoken for the purpose of achieving
greater clarity.
“Interpreting the author as offering
deductively valid arguments.”
 Common argument patterns which offers
a good paraphrase:

 Modus Ponens
 Modus Tollens
 Hypothetical syllogism
 Disjunctive syllogism
 instantiation
Examples
Hundreds of thousands of recent
college graduates today cannot express
themselves with the written word. Why?
Because universities have shortchanged
them, offering strange literary theories,
Marxism, feminism, deconstruction, and
other oddities in the guise of writing courses.

- Stanley Ridgeley, “College Students Can’t Write?

National Review Online, 19 February 2003
In paraphrasing this argument, we shall
list down what it asserts in a logical
order.
 1. Universities have commonly offered
strange literary theories, and assorted
oddities, in place of the writing courses
that ought to have been offered.
 2. Students have been unknowingly
shortchanged.
 3. That is why vast numbers of students
cannot express themselves well in writing,
Another example
The New York Times reported, on 30 May
2000, that some scientists were seeking a
way to signal back in time. A critical reader
responded thus:
It seems obvious to me that scientists
in the future will never find a way to signal
back in time. If they were to do so, wouldn’t
we have heard from them by now?
- Ken Grunstra, “ Reaching Back in Time,” The New York
Times, 6 June 2000
To spell out its claim, it can be
paraphrased this way:

 1. if future scientists find a way to

signal back in time, their signals
would already have reached us
 2. No such signals have ever
reached us
 3. Future scientists never will find a
way to signal back in time.
Diagramming Arguments
 Involvesgraphical representation of the
structure of an argument. Exhibiting
relations between the premise and
conclusion.
Steps on Diagramming Arguments:

 1. number all the propositions it contains,

in the order in which they appear, circling
each number.
 2. Using arrows between the circled
numbers,
Note: a conclusion always appears on the
space below the premises; coordinate
premises are put on the same horizontal
level.
Coordinate premises are premises which
are of equal rank or importance in
supporting the conclusion. “harmonize”

The goal is to put together those premises

that form a single line of thought and
separate them from premises that represent
distinct lines of thought.
 Atany cost we must have filters on
our Ypsilanti Township library
computers. Pornography is a
scourge on society at every level.
Our public library must not be used
to channel this filth to the people of
the area.
-Rob. J. And Joan D. Pelkey, The
Ann Arbor Michigan News,3
February 2004
First, we assign encircled
numbers to its propositions
 At any cost we must have filters
on our Ypsilanti Township library
computers. Pornography is a
scourge on society at every level.
Our public library must not be
used to channel this filth to the
people of the area.
Second, we now diagram the relationship of
the premises and conclusions by drawing a
line/ arrow
Aside from premises giving direct support to
other premises, another feature of a diagram
is a straightforward argument where
coordinate premises support the conclusion
 There is no concensus among
biologists that a fertilized cell is alive in a
sense that an unfertilized egg or unused
sperm is not. Nor is there a
concensus about whether a group of cells
without even a rudimentary nervous
system is in any sense human. Hence,
there are no compelling experimental
data to decide the nebulous issue of
when “human” life begins.
Illustration:
1 2

3
Lastly, premises supporting the conclusion only
when they are joined. In this diagram, we use
brackets to show that its premises give support
only because they are joined.
General Motors makes money on new cars and
on the financing of loans. Car dealers, by
contrast, make most of their money on servicing old
cars and selling used ones. So car dealers can
thrive even when the automaker languishes.
SINGLE vs. MULTIPLE Arguments
A single argument means an
argument with a single
conclusion, regardless of how
many premises are adduced in
its support. Multiple arguments
on the other hand, requires
multiple conclusions.
Example of diagramming a
multiple argument
 Vacuum cleaners to insure clean houses are
praiseworthy and essential in our standard of
living. Street cleaners to insure clean streets
are an unfortunate expense. Partly as a result
our houses are generally clean and our
streets generally filthy.
Complex Argumentative
Passages
 In diagramming complex arguments, the
same basic tools apply such as in
diagramming simple arguments. Complex
arguments may have several premises
and one or more conclusions. Some
complex arguments are constructed by
linking together several simpler
arguments. The linkage may be made by
having the conclusion of one argument
serve as a premise in another argument.
Example
 Drugs should be legalized because it
would cut down on street crime. Criminals
wouldn’t have to commit crimes to get
their drugs because their drugs would be
cheap. And it would save the taxpayer a
lot of money. We wouldn’t have to build
so many jails and we wouldn’t have to
hire so many cops to enforce drug laws.
In this example
 Drugs should be legalized because
it would cut down on street crime.
Criminals wouldn’t have to commit crimes
to get their drugs because their drugs
would be cheap. it would save the
taxpayers a lot of money. We wouldn’t
have to build so many jails and we
wouldn’t have to hire so many cops to
enforce drug laws.
We diagram it, like this
Problems in Reasoning
 Inreasoning, we advance from premises
known to conclusions

 According to Andy Norman in his paper

Biology and Philosophy “reasoning is
biologically unique to humans. Though
other animals draw inferences, only
people are able to produce and respond
to “reason-giving performances.”
We improve with practice
Ways:
Brainteasers
Crossword puzzles
Chess
others
Brainteaser

Beth’s mother has three

daughters. One is called
Lara, the other one is Sara.
What is the name of the
third daughter?
 A man was outside taking a
walk when it started to rain. The
man didn’t have an umbrella
and he wasn’t wearing a hat.
His clothes got soaked, yet not
a single hair on his head got
wet. How could this happen?
 Alonzo, Kurt, Rudolf and Willard are four
creative artists of great talent. One is a
dancer, one is a singer, and one is a
writer, though not necessarily in that
order.
 a. Alonzo and Rudolf were in the
audience the night the singer made his
debut on the concert stage.
 b. both kurt and the writer have had
their portraits painted from life by the
painter
 c. the writer, whose biography of Willard
was a best-seller, is planning to write a
biography of Alonzo.
 d. Alonzo has never heard of Rudolf.
 What is each man’s artistic field?
When problems become more complex, it is
useful to construct a graphic display of the
alternatives called a matrix.

Dancer Painter Singer Writer

Alonzo
Kurt
Rudolf
Willard
We conclude who’s who by assigning N for “no” in the
column of the person who is not in that particular field.

Let’s start by identifying the given facts.

a. Since Alonzo and Rudolf were part of the audience,
then they are not the singer
b. kurt is not the painter nor the writer, the writer is not
the painter
c. Willard and Alonzo is not the writer

Dancer Painter Singer Writer

Alonzo N N
Kurt N N
Rudolf N
Willard N
Looking at the matrix, we can be sure that Rudolf is the writer,
so let’s assign Y for “Yes” in his designated profession and put
N to the rest of the profession
Dancer Painter Singer Writer
Alonzo N N
Kurt N N
Rudolf N N N Y
Willard N

Now, the singer is either Kurt or Willard,

The painter is either Alonzo and Willard,
and the dancer is not Rudolf.
The next step is to analyze the facts again, identifying the
relationship between the premise and conclusion, or simply
based on reasoning.

In the given premises the Rudolf had his portrait painted by

the painter (P2) and Alonzo has never heard of Rudolf (P4),
thus Alonzo cannot be the painter, now we can conclude
that Willard is the painter.

Dancer Painter Singer Writer

Alonzo Y N N N
Kurt N N Y N
Rudolf N N N Y
Willard N Y N N

Conclusion: Alonzo- Dancer, Willard-Painter,

Kurt- singer and Rudolf-writer
.Mr Brown was killed on Sunday
afternoon. The wife said she was reading
a book. The butler said He was taking a
shower. The chef said he was making
breakfast. The maid said she was folding
clothes, and the gardener said he was
planting tomatoes. Who did it?
 Thank You for thinking 