Philosophy 5: Critical Thinking and Composition

Pierce College

Department of History, Philosophy, & Sociology

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lecture Notes for "Chapter 4: Argumentative Synthesis"

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Support    

The ability to persuade frequently depends on the ability to support one's conclusions. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synthetic 

In synthetic arguments, multiple sources are employed. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Theses Needed

The thesis in an argumentative synthesis "is a claim about which reasonable people could disagree."

 

"It is a claim with whichÐgiven the right argumentsÐyour audience might be persuaded to agree."

   

"The strategy of your argument synthesis is therefore to find and use convincing support for your claim."

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The Elements of Argument"      /       "Claim, Support and Assumption"

   

Claim        

"A claim is a proposition or conclusion that you are trying to prove."

   

Support    

"You prove your claim by using support in the form of fact, statistics, or expert opinion." 

   

Assumption      

"Linking your supporting evidence to your claim is your assumption about the subject." 

 

An assumption in this context "is an underlying belief or principle about some aspect of the world and how it operates." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Logic        

"For the most part, arguments should be constructed logically so that assumptions link evidence (supporting facts, statistics, and expert opinions) to claims." 

   

"The Three Appeals of Arguments"

 

    "Logos, Ethos, Pathos"

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Academic Settings    

"[I]n academic writing, the appeal to logic (logos) is by far the most commonly used appeal." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Logos       

"Logos is the rational appeal, the appeal to reason." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effectiveness    

"If writers and speakers expect to persuade their audiences, they must argue logically and must supply appropriate evidence to support their case." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forms       

Deductive ­ Inductive Reasoning

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deductive

"The deductive argument begins with a generalization, then cites a specific case related to that generalization from which follows a conclusion." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inductive 

The inductive argument begins with "several pieces of specific evidence" and then concludes on the basis of that evidence. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ethos        

"Ethos, or the ethical appeal, is based not on the ethics relating to the subject under discussion, but rather on the ethical status of the person making the argument." 

   

Presenter's Credibility       

"A person making an argument must have a certain degree of credibility: That person must be of good character, have a sound sense, and be qualified to argue based either on expert experience with the subject matter or on carefully conducted research." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Composition Students' Credibility      

"Students writing in academic settings establish their appeal to ethos by developing presentations that are well organized, carefully reasoned, and thoroughly referenced with source citations." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pathos      

Pathos is an appeal to emotions. 

   

Academic 

It is rarely employed well in academic settings, and is usually found in popular arguments. 

   

"The emotional appeal becomes problematic only when it is the sole or primary basis of the argument." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Limits       

Logos is frequently insufficient in the goal of persuasion. 

 

"In the real world, arguments don't operate like academic debates." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comparing and Contrasting       

Sometimes it is valuable to compare and contrast, either when executing an explanatory synthesis or an argumentative synthesis. 

   

Here, you "examine two subjects (or sources) [or cities] in terms of one another." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subtleties

Frequently you will end up illuminating subtleties with your "multifaceted analysis" in comparing and contrasting. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Criteria     

You'll need criteria for analysis, and this frequently comes from reading sources about the entities being compared and contrasted. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Criterion  

In this case, a "criterion is a specific point to which both of your authors refer and about which they may agree or disagree." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Criteria     

The best criteria allow you, of course, to do the comparing and contrasting, "but also to plumb deeper, exploring subtle yet significant comparisons and contrasts among details or subcomponents, which you can then relate to your overall thesis." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orphan     

Comparing and contrasting should not be abandoned; it is an effort that should almost always serve a different purpose, either to explain, persuade, or analyze. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Organizing        

There are two main ways of comparing and contrasting: organization by source as opposed to organized by criteria. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Source

When you organize by source you summarize the things you are comparing and contrasting first, in order, and then discuss their similarities and their differences.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Criteria        

When you organize by criteria you "discuss two sources simultaneously, examining the view of each [source] point by point (criterion by criterion), comparing and contrasting these views in the process."