As critical readers, we need to be aware that often the goal of a written text is to persuade the reader to accept the author's point of view on the subject. We should aim to effectively identify, reconstruct and evaluate the author's arguments. This gives us power of knowing that our own opinions are formed as a result of logical reasoning. With critical reading, we can see through manipulative and persuasive writing techniques.
All of us act as providers and receivers of information. We alternate between the roles of speaker and listener, reader and writer all the time in our daily lives. The information that we exchange is sometimes contained in the form of expression of emotions (like "Wow!), commands ("Get out of here!"), or questions ("Is it cold outside?"). However, most of the time we are exchanging statements, i.e. sentences that are either true (T) or false (F). This is especially true of information contained in written sources, where non-verbal clues of communication (like body language) are less prominent.
In some cases it is unknown whether the statement is true or false. However, we can always talk about the "truth-value" of a statement. For example, the statement "Life exists on Venus" is probably false as far as we know. However, if we discovered life, then this statement would be definitely true (T). There are some statements that have definite truth values from the outset. For example, "teal is a shade of green" (T), "the world is square" (F), and "all monkeys hate bananas" (F).
If some supporting statements are being used to justify conclusions, such collection of statements is called an argument. The supporting statements are called premises. It is important for a critical reader to distinguish between an argument, i.e. the author trying to persuade you to a point of view, and just a list of separate facts. Test yourself now! To see if you can correctly identify an argument, read the two paragraphs below. One of the paragraphs contains an argument. Can you identify it?
1. Florida is a peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. These oceans are cyclone breeding grounds. Tropical cyclones and savage storms often scourge the residents of Florida. In 1992 Hurricane Andrew caused massive destruction and left a damage bill of $26.5 billion. Buildings containing people were ripped up and sucked into the sky. Cars were blown around like lolly papers and smashed into houses. And, to make matters worse, many of the buildings in Florida are not built to the tough hurricane codes. Cyclones are dangerous. Consequently, Florida is a dangerous place to live and people should sell up and move to somewhere safe, like Arizona.
2. French Revolution lasted from 1789 to 1799. During the course of the Revolution, France was temporarily transformed from an absolute monarchy, where the king monopolized power, to a republic of theoretically free and equal citizens. The effects of the French Revolution were widespread, both inside and outside of France, and the Revolution ranks as one of the most important events in the history of Europe.
The text about French Revolution, even though containing some views of the event, is not an argument. The text does not contain any particular point that the author is trying to prove. It is rather a collection of historical facts and opinions of the French Revolution and its role in the history of Europe. It is widely regarded that the French Revolution was one of Europe's most important events, so there is no real author's opinion there.
So far, we have learned how to spot an argument and recognize that the author is trying to persuade us. The next step is to use critical thinking techniques to evaluate the argument. To do this, you need to first identify what kind of argument is being presented to you. The two basic kinds of argument are *inductive* and *deductive*. Induction is normally described as moving from the specific to the general. Deduction is the opposite process - it begins with the general and moves towards the specific.
Inductive arguments are generally based on experience or observation, and involve comparisons between ideas, things or events. The purpose of the comparison is to establish whether the similarity found between items can give birth to a general rule based on that similarity. Induction only attempts to find "rules of thumb" - sometimes there are examples that don't fit the rule.
Example: Every time James has a cup of coffee after 6 pm, he has trouble sleeping that night. Tonight he had a cup of coffee at 7 pm, so he will have trouble sleeping.
The strength of any inductive argument largely depends on three of its elements:
As you can see from the above example, any significant variation might affect whether the different observations are comparable. Always keep this in mind, because this is where many inductive arguments are weakest.
In a *deductive* argument, the author's claim is that it is *impossible* for the premises to be true but the conclusion false. The conclusion must follow *necessarily* from the premises. If this is the case, the argument is called valid. If the premises are also true, the argument is not only valid but also sound. The following examples make the concept easier to understand.
Example of an invalid deductive argument: All teenagers love hip hop. Adam loves hip hop. Therefore, Adam is a teenager. The conclusion does not necessarily follow from the premises - as Adam might be an adult that happens to like hip hop. The argument is also unsound, because the generalization that "all teenagers love hip hop" is untrue.
Now, for example of a valid, but unsound deductive argument: All teenagers love hip hop. Adam is a teenager. Therefore, Adam loves hip hop. However, as above, the premise "all teenagers love hip hop" is not true as it is a generalization that does not literally mean 100% of teenagers.
Finally, an example of a valid and sound deductive argument: Adam and James are teenagers. Adam and James love hip hop. Therefore, some teenagers love hip hop.
