Arguments:

Note that these are technical terms. An argument is a collection of statements, not "a squabble". The premises are the statements given in truth-support for the conclusion-- not to be confused with the "physical location" of anything. The conclusion is the statement which is being given truth-support by the premises, which is not necessarily "the last thing said".

Based on this concept of an argument, and an understanding of its use in contexts of persuasion, we can form a broad outline of the main phases of CRITICAL THINKING:

RECONSTRUCTION- deals with extracting an argument from the surrounding mix of statements which a peddler may have presented.

ASSESSMENT- deals with the business of determining whether the structure of an argument really would permit truth to be carried from the premises to the conclusion.

EVALUATION- deals with the activity of judging whether the premises of an argument are true or false, clear or vague, and in need of further defense or not.

FALLACY IDENTIFICATION- deals with the multifarious list of things that may happen in a persuasion context, leading to the consumers' accepting some statement without adequate justification.

We should note here that in addition to this critical thinking approach, there are other perspectives from which a given presentation could be analyzed. We could look at the rhetorical power of the presentation - focusing on its emotional content, or on the style with which it was presented, and the impact these things have on the receiving audience. Or we could concentrate on its literary merit - focusing on the novelty or creativity of the argument, among other things. These two are the aspects which are usually concentrated on by the media and others when they pronounce that one person or another has "won" a debate. Very rarely does the media focus on the rational strength of the argument, but it is this that our critical thinking techniques are directed at.

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Inquiries to: michael.connelly@mcckc.edu
Last modified: 03/02/04