1.0 Arguments: Some Simple First Principles

Put most simply, an argument is an attempt to persuade someone of something. It is prompted usually by a disagreement, confusion, or ignorance about something which the arguers wish to resolve or illuminate in a convincing way. In the most general sense, arguments go on all the time; they are a staple ingredient of many conversations, as well as the heart of any enquiry into the truth or probability of something (as in, for example, the judicial process, a scientific research project, a policy analysis, a business plan, and so forth).

Arguments can also, of course, be internal, as, for example, when we are faced with making a difficult choice (Should I marry to this man? Is it right for me to oppose capital punishment? Why do I need to purchase a new home? Which candidate should I vote for? And so on).

The final goal of an argument is usually to reach a conclusion which is sufficiently persuasive to convince someone of something (a course of action, the reasons for an event, the responsibility for certain acts, the probable truth of an analysis, or the validity of an interpretation). Arguments may also often have a negative purpose: to convince someone that something is not the case.

1.1 Trivial Arguments over Matters of Established Fact
1.2 More Complex and Interesting Arguments
1.3 The Importance of Reason
1.4 An Overview of The Major Tools
1.5 Exercise 1: Recognizing the Form of Simple Arguments
1.6 Some Brain Teasers

Back to Essays and Arguments