1.3 The Importance of Reason

In our society, for causes too complex to discuss here, we long ago determined that the appropriate way in which arguments must be conducted and adjudicated is through proper reasoning. We will be looking more closely at what this means in later sections, but for the moment it is important to note that in making this decision we, in effect, rejected various other traditional ways in which arguments had been dealt with (e.g., by appeals to scriptural authority or to traditional rituals based on hereditary power and privilege or to variously irrational methods, like astrology, augury, the I Ching, spiritual revelation, dunking, and so on).

Thus, to construct effective arguments in the modern western world, one must, first and foremost, have an understanding of the rules of reasoning. The major aim of an undergraduate education in all disciplines is to develop such an understanding in students.

Of course, we are a liberal society, and we still allow people in their private lives to resolve their arguments or make their private decisions (which often amounts to much the same thing) in any manner they wish, short of inflicting physical harm on others. So it is quite permissible in one's private affairs to consult scripture, toss coins, use numerology, consult spirit mediums, or sit around a Ouija board in order to resolve private arguments (once again, however, all participants have to agree if the resolution is to be persuasive).

In the public world of work, politics, education, and the media, however, the primary requirement of an effective argument is that it must be rational (that is, follow the rules of reason). Of course, in this public world there is often a great deal of irrationality (e.g., in political speeches and in advertising). An important part of being an educated citizen is possessing the skill to recognize this irrationality, especially when it is posing as a reasonable argument, since manipulating citizens through misleading arguments is a major feature of modern life.

What are these rules of reason? Well, that is what this handbook is largely concerned with, at least on a fairly basic level. The sections which follow offer some specific guidelines about the nature of a reasonable argument, about how to produce one in an essay form, and about a number of the ways your written argument can go astray. There is no attempt here to offer a comprehensive treatment of what can be a very complex subject; at the same time the different sections do cover much of what an undergraduate needs to know in order to analyze and construct arguments.