32 Unit 2 Critical thinking: the basics
Summary
• An argument is a complex construction
in which one sentence, the conclusion, is
claimed to follow from another (or others)
which are reasons.
• A more technical word for a reason, in the
context of an argument, is ‘premise’. In this
book both terms are used, and have the
same meaning unless otherwise stated.• A good argument is one in which the
conclusion follows from the premises,
meaning that if the premises are true then
the conclusion should be true too, because
of the truth of the premises. (But there is a
lot more to be said about this point in later
chapters.)2 Think of one or two reasons that could be
used to support the following viewpoints,
and use them to construct arguments:
a It is wrong to charge foreign students
higher fees than other students.
b Private cars with fewer than four
occupants should be banned from city
centres.
c The stars of football, baseball and other
popular sports deserve every cent of
the millions that they are paid.
3 Find a short argument published in a
newspaper or magazine or on the internet.
Copy it down and underline its conclusion.
4 Write a short argument of your own
consisting of two or three reasons and a
conclusion that they support.Answers and comments are on page 311.1 Think of a suitable conclusion that you
could add to the following to make it into
an argument:
Police forces the world over face a
dilemma. On top of dealing with
murders and other major incidents,
they have to divide their limited time
and finite resources between tackling
minor crimes such as shoplifting and
street robbery, and traffic offences such
as speeding or careless driving. Of
course, the consequences of speeding
can be as bad as or worse than the theft
of a wallet or a mobile phone. They can
be fatal. But there is a big difference of
another sort. The thief intends to do
harm and to deprive people of their
rightful property, whereas any harm
that is done by a car-driver, however
serious, is usually accidental.End-of-chapter assignments