Mastering Argumentation: Techniques and Logical Fallacies

Types of Argumentative Support

• Facts and Figures: Information based on provable facts or statistics. For example, Peter said that pollution causes disease because polluted cities have increased respiratory diseases.
• Causal Relationships: Information that functions as a cause and effect. For instance, excessive alcohol consumption can cause liver damage.
• Definitions: Supporting a thesis by using a specific definition.
• Comparisons: Organizing information by similarities and differences to support a thesis.
• Description: A thesis based on a detailed description.
• Narratives: Using a narrative to support a thesis.
• Authority: Using the name of an authority or the prestige of an institution to support a thesis.
• Value: Referring to specific values to defend a thesis.

Argumentative Discourse and Verbal Resources

Argumentative and Dialogic Discourse: Speech constructed from counterarguments in order to weaken the arguments of other participants.

Verbal Resources

Verbal resources are expressions or marks used to recognize argumentative discourse. There are two major types:

• Directed Reasoning: Establishing logical relations between expressed ideas.
• Targeting Affectivity: The qualification the issuer makes regarding the topic and its elements in order to cause adhesion or rejection.

Understanding Logical Fallacies

Formal Fallacies

These are incorrect arguments due to their shape or structure:

• Affirmation of the Consequent: Repeating the basics in the conclusion. For example: "Coffee stimulates; it is a great stimulant."
• Hasty Generalization: Using a small foundation as the basis for a broad generalization. For example: "All men are equal."
• False Analogy: Drawing irrelevant conclusions from similarities between phenomena. For example: "Parrots speak because they make sounds resembling human speech."
• Fallacies of False Cause: Considering something as a cause due to simple temporal correlation. For example: "The earth is a fire-eater because when you set fire on it, the fire goes out."

Informal Fallacies

These are incorrect arguments due to their content:

• Arguments Directed Against the Person (Ad Hominem): Criticizing the person proposing the argument rather than the truth of the argument itself. For example: "You do not have the authority to say so."
• Appeal to Force: An argument resting solely on strength. For example: "By reason or force."
• False Appeal to Authority: Relying on an authority outside the scope of the argument. For example: "The education minister said the best plane is the F-16; my thesis is based on that."
• Appeal to Ignorance: Believing something is true because it hasn't been proven false. For example: "There is life outside because no one proves otherwise."
• Appeal to People's Feelings or the Mass: Using emotive terminology to captivate people. For example: "Everyone says so."
• False Dilemma: Presenting only two alternatives when more exist. For example: "If I get bored, I study hard; if not, I repeat the study."