Problems in Argument Analysis and Evaluation

456 Pages·2017·2.29 MB·English

PROBLEMS IN ARGUMENT
ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION
Windsor Studies in Argumentation Volume 6
TRUDY GOVIER
Windsor Studies in Argumentation
Windsor Ontario Canada
Problems in Argument Analysis and Evaluation byTrudy Govier & Windsor Studies
in Argumentationis licensed under aCreative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise
noted.
Copyright Trudy Govier and Windsor Studies in Argumentation
ISBN 978-0-920233-83-2
CONTENTS
WSIA Editors v
WSIA Editors' Introduction vii
Preface viii
1. Rigor and Reality 1
2. Is a Theory of Argument Possible 20
3. The Great Divide 56
4. Two Unreceived Views about Reasoning and 84
Argument
5. The Problem of Missing Premises 123
6. A Dialogic Exercise 161
7. A New Approach to Charity 203
8. Reasons Why Arguments and Explanations are 242
Different
9. Four Reasons There are No Fallacies? 271
10. Formalism and Informalism in Theories of 311
Reasoning and Argument
11. Critical Thinking in the Armchair, the Classroom, 349
and the Lab
12. Critical Thinking about Critical Thinking Tests 377
13. The Social Epistemology of Argument 413
WSIA EDITORS
Editors in Chief
Leo Groarke (Trent University)
Christopher Tindale (University of Windsor)
Board of Editors
Mark Battersby (Capilano University)
Camille Cameron (Dalhousie University)
Emmanuelle Danblon (Université libre de Bruxelles)
Ian Dove (University of Nevada Las Vegas)
Bart Garssen (University of Amsterdam)
Michael Gilbert (York University)
David Godden (Michigan State University)
Jean Goodwin (North Carolina State University)
Hans V. Hansen(University of Windsor)
Gabrijela Kišiček(University of Zagreb)
Marcin Koszowy (University of Białystok)
Marcin Lewiński(New University of Lisbon)
Catherine H. Palczewski (University of Northern Iowa)
Chris Reed (University of Dundee)
Andrea Rocci (University of Lugano)
Paul van den Hoven (Tilburg University)
Cristián Santibáñez Yáñez (Diego Portales University)
Igor Ž. Žagar (University of Maribor & University of Primorska)
Frank Zenker (Lund University)
PROBLEMSINARGUMENTANALYSISANDEVALUATION v
Windsor Studies In Argumentation
Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric
University of Windsor
401 Sunset Avenue
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
N9B 3P4
viTRUDYGOVIER
WSIA EDITORS' INTRODUCTION
We are pleased to publish this WSIA edition of Trudy’s Govier’s
seminal volume, Problems in Argument Analysis and Evaluation.
Originally published in 1987 by Foris Publications, this was a
pioneering work that played a major role in establishing
argumentation theory as a discipline. Today, it is as relevant to
the field as when it first appeared, with discussions of questions
and issues that remain central to the study of argument. It has
definedthemainapproachestomanyofthoseissuesandguided
the ways in which we might respond to them. From this
foundation, it sets the stage for further investigations and
emerging research.
This is a second edition of the book that is corrected and
updated by the author, with new prefaces to each chapter (but
without the previous appendix). We want to acknowledge the
work of Ms. Tamilyn Mulvaney who assisted in the editorial
process and prepared the final manuscript for publication.
Leo A. Groarke
Christopher W. Tindale
PROBLEMSINARGUMENTANALYSISANDEVALUATION vii
PREFACE
Preface to the First Edition
My interest in the subjects covered in this book dates from
1978, when I came across several texts in informal logic, and
was fascinated both by their practicality and by their
recommendationsforrethinkingcentralphilosophicaltraditions
regarding logic and argument. I thought at that time that very
fundamental issues were at stake but that the context of
textbooks did not provide sufficient opportunities to explore
them in depth. This book is an attempt to fill that gap.
I have profited very much over the intervening years from
philosophical exchanges with Tony Blair, Ralph Johnson, and
David Hitchcock. Comments and analyses from Jonathan Adler,
Douglas Walton, Richard Paul, Dennis Rohatyn, John McPeck,
David Ennis, Frans van Eemeren, and Rob Grootendorst have
also been helpful, as have the interesting questions posed when
parts of this book have been read to audiences in Canada
(Lethbridge, Windsor, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, Saskatoon,
Waterloo, and Peterborough); the United States (Newport News
and Sonoma); and the Netherlands (Amsterdam). Materials on
critical thinking tests were willingly supplied by Matthew
Lipton, Robert Ennis, Stephen Norris, and John McPeck, whose
cooperationisappreciated.Iwouldalsoliketothanktheeditors
and contributors to the Informal Logic Newsletter (now the
journalInformalLogic)fortheirinterestin,andcommentson,my
work, especially in the period 1979-1982.
viiiTRUDYGOVIER
IamextremelygratefultotheSocialSciencesandHumanities
Research Council of Canada for generous financial support
during the period 1982-1984. Without this support, the book
would not have been completed. Trent University also provided
some support in 1981, enabling Jennifer Dance Flatman to lend
valuable bibliographical assistance. Equally important has been
moral support – especially that of David Gallop, William H.
Dray, Bernard Hodgson, Sandy McMullen, Michael Scriven,
NettieWiebe,JanetKeepingand,mostofall,myhusband,Anton
Colijn. For errors or omissions that may remain, I am solely
responsible.
Prefaceto the Second Edition
Formanyyears,thisbookhasbeendifficulttoobtain,andIfelt
badlyaboutthat.IwasdelightedtolearnthattheseriesWindsor
Studies in Argumentation was interested in re-publishing the
work so as to make both electronic and print versions available.
After some difficulties, I was able to retrieve the copyright from
the large Walter de Gruyter firm (Berlin), which had taken over
the original publisher, Foris (Dordrecht, the Netherlands) and
dramaticallyincreasedthepriceofthework.Hopefully,thisnew
edition will be accessible to all who wish to consult it. People
often expressed to me their frustration about the inaccessibility
of the original book. They did not indicate a desire for a re-
working of its themes in the light of subsequent research. That,
in any event, would require a massive amount of work. In this
secondeditionIhaveforthemostpartkepttheoriginalmaterial
intact, while adding introductory essays to each chapter in an
effort to convey my present sense of what I said decades ago.
This book was an early one in the development of informal
logic and argumentation studies. My youthful excitement about
topicsandproblemsinthesefieldsstemmedofcoursefromtheir
intrinsic interest but also from my sense that they had rarely
been explored and seemed to emerge, when they did, mainly
from pedagogical experience and treatments in textbooks. I
PROBLEMSINARGUMENTANALYSISANDEVALUATION ix