Reasons and Arguments

324 Pages·1982·16.266 MB·English

by  Gerald M. Nosich

NUNC COCNOSCO EX PARTE
THOMASJ. BATA LIBRARY
TRENT UNIVERSITY
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Reasons and Arguments

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Reasons and Arguments
Gerald M. Nosich
University of New Orleans
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mm.
Wadsworth Publishing Company
Belmont, California
A Division of Wadsworth, Inc.
Philosophy Editor: Kenneth King
Production Service: Mary Forkner, Publication Alternatives
Cover Designer: Bruce Kortebein, Design Office
Text Designer: Plat Lockwood, Bookman Productions
Copy Editor: Steve Sorensen
© 1982 by Wadsworth, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of
this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transcribed, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
the prior written permission of the publisher, Wadsworth
Publishing Company, Belmont, California 94002, a divi¬
sion of Wadsworth, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -86 85 84 83 82
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Nosich, Gerald M.
Reasons and arguments.
Includes index.
1. Reasoning. I. Title.
BC177.N67 168 81-19709
ISBN 0-534-01076-8 AACR2
Contents
Preface vii
A Note on the Exercises x
Chapter One Reasoning and Arguments 1
1. What Reasoning Is 1
2. The Uses of Reasoning 3
Exercises to Chapter One 8
Answers 14
Chapter Two Constructing Arguments 15
1. Arguments and Criticism 15
2. Soundness, Validity, Truth 22
3. Counterexamples 32
4. The Three Steps for Constructing an
Argument 36
Exercises to Chapter Two 44
Chapter Three Clarifying Meaning 60
1. The Need for Clarifying Meaning 60
2. Ambiguity 67
3. How to Give a Paraphrase 70
4. How to Test a Paraphrase 74
5. Giving Multiple Paraphrases 79
Exercises to Chapter Three 81
v
VI Contents
Chapter Four Component Parts and Premises 93
1. The Component Parts of a Statement 93
2. Arriving at Premises: Two Methods 102
3. The Logical Arrangement of an
Argument 109
4. A Realistic Example 113
Exercises to Chapter Four 122
Chapter Five Analyzing Arguments 140
1. Five Steps for Analyzing Arguments 140
2. Using the Method 144
3. Paraphrasing 149
4. Premises and Conclusions 139
3. Arranging the Premises and Conclusions in
Their Logical Order 168
Exercises to Chapter Five 182
Chapter Six Criticizing Arguments 207
1. Filling In the Missing Premises 207
2. Criticizing Arguments 227
3. Checklist for Analyzing Arguments 240
Exercises to Chapter Six 241
Chapter Seven Reasoning Things Out 261
1. The General Worth of Reasoning in Life 261
2. Beyond Arguments: Issues and Strategies 262
3. Beyond Arguments: The Examined Life 269
4. Reasoning Out Your Actions 271
3. Reasoning Things Out: A Broader Method 279
6. Judging Your Ability to Reason 283
Exercises to Chapter Seven 287
Index 303