Here what we want to focus on in particular is the language of argument.
We need to understand the language of argument in order to be able to spot an
argument. That is to determine when a passage
contains an argument and what part of the passage is that argument.
So, how can we tell when an argument is being given?
Well recall the definition of an argument as a series of sentences, statements, or
propositions, where some of them are premises and one of them is a conclusion,
and the premises are intended to give a reason for the conclusion.
So the real question of when an argument has been given comes down to the question
of when certain sentences are intended as reasons for other sentences.
Now the answer is that we can tell the person's intentions when they're speaking
by which words they choose. So there's going to be certain words that
indicate that some sentences are reasons for others.
Just compare these two sentences. I am tall and I am good at sports.
And compare that to, I am tall, so I am good at sports.
Now notice that you can take the first sentence, I am tall and I am good at
sports, and switch it around. I am good at sports and I am tall.
Switching doesn't make any difference, but it's very different if you say, I am
tall, so I am good at sports. That's very different from, I am good at
sports, so I am tall. So we know from the fact that you can
switch around the and sentence, and you cannot switch around the so sentence.
The word so introduces something very different from just conjoining the two
claims. But then what's the difference?
Well, the difference is that when you use the word, and, you're simply stating the
two facts. I am tall.
I am good at sports, and the and says that they're both true.
But when you use the word, so, you're indicating that one of them is a reason
for the other. If you say, I am tall, so I am good at
sports, then you're suggesting that the reason
why you're good at sports is that you're tall.
But if you say, I'm good at sports so. I am tall,
then you're indicating that the fact that you're good at sports is some kind of
evidence that you must be tall. Maybe because you can only be good at
sports if you're tall, which isn't true.
That just shows it's a bad argument, but it is an argument.
Because by using the word so, you're indicating that one of the sentences is a
reason for the other. Of course, the word, so, is not the only
word that plays this role in arguments, or has this function.
You can also say. I am tall, therefore I am good at sports.
Or I am tall, thus I am good at sports. Or I am tall, hence I am good at sports.
Or I am tall, accordingly I am good at sports.
All of these different pairs of sentences.
Play the same role. They indicate that there's an argument
there. Namely, the fact that I'm tall is a
reason for the conclusion that I'm good at sports.
So we're going to call all of these words argument markers,
because they mark or indicate the presence of an argument.
Next we want to distinguish two different kinds of arguing markers.
So far, we've looked at so, and therefore, and thus, and accordingly.
And each of those indicates that the sentence right after it is a conclusion.
And the other sentence in the pair is a premise.
So we're going to call these conclusion markers because they indicate that the
sentence right after them is a conclusion.
But there are other argument markers that also indicate arguments in the same way.
What they indicate is that the sentence after them is a reason, or a premise,
not a conclusion. For example, I can say, I'm good a sports
because I am tall. Now the word because indicates that the
fact that I'm tall is a reason for the conclusion that I'm good at sports.
It doesn't mean that the sentence after the word because is a conclusion.
Instead, it means that the sentence after the word because, is a reason, or a
premise. So we're going to call it a reason maker,
or a premise marker. And there are other reason markers as
well. You could say, I am good at sports, for I
am tall. I am good at sports as I am tall.
I am good at sports for the reason that I am tall.
I am good at sports and the reason why is that I am tall.
There are lots of different ways to indicate that the fact that I am tall is
a reason for the conclusion that I am good at sports.
All of these words, both the conclusion markers and the reason markers indicate
that there is an argument present. But only in some cases.
You can't just look at the word and figure out whether it's an argument
marker or not. You have to think about the role that
it's playing. A perfect example of that is an other
reason marker. Since.
You can say, I am good at sports since I am tall.
And then it looks like you are presenting the fact that you are tall as a reason
why you're good at sports. But the word since doesn't always play
that role. After all you can say the Sun has been up
since seven o'clock this morning. And that doesn't mean that somehow the
sun has an alarm clock that causes it to come up right at seven o'clock.
All it's saying is that, the sun has been up after the time of seven o'clock.
And all times since then. It doesn't indicate any kind of rational
relation, such as the fact that it's seven o'clock being a reason why the sun
came up. Or what about this one?
It's been raining since my vacation began.
Very disappointing, but you're not saying that it's raining
because your vacation began, as if there's some kind of plot against
you in the nature of weather, and that would be very paranoid.
All you're saying is that, it has been raining every day since the time when
your vacation began, or every day after your vacation began.
So the since there indicates just a temporal relation, not some kind of
rational relation. And what this shows us is that you can't
just look for the word since and always mark it as an argument marker.
You have to think about what the word since is doing in that context.
And that'll be true for a lot of other reason markers and conclusion markers as
well. Here's another example of the same point
but with a conclusion marker. The word so.
The word so sometimes indicates that the sentence after it's a conclusion.
And the sentence before it's a reason. But it can also indicate something
entirely different. You don't need to eat so much.
So there doesn't indicate that much is a reason for anything.
The word so is getting used in an entirely different way, that should be
obvious. But the point again is that you can't
just look for the word so and label it as an argument marker.
You have to think about the function that it's playing in the particular context.
Unfortunately sometimes it's hard to tell whether a particular word is being used
as an argument marker or not. Here's an example.
Suppose someone says, the liberal party has been dropping in the polls since the
conservative party held their convention. And they might be saying, the liberal
party has been dropping in the polls. And all times after the conservative
party held their convention. But they might be saying something
stronger. They might be saying that the liberal
party has been dropping in the polls because the conservative party held their
convention, or because of something that happened at
that convention. How can you tell whether this person
means to be claiming simply a temporal progression or some kind of reason for
the drop in the polls? One trick, that's very useful, is to try
to substitute a different word. If their claim means, pretty much, the
same if they had said, the liberal party has been dropping in the polls because
the conservative party held it's convention, then you're claiming there's
a rational relation. But if you can't substitute because for
since, then the word since is not being used as an argument marker.
Now sometimes that's just going to be clear.
When it's not clear, what are you going to do?
We can ask the person who's talking. You can say, well tell me, are you saying
that the Liberal Party has no following in the polls because of the Conservative
Party convention, or are you just saying that that's the time when they were
falling? They might be able to answer your
question. Of course they still might not, because
sometimes it's just not clear. You simply have to try your best to
figure out what the person's saying, and if you can't figure it out, it might of
course just be because they're not clear. After all, many people speak very
loosely. And then it's hard for you to tell what
they're saying. They might not even know themselves
exactly what they're saying. But a good test is whether you can
substitute another argument marker for the term that's unclear.
That won't solve all your problems, but when you can substitute an argument
marker for a particular word, that shows that, that word in this context is being
used to indicate that something is a premise, that gives a reason for
something else which is the conclusion. Namely, it shows that there's an argument
being given in that passage. The one last word that we have to talk
about is that little word if. Sometimes it's linked with the word then,
in an if-then clause, which is also called a conditional.
We'll talk a lot about conditions later in this course.
But for now I just want to make one point.
The word if might seem like an argument marker because it's often used in
arguments. For example, I might say, if I'm rich
enough, I can buy a baseball team. And I am rich enough, so I can buy a
baseball team. Now, that would be an argument.
But if all I say is if I'm rich enough, I can buy a baseball team.
When I know I'm not rich enough, so I would never assert the if clause that
says I am rich enough, then that little if sentence is not being
used to indicate an argument at all. It's just saying, if I am rich enough
then I can buy a baseball team. It's not saying that I am rich enough and
it's not saying that I can buy a baseball team.
So the word if by itself does not indicate an argument.
It sets a pattern for argument, if one thing then another,
or the one thing therefore the other. But the if one thing, then another,
doesn't, by itself, indicate any argument at all,
because it doesn't assert that if clause which is also called the antecedent of
the conditional. So, we are not going to count the word if
as an argument marker. Now we've learned how to identify an
argument. Pretty simple, huh?
But just to make sure you've got it straight, let's do a few exercises.