# Think Again I: How to Understand Arguments - Coursera Why: I want to be more "logical", to be clearer on my own arguments. ## Why Arguments Matter - Arguments are ways to present reasons. Be clear of good reasons. - Learn to spots bad arguments. **The Four Parts of this Course:** - 1. How to Analyse arguments - What is standard form? - 2. How to evaluate deductive arguments - What is the purpose of arguments - Logic - 3. How to evaluate inductive arguments - 4. How to avoid Fallacies Book - Understanding Arguments. An Introduction to Informal Logic. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong & Robert Fogelin ## What is an argument? - Contradicting is not arguing. because no reason was given to support the view. - Monty Python : An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a definite proposition. - What is a proposition? - Argument is indented to establish a proposition - ![[Screenshot 2022-04-25 at 7.47.58 PM.png]] # The Purposes of Arguments ## What are arguments used for? Justification - Persuading - people - change mental state, to believe something.. to change something. - Justifying is showing someone a reason to believe the conclusion. - The different is the purpose / intention. - Persuading is to want to cause a change. Doesn't matter if reasons are good. To persuade or convince someone is to make that person believe, so the argument persuades the audience only if it makes the audience believe the conclusion. - Justifying is to give reasons for something. Good reasons matters. - Questions to ask when people talk to me: - ![[Screenshot 2022-04-25 at 7.55.24 PM.png]] - #psychoeducation - How often when we are explaining about medication to the patient, are we persuading patients to use medicine or justifying reasons to use medication? ## Strong arguments don't always persuade everyone - People are illogical. - Good point, learning to argue is about learning to listen to others, and to express myself clearly. Even if others may not accept my view, we at least should understand each other more. - Don't set your goal too high.. Not everyone will be convinced. - Sometimes we formulate arguments in private in order to figure out what to believe ourselves without telling anyone else. - Good to argue with ourselves. #cognitive_model #Cognitive_Distortion #CBT #philosophy #beliefs ## What are arguments used for? Explanation - Explanation is giving a reason why something happen (or why it's true). - ![[Screenshot 2022-04-25 at 8.11.18 PM.png]] - When people ask me about why certain thing happen, both Questioner and Answerer both believe that the conclusion is True. e.g "why is there schizophrenia?". Patient and CM both believe that it happen, but explanation why that conclusion is true. - ==The goal of explanation is to increase understanding. To help people understand why something is true== ### Four Kind of Explanation ![[Screenshot 2022-04-25 at 8.14.32 PM.png]] **Why does ....... ?** Always have four type of explanations for the same events. e.g Why Joe fell from the airplane? - Causal - Teleological - *purposeful*.. - Formal - *Factual* - Material - ### Forms of Explanation - Narrative explanations - Argument explanation - ![[Screenshot 2022-04-25 at 8.19.14 PM.png]] - Sometimes we can have prediction (like math) but no explanation # The Materials of Arguments ## What are arguments made of? Language - #language [[🏠 030 Language and Psychology]] [[🏠 030 Language and Psychology]] ![[Screenshot 2022-04-25 at 8.34.33 PM.png]] Who is Helen Keller? https://www.afb.org/about-afb/history/helen-keller/biography-and-chronology/biography **Language is Conventional** - [[202101251947 Language Game, is similar to psychodrama of playing a role]] - [[202009141624 Remember language serve different function in the language game]] - Conventions - Social - - Same word means different things in different culture - [[202009141624 Remember language serve different function in the language game]] - Language is Representational - Language is use to Refer to objects and facts in the world. - Language cannot change the fact of the world. - -- but can language create reality and shape perceptions? - Language is Social - There are rules, so that people understand each other. - When call Lemon and a lemon, people know what i am talking about. - "The man who speaks only in anagrams" - Language is shared. ![[Screenshot 2022-04-25 at 8.42.49 PM.png]] There are also different layers of language 1. Semantics 2. Physical Production of the words 3. Structural Combinations -- spelling and grammar 4. Etiquette - how it's said. Rude or not. Many obvious and not obvious rules. Like pronunciation rules. https://www.coursera.org/learn/understanding-arguments/lecture/HQI4e/meaning ## Meaning - Rules of language - Meanings - Linguistic Meaning. How would you describe something to a child? - Referential or descriptive view of language - When language is used to describe actual facts? like Sitting on a chair. - it does not cover everything about lingustic meaning.. like greeting some body - Meaning is contextual [[202011011552 How language is used is not neutral (like numbers), context is the focus.]] - [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]] Meaning is use. - In the way language is use in different context. - "And" - conjoin sentences, people and objects. - Three level of language. - Linguistic - Forming a semantic, grammatical correct utterance - Speech - e.g advising someone even if that there may be no effect on the hearer - Conversational - Persuading, causing an effect ## Linguistic Acts Concerns about the forming of a meaningful sentence. (Semantic, grammar) - One of the level of language. - Components - Meaningful words - In a meaningful order, structure - Grammar - Nonsense - Garden Path Sentences - The Man who whistles tunes pianos. - Separate the sentence into units, then it makes sense. ## Speech Acts - e.g advising, games, ceremonies - By uttering, it changes something? - I now pronounce you husband and wife. - The Thereby Test - If ___(Words) then i thereby (world). - If filling up the word makes sense then pass the thereby test. - There are limits. Speech acts works only in the appropriate circumstances. - "I ___ in the appropriate circumstances, there I thereby __". Arguing is a speech act. ## Conversational Acts - To bring about a change, an effect in the world. - ![[Screenshot 2022-04-26 at 3.10.46 AM.png]] - So there is always a reason, purpose of speech act.. Intention and Effect - The conversational act does not occur when the effect does not occur - How to bring about these effects? - Baking for example, need the right ingredients, in the right way, in the right temperature.. etc - In language acts, there are rules as well to bring about certain effect. ![[Screenshot 2022-04-26 at 3.15.22 AM.png]] Conversational implications - Assumption based on what was spoken. - ==Conversational Implication is not logical implication.== - What is said is still true. e.g "you can have cake or ice cream" just that waiter didn't mention the pie. The statement still true. - ==Hearer need to listen to information that has been left out. == - Related to the Quantity maxim above - didn't give all the information - To say Premise is false need to refute logical implication. -