Section 1.2: Recognizing Arguments

Reading

Read section 1.2 in your text.

Instructor's Commentary

You probably will not have much difficulty distinguishing arguments from warnings, pieces of advice, statements of opinion, descriptions, reports, illustrations, expository passages, or conditional statements. Yet even the most astute logician will sometimes have difficulty determining whether a particular passage is an explanation or an argument. Thus, you should take a careful look at Hurley’s way of distinguishing an argument from an explanation (see pages 20—22). Let me re-emphasize the difference by outlining Hurley’s procedure for determining the difference:

  1. Identify the statement that is either the conclusion or explanandum.
  2. Ask the question, “Is the event described in this statement something that is an accepted fact?”
a) If “yes,” then ask, “Is the remainder of the passage intended to shed light on this event?” If it is, then the passage in question is an explanation.

b) If “no” to either question in 2 or 2a, then the passage in question is an argument.


Whenever you are in doubt whether a passage is an explanation or an argument, remember this procedure.

Even though you have Hurley’s procedure to follow, you may sometimes find it difficult to determine whether something is an argument or an explanation. The answer to your question may be found in the context in which the passage or speech occurs. As an example, Hurley gives you the following passage, which is not clearly an explanation or an argument.

Women become intoxicated by drinking a smaller amount of alcohol than men, because men metabolize part of the alcohol before it reaches the bloodstream, whereas women do not.


As it stands, Hurley is correct. This passage could be understood as either an argument or an explanation. However, if you were aware of the wider context in which this passage appeared or was uttered, you might be able to determine the nature of the passage. For example, imagine that the passage occurred in the following situations.

Situation One

At Gerald’s party, a group of friends all agreed that generally women get drunk faster than men. Jane ferociously insisted that this was true because men are generally larger than women. Larry thought that, because men ate more than women, not as much alcohol entered men’s bloodstreams as women’s bloodstreams. Unable to stand such speculation anymore, Ursula attempted to clear the air by saying, “Women become intoxicated by drinking a smaller amount of alcohol than men, because men metabolize part of the alcohol before it reaches the bloodstream, whereas women do not.” After some discussion, they all agreed that Ursula’s suggestion was the most plausible.

Situation Two

At Gerald’s party, John insisted that women could hold their liquor better than men because every woman he met could drink him under the table. Coming to his defense, Janet added that the reason this was true was that women had a higher percentage of body fat than men. This fat absorbed the alcohol. “No, No, No,” responded Horace, “Women become intoxicated by drinking a smaller amount of alcohol than men, because men metabolize part of the alcohol before it reaches the bloodstream, whereas women do not.” After John and Janet heard Horace, they reconsidered their position.


Notice that the context can help determine whether a passage is an argument or an explanation. In situation one, everyone agrees that women get drunker than men on the same amount of alcohol. They are trying to determine why this is so. Ursula uses the italicized passage as one possible explanation. That same passage is used as an argument in situation two. John insists that men get drunker than women, and Janet offers a reason why. Horace rejects Janet’s reason and offers an argument to the contrary by using the same passage that was used by Ursula in situation one.

Although some of the problems that you will encounter in your textbook don’t give you enough of the context to determine whether a passage is an argument or not, in your everyday life you are much more aware of the context in which a passage appears. Do not ignore that context if you are trying to determine whether or not something is an argument. Still, even after looking at the context in which a passage appears, you still may have trouble telling whether a passage is an explanation or an argument. Sometimes a passage is intended to be both an explanation and an argument.

Exercises

Do exercise 1.2, pages 25–33, as follows:

  • Part I, problems 1, 7, 10, 13, 19, and 31.
  • Part II, problems 1, 4, and 7.