FROM CRITICAL THINKING to ARGUMENT
FROM CRITICAL THINKING to ARGUMENT
A Portable Guide
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FROM CRITICAL THINKING to ARGUMENT
A Portable Guide
Sylvan Barnet Tufts University
Hugo Bedau Tufts University
Bedford/St. Martin’s BOSTON ◆ NEW YORK
THIRD EDITION
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For Bedford /St. Martin’s
Developmental Editor: Adam Whitehurst Production Editor: Kerri A. Cardone Assistant Production Manager: Joe Ford Marketing Manager: Molly Parke Editorial Assistants: Shannon Walsh and Nicholas McCarthy Copyeditor: Karen Stocz Senior Art Director: Anna Palchik Text Design: Linda M. Robertson Cover Art and Design: Donna Lee Dennison Composition: Glyph International Printing and Binding: RR Donnelley and Sons
President: Joan E. Feinberg Editorial Director: Denise B. Wydra Editor in Chief: Karen S. Henry Director of Marketing: Karen R. Soeltz Director of Editing, Design, and Production: Susan W. Brown Associate Director of Editorial Production: Elise S. Kaiser Managing Editor: Elizabeth M. Schaaf
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010920449
Copyright © 2011, 2008, 2005, by Bedford/St. Martin’s
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as may be expressly permitted by the applicable copyright statutes or in writing by the Publisher.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
5 4 3 2 1 0 f e d c b a
For information, write: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 75 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116 (617-399-4000)
ISBN-10: 0–312–60161–1 ISBN-13: 978–0–312–60161–4
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments and copyrights are continued at the back of the book on pages 355–56, which constitute an extension of the copyright page. It is a violation of the law to reproduce these selections by any means whatsoever without the written permission of the copyright holder.
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Preface
This brief book is about reading other people’s arguments and writ- ing your own. In a moment we will be more specific, but first we want to mention our chief assumptions about the aims of a course that might use From Critical Thinking to Argument: A Portable Guide, Third Edition.
Probably most students and instructors would agree that, as critical readers, students should be able to
• Summarize accurately an argument they have read;
• Locate the thesis (the claim) of an argument;
• Locate the assumptions, stated and unstated;
• Analyze and evaluate the strength of the evidence and the soundness of the reasoning offered in support of the thesis; and
• Analyze, evaluate, and account for discrepancies among var- ious readings on a topic (for example, explain why certain facts are used, why probable consequences of a proposed action are examined, and why others are ignored, or why two sources might interpret the same facts differently).
Probably, too, students and instructors would agree that, as thought- ful writers, students should be able to
• Imagine an audience and write effectively for it (for instance, by using the appropriate tone and providing the appropriate amount of detail);
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• Present information in an orderly and coherent way;
• Be aware of their own assumptions;
• Locate sources and incorporate them into their own writing, not simply by quoting extensively or by paraphrasing but also by having digested material so that they can present it in their own words;
• Properly document all borrowings—not merely quotations and paraphrases but also borrowed ideas; and
• Do all these things in the course of developing a thoughtful argument of their own.
In writing an essay one is engaging in a serious effort to know what one’s own ideas are and, having found them, to contribute to a multisided conversation. One is not setting out to trounce an opponent, and that is partly why such terms as marshaling evidence, attacking an opponent, and defending a thesis are misleading. True, on television talk shows we see right-wingers and left-wingers who have made up their minds and who are concerned only with push- ing their own views and brushing aside all others. But in an aca- demic community, and indeed in our daily lives, we learn
• by listening to others and also
• by listening to ourselves.
We draft a response to something we have read, and in the very act of drafting we may find—if we think critically about the words we are putting down on paper—we are changing (perhaps slightly, perhaps radically) our own position. In short, one reason that we write is so that we can improve our ideas. And even if we do not drastically change our views, we and our readers at least come to a better understanding of why we hold the views we do.
WHAT’S IN THIS BOOK
In Part One, the first four chapters deal with recognizing and evalu- ating assumptions—in both texts and images—as a way to start annotating, summarizing, and analyzing arguments. Among the topics discussed are critical thinking, analysis, summary and para- phrase, reasoning, and the uses of humor, emotion, and images. Chapter 4, Visual Rhetoric: Images as Arguments, not only helps
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students to analyze advertisements but also offers suggestions about using visuals such as maps, graphs, tables, and pie charts in their own arguments.
Chapters 5 and 6 focus principally on writing. Students are expected to apply the critical thinking and reading skills they have learned to writing analytical and argumentative papers. We include sample student papers as models. Chapter 7, on research, includes information on finding, evaluating, and documenting electronic and other sources and discusses ways to choose topics for research, take notes, avoid plagiarism, integrate quotations, and document sources. Two annotated student papers—one in MLA style and one in APA style—provide models for reading and reference.
Part Two, a kind of appendix, presents alternative perspectives on argument: the Toulmin model, logical reasoning (a detailed dis- cussion of induction, deduction, and fallacies), and a description of Rogerian argument (named for the psychologist Carl Rogers).
Students and instructors will find additional material on argument at a companion Web site, bedfordstmartins.com/barnetbedau.
We trust that this book is brief enough and affordable enough to be assigned as an accompaniment to a separate anthology of readings or as a supplement to a selection of individual longer works that do not include necessary instruction in critical thinking and argument.
WHAT’S NEW
We have made some significant changes in the Third Edition that we believe enrich the book and make the content more accessible.
Expanded and up-to-date coverage of research. Chapter 7, Using Sources, features new annotated images of database and Web pages that show students where to find the information they need to confidently evaluate and cite electronic sources.
Idea Prompts model academic writing strategies. Spanning such topics as definition, cartoon analysis, making transitions, and visualizing pros and cons, this new recurring feature helps students choose among different sentence-level rhetorical strategies as they construct arguments by giving them model sentences that show these strategies in action.
A new section on synthesis demonstrates important strate- gies students will need to inject their own voices into their papers in conversation with the sources they use.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Finally, it is our pleasant duty to thank those who have strengthened the book by their comments and advice on the third edition: Liz Canfield, Virginia Commonwealth University; L. Andrew Cooper, Georgia Institute of Technology; Carol Enns, College of the Sequoias; Christina Fisanick, California University of Pennsylvania; Gina Richards, Delta College; Jason Webb, Columbine High School; Mary Werner, Madisonville Community College.
We also appreciate the helpful feedback given in response to the first two editions: Scott D. Banville, Lisa Breger, Joyce D. Brotton, Barbara Butler, Deborah Cordonnier, John Eliason, Gawain Emanuel, Martha G. Jaillet, Caroline Kimberly, Stephen Levin, Jon Petty, Rick Piet, Melissa Stevenson, and Sharmain Van Blommenstein.
We would also like to thank Barbara Fister, who improved our discussion of research, and Susen Doheny and Diane Kraut who adeptly managed art research and text permissions, respectively.
We are also deeply indebted to the people at Bedford/St. Martin’s, especially to our editor, Adam Whitehurst, who is wise, patient, sup- portive, and unfailingly helpful. Others at Bedford/St. Martin’s to whom we are deeply indebted include Charles H. Christensen, Joan E. Feinberg, Elizabeth Schaaf, Kerri Cardone, Steve Scipione, Maura Shea, John Sullivan, Sandy Schechter, Emily Berleth, and Karen Stocz, all of whom have offered countless valuable (and invaluable) suggestions. Intelligent, informed, firm yet courteous, persuasive—all of these folks know how to think and how to argue.
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Brief Contents
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PART ONE FROM CRITICAL THINKING TO ARGUMENT AND RESEARCH 1 1 Critical Thinking 3
2 Critical Reading: Getting Started 30
3 Critical Reading: Getting Deeper into Arguments 51
4 Visual Rhetoric: Images as Arguments 96
5 Writing an Analysis of an Argument 127
6 Developing an Argument of Your Own 145
7 Using Sources 188
PART TWO FURTHER VIEWS ON ARGUMENT 273 8 A Philosopher’s View: The Toulmin Model 275
9 A Logician’s View: Deduction, Induction, Fallacies 289
10 A Psychologist’s View: Rogerian Argument 340
Index of Terms 357
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Contents
Preface v
PART ONE FROM CRITICAL THINKING TO ARGUMENT AND RESEARCH 1
1 Critical Thinking 3
Thinking about Drivers’ Licenses and Photographic Identification 4
Thinking about Another Issue Concerning Drivers’ Licenses: Imagination, Analysis, Evaluation 9
Thinking about Student Evaluations of Their Professors 11
IDEA PROMPT: VISUALIZING PROS AND CONS 12
Writing as a Way of Thinking 13 Getting Ideas 14
IDEA PROMPT: UNDERSTANDING CLASSICAL TOPICS 16
A CHECKLIST FOR CRITICAL THINKING 19
A Short Essay Illustrating Critical Thinking 20
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HARLAN COBEN, The Undercover Parent 21 Many parents won’t consider installing spyware on their kid’s computer—but, Coben argues, it is a good idea.
LETTER OF RESPONSE BY CAROL WESTON 26
A CHECKLIST FOR EVALUATING LETTERS OF
RESPONSE 27
Examining Assumptions 28
A CHECKLIST FOR EXAMINING ASSUMPTIONS 28
2 Critical Reading: Getting Started 30
Active Reading 30 Previewing, 30 Skimming: Finding the Thesis, 31 Reading with a Pencil: Underlining, Highlighting, Annotating, 32 “This; Therefore, That,” 33 First, Second, and Third Thoughts, 34
Summarizing and Paraphrasing 36 A Note about Paraphrase and Plagiarism, 39 Last Words (Almost) about Summarizing, 40
SUSAN JACOBY, A First Amendment Junkie 43 A feminist argues against those feminists who seek to ban pornography.
Summarizing Jacoby, Paragraph by Paragraph 46
A CHECKLIST FOR GETTING STARTED 48
EXERCISE: LETTER TO THE EDITOR 49
3 Critical Reading: Getting Deeper into Arguments 51
Persuasion, Argument, Dispute 51
Reason Versus Rationalization 53
Some Procedures In Argument 55 Definition 55
IDEA PROMPT: WAYS TO GIVE DEFINITIONS 60
Assumptions, 60 Premises and Syllogisms, 62 Deduction, 62 Sound Arguments, 64 Induction, 67 Evidence: Experimentation, Examples, Authoritative Testimony, Statisitcs, 69
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A CHECKLIST FOR EVALUATING STATISTICAL
EVIDENCE 80
Nonrational Appeals 81 Satire, Irony, Sarcasm, Humor, 81 Emotional Appeals, 82
Does all Writing Contain Arguments? 85
A CHECKLIST FOR ANALYZING AN ARGUMENT 86
An Example: An Argument and a Look at the Writer’s Strategies 87
GEORGE F. WILL, Being Green at Ben and Jerry’s 87 Statistics and humor are among the tools this essayist uses in arguing on behalf of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
George F. Wills’s Strategies 90
4 Visual Rhetoric: Images as Arguments 96
Some Uses of Images 96
Appeals to the Eye 96
Are Some Images Not Fit to Be Shown? 101 Politics and Pictures 105
EXERCISE 107
EXERCISES: THINKING ABOUT IMAGES 109
Reading Advertisements 110
A CHECKLIST FOR ANALYZING IMAGES (ESPECIALLY
ADVERTISEMENTS) 115
Writing about a Political Cartoon 116
A CHECKLIST FOR ANALYZING POLITICAL
CARTOONS 117
IDEA PROMPT: ANALYSIS OF A POLITICAL
CARTOON 118
JACKSON SMITH (STUDENT ESSAY), Pledging
Nothing? 120
Visuals as Aids to Clarity: Maps, Graphs, Tables, and Pie Charts 122
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A CHECKLIST FOR CHARTS AND GRAPHS 123
A Note on Using Visuals in Your Own Paper 123
A Note on Formatting Your Paper: Document Design 125
5 Writing an Analysis of an Argument 127
Analyzing an Argument 127 Examining the Author’s Thesis, 127 Examining the Author’s Purpose, 128
IDEA PROMPT: DRAWING CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLYING
PROOF 129
Examining the Author’s Methods, 129 Examining the Author’s Persona, 130 Summary, 132
A CHECKLIST FOR ANALYZING A TEXT 133
An Argument, Its Elements, and a Student’s Analysis of the Argument 134
NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF, For Environmental Balance, Pick
Up a Rifle 134 “Let’s bring back hunting.”
BETSY SWINTON (STUDENT ESSAY), Tracking Kristof 140
An Analysis of the Student’s Analysis 143
A CHECKLIST FOR WRITING AN ANALYSIS OF
AN ARGUMENT 143
6 Developing an Argument of Your Own 145
Planning, Drafting, and Revising an Argument 146 Getting Ideas, 146 The Thesis, 155
A CHECKLIST FOR A THESIS STATEMENT 156
Imagining an Audience, 156 The Audience as Collaborator, 157
A CHECKLIST FOR IMAGINING AN AUDIENCE 160
The Title, 161 The Opening Paragraphs, 162 Organizing and Revising the Body of the Essay, 165
IDEA PROMPT: USING TRANSITIONS IN ARGUMENT 169
The Ending, 170 Two Uses of an Outline, 171 Tone and the Writer’s Persona, 172 We, One, or I? 176 Avoiding Sexist Language, 176
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A CHECKLIST FOR ATTENDING TO THE NEEDS OF THE
AUDIENCE 177
Peer Review 178
A Student’s Essay, from Rough Notes to Final Version 178
A PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST FOR A DRAFT OF
AN ARGUMENT 179
EMILY ANDREWS, Why I Don’t Spare “Spare Change” 183
The Essay Analyzed 186
EXERCISE 186
7 Using Sources 188
Why Use Sources? 188
Choosing a Topic 191
Finding Material 193 Finding Quality Information on the Web, 193 Finding Articles Using Library Databases, 195
A WORD ABOUT WIKIPEDIA 195
Locating Books 197
Interviewing Peers and Local Authorities 198
Evaluating Your Sources 199
Taking Notes 203
A CHECKLIST FOR EVALUATING PRINT SOURCES 203
A CHECKLIST FOR EVALUATING ELECTRONIC
SOURCES 204
A Note on Plagiarizing, Paraphrasing, and Using Common Knowledge 206
A CHECKLIST FOR AVOIDING PLAGIARISM 208
Compiling an Annotated Bibliography 209
Writing the Paper 211 Organizing Your Notes, 211 The First Draft, 212 Later Drafts, 212 A Few More Words about Organization, 213 Choosing a Tentative Title, 213 The Final Draft, 214
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Quoting from Sources 214 Incorporating Your Reading into Your Thinking: The Art and Science of Synthesis, 214 The Use and Abuse of Quotations, 217 How to Quote, 217
A CHECKLIST FOR USING QUOTATIONS RATHER THAN
SUMMARIES 218
IDEA PROMPT: SIGNAL PHRASES 219
Documentation 220 A Note on Footnotes (and Endnotes), 220 MLA Format: Citations within the Text, 221 MLA Format: The List of Works Cited, 227 APA Format: Citations within the Text, 240 APA Format: The List of References, 241
A CHECKLIST FOR PAPERS USING SOURCES 245
An Annotated Student Research Paper in MLA Format 246
THERESA WASHINGTON, Why Trials Should Not
Be Televised 247
An Annotated Student Research Paper in APA Format 263
LAURA DEVEAU, The Role of Spirituality and Religion in
Mental Health 264
PART TWO FURTHER VIEWS ON ARGUMENT 273
8 A Philosopher’s View: The Toulmin Model 275
The Claim 276
Grounds 276
Warrants 277
Backing 279
Modal Qualifiers 279
Rebuttals 281
A Model Analysis Using the Toulmin Method 281
A CHECKLIST FOR USING THE TOULMIN METHOD 284
Putting the Toulmin Method to Work: Responding to an Argument 285
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MICHAEL S. DUKAKIS AND DANIEL J. B. MITCHELL, Raise
Wages, Not Walls 285
Thinking with Toulmin’s Method 287
9 A Logician’s View: Deduction, Induction, Fallacies 289
Deduction 289
Induction 303 Observation and Inference, 303 Probability, 305 Mill’s Methods, 308 Confirmation, Mechanism, and Theory, 310
Fallacies 311 Fallacies of Ambiguity, 312 Ambiguity, 312 Division, 313 Composition, 313 Equivocation, 313 Fallacies of Presumption, 315 Distorting the Facts, 315 Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc, 315 Many Questions, 316 Hasty Generalization 316 The Slippery Slope, 316 False Analogy, 318 Straw Man, 319 Special Pleading, 319 Begging the Question, 319 False Dichotomy, 320 Oversimplification, 320 Red Herring, 320 Fallacies of Relevance, 321 Tu Quoque, 321 The Genetic Fallacy, 321 Poisoning the Well, 322 Appeal to Ignorance, 322 Ad Hominem, 323 Appeal to Authority, 323 Appeal to Fear, 324 Death by a Thousand Qualifications, 324 Protecting the Hypothesis, 325
A CHECKLIST FOR EVALUATING AN ARGUMENT FROM A
LOGICAL POINT OF VIEW 326
EXERCISE: FALLACIES—OR NOT? 327
MAX SHULMAN, Love Is a Fallacy 329 A short story about the limits of logic: “Can you give me one logical reason why you should go steady with Petey Bellows?”
10 A Psychologist’s View: Rogerian Argument 340
Rogerian Argument: An Introduction 340
CARL R. ROGERS, Communication: Its Blocking and Its
Facilitation 343 A psychotherapist explains why we must see things from the other person’s point of view.
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A CHECKLIST FOR ANALYZING ROGERIAN
ARGUMENT 350
EDWARD O. WILSON, Letter to a Southern Baptist
Minister 350 An internationally renowned evolutionary biologist appeals for help from a literalist interpreter of Christian Holy Scripture.
Index of Terms 357
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FROM CRITICAL THINKING to ARGUMENT
A Portable Guide
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