The Structure of Argument 4 The Structure of

The Structure of Argument (4)

The Structure of Argument (4) • • How to identify premises and conclusions in argument How to identify ambiguous argument structure & hidden assumptions How to write a summary How to distinguish between an argument and an explanation

Identifying Hidden Assumptions Many real-life arguments come to us incomplete, depending on hidden assumptions—unstated premises and conclusions.

Identifying Hidden Assumptions Ken is lazy, and lazy people don’t last long around here.

Identifying Hidden Assumptions Ken is lazy, and lazy people don’t last long around here. [Missing conclusion: Ken won’t last long around here. ]

Identifying Hidden Assumptions Since I’ve sworn to put up with my tired Honda until I can afford a BMW, I must resign myself to the old wreck for a while longer.

Identifying Hidden Assumptions Since I’ve sworn to put up with my tired Honda until I can afford a BMW, I must resign myself to the old wreck for a while longer. [Missing premise: I can’t afford a BMW now. ]

Identifying Hidden Assumptions The senator is a Republican, so he is opposed to gun control.

Identifying Hidden Assumptions The senator is a Republican, so he is opposed to gun control. [Missing premise: Republicans are opposed to gun control. ]

Identifying Hidden Assumptions In everyday speech and text, filling in the omitted assumptions would seem insulting to our intelligence. Literature, however, depends upon the reader’s ability to make plausible assumptions.

Identifying Hidden Assumptions Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look; such men are dangerous. —Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Identifying Hidden Assumptions We are born in debt, owing the world a death. —David J. Morris, “In Terror’s Shadow”

Identifying Hidden Assumptions At the heart of critical thinking lies the ability to read between the lines—to discern between the implicit and the explicit. Argument lies in-between as well.

Identifying Hidden Assumptions John is Lisa’s father, so clearly he is obligated to support her.

Identifying Hidden Assumptions The noise lay everywhere they ran, stratified sound collecting around them, and he walked away from it and into it at the same time. (4) —Don De. Lillo, Falling Man

Identifying Hidden Assumptions He is thinking again, looking past the face in the mirror, which is not his, and waiting for the day to come, clear skies, light winds, when there is nothing left to think about. (178) —Don De. Lillo, Falling Man

Identifying Hidden Assumptions She seemed to be blaming him for this, the fact of leaving, the fact of marrying, the thoughtless gesture of reuniting, and at the same time did not seem to be talking to him at all. (91) —Don De. Lillo, Falling Man