Chapter 7

In Chapter 7, I learned that it is important to Raise Objections when you want to make a stronger argument. There are also direct and indirect ways to refute an argument to prove that an argument is dubious in some way or is a false argument. In addition to refuting arguments, there are four bad ways of attempting to refute an argument such as phony refutations, slippery slopes, ridicule, and strawman.  Finally, with understanding these different concepts, we can learn to reflect on our claims within the arguments that we create, which will ultimately benefit us in the future, as we will start to make better arguments, identify ones that are bad, and know when to refute other people’s arguments.

Raising Objections:

When you raise objections to the claim you have created, you will be able to reflect on the claim you’ve made to see whether it is weak, or if the unstated premises you’ve created are dubious.

Here’s an example of Raising an Objection:

Me: I want a new pair of black high heels.

Friend: You already have five pairs. (objection)

Me: But I love shoes.  (answer)

Friend: You could spend your money on something better that you don’t already have. (objection)

            You could buy a DVD player. (Objection)

            You could buy a Netflix account. (Objection)

            You don’t really need new shoes. (Objection)

Me: I don’t like buying things that I can’t wear. (answer)

Me: I always need shoes. (answer)

Me: So I will buy a new pair of black high heels. (answer)

By imagining that my friend is objecting my claims, I can see that my argument for wanting new shoes isn’t very strong and that I would need to add more support to back my reasoning for my claims to become stronger. Maybe I could add in that I love shoes and the ones that I have are worn out, therefore I need to buy new ones. Maybe I could add in that I got a bonus this week and I love spending my extra bonus. Since I only like buying what I can wear, then I will spend my extra bonus on a new pair of black high heels. I could add other claims as well to make this stronger as well, but this is just a simple example of showing how you can reflect on claims and question your reasoning to make an argument stronger by raising objections. I also want to add that I learned that raising objections is an important concept to know, because after reading this section I’ve realized that it can be very beneficial towards creating good arguments.

My last concept I will talk about is refuting directly, which occurs when:

·      You show that at least on the claims in the argument in question is subject to doubt.

·      You show that the claim isn’t valid or strong: it is weak.

·      You show that the conclusion isn’t true.

When you are directly refuting, you are taking an argument and dissecting its claims to show that the argument at hand is unrepairable. You are showing the person who made the claim (it could be yourself) that the argument is false or dubious. 

Ultimately, once, you have shown by the rules indicated above that the argument isn’t good, you can honestly refute someone’s argument.

Thank you for reading my post!! I hope you all have a clearer understanding of these concepts! :)