ARGUMENT
EXPLORATION
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F R O M
L U A
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Premise
Conclusion
An argument =
a premise (or an assumption) + conclusion
It is going to rain. So you should bring an umbrella.
Singapore is an island. All islands are surrounded by water. Singapore is
surrounded by water.
Seriously, don’t you think you should be staying at home? Didn’t you hear
that a thunderstorm is coming?
You should not jaywalk. It is true that many people do it. But you might
get hit by a car. Or the police might fine you.
***You should not drink. You are going to have an operation.
(You cannot have an operation because you have alcohol in your blood.)
F R O M
H U N T E R
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Critical thinking is reflective.
(Reasons for one’s decision should be acceptable and sufficient. But
in real life, it is not always like that.)
Skills in identifying arguments need to be acquired mostly through
careful training and repeated training.
Mr. A said, “The city should build a second bridge to cross the river,
for this is the cheapest solution to the traffic congestion and we
should adopt whatever is cheapest.”
Mr. B replied “A second bridge should not be built, since building
one will only encourage many people to drive across the bridge
than already do now. What is more, if we build two bridges, then we
will end up with traffic congestion troubles on two bridges instead
of just one.
***The window broke because the ball hit it. (A causal assertion –
just an assertion that one thing caused another).
Sam robbed the bank, and robbing a bank is a criminal, so Sam is a
criminal.
Sam robbed a bank, and he sells illegal drugs, so Sam is a criminal.
John should not become a doctor. After all, he really hates to be
around sick people, and doctors spend their whole around sick
people.
The restaurant was not very good. The salad was too salty, and the
cake was very dry. Worst of all the service was terrible, for the
waiter was slow and the hostess was rude.