Standardizing Arguments
Premise 1: New Mexico offers many outdoor
activities.
 Premise 2:
New Mexico has rich history of
Native Americans and of Spanish conquest
 Premise 3: New Mexico is inexpensive.
_______________________________
 Conclusion: New Mexico is an excellent
vacation choice.

Standardizing Arguments
Claim: New Mexico is an excellent vacation
choice.
______________________________________
 Support/Evidence 1: New Mexico offers many
outdoor activities.
 Support/Evidence 2:
New Mexico has rich
history of Native Americans and Spanish conquest
 Support/Evidence 3: New Mexico is
inexpensive.

Standardizing Arguments with the
Toulmin Model
Premises(Grounds)→→→Conclusion (Claim)
REASONING (WARRANT)
G → So C; Since W
Harry was born in the U.S. (Grounds)
→ So: Harry is a U.S. citizen (Claim)
Since A person born in the U.S. is legally a U.S.
citizen (Warrant)
Toulmin Model, cont.
(G) Harry was born in the U.S.
→So:
(Q) presumably,
(C) Harry is a U.S. citizen
(R) unless he did not claim the U.S. citizenship
Since
(W) A person born in the U.S. is legally a U.S.
citizen
On account of (B) U.S. immigration law
Main Types of Reasoning




INDUCTIVE: forming generalizations
from specific instances
DEDUCTIVE: reasoning from principles
(known facts)
CAUSAL reasoning
PARALLEL CASE
Inductive Reasoning

Reasoning that moves from particular facts
to a general conclusion.
Guidelines for Inductive
Reasoning



Are there enough specific instances?
Are the specific instances typical?
Are the instances recent / relevant?
Deductive Reasoning


Reasoning that moves from a general
principle to a specific conclusion.
The conclusion of deductive reasoning
is certain rather than probable.
Syllogisms
Major Premise: All humans are mortal
 Minor Premise: Socrates is a human
Therefore:
 Conclusion: Socrates is mortal

Guidelines for Deductive Reasoning


Make sure listeners will accept your
general principle (major premise)
Provide evidence to support your minor
premise
Causal Reasoning

Reasoning that seeks to establish causal
relationship between two phenomena /
events.

A causes B
Guidelines for Causal Reasoning


Avoid the fallacy of false cause
Do not assume that events have only a
single cause
Parallel cases Reasoning

Reasoning in which a speaker compares
two similar cases and infers that what is true
for the first case is also true for the second.
Guidelines for Parallel Cases
Reasoning

Above all, make sure the two cases
being compared are essentially alike
Fallacy

An error in reasoning.
Fallacies







Hasty generalization
Causal Fallacies (False cause)
Bandwagon Fallacy
Ad Hominem
Either / Or Fallacy
Invalid analogy
Appeals to Misplaced Authority, Ignorance,
Emotion, Tradition
Hasty Generalization

A fallacy in which a speaker jumps
to a general conclusion on the basis
of insufficient evidence.
False Cause

A fallacy in which a speaker mistakenly
assumes that because one event
follows another, the first event is the
cause of the second.
Invalid Analogy

An analogy in which the two cases
being compared are not essentially
alike.
Red Herring

A fallacy that introduces an irrelevant
issue to divert attention from the
subject under discussion.
Red Herring

“Why should we worry about the
amount of violence on television when
thousands of people are killed in
automobile accidents each year?”
Ad Hominem

A fallacy that attacks the person rather
than dealing with the real issue in
dispute.
Ad Hominem

“The governor has a number of
interesting economic proposals, but let’s
not forget that she comes from a very
wealthy family.”
Either-Or

A fallacy that forces listeners to choose
between two alternatives when more
than two alternatives exist.
Either-Or

“The government must either raise
taxes or reduce services for the poor.”
Bandwagon

A fallacy that assumes that because
something is popular, it is therefore
good, correct, or desirable.
Bandwagon

“The President must be correct in his
approach to domestic policy; after all,
polls show that 60 percent of the
people support him.”
Slippery Slope

A fallacy that assumes that taking
a first step will lead to subsequent
steps that cannot be prevented.
Slippery Slope

“Passing federal laws to control the
amount of violence on television is the first
step in a process that will result in absolute
government control of the media and total
censorship over all forms of artistic
expression.”