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Summary PLS2601 Evaluate and form Arguments Notes
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Critical Reasoning: EvaluatingArguments and Forming
Arguments
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, Dear Students,
I have compiled this little practical book filled with short activities which may help you
better understand the issues regarding argument evaluation and formation. This is not
an official UNISA document and shouldn’t be treated as such. This is just to help you
through some of the more confusing stuff.
I hope it helps and enjoy!
Danielle Swanepoel
The Important of Critical Reasoning
When we make decisions about even the simplest things, we use reasons to do so.
When we try to convince other people to think differently, we use reasons to do so.
The strength of our reasoning will determine whether we make a difference in the way
other people think. Also, using reasoning properly will provide good explanations as
to why we do the things we do. So, for instance, if I choose to drive on the right side
of the road (which is wrong because in South Africa we drive on the left), then what
sounds like the best reason for me doing this: 1) Because the car just kept veering to
the right and it hurt my arms trying to steady the car, so it was just easier to just let the
car drive on the right side of the road, 2) I couldn’t tell left from right, 3) There was a
baby sitting in the middle of the left lane which caused me to swerve into the right
lane, 4) The police told me too.
What you pick out as a good reason is going to say a lot about the way you think. If
you think option 1 is a good enough reason to drive on the right side of the road, then
something is wrong with your reasoning. Let’s unpack this further. Let’s say the car did
veer to the right all the time and the driver’s arms began to ache, that may be the
reason that the car veered to the right… but then, wouldn’t it just continue veering
and the driver would end up in a ditch on the side of the road? So, there’s a problem
with that answer. What about answer number two? If someone said this to you, I’m
hoping that you will not just accept it but rather ask at least some of the following
questions: “could you not tell left from right because you were drunk?; Has it always
been this way for you, because then how did you get your driver’s license in the first
place? If you chose to drive on the right side of the road…then you must have known
where the left side was… then if this is the case, then you do know the difference
between left and right.
If we unpack all the answers, good critical reasoning will tell us that number 4 is most
likely the correct answer. But to get to this point where we are clear as to what the
correct answer could be, we need to ask questions. In addition to that, we also need
to work out probabilities. Let’s look at answer number 3 and 4 and ask ourselves which
one is the most probable? I’m aiming for number 4 being the most probable.
However, don’t just cancel out number 3. Maybe the driver is telling the truth, but I’d
need to see evidence in order to believe the baby sitting in the road story.
To reason critically and in a way that will make your parents proud, you need to be
able to do the following:
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