1. Are you struggling with any specific concepts or skills? What do you think would help you better grasp them?
2. What methods have you found work for you in breaking down arguments?
3. What previous experience, if any, do you have with breaking down arguments? Has previous experience helped you with these lessons? If so, how?
4. Is there anything else on your mind regarding arguments, premises, conclusions?
Materials added – Van Cleave
Ch1.1 What is an Argument?
Ch1.2 Identifying Arguments?
Ch1.4 Complex Argument structures?
Videos – Fallacy of the Day: Ad Hominem
When learning what arguments are, it is also important to learn what they are not. Perhaps the most obvious example of a non-argument that, unfortunately, often passes for an argument is the fallacy known as the Ad Hominem, a kind of attack that focuses on the person making the argument rather than on the substance of their claims. In other words, it is a kind of personal attack instead of a logical rebuttal.
The first two videos–by Wired magazine and PBS Digital Studios–provide brief introductions with contemporary examples, while the third video by Wireless Philosophy, provides a more substantive breakdown of several different types of ad hominem attacks.
