the study of methods for constructing and evaluating inferences.
a movement in thought from one idea to another, on the grounds that the former somehow supports or grounds the latter.
the representation of an inference, usually (but not necessarily) in spoken or written language.
statements or reasons being put forward to support the conclusion.
the main claim or the "point" of the inference being expressed in the argument
Image: Gears, by Kaushik.chug, CC-A-SA 3.0
Relevance
Sufficiency
Acceptability
The premises of an argument are said to be sufficient when there is an appropriate logical connection between the premises and the conclusion.
Two basic standards we can use are VALIDITY and COGENCY.
The logical connection between the premises and the conclusion is so strong that IF ALL the premises are TRUE, then the conclusion MUST be TRUE, too.
The logical connection between the premises and the conclusion is good enough so that IF ALL the premises are TRUE, then the conclusion is LIKELY (but not guaranteed!) to be true too.
A premise is acceptable when there is good reason to believe that it is true, and little or no reason to believe that it is false.
Premises that are known to be true are automatically
acceptable.
The mutual giving, consideration, analysis, and evaluation of arguments between two or more parties.
Argumentation IS:
Rational persuasion is the attempt to get others to accept a claim by appeal to the reasons and evidence that support the claim, instead of appealing to emotions (like sympathy, anger, fear etc.), selfishness, wishful thinking, or by exploiting one's own status as an authority, etc..
Most debates contain arguments and at least some argumentation, but not every instance of argumentation is a debate!
Debates have: