Richard A. Jr. Holland - Good Arguments: Making Your Case in Writing and Public Speaking

Why Arguments Are Good

Argument is a word that is easily misunderstood. For many of us, hearing this word brings to mind something unpleasant or something we try to avoid. When a friend comes to you saying that she has recently been in an argument with an acquaintance, this is typically bad news. It involves dispute, conflict, disagreement, heightened emotions, and stress. This may be your initial reaction if you are reading this book as an assignment for a class. Thankfully, this book is not about verbal disputes, fights, emotional disagreements, or shouting matches. The word argument , as we are using it, simply refers to the process of giving reasons or evidence in support of a belief or claim. An argument is a series of statements: a claim and one or more additional statements given as reasons that we should think the claim is true. The main claim being made is usually called the conclusion (even though the conclusion often comes at the beginning of an argument, rather than at the end). Each statement that supports the conclusion is called a premise . While no set number of premises is required in an argument, there must be at least one. So, at a minimum, an argument is composed of at least two statements: the conclusion and at least one premise that supports the conclusion.

One can hardly pick up a textbook introducing philosophy or logic without hearing about the ancient Greek philosopher named Socrates. These books often use Socrates in demonstrating what an argument looks like, as follows:

All men are mortal.

Socrates is a man.

Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

The first two statements are the premises of this particular argument; they are given as evidence supporting the truth of the last statement. The last statement is the conclusion. Of course, when the statements are arranged and presented in this form, it is easy to identify the premises and the conclusion, but in everyday conversation, people rarely make their premises and conclusion this clear. Instead, someone might say, Socrates is mortal. After all, he is only a man! When the statements are arranged in this way, it might be more difficult for you to identify the premises and the conclusion, but it is an argument nonetheless.

You might be surprised to learn that even the Bible makes use of arguments. Consider this familiar story from Matthew 12:914:

[Jesus] went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?so that they might accuse him. He said to them, Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Then he said to the man, Stretch out your hand. And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

In this encounter between Jesus and his detractors, Jesus gives an argument in response to the question from the Pharisees. The main points of his argument can be summarized as follows:

It is lawful to help a sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath.

A man is much more valuable than a sheep.

Therefore, it is lawful to heal a man on the Sabbath.

The Pharisees asked Jesus the simple question: Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? Jesuss answer is obviously yes. But Jesus doesnt simply answer the question. Instead, he presents an argument: he makes a claim and gives a logical, systematic account of the reasoning that supports his claim.

It is not very common to discuss reason and argument in the context of what are normally considered matters of faith. Sometimes those in Christian circles view belief and acceptance as good, virtuous responses to the things of God, while argument and reason are either bad responses or merely tools of those who lack faith. But this shouldnt be the case. God created us as rational creatures; the laws of logic and the rules of good reasoning are what they are because of who God is. Human reason, though imperfect and fallen, is nevertheless something that is very good and God-ordained. Human reason has God as its author, and perhaps this is why the Bible contains so many appeals to reason. Since God endowed humans with reasoning capabilities, we are stewards of our reasoning abilities. God expects us to reason well , and presenting good arguments that support our beliefs is one way to do that. When we reason well and present good arguments, we reflect Gods character.

In addition to the fact that presenting good arguments honors God, another important motivation for providing reasons that support your beliefs is that you want to persuade your audience. In other words, you think your claim is true, so you want your audience to believe it as well. Dubious speakers will often use sophisticated rhetoric in order to trick someone into agreeing to something, but in these cases the audience almost always recants later and rejects what the speaker offered. Instead of tricking someone, the goal of a good argument should be to persuade someone to adopt the new belief because they believe it , not because they were mesmerized by rhetorical skill. Those who craft good arguments want their audience not just to grant superficial agreement with the claim being made but to own it and adopt it as their own. When you think of it this way, you can probably see that presenting arguments is essential for effective communication about the most important things in life.