Chapter seven is all about how to counter argue. Counter arguments are claims that can derived only if the original argument has support. If one can back up his / her claims, to refute and reject an opposing claim, then that conversation is heavily relied on counter arguing. One makes a counter argument, because the other believes that the original claim is false, and that the premises are weak and lack support. Counter arguments can go back and forth as many times as they want in order to prove the other's premises and claim is false, but with supporting claims of their own. If there is a lack of supporting claims, then there would be no reason to believe in the claims or counter arguments that are put forward.
Here is one of the ways to counter argue with - Refuting Directly. Refuting directly is a simplistic way to counter argue. This method involves the counter argument to "show that at least one of the premises is dubious ; show that the argument isn't valid or strong ; show that the conclusion is false" (Epstein, 159).
Another method to counter argue is by reducing to the absurd. The book states that "to reduce to the absurd is to show that at least one of several claims is false or dubious, or collectively they are unacceptable, by drawing a false or unwanted conclusion from them" (Epstein, 150).
Hello there soccer freak. I liked this post you did a good job of summing up chapter seven. I understood the refuting part in the text pretty well but didn’t understand the “counter arguments” and “reducing to the absurd” as much. You provided good information about the “counter arguments” which really helped me understand that subject better. The reducing to the absurd is still a little sketch to me; because its definition doesn’t seem to have to do much with absurdity. But the book did say “you have to be sure the argument you use to get the false or absurd conclusion is really strong or valid and doesn’t use any other dubious claims.” This helps a little bit because then there is good reason to believe there could be a problem with the original claim. Anyway, great post! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteHey SoccerFreak I like your post it really helped me understand the concepts better. Counterarguments are an important part of arguments and you covered it very well. I like your transitions going from one concept to another such as when you easily when from the concept of Refuting the argument directly to reducing the absurd. You did very well explaining each concept and then easily transition to the next concept. It was also helpful that you put down all of the page number which made it easy to go back and reference the book. I really liked your post and hope you keep it up!
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