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Rationale
Definitions for Tutorial s 1, 2 and 3.
Term
Meaning
Example
Claim A claim is a type of proposition put forward by somebody as true.
There should be lots of stars in the Apollo pictures
Conclusion Often interchanged for the word contention.
Contention A contention is a claim supported by a reason (or evidence which can be for or against the claim). It is often referred to as a conclusion
Co-premises Two premises that are within a single reason or objective are called co-premises. Alternate names are ‘helping premises or linked premises. According to the Golden Rule every simple argument has at least two co-premises
Counter- arguments
A counter argument is where for the same contention there is a reason and an objection. The counter-argument is BOTH the contention and the counterarguments.
The same contention exists for each simple argument amd these simple arguments overlap the same contention
Declarative sentence
A declarative sentence is one which states an idea which can be true or false.
Disputes A dispute is an argument where there are both multiple reasons and multiple objections bearing upon a single contention.
Golden Rule The Golden Rule is a rules that states every simple argument must have at least two co- premises. The co-premises support each other as part as the one reason to support another claim (the contention).
Claim
Reason
because
This claim is
known as a
contention
The Apollo astronauts
landed on the moon
Co-premise 1 –
supports the claim
Co-premise 2 –
supports the claim
Two co-
premises in
one reason
contention
The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LVR)
would not have left much room on
the Lunar Module for other things
The LRV was 3.1
metres by 2.3 metres
and 1.14 metres high
The LVR descent stage
was 4.3 metres in
diameter by 3.2m high
Example
Term
Meaning
Example
Hidden Premises
A hidden premise is a co-premise which is not stated when an argument is presented. It is then up to the reader to ‘guess’ or extrapolate what is being inferred. Sometimes this is obvious but other times it is more difficult to infer. In the example opposite the hidden premise could be “Artificial lighting is only available in a studio on earth”. Alternate names are “missing premises” or “assumptions”.
Holding Hands Rule
The Holding Hands Rule says if something appears in a premise but not in a contention, it must appear in another premise. That is, premises need to hold hands with each other. The opposite of this rule is a stranded co- premise where co-premises of a single reason are put into separate reasons.
Holding Hands Test
The Holding Hands Test says:
that if there are any significant terms or concepts which appear there but not in the contention
the argument fails the test.
If this test fails then it gives you an indication what is goinmg to have to go in any additional co-premisaes required to make the argument properly structured.
Multi-Reason Arguments
Multi-Reason Arguments is where there is more than one reason for a particular contention.
There is a single claim (the contention) with at least TWO quite distinct pieces of evidence bearing upon it. As an objection is a special type of reason (i.e. a reason to think the objection is not true), we use the term multi-reason argument to cover arguments with multiple objections.
The Apollo pictures
were taken in a
studio on earth
Artificial lighting was
used when the Apollo
pictures were taken
Socrates is mortal
Socrates is human All humans are mortal
The moon rocks are
unlike any rocks on earth
The moons
rocks are
covered on ‘zap’
pits
The moon
rocks are
anhydrous
Term
Meaning
Example
No Danglers A Dangler is something that hangs loose or dangles. No danglers means that every significant word or phrase appearing in one claim (contention or premise) of a simple argument must also appear in another claim. The No Danglers Rule is a combination of the Rabbit Rule and the Holding Hands Rule. So apply the Rabbit Rule, then Holding Hands Rule No Danglers ensures all Hidden Premises have been made explicit
Objection An objection is a reason (or technically a set of claims), but is evidence against a claim (contention). Technically an objection is a set of claims working together to provide evidence that another claim is false. .
Premise A premise is a claim found inside or part of a reason or an objection. Where there are more than one premise (or claim) then it should be broken down into two or more premises. The least complicated of these premises is the most favoured. These are called co-premises.
Proposition A proposition is an idea which is either true or false.
Rabbit Rule The Rabbit Rule says that any significant term or concept appearing in the contention must also appear in one of the premises. A fully articulated simple argument MUST obey the Rabbit Rule. A Rabbit Rule will force Hidden Premises out into the open
Rabbit Test A simple test to determine whether you have a properly structured argument. To apply the Rabbit Test:
1. Examine the contention to see if there are any significant terms that appear there but not in any premise.
2. If there are, the argument fails the Rabbit Test
There should be lots of
stars in the Apollo
pictures
If we go out on a clear
night and look up, we
see many stars
because
This claim is a
premise
Socrates is mortal
Socrates is
human
All human
are mortal
There should be lots of
stars in the Apollo pictures
If we go out on a
clear night and
lookup, we see lots
of stars
The Apollo pictures
should show what
we see when we go
out on a clear night
and look up
Contention
Objection
but
Apollo astronauts
landed on the moon
There are no stars
in the background
Rabbit Rule satisfied
as everything
appearing in
contention appears
in the one premise
Holding Hands Rule
satisfied as everything
appearing in one of
premises spears in another
premise / contention
Two Co-premises
work together as
part of a single
reason or objection.
No Hidden
Premises as all co-
premises have been
identified.
Term
Meaning
Example
Reason A reason is a piece of evidence in support of a claim. Technically a reason consists of a set of claims presenting evidence that another claim is true.
(Because) if we go out on a clear evening and look up we see many stars. Ensure only the reason is provided and do not provide a justification within the reason.
Simple Argument
A simple argument can be either:
a contention with a single reason for it
a contention with a single objection against it
That is, a simple argument only has one contention and one piece of evidence.
NOTE: when argument mapping you must ensure USE full, grammatically, declarative sentences are used. That is:
do not pose questions or reasons in a claim.
Write complete simple sentences.
Stranded Co- premises
Stranded Co-premises occur when you place co- premises of a simple reason into separate reasons. If this occurs then the co-premises are stranded from each other. This is the opposite to Strange Bedfellows
Strange Bedfellows
Sometimes it is difficult to determine for a multi-reason argument whether you have one reason or two. That is should the two claims relate to the one reason or should there be two distinct reasons? This is the opposite of Stranded Co-premises.
Note A multi-reason argument has now been created and you will note co-premises have been created to satisfy the Rabbit and Holding Hand rules
To map a reason
Put the reason and claim in boxes. The reason is shown in a green box. A claim supported by a reason is called a contention.
Claim
Reason
because
Socrates is mortal
Socrates is
human
All human
are mortal
Socrates is mortal
Socrates is
human
All human
are mortal
Correct
Wrong
The moon rocks are
unlike any rocks on earth
The moons
rocks are
covered in ‘zap’
pits
The moon
rocks are
anhydrous Wrong
The moon rocks are
unlike any rocks on earth
The moons
rocks are
covered in
‘zap’ pits
No earth
rocks are
covered in
‘zap’ pits
No earth
rocks are
anhydrous
The moon
rocks are
anhydrous
Correct
Rationale continues ……
Definitions for Tutorials 4.
Term
Meaning
Example
Argument Webs An Argument Web is where two multi-layer arguments join together to form a complex web. The connection is where a contention from one joins a reason or objection in another one. That is the contention and the reason or objection are the same wording.
Chain of Reasoning
A Chain of Reasoning is where there are many layers to the argument. Typically, where for two multi-layer arguments, the main contention in one argument is the bottom layer premise in another argument. There is no limit to the number of layers of an argument although they are normally between 6 – 10 layers.
Common mistakes –
Support versus Co-premise 1
A common mistake is mapping a supporting reason as it were a co-premise.
Common mistakes –
Support versus Co-premise 2
Opposite to above – mapping a co-premise as if it were a supporting reason. Refer to tutorial for an example.
Main contention
The main contention of a multi-layer argument is the one at the top level. The primary reason is a premise of the main contention and itself is a contention for the lower argument
Main contention
Primary reason
Secondary reason
The Main Contention
is the only contention
which is not also a
premise in another
reason or objection.
The Apollo pictures
were taken in a
studio on earth
Artificial lighting was used
when the Apollo pictures
were taken
Main contention
Main contention
Reason Reason
Objection
Objection
Main contention 1
Main contention 2
Reason 1 Reason 2
Objection 2
Objection 1
Main contention
Reason 1
Objection 1
Reason 2
Objection 2
Same wording in Objection 1
and the Main contention 2
An argument web is an argument
that is both multi-reason and multi-
layer.
The shadows of the astronauts
and their equipment in the
Apollo pictures seem to point
in different directions
Wrong
The Apollo pictures were
taken in a studio on earth
Artificial lighting was used when
the Apollo pictures were taken
The shadows of the astronauts and
their equipment in the Apollo pictures
seem to point in different directions
Artificial lighting was used
when the Apollo pictures
were taken
Correct
Term
Meaning
Example
Missing Layers A missing layer is where there is a whole layer is missing between the evidence and the contention. Typically in these cases the Rabbit Rule won’t work and therefore should be easy to identify.
Multi-layer arguments
A multi-layer argument is one where a reason within an argument has another reason or objections supporting it. That is, you have reasons backing up reasons, or objections to reasons etc.
Reasons for Reasons
(Multi-layer argument)
A reason supports another reason
Reasons for Objections
(Multi-layer argument)
The contention of one simple argument, is a premise in the objection. In this case a reason supports the objection can be shown to support the objection.
The two simple arguments opposite are combined into a multi-layer argument. In this example the objection is shown to be supported by another reason.
Rebuttal A rebutal is an objection to an objection. A rebutal basically is saying that the objection provided is not a good objection. The second objection is only an objection to that objection, not to the top level contention.
Artificial lighting was
used when taking the
Apollo pictures
The shadows of the
astronauts and their
equipment in the
Apollo pictures seems
to point in different
directions
The Apollo pictures
were taken in a studio
on earth
Artificial lighting was
used when taking the
Apollo pictures
The shadows of the astronauts
and their equipment in the
Apollo pictures seems to point
in different directions
Correct
The Apollo
astronauts landed
on the moon
Artificial lighting was
used when taking the
Apollo pictures
Artificial lighting was
used when taking the
Apollo pictures
Artificial lighting was
used when taking the
Apollo pictures
The claim
is the
premise of
the first
argument
The Apollo pictures
were taken in a studio
on earth
The Apollo
astronauts landed
on the moon
Artificial lighting
was used when the
Apollo pictures
were taken
Artificial lighting was
used when taking the
Apollo pictures
Artificial lighting was
used when taking the
Apollo pictures
The Apollo
astronauts landed
on the moon
The
contention
is the
premise of
the first
argument
NASA cannot produce pictures from
the Hubble Space Telescope of the
equipment that the astronauts left
behind
Objection
Rebuttal
Correct
Contention
NASA has provided many
Hubble photographs
showing objects in the
landing zone.
The Apollo astronauts
landed on the Moon
Artificial lighting was
used when taking the
Apollo pictures
Seems to be a huge
gap in reasoning
between contention
and objection.
Term
Meaning
Example
Rejoinder A Rejoinder is the actual objection to a reason. A rejoiner is basically implying that the reason, because there is an objection to it, is a poor reason. Typically the end result would be that the premise should be rejected.
Artificial lighting was
used when the Apollo
pictures were taken
The astronauts seem well-
lit when times they should
have been in shadow.
Reflected light from the lunar
surface would easily provide
enough light to illuminate an
astronaut in a white spacesuit.
Rationale continues …..
Definitions for Tutorials 5 – Inference Objections.
Term
Meaning
Example
Complex Arguments
Fundament principle: Every arguments, no matter how complex is built up of simple arguments and every reason or objection muat be aimed at a specific claim.
Inference Objection
An Inference Objection is an Objection to another Simple Argument, providing evidence not against any particular premise BUT against the relationship between the stated premises and their contention.
The inference objection is basically saying the contention is wrong even though the premise (reason) may be true. To map inference objections: 1. Take the reason and articulate all its co-
premises. Follow the Rabbit and Holding Hands Rules to achieve this.
2. The inference objection will now provide evidence that one of the co-premises is false. Identify that co-premise and attacg the objection to it.
Refer to your tutorial exercises for an example of this.
Inference Rebuttal
Inference rebuttal – is also an objection to another objection which provides evidence against the inference from the stated premise of that other objection to the falsity of its contention
Premise Objections
A Premise Objection is an objection to a stated premise of another simple argument. By definition an Objection to a Main Contention is not a Premise Objection rather it is a simple Objection
The Apollo astronauts
cannot have been to the
Moon
The Apollo astronauts
could not have survived
the journey through the
Van Allen Belt
The astronauts would not
experience any immediate
health problems that would
prevent the journey
This is called a
Premise Objection to
the above Premise
When you have a Premise
Objection there is a Simple
Argument made up of the
one of the already stated
premises and the objection
Contention
Reason
Objection Inference
Objection
This inference objection
targets the connection
between the premise
(reason) and its contention
Main Contention
Reason 1 Reason 2
Reason 3 Reason 4 Objection 1 Objection 1
This complex argument is made up of THREE simple arguments.
The contention is one simple argument is a premise is a premise
in another (except for the main contentions
Term
Meaning
Example
Premise Rebuttal
Premise rebuttal – an objection to an objection which targets whereby it provides evidence that one of the stated premises of that objection is false.
Rebuttals A rebuttal is is an objection to an objection.
There are two types:
1. Premise rebutal – an objection to an objection which targets whereby it provides evidence that one of the stated premises of that objection is false.
2. Inference rebuttal – is also an objection to another objection which provides evidence against the inference from the stated premise of that other objection to the falsity of its contention.
Contention
Objection 1
Objection 1 Objection 1
The kind of rebuttal; that
targets the connection
between the objection and
the main contention is
called a premise rebuttal
A kind of rebuttal; that targets the
connection between the objection and
the main contention is called an
inference rebuttal.
Rationale continues …..
Definitions for Tutorials 6 - Macrostructure.
Term
Meaning
Example
Debates A debate is a multi-level dispute. It includes the reasons and objectons to a single claim AND where the rreasons / objections are disputed.
Groups A group is simply all reasons and objections bearing directly upon the main contention of any other reasons or objection.
Mutually Exclusive,
Collectively Exhaustive
(MECE)
Basically the MECE states that for any group of reasons or objections there should be no overlaps and no gaps.
MECE – Collectively Exhaustive
Within any group, the reasons and objections should cover all the arguments relevant to the point. That is each group should cover the relevant points (no gaps).
MECE - Mutually Exclusive
The reasons or the objections should be genuinely distinct from each other.
Example – the following objections are basically saying the same thing? There will be some overlap as the Rabbit Rule must still apply with a group so the reality is that they can not be genuinely distinct.
MECE
Rule
Considerations in any
given group should be
Mutually Exclusive
(no overlap)
Considerations in any
given group should be
Collectively Exclusive
(no gaps)
A second group A third group
First group
These must be
genuinely distinct
from one another
So must these The official
evidence of the
Apollo landing is
fabricated
NASA faked the
evidence
The first layer reasons and
objections make the argument
structure a dispute
This second layer
reasons and
objections make the
debate structure a
genuine debate
Term
Meaning
Example
Pyramid Rule - Structure
An argument map according to the Pyramid Rule should end up looking like a pyramid
Pyramid Rule 1
More general or abstract considerations should appear higher in the argument tree
Pyramid Rule 2
Reasons or objections at a given level in the tree should be roughly the same level of generality or abstraction
The Apollo astronauts
cannot have been to
the Moon
The official evidence
of the Apollo landing
was fabricated
The Apollo astronauts
cannot have been on
the Moon
There are no
stars in the
background
of the Apollo
pictures
The American
flag scenes
were filmed
on Earth
The
astronauts
could not
have survived
Van Allen belt.
The LRV
could not
have been
transported
to the Moon
Pyramid
Rule
Considerations at the
same level should be
roughly the same level of
abstraction
The higher the argument
tree the more general or
abstract the consideration
Main Contention
This claim is quite general
or abstract higher in the
tree
This reason is more concrete or
particular information backing
up the reason
