What did I find interesting in this chapter? I found that arguments in general are much more complex than I would have imagined. I never would examine and/or analyze an argument in such depth. It was news to me that an argument could be worked out as to its effectiveness like a math problem. Arguments come back down to the fundamentals as to whether it is a strong, valid, invalid, or weak argument. I think some of our politicians could learn a few lessons about argument being considered strong or not. It is sad how much of our political discourse comes down to argument. Politicians argue amongst themselves trying to score political points but in reality mostly the extremes of each party get the say. Both the extreme left and right use arguments when looked at are not valid or strong. If politicians could actually begin to use stronger valid sense worthy arguments, then our political discourse could change for the better.
I concur! Politicians definitely argue for political points. They are afraid of the other side winning, and they're not voting in favor of THE PEOPLE anymore. Their stubbornness is destroying the country. I also agree their rebuttals from both sides on certain issues are neither valid nor strong. I think they try to twist the each other’s words around and at when they find a small thread of flaw; they go all out in trying to destroy the other’s argument. Perhaps they are in need of a review of critical thinking and effective leadership skills.
ReplyDeleteHAHA I like the math analogy. It definitely makes sense that our statements can be broken down like math problems, kind of funky huh? The idea that what we say is not a simply stated statement, but more a defining statement. Politicians are a whole other story. I agree that Epstein's view on things could definitely help them out. I think it is unique that our statements can be broken down into valid, strong, weak ect. Simply because it shows the diversity we as people have and are able to have simply through the statements we make in daily life.
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