For chapter 7 I choose “refuting an argument” as my topic. Now there are three direct ways of refuting an argument. First you have to show that at least one of the premises is dubious. Next you have to show that the argument isn’t valid or strong. Finally you have to show that the conclusion is false.
For this I am choosing a scenario that recently occurred in my life. A few days ago someone’s condo was broken into and an ipod was taken. So they called me into the office and showed me a video tape of a person who looked like my roommate going into someone’s condo. Keep in mind I recently lost my condo key card. So they figured since a key card was missing from our condo (to cover up the crime…they figure), the theft occurred in our building, and the guy looked like my roommate, it must have been him. Now I refuted this by saying that the keycard was lost at a concert making it literally impossible for a random stranger an hour away to know where we live and break into the condo (it’s an unmarked card). Also I stated that while the person looked like my roommate he was at least 40 pounds larger and had longer hair. These two make the premise very dubious and not valid or strong. Also there conclusion was false because after a day or so they found out that the person who had the ipod had a friend in the same condo e-mail him and tell him he was taking it, he didn’t read it, and thought the worst. These statements by me clearly refute the argument given to us by the owners of the condo.
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I really like your post to discuss about refuting an argument. I like how in the beginning you explained how to refute an argument then put it into action by sharing your own story of how you refuted an argument. Your example is very helpful for those who may not know how to refute an argument. Its unfortunate that your friend was accused of stealing an iPod from a condo and that is was all cleared up quickly. By you refuting the argument it helped show the condo owners that there are multiple other people who may had stolen the iPod.
ReplyDeleteI like your explanation of refuting an argument. You had told us which refuting argument you had chosen to write about, which is the direct refute of an argument. The explanation you had written out is short and direct steps on how to create a direct refute of an argument. Very clear, something that one can follow and create. Your example is very interesting. Not only does it include example of a direct refute, but when you had talked about how the key card was lost at the concert, is also an example of an indirect refute argument. Love the example by the way. Funny.
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