Non-arguments

You can think of arguments as ways to gather information and to acquire new beliefs. But information is not always given in the form of arguments. It might be that you’re reading some opinion piece in the newspapers, or maybe you’re listening to talk-back radio, or you’re talking with your friends on some hot topic, and they’re not really trying to make a point by using an argument. Sometimes people assert their beliefs without giving reasons; all they do is tell you what they believe. But stating beliefs is not giving arguments!

Things that may look like arguments but are not, and are thus misconstrued as arguments, are explanations, reports, instructions, and so on. Let’s look at some of those.

Explanations

• An explanation is a statement or collection of statements asserting why or how something is the case.

Like arguments, explanations are typically presented as collections of statements. In explanations, however, statements are not presented as reasons to believe other statements; they are not presented as premises. Statements in explanations are trying to make you understand something, not trying to convince you that you should believe it.

Here’s an example:

In 2014, we introduced a new textbook in the Critical Thinking course taught at The University of Auckland, and we negotiated with the publishers to have a discount for Auckland University students. It was agreed with the publisher that the textbook would cost $95, but the book was listed at $130. When students complained about the price, we called the publisher. Eventually, we understood what happened: the textbook was more expensive than we expected because the person with whom we had made an agreement on a reduced price for the University of Auckland had left the company, and the new employee wasn’t aware of the agreement. At some point, the agreement was lost, and that’s why we didn’t get the discount.

Advice

• A good way to stop your dog from getting fleas is to spray them with cider vinegar.

Your dog has fleas, and a good way to get rid of fleas is to spray your dog with cider vinegar. Therefore, you should spray your dog with cider vinegar.

Instructions

Argument or not?

Listen to what I say. In your life, expect some trouble. When you worry, you make it double. Don’t worry. Be happy.

• You shouldn’t worry.

• You should be happy.

When you worry, your face will frown, and that will bring everybody down. So don’t worry. Be happy. Don’t worry. Be happy now.

If you worry, then your face frowns. If your face frowns, that brings everybody down. So if you’re worried, that brings everybody down. So you shouldn’t worry, and you should be happy.

The lesson to learn from this is that it is not always easy to identify arguments. Sometimes it looks as though some information is presented as an argument when it is not. Sometimes when people try to express themselves, they are trying to convince you of something, but they may not succeed in presenting their view as an argument. They may express their views without providing reasons for believing their views.