I go over 3 crucial foundations to forming an argument.

With the advent of the internet, people around the world have not only begun to share information and conversate in ways never before imagined, they have also engaged in debating ideas in open forums where most anyone can join.

And while it can be fun to connect with others and share ideas and opinions, it can be difficult to have a productive conversation when people have not laid down a clear path of their point and reasoning for their point.

With this video/article, I hope to help you carefully craft your thoughts into concise arguments so you can have productive discourse.

The first step to forming an argument is making a claim or conclusion about a topic.

Claims are the foundation to arguments. Without them, there is nothing to agree with or disagree with. Claims are not limited to higher-level academic theories. You could make a claim about something as simple as what ice cream flavor is tastiest or what restaurant has the best Pho noodles in town.

Whatever your claim is, it should be something that makes a conclusion with an “is” or “ought” statement.
Here are some examples:

• Pho is the best kind of Asian noodle bowl.
• The income tax ought to be abolished.
• We should go see a movie Thursday night.

As you can see, each one of these statements involves an assertion or comparison for someone to consider the truth of. The use of the words “is,” “ought,” and “should,” help to show that there is a desired response or call to action in the claim.

Once a claim has been made, reason is required to suggest why this claim should be believed.

Without at least one stated reason, the claim is nothing more than assertion that has no basis for being countered.
A “reason” for why the claim is true is typically connected with a “because” statement.

Using the above claims, we can see how reason can be added to complete a full argumentative thought.

For example:

• Pho is the best kind of Asian noodle bowl BECAUSE most people prefer it over other Asian noodle bowls.
• The income tax should be abolished BECAUSE taking people’s income by force is theft.
• We should go see a movie Thursday night BECAUSE there is a special deal that day for 20 percent off the normal ticket price.

Now we connected each of the claims to a “because” statement – a reason – which helps others see why a claim should be believed. The reason element offers an opportunity to both explain the position and present a chance for rebuttal based on countering the reason for the claim.

Without reason, people would simply be shouting their assertions, making contradictions instead of arguments.

For example, if I said, “Pho is the best kind of Asian noodle bowl,” and another person responded, “No it’s not!” and, in return, I said, “Yes it is!” then we are just speaking contradictions at each other because there is no particular reason for the claim to discuss and dissect.

Again, adding in, “BECAUSE most people prefer it over other Asian noodle bowls,” allows people in a conversation to state specific reasons why the claim was made and offer a chance to rebut them using reason. For example, a person in disagreement could counter that Pho is not the preferred Asian noodle dish and give a reason why.

Though people could form an argument based on one claim and one reason alone, the argument will be strengthened even further if evidence can be presented to support the claim and reason.

Evidence helps highlight why a reasoned claim is true by providing falsifiable data that can strengthen the claim.

In using our argument example again, “Pho is the best kind of Asian noodle dish BECAUSE most people prefer it over other Asian noodle bowls,” we can back up the claim that Pho is the preferred kind of Asian noodle using a survey of people who like eating Asian noodles. One could refer to a statistically significant study that shows most people prefer Pho over other kinds of Asian noodle dishes.

Someone who disagrees with this claim could counter this evidence by showing other contradicting evidence or by making a counter-argument that questions what the criteria for what “best Pho” should be. For example, someone making a counter-argument could claim that the survey taken did not include enough respondents to be accurately representative. They could also argue that “best Asian noodle bowl” goes beyond general popularity because food critics should be relied on instead due to their expertise.

Wherever this noodle debate leads, it will be best served when those arguing make sure that they present their ideas coherently with claims, reason, and evidence.

So again, in summary, a sufficient argument will need at a minimum:

One, a claim, that is, an “is” or “ought” statement.

Two, a reason for the claim, that is, a “because” statement.

And, ideally, three, falsifiable evidence that can strengthen the argument.

If you keep these argument foundations in mind, your discussions and debates will be much more productive because you’ll be able to focus on analyzing the reasoning for a claim instead of just shouting assertions back and forth until you’re yellow in the face.

Thank you for watching/reading! Happy debating! ^^
~ The Pholosopher

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