A Note on Argumentation and Refutation
Argumentation is one of the most important skills that a student has to master despite the field or discipline he/she studies in. Arguments and argumentation are part of every subject matter that aims to provide valid conclusions through logical deduction from various premises. This is the only way that the new information is accepted into the academics and previous knowledge is appended or modified, to a better version of itself.
An essay writer needs not only to concentrate on laying down an argument from a set of premises that supports the central thesis but also needs to be critical of the conclusion itself. This is done by analyzing the competing arguments and finding a way where both the arguments can be managed through a single conclusion. This critical approach to argumentation is on the rise in recent times. The arguments are not attacked and put down as whole but the valid points are appreciated and used to form a wider synthesis, that appeases both sides of the arguments.
However, synthesis can come only out of refutations to arguments. Without an antithesis to the thesis, there will be no common ground of agreement. Refutation to the argument can help find flaws in the argument and can help improve the argument either in its premises, its inferences, or its conclusion.
Types of argumentation
In order to understand the topic better one has to know about the task of the argument and its types.
The classical form of argument
The classical argumentation divides the task into three tasks: Identity, analysis, and evaluation. The first task is to read into the matter and identify the premises that lead to a certain conclusion. There might be many premises leading to a single or several conclusions. The second part is the analysis where write my essay for me service analyze the information to make sure that all the premises are identified, especially the implicit ones. The last part is where you evaluate the argument as a whole for its heath. Here you point out strengths and weaknesses and check if they undermine the inferences or the conclusion/s. When an argument is put under the microscope, traditionally it has been kept to these three tasks.
The modern argumentation
In the recent past, there is a surge in going further than this by involving a critical task: invent. The task here is to think about the premises and the conclusions and come up with new arguments. It can be used to reach the conclusions, the same ones, or ones that are much advanced.
The newer form of argument veers away from being traditionally deductive and tends to be dialectical where each competing argument is analyzed for their pros and cons. Later evaluated against each other to weed out the weakness of the arguments such as the premise, inference, and the conclusion that can be made even better.
Improving arguments through refutation
To improve the argument in formal writing such as an academic essay, it is important to brainstorm points of refutation. It might undermine the argument that you have put together to present your main thesis.
The refutation can come in three forms:
By raising critical points and questions that undermine the argument and its validity. In such a case, changes have to be made to the argument (at times absorbing the object into the thesis) in order for it to be acceptable again.
Another way this can be done is by pointing out the falsity of the various premises that the conclusion is based on. This can only weaken the argument, and not put it down as a whole.
A counter-argument can undermine the whole argument by proposing the antithesis to be true instead of the thesis. The only way to deal with a counter is to rework the thesis. It is to accommodate the valid arguments made by the counter or undermine the counter argument by proving it fallacious.
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