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Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition cover art

Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition

Written by: David Zarefsky,The Great Courses
Narrated by: David Zarefsky
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Publisher's Summary

What is effective reasoning? And how can it be done persuasively? These questions have been asked for thousands of years, yet some of the best thinking on reasoning and argumentation is recent and represents a break from the past.

These 24 engaging lectures teach you how to reason, how to persuade others that what you think is right, and how to judge and answer the arguments of others - and how they will judge yours. Professor Zarefsky makes argumentation accessible and familiar by breaking it into five easy-to-understand components: The tools of formal logic, while essential and even definitive for mathematics and programming computers, are inadequate to decide most controversial issues.

This course shows more useful approaches. Arguments can be divided into three parts: a claim, evidence, and an inference linking the evidence to the claim. All arguments fall into a handful of distinctive categories, and the same issues are at stake each time one of these distinctive patterns occurs. Three kinds of evidence can be advanced to prove an argument that something is true: objective data, social consensus, and personal credibility. There are six kinds of inference that link evidence to a claim: example, cause, sign, analogy, narrative, and form. How to use and challenge each is explained.

Along the way, you'll look at numerous actual controversies with a perspective that allows you to see the structure of all disputes. In this way, argument becomes an exchange, not just a flurry of words.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2005 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2005 The Great Courses

What listeners say about Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition

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Pedantic

Slow moving. Chock full of the obvious, supplemented by superficial irrelevancies. Hours of my life wasted.

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worth price

A little complex at the start but a good job bring it all together in last few chapters.

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Almost a must listen

I purchased this along with a few other courses during the Lockdown; my expectation were low, but the price was right.

In a time when personal, technical and public “arguments” are usually presentations, persuasions or quarrels, it was very helpful for someone to lay out the purpose, the starting point, the ground rules, framework, fallacies, etc in the field of argument.

Every chapter had something. I even went back and did a condensed notes version from the PDF for my own future reference.

This is one of those courses where you think to yourself that this should be mandatory adult eduction. Foundational for discussion and listening.

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Real thinking stuff in this course!

I admit, I learned Korean than I thought I would when I bought this course. Thank you.

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  • liam
  • 2013-08-22

If you are on the fence, Get it!

If you could sum up Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition in three words, what would they be?

Clear, concise, informative

Which scene was your favorite?

Understanding logical fallacies.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no.

Any additional comments?

This is an excellent course to take. Interesting right the way through and very dense on content. Argumentation is a pastime of mine, and although I have read much about it, I have never taken any kind of structured course on the subject. These lectures opened up an understanding of the processes, the nomenclature and the method to me on a larger scale than I knew. Very helpful, Already I am applying this new understanding to my every day life, and that's not just in winning arguments with my spouse ;)

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103 people found this helpful

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  • James
  • 2018-02-13

If you are interested in this, it likely isn’t for you.

Nearly all people who are interested in effective reasoning will already have spent some time learning about the basics of logic and the essential fallacies that get us all through the day. All people with a basic understanding of logical fallacies are well advanced beyond the topics discussed here. If you are not lost at this point then you are overqualified for this listen.

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45 people found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2016-01-30

Outstanding class with superb content

The professor in this course presented the material with maestri. All the topics are addressed in detail, in a way you can easily follow and generalize to your area of expertise. I dare to say that this is the most complete audiobook on the matter. It covers. The philosophy, the history, the theory, the application and the strategic and tactical aspects of argumentation. Nothing was left out.

If I have to point at flaws in this course , the only one I can come with is that 90% of the examples were taken from presidential speech. A more diverse source of examples would be beneficial in the entertainment aspect. But as teaching tools to convey the point, the examples are perfect.

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  • Brian S. Holmes
  • 2015-04-25

Intellectual OVERVIEW, NOT really Instrumental

specifically for improving your Personal performance in your own argumentation. Helpful, but it was not designed for this purpose. I plan on listening again while preparing formal arguments on topics and then using the examples from famous speeches to help me better construct my argument. What I love about this course, and most of The Great Courses for that matter, is the intellectual breadth of the teachers. However, because they're scholarly teachers, rather than public speakers, they're often kind of dry and boring. Anyhow if an in - depth study on all the ways an argument can be constructed then you will not be disappointed.

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21 people found this helpful

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  • Etherboy
  • 2015-09-20

Valid != Sound

These lectures started to lose me a bit when they equated valid and sound arguments and used the words synonymously.

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  • Happy
  • 2015-11-28

Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning

Very interesting. This should be a required course in every school. Random emotional thoughts or stringing together loose ideas is so much easier than thinking. Most of the book is just common sense, but so often the lack of logic is not apparent. Gave the evening news broadcasts a whole new dimension. With any luck, the book helped tune up my thinking.

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  • Amber W.
  • 2016-03-26

Common Sense

It was a comprehensive and intelligent explanation, but I believe I haven't left it with much more knowledge than I started with. Most of what I did learn were terms to define what I already knew.

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  • steamer.ssf
  • 2016-03-22

Excellent presentation and content:

I enjoyed listening to these lectures. The professor was very articulate and presented the information in a logical and structured manner. Great examples were used making for an enjoyable listen!

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  • Dan
  • 2016-04-30

Very academic

I won't blame the author because there's nothing wrong with the audio book, but my expectations were far off. Very academic level discussion of the structure of arguments. I was thinking it would be more about debate structure, how to win debates and how to frame arguments, which it was not.

I picked a few useful pieces out, but kindof a slog.

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  • Neil
  • 2016-06-30

exactly what I need it. ..

loved it.. I'm always looking for books that it will help me enrich my life with knowledge of productivity, this one was one of them, not many books with this subject and I was able to find it here in Audible .. I just have one complaint, like to take notes some few words wasn't able to understand and had to stop and do some research online, I wish he had spelled those latin words.. my time listening this book was well spend..

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