<include a “welcome” paragraph>
The term “argument” may bring to mind two or more angry people yelling at each other or some other kind of tense, heated verbal disagreement. Along similar lines, you might also think of an argument as something you win or lose.
But an argument being an altercation or disagreement that may be won or lost is only once sense of the word.
So, then, what is an argument for critical-thinking purposes?
In critical thinking, an argument is a statement with a conclusion (aka a claim) and at least one premise to support that conclusion.
In the realm of critical thinking, an argument is the root, or the basic concept that the other concepts within the realm are connected to or built upon. Arguments are not won or lost, rather they are analyzed or examined.
But what is meant by statement, conclusion, and premise? Understanding arguments and their building blocks is fundamental to understanding and applying critical thinking. We’ll cover these all-important terms in the next few lesson topics.
And we’ll start to analyze arguments in lesson 2.
But before we get to all of that, here’s a quick quiz.