Argument is not contradiction(yes it is, no it isn’t), Abuse (insults), or a statement of belief. With that said a real argument is sometimes hard to come by. A small child who argues with his or her mother often would say something is black simply because the mother said it was white. The mother on the other side would respond to say, “no, it is white.” This conversation is no argument because neither side has presented any premises on the topic. If the topic is something more complex such as the child wishing to spend the night at a friend’s house then more of an argument can ensue. A small child would most likely complain and state over and over how badly he/she wants to go. The parent would come back with an actual argument consisting of premises pertaining to bedtimes, the time of week, how much time the child had already spent at that friend’s house that week. Hindsight can now tell me that I lost those arguments when I was a child because I wasn’t arguing at all!
When arguing with my peers I find that we do in fact argue, though these arguments often conclude with frustration which produces abuse and then eventually an agreement to disagree….
Tangent time: From my notes: An argument is a series of statements, facts or assertions which are interwoven or sown together to support a conclusion. An argument can be badly constructed or well-constructed i.e. valid or invalid. It may be something one believes, but not necessarily. It may produce truth statements but not necessarily. If this is so then an individual who wins an argument is not necessarily the possessor of accurate knowledge but simply the more skillful arguer. If this is so then what of our justice system. Our “fair” trial by jury is simply an argument between lawyers the result of which is simply the a question of who’s argument is stronger. So is our justice system truly just? Or is it simply a contest of who can pose a better argument?
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