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Research on the Theory of Argument Evaluation

Author: SunYan
Tutor: JinRongDong
School: East China Normal University
Course: Logic
Keywords: argument argument evaluation criteria validity acceptability relevance good ground
CLC: B812
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2006
Downloads: 149
Quote: 3
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Abstract

The present paper addresses the argument evaluation in a theoretical perspective. There are four chapters in this paper:Chapter one as an introduction is introduced the present situation of the domestic research. It is shown that the theoretical construction of argument evaluation is too poor to meet the needs of practice in the past decades. Therefore, we should put up a systematic and further study in this field.Chapter two concerns itself with the inadaptability of deductive validity as the highest criterion in argument evaluation. Although some people have restricted or revised the concept of validity to keep it as the core of argument evaluation, it is argued that they are all in vain.In chapter three it puts forward introductions and comments on some influential theories of argument evaluation. They are the Field Theory, the Pragma-Dialectical Approach and the Informal Logic Theory. By studying on these theories, analysing their advantages and disadvantages, we know what to do with our own research.Chapter four is the heaviest part in this paper. It carries out some important discussions about the criteria of argument evaluation. It argues that the ARG system is the most effective evaluation mode by now. But there are some crucial problems here about the criteria of Acceptability, Relevance and Good ground that need to be studied further. At first it clarifies three basic problems as "who accept?", "what to accept?" and "how to accept?" Some other important conclusions are: Truth requirement should be included in Acceptability requirement; Relevance is the most basic but most difficult element to define in the theory of argument evaluation, and by now we haven’t had a appropriate definition; Contextual explanation of relevance is helpful to understand the essence of relevance; Counterconsiderations are the key to evaluate the sufficiency of conductive argument; the Possible Worlds mode of argument evaluation is a inspiring method in evaluating the sufficiency of an argument.This paper ends with the emphasis on the dialectical elements and the notion of rationality. The former is embedded in the whole argument from beginning to end, and the latter is the most basic notion in argument theory, which decides the reasonableness of the criteria themselves.

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