Colleagues, help me understand the value of our endeavor to stipulate with excruciating precision what we ought to mean this or that commonly used word.  If our ultimate goal is to foster critical thinking in a time when it is so badly needed by so very many, then the further we travel down the dark, dank hallways of esoterica, the further we take ourselves from being able to communicate with the students, faculty colleagues, and the general public we hope to influence. So the word "argument" is ambiguous and vague. Is it pernicious so in all circumstances of importance? No. Can we not clarify whenever the context demands? Yes. Would anyone really care if we issued a definitional proclamation regarding how we wanted the English speaking peoples of the world to now use the word? No a chance. Teaching for Critical thinking is too important for us to be polishing coffin nails while tyrants befuddle the public with brash lies, bully boasts, absurd denials, ad hominem attacks. We have real work to do.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 12, 2017, at 4:25 PM, Michael Gilbert <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Let me stake out the radical end:
> 
> An argument is a communicative interaction focused on a disagreement. 
> 
> (Note that this does not imply it is necessarily verbal.)
> 
> Michael
> 
> 
> 
>> On Jun 12, 2017, at 4:08 PM, Laura Pinto <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 
>> "arguments are invitations to inference" - RC Pinto, in http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/DL/publications/PU00010684.pdf
>> 
>> Laura E. Pinto, PhD
>> Assistant Professor, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
>> Associate Member of the Graduate Faculty, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto
>> From: AILACT DISCUSSION LIST [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Douglas Walton [[log in to unmask]]
>> Sent: Monday, June 12, 2017 3:11 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: define argument
>> 
>> An argument can be used to support (justify) a proposition or to support or attack another argument.
>> 
>> Doug Walton
>> 
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