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Blog Post 1 Chapter 3

In this chapter the author talks about how people make sense of argumentation. He discusses five ways that help people in making sense of an argument and make you a more effective advocate.
The five ways that help make sense of an argument are good reasons, good story, science, feminist theory and alternative dispute resolution.
First, the author defines good reasons as the way, claims are justified through reasoned discourse. It is used to support claims by employing standard patterns of inference, drawn from logic. You also appear reasonable if your arguments are consistent and don't contradict each other.
Second, the author defines good story as a means to understand social interactions. When someone describes an event, we try to decide if it makes sense on the basis of how coherent and believable the story is.
Third, the author defines science as a systematic observation of the world through the senses of slight, sound, touch, and smell which are assumed to make sense. Science has become predominant over the twentieth century, it still has persuasive power but has failed to present the truth that most people hope for.
Fourth the author defines feminist theory as a systematic way of examining the social differences between men and women. It encourages us to carefully differentiate between argumentation and verbal aggression.
And lastly, the author defines (alternative dispute resolution or ADR) as a way to make sense of argumentation in a world of fragmented identities and relationships that characterize the twenty-first century. It helps negotiate tensions within society without erasing important differences.

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