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Chapter 10


I was very interested in this chapter, as it dealt with refutation. I was interested to read that the text defined refutation as critically proving evidence as incorrect. I definitely agree with this, especially in the current time we live in. I think that in many cases, you need to be critical to be convincing and you need to be critical to point out flaws with other arguments. I also agree with the text when it states that you need to come at refutation from different angles, as many issues have more than two sides. As a society, we have fallen into the habit of looking at every issue as a two sided one. This is problematic because so, so many issues are much more multifaceted and complex than that. This is especially evident in politics today- many people view super complex issues as either Democrat or Republican issues, when in many cases the issue is not partisan. Additionally, I was interested that the book used the term "McCarthyism" without explaining the background or what it means. The term comes from Joseph McCarthy, a senator in the 1940s and 1950s. When someone said something he did not agree with, he would denounce them as a communist, which was a huge deal at the time, as communism was being painted as the enemy of the United States and the developed world overall. I also think that criticism is necessary to bring light to points that people making different arguments may not have considered.

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 13, 2018 at 11:58 AM

    I enjoyed reading your post because I also discussed refutation in the political sphere. Indeed, issues discussed in politics today are relegated to simply being part of either party’s agenda. Very rarely do people consider that bills could be intended to seek bipartisan compromise in order to advance the goals of both parties. Therefore, refutation often comes in the form of attacking the politician’s party, instead of the bill in question. However, the text identifies effective refutation as coming from the perspective of a viable constructive position (Rieke, Sillars, & Peterson, 166). Hence, politicians or lobbying groups need to refute claims that can directly improve the bill in question, instead of attacking the bill sponsor’s personal characteristics.

    I enjoyed how you brought up Joseph McCarthy as an example as well. His refutation from the point of fear, while not constructive, could be considered to be using momentum to advance his arguments. The text defines momentum as describing “a state of mind regarding critical attention to arguments” (Rieke, Sillars, & Peterson, 169). During his time in politics, the nation was extremely afraid of communist infiltration in the federal government. Therefore, he knew that using his scare tactics was beneficial as he had momentum on his side. Thus, refutation, while not constructive at times, can still be effective because of external factors such as momentum and the time period.

    Sources:
    Rieke, R.D., Sillars, M.O., & Peterson, T.R. (2013). Argumentation and critical decision making. 8th ed., New York: Pearson.

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