Effective Argumentation (online)

In research and in everyday life we are constantly making arguments to convince others of our ideas and views. Any research presentation or grant application needs to convince its listeners of the benefits it brings to the field.

But, to be effective in argumentation, we need to be effective in giving reasons. Thus, effective argumentation looks at how people use reasoning to convince others, and how these efforts can be more productive.

We use arguments to express the reasons for our claims, and instinctively we know what is a good or a bad argument when we hear one. But often we don’t know exactly why.

In this seminar we will look at a range of principles and frameworks to better understand how to construct effective arguments of your own, how to avoid some common and tempting mistakes in reasoning, and how to recognize fallacies in the arguments of others.

Ultimately, the aim of an argument is to persuade your listeners, or to make them understand your way of thinking.

Key content

• Defining an argument
• How to construct an argument
• Understanding and evaluating types of argument
• Recognising fallacies in argumentation
• How to judge the arguments of others

Aims

• Developing a clearer awareness of argumentation
• Arguing more effectively in own situations
• Learning how to formulate structured and compact arguments
• How to react to fallacies in argumentation
• Using argument models and frameworks

This course will be conducted online.
Technical requirements: Access to internet, laptop, camera, microphone, zoom (potentially).
Your email address will be forwarded to the trainer for organizational reasons.