A Rulebook for Arguments | Anthony Weston | Highly recommended for younger readers

A Rulebook for Arguments | Anthony Weston | A Concise Treatise On Argumentation

books:

A Rulebook for Arg...

	A Rulebook for Arguments Anthony Weston Hackett Pub Co Inc, 2000 - 90 pages average customer review:based on 41 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Highly recommended for younger readers

I was lead to believe that this book was more detailed but that's a misunderstanding on my part. At the very end of the book the author writes "the subject of this book is usually labeled 'critical thinking'.....If you are a high school or college student and want to learn more about the subject, look for courses with these titles being offered in your school." This is a good point showing the type of reader which would benefit the most from this book. If you are a high school student or a college freshman, this book may be of interest to you. If you have taken some courses like mentioned above, or some philosophy courses or you are a maturer book reader, you will probably get little from this book. For instance, some of the sections (rules) are titled "seek impartial sources", "personal attack do not disqualify a source", "explore the arguments on all sides of the issue", etc. However, the author seems to have written the book for younger readers so the fact that it is too simplistic is not a negativity for the book, but just a point to take into consideration for the reader before deciding to buy it.

The book is short (87 pages) but concise. In a rule based format it shows how to approach an argument, how to reach a conclusion based on evidence instead of preconceived notions or prejudices, and how to explain your conclusion clearly. In the introduction, the author writes "Arguments are attempts to support certain views with reasons.....Argument in this sense is a means of inquiry". The first 30 rules of the book is about this inquiry. These rules are numbered 1 thru 30. Also in the introduction the author writes "Once we have arrived at a conclusion that is well supported by reasons, argument is how we explain and defend it. A good argument doesn't merely repeat conclusions. Instead it offers reasons and evidence so that other people can make up their minds for themselves". The second half of the book is about this definition of arguments. In 17 rules (numbered A1 thru D3) it shows how to plan and write an essay to explain your view on a subject. Another section called "fallacies", defines fallacies as misleading arguments and gives examples of some classical fallacies and shows why they are illogical or why they violate the rules of good arguments.

Potential buyers can click the "check inside" link at the top of this page and see the complete list of rules to get a better idea about the book. (When I wrote this review, "check inside" was available)

Overall, it is a concise, well-explained and beneficial book for the target readers.

for more information click here

A Concise Treatise On Argumentation

Anthony Weston has written one of the most useful books I have seen in years. In this slim volume he explains the rules to successful argument construction, beginning with the premise that an argument is not a disagreement, but rather is a collected series of statements used to establish the validity of a position.

While brief, the book explains in lucid text, readily grasped examples, and simple formulas the structure of logically valid arguments and also explains the nature of fallacies, and how to spot fallacious arguments.

I think that the most useful chapter in the book is chapter six, "Deductive Arguments." This chapter is mandatory reading for anyone who needs to understand logical reasoning, and is by far the most lucid and brief explanation of the six most common forms of deductive arguments that I have ever seen. The first three of these are fairly obvious, but the sections on hypothetical syllogisms, disjunctive syllogisms, and "reductio ad absurdum" (reduction to absurdity) constructions are somewhat less self-evident and should be thoroughly understood before proceeding with the remainder of the book. I also found the example of an advanced "modus tollens" (i.e., if p then q; not-q; therefore not-p) argument from astronomer Fred Hoyle regarding the origin of the universe and the one-way conversion of hydrogen into helium to be superior to (and more concise than) any other example of this construction I have seen in other books.

The final sections of the book deal with writing argumentative essays. This section is extremely useful to students, and I would recommend that students read this as early in their academic careers as possible (high school, possibly middle school for some students); certainly I recommend this to any college student: the lessons in the 87 pages of this book will enable a lifetime of discerning logic. Likewise, this book serves as an excellent introduction or review of basic logical argument construction for anyone, and is especially useful to people in careers such as law, labor negotiations, and journalism.

This is an excellent book. It is quick to read, but has powerful lessons. Keep it handy on your bookshelf.

I highly recommend this book.

for more information click here

A Basic Introduction to Clear Thinking and Writing

When I was an undergraduate taking English 1A one of the books on our reading list was Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. I read it and it turned out to be the most helpful book I read that quarter, at least in terms of improving my writing. If I had known about a book like Weston's A Rulebook for Arguments then I would have read it together with Strunk and White, and I suspect that I would have written noticeably better essays than I in fact wrote at the time. In the final chapter which discusses Next Steps and further reading, Weston notes that The Elements of Style is a book of much in the spirit of his own, and that they should be kept together on the shelf. I agree completely.

The book is brief and to the point, and as noted in another review, is a model of conciseness. It nevertheless includes a surprising amount of information and examples of the points that Weston wants you to remember. Weston starts simply, discussing short arguments and presenting general and reasonable rules to follow, and he then advances to cover somewhat more complex ideas. There is a brief interlude that introduces some simple concepts of logic, and he then proceeds to talking about how to put the rules together to write a convincing essay. The rules are straightforward and the examples are clear and straightforward and they illustrate the concepts well. At the end of the book there is a brief section that defines different fallacies in arguments, and a final section on how to define terms so that you will better understand what you're writing about and how your readers will then better understand what you're writing about.

I would have appreciated this book years ago, but even so I think that reading it has improved some of the writing that I do professionally now. Even though it is directed primarily towards advanced placement high school students and college students early in their college careers, I suspect anyone who has not already had formal exposure to logic or a class in critical thinking will find it helpful. I have two children who have started college in the last couple of years, and it seems that books like this are not being consistently recommended to them. I expect that I will be sending my copy of A Rulebook for Arguments to my youngest son who is now a freshman in college, as I hope he will benefit from it as much as I did.

for more information click here

A helpful guide to logic and writing

Weston's "Rule book for arguments" provides a fairly comprehensive, yet brief, guide to developing arguments in written and spoken contexts. It is essentially a guide for college students to use to help them form well-rounded, and water-tight, arguments. A key strength of this book is that it provides examples, and it links the art of making arguments to the context of writing academic essays.

The book covers the basics of logic, and fallacies in formal and informal logic. In addition, its author makes helpful suggestions about how to best use evidence within an argument to support a position. I think this book would make an excellent companion to a writing-style guide such as "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White.

In trying to be brief, Weston's approach does run the risk of being overly taxing on his readers' memories. He uses cross-references and abreviations (e.g., rule number 1, 2, 3, etc.) as space-saving devices. Unfortunately, what this means is that people have to either remember the new information AND its associated number, or they have to flick back and forth within the book. In either case this is distracting and hence I've not given the book the full 5 stars.

for more information click here

For the Beginner

A Rulebook for Arguments could be of great help to those that are completely unfamiliar with the subject. However, if you've ever attended an introductory lesson explaining methods of argumentation then this book may not be of any help to you (Such as what you'd receive in an Intro Philosophy course, or probably AP English). Nevertheless, I could see it being very helpful to high school students who need to know how to support their views in argumentative essays and debates. Because of that and because it is very succinct and easy to read, I give it 4 stars.

for more information click here