Week 8/27: Question 3

The concept I found the most helpful is the section “Recognizing an Argument” by Boss where she first explains the difference between argument and rhetoric. Rhetoric is used more for persuasion and to convince people of what one is proposing. It can be misused as a way to argue which is not ideal because it can lead to sensitivity to criticism and others’ opinions whereas arguments give rational reasons and as Boss mentions, “you are more likely to move toward truth” (170). Boss goes further in what makes an argument by explaining what a proposition is, a statement expressing something that can neither be true or false. Boss also explains what premises and conclusions are. Premises are reliable facts that support the conclusion which is basically what one is trying to reason out. In this section, Boss further explains what explanations and conditional statements are which may be part of but not the argument itself. Explanation is just what the word is – how or why something happened. Conditional statements are “if/then” statements. Overall, the propositions that constitute an argument are premise(s) and the conclusion.