Argumentative Dialogue Flashcards
What are the components of an argumentative dialogue?
The issue/thesis
The interlocutors (the viewpoints)
Rules of discussion
The use of arguments
What is the issue/thesis?
It’s the general subject matter the discussion is about.
What are the interlocutors?
Conversational agents made up of commitments (viewpoints), being the positions of the interlocutors on the subject matter (opinion/value judgment). These viewpoints are opposite - they are incompatible. The interlocutors can disagree in different ways.
What are the rules of discussion?
There is a conversational setting (the context) . Depending on the context and the goal, the interlocutors need to comply with different rules of discussion. This has to do with characteristics of civility: there are rules of dialogue to stop us from doing what we want to each other.
What involves the use of arguments?
An argumentative dialogue involves the use of arguments which are aimed at a specific conversational goal. It is made of moves, of taking turns.
In which ways can the interlocutors disagree?
There are two types of opposing viewpoints: dispute and dissent.
What is a dispute?
Dispute happens when there are two incompatible commitments. So, each party has its own viewpoint and that viewpoint results in a commitment - that commitment needs to be defended if attacked. Therefore, disputes involve a twofold possibility: attack or defense. The disputing party needs to be ready to defend - not only attack.
What is the outcome of a dispute?
The outcome of a dispute is not only a retraction of a viewpoint; it is the victory of the opposed one. Disputes are stronger strategies when we have to have a point made, not only a point retracted.
Examples of dispute?
X is good / X is bad
X is true / X is false
X is better / Y is better
All X are good / Some X are not good
All X are bad / Some X are not bad
What is a dissent?
Dissent happens when there is not commitment to the speaker’s thesis - only one party has a viewpoint which results in a commitment and so only that one commitment needs to be defended if attacked. One can simply have doubts about a viewpoint (questions the interlocutor).
What involves a dissent and what is the outcome?
Dissents involve one possibility by the dissenting party which is casting doubts and the outcome is only a retraction of a viewpoint. Dissents are stronger stronger strategies when we do not know the subject matter because it is much easier to cast doubts on X that to say that X is wrong.
Examples of dissents?
X is good
“Why?”
“I do not know.”
“Are you sure?”
What are the attacks in a dissent?
Attacks can happen in three different ways 1) denying the conclusion directly 2) showing an alternative conclusion (B is more reasonable than A); or 3) undermining the whole argument (A does not follow, as it is based on u reasonable grounds).
What are conversational rules/rules of discussion?
Different contexts limit the possibility of using some types of argument. The rules of discussion are 1) be relevant to the other move; 2) do not misrepresent the other’s view; 3) accept the intuitional rules of dialogue (a dialogue presupposes certain roles but these roles can be modified, if permissible).
