Types of Reasoning
Types of Reasoning
Reasoning is the process of inferring conclusions from premises. The premises may be in the form of any of the various types of evidence; they may be stated as propositions; or they may be statements of conclusions reached through prior reasoning.
Thus advocates use the premises they have previously established or asserted, and by a process of reasoning, they try to establish something new—a conclusion they want their audience to accept. If the audience perceives the premises as well grounded and the reasoning as rhetorically sound, it will be likely to accept the conclusion.
I . THE DEGREE OF COGENCY
The degree of cogency is the extent to which an argument is both sound and intellectually compelling because it is well founded in fact, logic, or rationality.
(As we saw in Chapter 8, Toulmin used the term modal qualification to express this concept.) The degrees of cogency are certainty, probability, plausibility, or possibility. These may be thought of as existing on a continuum, represented by the following diagram.
These degrees of cogency are not discrete compartments; rather, they are terms used to suggest the relative compelling force of various logical proofs.
Absolute truth Certainty
....................Probability
....................Plausibility
....................Possibility.......................
A scintilla of truth
Miniglossary
Analogy, reasoning by The process of making a comparison between two similar cases and inferring that what is true in one case is true in the other.
Causal reasoning The process whereby one infers that a certain factor (a cause) is a force that produces something else (an effect).
Deduction Argument that begins with a broad generalization and moves to a more specific application or conclusion.
Degree of cogency The extent to which an argument is both sound and intellectually compelling because it is well founded in fact, logic, or rationality.
Example, reasoning by The process
Reasoning is the process of inferring conclusions from premises. The premises may be in the form of any of the various types of evidence; they may be stated as propositions; or they may be statements of conclusions reached through prior reasoning.
Thus advocates use the premises they have previously established or asserted, and by a process of reasoning, they try to establish something new—a conclusion they want their audience to accept. If the audience perceives the premises as well grounded and the reasoning as rhetorically sound, it will be likely to accept the conclusion.
I . THE DEGREE OF COGENCY
The degree of cogency is the extent to which an argument is both sound and intellectually compelling because it is well founded in fact, logic, or rationality.
(As we saw in Chapter 8, Toulmin used the term modal qualification to express this concept.) The degrees of cogency are certainty, probability, plausibility, or possibility. These may be thought of as existing on a continuum, represented by the following diagram.
These degrees of cogency are not discrete compartments; rather, they are terms used to suggest the relative compelling force of various logical proofs.
Absolute truth Certainty
....................Probability
....................Plausibility
....................Possibility.......................
A scintilla of truth
Miniglossary
Analogy, reasoning by The process of making a comparison between two similar cases and inferring that what is true in one case is true in the other.
Causal reasoning The process whereby one infers that a certain factor (a cause) is a force that produces something else (an effect).
Deduction Argument that begins with a broad generalization and moves to a more specific application or conclusion.
Degree of cogency The extent to which an argument is both sound and intellectually compelling because it is well founded in fact, logic, or rationality.
Example, reasoning by The process