Argument Spheres

Three main spheres of argumentation

"The personal sphere, the technical sphere, and the public sphere.

It's important to note that these spheres are not completely clear cut. For example, in reflective writing, you may be asked to include personal arguments based simply on your own experience and combine them with technical arguments."

Argumentation in the personal sphere

"It's transitory, limited in time and participants, and conducted without clear rules apart from those of every day common sense."

An example of argumentation in the personal sphere

"Imagine an argument between a son and his mother, because the son rides his bike without a helmet. The subject matter and the rules of the argument will be decided on by the mother and son. They'll use whatever examples or means they have to argue, which might include opinions from the son like “I don't want to ruin my hair.” Recollections from the mother about people she's heard of dying due to not wearing a helmet. And maybe even reference to technical argument and statistics. There is however, no careful attention paid to the types of reasoning used or the evidence given."

Argumentation in the technical sphere

"Arguments must adhere to a relatively strict set of rules and are aimed at a specialist audience. Arguments in the technical sphere are not just those of researchers and academics, but also professional groups."

An example of argumentation in the technical sphere

"Imagine that a researcher in public health comes to interview the mother and the son for a study she's conducting on attitudes towards bicycle helmets. She knows there are different arguments and opinions. The researcher also conducts a large number of interviews with other people, all of which are conducted carefully with predetermined questions and certain protocols. She then identifies some trends in what people think about wearing bicycle helmets, using accepted research methods. And she writes up the results according to the standards of academia and her discipline with reference to her data, footnotes, and the like. This study is then judged and reviewed by her peers before being published. Once published, the study can then be debated, but only according to the careful rules of her field and academia in general."

Argumentation in the public sphere

"It aimed at the general public, using a basic set of rules less rigorous than those in the technical sphere, but more rigorous than those in the personal. And it often tries to sway opinion or values."

Source

https://www.coursera.org/learn/critical-thinking-skills/home/info

Vocabulary

Common sense - the ability to behave in a sensible (reasonable, practical) way and make practical decisions.

Rigorous - very severe or strict. To follow rigorous rules.

To address - if you address a problem, you start trying to solve it. To address issues.

Evidence - facts or signs that show clearly that something exists or is true

Transcend [trænˈsɛnd]- to go beyond the usual limits of something. Transcend personal and technical boundaries

Predetermined [ˌpriːdɪˈtɜːmɪnd] - decided or arranged before something happens, so that it does not happen by chance. Predetermined questions

Transitory [ˈtrænsɪtəri]- continuing or existing for only a short time

Adhere to something - to continue to behave according to a particular rule, agreement, or belief

Academia [ˌækəˈdiːmɪə]- the activities and work done at universities and colleges, or the teachers and students involved in it.

To sway - to influence someone so that they change their opinion

Abide by something - to accept and obey a decision, rule, agreement etc, even though you may not agree with it