Speaking week six

Identifying arguments

Introduction

An important part of academia, and life in general, is recognising arguments that differ from your own. We're using the word argument here to mean an informed opinion based on evidence. Note that this is different from an opinion in the general sense, such as whether you think York is an interesting place to live, or whether Marmite is a crime against humanity. The important difference with an academic argument is that you can explain in a rational way why you think it's convincing.

We can practise articulating arguments for and against a particular position with controversies which are in the news at the moment. For example:

Should financial reparations be paid to the descendants of slaves in the US?

For: Slavery was abolished in the US in 1865, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination against people based on skin colour; nevertheless, having black skin in America today still comes with social and economic disadvantage. African American communities have never fully recovered from discriminatory policies of the 20th century, which kept wealth in the hands of white people, and a significant wealth gap between blacks and whites exists in the US to this day. The state owes a financial debt to the descendants of slavery.
Against: Giving people money does not solve racism. If racist policies drive inequalities then they should be overhauled. Awarding money to people based on their skin colour reinforces racial divisions, and ignores broader problems of inequality within communities such as access to education and healthcare. Furthermore, race alone is not a proxy for social-economic status. There are many descendants of slaves who are well-off and many white people who live in poverty. We need to address inequality generally rather than focusing on race.

Ta-Nehisi Coates: The case for reparations (2014).

Coleman Hughes: Reparations and Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Pyrrhic Victory (2019)

Image from The Atlantic.

Image from Gspellchecker

The Economist Debates: image from The 27 minute buzz blog

Identifying individual arguments

The term argument can also refer to the individual reasons why something is a good or bad idea. The image here is one of a series of adverts run by The Economist which identifies the most common arguments for and against a particular action.

Task 1

Read the arguments for and against, and discuss in pairs which you think are most convincing. Can you add any more to each list?

Task 2

The Economist has an archive of debates that it has held over the years. Read through and find a debate topic that you think looks interesting. Share your findings in groups, and identify the main arguments on both sides.

Critical discussion

Using the texts we've looked at this week, discuss in groups: should modern cities convert more green spaces and parks into housing developments?

Further discussion topics

In groups, identify three arguments for and against for each of the following topics before arriving at your own opinion:

A baker who also holds strong religious beliefs refused to bake a cake for a same sex couple because they wanted it carry the message 'support same-sex marriage'. Is this discrimination, or is the baker's decision justified?
Should LGBT education be part of school curriculum?
Should we be learning English?
Should terminally ill people have the right to choose to die?
Should America make guns illegal?
Should Brexit.... no, never mind.
Should we invest in driverless cars?
Should higher education be free?

Summary

Finding the controversy and understanding various viewpoints within a topic is an important skill which will really help you in your academic studies. Critical thinking, engaging in debate and arriving at an informed opinion are what most of your lecturers will be looking for in one form or another.

One final point to note is that it helps to always go into any discussion like this being willing to change your mind. Maybe there are good counter arguments to a position that you've never thought of before. Maybe you've always thought that immigration is a good/bad idea. In this case, you're likely to find arguments that support your existing view very convincing, and be naturally skeptical of arguments for the other side. This is called confirmation bias, and we all have it, unfortunately, and everyone needs to correct for it sometimes.

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