Understanding "Argument"

IPFW, as you have probably figured out by now, places a premium on “critical thinking,” which means that we will not be arguing in this class strictly for the sake of argument. Instead we will be creating “supported” arguments, because unlike what you hear on talk radio and Faux News these days, positions that are based on documentable evidence and widespread experience are the only arguments that have any real value or merit. Anything else is just an opinion, and opinions are a lot like …. (can’t really go there here, but you can guess if you would like): everybody has one, which makes yours hardly unique or important.

That said, what exactly is an argument? I once had a student who scoffed at the idea that a stained glass window, for example, could be an argument. The more I tried to explain it, the more he resisted. I had the advantage, however, of having studied Art History in college (documentable evidence), not to mention that since then I had visited nearly every major cathedral in Europe and Central America (widespread experience), whereas his main exposure to art and history had been a trip to Disneyworld in Orlando. I understood the stories and historical significance behind the art of stained glass windows, because I had immersed myself in these issues (which, btw, are political and economic, as well as religious).

I’m not saying that my argument was better than his argument (but it certainly was more accurate); I’m simply saying that there are all kinds of messages coming at us from all different directions, and nearly each one is arguing that we should buy this product, act this way, vote that way, believe this, believe that, eat this, not eat that, whatever. Unless we learn how to interpret these messages, to see the “arguments” that are in them, we will always be at the mercy of the messenger.

That’s what critical thinking is – recognizing the real argument behind any message, pushing beyond the “conventional wisdom” to, as Jim Morrison put it “break on through to the other side.” The point here, then, is when you are in control of the messages, when you can see the arguments for themselves and how they really play out, then you are in charge of your own life and can thus make the best possible decisions, for your own good, for the good of your family, your children, your friends and neighbors. That’s one of the main points of going to college, and that’s why IPFW values critical thinking and places it high on their list of Baccalaureate Framework learning goals for you.

Photo Credit: I took this picture of Chartres Cathedral in 1970, when I was a soldier with the US Army Europe.