Written by David Zarefsky
Read by David Zarefsky
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 32 Kbps



This series of 24 lectures examines a common but understudied aspect of human communication: argumentation. Far from the stereotypes of contentiousness or quarrelsomeness, argumentation is the study of reasons given by people to justify their acts or beliefs and to influence the thought or action of others. It is concerned with communication that seeks to persuade others through reasoned judgment. The course is introductory in that it does not presume any prior study of argumentation. Because all of us practice argumentation, however, the course is also sophisticated in that it offers a systematic analysis, a precise vocabulary, and a philosophical foundation for what all too often is an activity that we conduct intuitively and unconsciously.

Course Lecture Titles
24 Lectures
30 minutes / lecture


1 Introducing Argumentation and Rhetoric
2 Underlying Assumptions of Argumentation
3 Formal and Informal Argumentation
4 History of Argumentation Studies
5 Argument Analysis and Diagramming
6 Complex Structures of Argument
7 Case Construction—Requirements and Options
8 Stasis—The Heart of the Controversy
9 Attack and Defense I
10 Attack and Defense II
11 Language and Style in Argument
12 Evaluating Evidence
13 Reasoning from Parts to Whole
14 Reasoning with Comparisons
15 Establishing Correlations
16 Moving from Cause to Effect
17 Commonplaces and Arguments from Form
18 Hybrid Patterns of Inference
19 Validity and Fallacies I
20 Validity and Fallacies II
21 Arguments between Friends
22 Arguments among Experts
23 Public Argument and Democratic Life
24 The Ends of Argumentation