Leo Groarke

_Good Reasoning Matters!_ teaches students how to decipher, evaluate, analyze, construct, and engage in argument. This sixth edition incorporates many timely topics, including the impact of artificial intelligence and social media on how we propose and respond to arguments. The instruction in the book is rooted in traditional philosophical understandings of argument, but is expanded to account for the complexities that characterize real-life arguments. This includes an examination of the role that images, sounds, and other non-verbal components play in attempts to convince us of some point of view—in advertising, television, YouTube, film, interpersonal exchange, and elsewhere. Numerous and varied exercises—formative within the chapters and summative at their end—help students improve their reading, reasoning, and writing skills. Instructors will find the text is informed by research in digital pedagogy and works well in a variety of course formats: in-person, remote, hybrid, and synchronous or asynchronous delivery. The authors’ expertise in argumentation theory and decades of teaching experience ensure that this book prepares students for the complexities of arguing in the 21st century.

_Good Reasoning Matters!_ teaches students how to decipher, evaluate, analyze, construct, and engage in argument. This sixth edition incorporates many timely topics, including the impact of artificial intelligence and social media on how we propose and respond to arguments. The instruction in the book is rooted in traditional philosophical understandings of argument, but is expanded to account for the complexities that characterize real-life arguments. This includes an examination of the role that images, sounds, and other non-verbal components play in attempts to convince us of some point of view—in advertising, television, YouTube, film, interpersonal exchange, and elsewhere. Numerous and varied exercises—formative within the chapters and summative at their end—help students improve their reading, reasoning, and writing skills. Instructors will find the text is informed by research in digital pedagogy and works well in a variety of course formats: in-person, remote, hybrid, and synchronous or asynchronous delivery. The authors’ expertise in argumentation theory and decades of teaching experience ensure that this book prepares students for the complexities of arguing in the 21st century.

Good Reasoning Matters!: A Constructive Approach to Critical Thinking, fifth edition, offers a straightforward and practical introduction to the principles of good reasoning. In addition to examining the most common features of faulty reasoning, the text introduces a variety of argument schemes and rhetorical techniques that will help students solve problems and construct sound arguments. Extensive exercises and examples taken from sources such as social media sites, newspapers, and topical news articles encourage students to consider a wide range of views and perspectives. With new features including a glossary, chapter summaries, and extensive revised exercises throughout, Good Reasoning Matters! is an essential text for courses in critical reasoning.

Michael Gilbert’s multi-modal theory of argument challenges earlier accounts of arguing assumed in formal and informal logic. His account of emotional, visceral, and kisceral modes of arguing rejects the assumption that all arguments must be treated as instances of one “logical mode.” This paper compares his alternative modes to other modes proposed by those who have argued for visual, auditory, and other “multimodal” modes of arguing. I conclude that multi-modal and multimodal (without the hyphen) modes are complementary. Collectively, they represent an important attempt to radically expand the scope of informal logic and the argumentation that it studies.

This article discusses “auditory” arguments: arguments in which non-verbal sounds play a central role. It provides examples and explores the use of sounds in argument and argumentation. It argues that auditory arguments are not reducible to verbal arguments but have a similar structure and can be evaluated by extending standard informal logic accounts of good argument. I conclude that an understanding of auditory elements of argument can usefully expand the scope of informal logic and argumentation theory.

Sceptical arguments have played a seminal role in the development of philosophical thought. The thesis considers traditional sceptical arguments and their application to a variety of issues. Four major topics--the external world, logic and mathematics, ethics, and the problem of other minds--are discussed in detail. Three other topics are discussed to a lesser extent. In each case, the dissertation defends the sceptical conclusion that it is impossible to build a rational basis for belief, and examines this conclusion in light of traditional dogmatism and contemporary developments in analytic philosophy. Wittgenstein's works serve as a basis for the discussion of recent views

Both 'persuasion' and 'rational convincing' play a major role in argumentative discourse but only the latter is said to constitute argument and be amenable to traditional logical analysis. I argue against this assumption by showing that there are many paradigmatic instances of persuasion which are best understood as implicit arguments. So understood, acts of persuasion can conform to well recognized argument schemata and are best assessed accordingly. I shall argue that the attempt to distinguish arg ument and persuasion is fraught with difficulties. I contrast my conclusions with those of authors like Gilbert, Johnson, and Johnson and Blair.

Informal logic is an attempt to develop a logic that can assess and analyze the arguments that occur in natural language discourse. Discussions in the field may address instances of scientific, legal, and other technical forms of reasoning, but the overriding aim has been a comprehensive account of argument that can explain and evaluate the arguments found in discussion, debate and disagreement as they manifest themselves in daily life — in social and political commentary; in news reports and editorials in the mass media ; in advertising and corporate and governmental communications; and in personal exchange.

Is restructuring an underhanded way to make the rich richer and the poor poorer? Or is it necessary, although bitter, medicine for an ailing economy? In The Ethics of the New Economy: Restructuring and Beyond, professionals from the fields of philosophy, ethics, management, as well as those representing the groups affected by restructuring, tackle thorny ethical issues. Referring to concrete case studies, these timely essays discuss a variety of topics, including justified and unjustified restructuring; employers’ obligations during the restructuring process; equity issues; the rise of part-time employment; the effects of restructuring on communities; the internal risks faced by restructuring corporations; deprofessionalization in health care; the consequences of restructuring in the developing world; philanthropy and cause-related marketing; corporate “judo” and restructuring; and responsible and irresponsible restructuring.