Week 5_2/10/16_Argumentation

Argumentation is the interdisciplinary study of how conclusions can be reached through logical reasoning. It includes the arts and sciences of civil debates, dialogue, conversation, and persuasion.

            Personally, I am not surrounded by a lot of arguments. With that being said, not all arguments have to be mean and brutal. If someone disagrees with the statement of someone else, they can simply state their own thought and then explain their sides. An argumentative topic that has been happening a lot lately is on politics. The other day standing in line for lunch, I overheard two students arguing over whether or not they thought voting was even worth their time. That seems to be a popular topic recently with the elections coming up. I never get into those arguments with anyone because I am not well educated in politics yet, although I plan to look into it more and become more involved. With students and adults in general, they argue because they have different beliefs. The argument going on in a lot of places has been to vote for Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders. Trump is republican and Sanders is democratic, so we can see where the argument comes into place. As well as them being different, on the spectrum they believe in their views very much. These arguments do not accomplish anything because either way people are still going to have their beliefs. If anything, arguing will make a person dislike another topic even more than they already did. In my opinion, arguing does not help people. Whomever the argument is between, the argument could hurt the person. Depending on what the topic of an argument is, some can be very sensitive. If an opposing side says the slightest thing, it could upset the person who is in the argument. In some cases, argumentation could help people. As much as people do not like to admit when they’re in the wrong, arguing can help individuals realize something they might not have realized if it were not brought up to them. In the long run, argumentation can be helpful.

            In my classes here at SLU, argumentation is only encouraged in a select few. Since I am a health science major, there is not a lot of arguing on whether or not a compound is polar or nonpolar. In my philosophy class, the professor encourages argumentation because he wants to hear everyone’s thoughts on different philosophers. Besides hearing peoples’ thoughts, the argumentation is used to persuade others and get them to accept the conclusion a philosopher has come to. Other than philosophy and this class, argumentation is not encouraged. From previous years, professors enjoy argumentation for the most part. They enjoy seeing students really look into a topic and trying to find a better understanding of the information. Unless the student is coming off as rude, professors enjoy argumentation and criticism. Criticism is not meant to hurt anyone but to make them better.

            All in all, besides lately, argumentation is not around me all the time. This class is making me better at backing up my arguments and using the opposing side to make mine stronger.