Argument Diagramming: Beginner to Advanced

An introduction to "Preliminaries: What is an Argument"

This lecture will introduce you to the important components of an argument.

Ok, now try applying what you've learned by doing some exercises. You will also find a supplemental .mp3 audio file in the downloads section which walks you through the solutions to the exercises. (Note: Once you download audio files, apparently you have to rename the file to add an extension .mp3 so that your computer will recognize the file and play it with the default media player.  This will be true of all the audio files from here out.)

Concluding remarks for "Preliminaries: What is an Argument?"

An Introduction to "Prose Analysis."

Learn how to identify the underlying structure of an argument by attending to special indicator words showing the location of premises and conclusions.

Learn how to identify the underlying structure of an argument by attending to special logic keywords within the statements of an argument.

In this video, you will learn to analyize prose for identifying common patterns of arguments. You will learn to distinguish inductive from deductive arguments, and you will learn the names and structure of some of the most common argument forms. This will help train your eye to identify arguments situtated in natural language selections.

In this lecture you will learn to analyize prose as a way of finding unsupported assertions. These include reports, illustrations, explanations, and conditionals.

In this lecture you will learn to analyze prose to identify excess verbiage. You'll cover discounts, repetitions, assurances, and hedges.

Ok, now try applying what you've learned by doing some exercises. You will also find supplemental video files in the downloads section which walk you through the solutions to these exercises.

A video on the Theory of Pragmatics

A synopsis of what was covered in the prose analysis section.

An introduction to the template on Marking Prose.

In this lecture you will gain an overview of the various mark-up indicators which get applied to a selection of prose. This pre-analysis of the prose is independently effective for understanding an argument and also of substantial use in preparing for clearly diagramming the argument.

Below are three videos by PhilHelper on fallacies, both formal and informal. They are well done, and will be helpful for seeing common forms of mis-functions of reason.

In this lecture, we’ll go through some prose examples, step by step, applying the marking method that you can get a feel for how it works for entire arguments.  Note that we have also included in the supplemental materials section a 'Marking Prose Summary Sheet' that you can refer to when marking your own arguments.  (Note: when you download this sheet, you'll have to rename it to add .pdf as an extension so your computer will use its default reader to open the file.)

Concluding Remarks on how to Mark Prose

An Introduction to Argument Sequence Diagrams

This lecture introduce the components, value, and basic layout of an argument sequence diagram. A sequence diagram captures the linear flow of explicit reasoning within the text while purposely omitting elements of prose not directly applicable to the embedded logical arguments at hand.

This lecture shows you various examples of how the structure of a sequence diagram reflects the structure of some argument already located in a prose selection. Example videos are provided for you in the 'downloadable materials' area.

Gives you a free, online computer assisted drafting tool for neatly and easily drawing your own diagrams.  Works with both sequence and class diagrams.

In this lecture, we’ll go through different arguments, step by step, applying the marking method to prose so that you can get a feel for how the marking technique applies to producing sequence diagrams for entire arguments.

Exercises in marking and sequence diagramming arguments.

Concluding Remarks on Sequence Diagrams.

You have earlier encountered the argument sequence diagram. In this lecture, you will now be introduced to another important tool for analysis, known as the argument 'class diagram'.

In this video, we take a few minutes with our favored too, umlet, to draw a simple class diagram.

Learn how to build a class diagram by looking at how a sequence diagram is structured.

Some concluding remarks on Class Diagrams.

A few introductory remarks concerning enthymemes.

In this lecture, we introduce the concept of enthymemes, and we discuss how to appropriately analyze them.

In this lecture you will learn how to use sequence diagrams to analyze enthymemetic arguments.

In this lecture you will learn how to use class diagrams to analyze enthymemetic arguments.

Three exercises in supplying hidden statements into enthymemes.

Concluding remarks on Enthymemes

A few introductory remarks concerning Rebuttals and how to Diagram them.

This lecture will introduce the two types of rebuttals that are used in argument diagramming -- namely, propositional rebuttals, and inferential rebuttals.

In this lecture, we're going to offer some tips and examples of how to spot rebuttals in prose. We will also cover different kinds of meta-indicators which bring attention to various kinds of rebuttals.

In this lecture, we'll look at how to map arguments that contain rebuttals onto argument sequence diagrams.

In this lecture, we'll look at how to map arguments that contain rebuttals onto argument class diagrams.

Five progressive exercises in diagramming rebuttals.

A few concluding remarks about Rebuttals.

A short introduction to the section on package diagrams and frames.

In this lecture we examine the basic components and uses of package diagrams.

In this lecture you will see how parts of a complex class diagram can be compressed into packages as a way of focusing attention on its most important components.

In this lecture we examine the 'frame', a space-saving device used in sequence diagrams.

In this lecture we take a large sequence diagram and use frames to compress some of the sub-arguments into frames.

In this lecture, we learn how to structure arguments and propositions into packages.

A synopsis on what was covered in the section on basic package diagrams and frames.

In this lecture, we introduce a teaching assistant, Ben Smith, who along with Prof. Montgomery work through the first way of the Cosmological Argument for God, as recounted by medieval philosopher/theologian Thomas Aquinas.

In this lecture, we continue looking at Thomas Aquinas' arguments with the Second Way.

In this lecture, we continue looking at Thomas Aquinas' arguments with the Third Way.

In this lecture, we continue looking at Thomas Aquinas' arguments with the Fourth Way.

Diagramming the fifth and final way of Aquinas' Cosmological argument.