Evaluating an Argument

   I don’t believe in everything I read or hear because I think people should be skeptical. We should doubt things rather than putting in all our trust, or else we would only result in getting deceived easily. Throughout our lives, we have heard about lots of things, and everyone determines what and what not to believe by own standard. For me, when encountering statements that are too boastful, exaggerated, or beyond normal human capabilities, I choose not to believe until my eyes really see what happened.

    In evaluating the effectiveness of an attempt at persuasion, I generally go on a “gut” instinct about an argument. To me, feeling matters more than logic, so it’s the emotion that’s guiding me rather than the brain. When hearing upon arguments, I would first see whether an argument fits my taste. If I like an argument, then I would go into the process of breaking it down and thinking about its reason to make sure it has good and strong support that wouldn’t be defeated easily. After digesting all arguments that I like, I would go back to other arguments that I didn’t pick at first. Then, I would think about these arguments and check if their reasoning is firm enough. In the end, I would compare and contrast between arguments I prefer and don’t prefer, and this is the time when logic comes in. My brain would then help me to determine what’s believable or trustworthy and what’s not.

    Knowing how to evaluate an argument can help me to construct one of my own because by tearing down the argument piece by piece, I would then know what are the supportive points and reasons that defense well. In addition, I would know what to avoid in order not to get ruthless attacks over and over.