Argumentation and Critical Decision Making

by Richard D. Rieke, Malcolm O. Sillars

This book examines the general principles of argument and then applies those principles to different spheres of life-politics, science, law, etc.--to explore how conventions of argument change when applied to real world arenas. A new chapter on evidence and argument in religion adds additional sphere to this edition and expands cultural diversity coverage. Projects at the end of each chapter allow readers to become actively involved in the material by applying the principles learned to real life. The book also employs real life examples throughout to help make the concepts clearer and help readers see the relevance of argumentative skills to their lives. For anyone interested in improving their argumentation skills.

Genres: Nonfiction, Communication, Philosophy

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[evil]

Me, like so many others, read this as a textbook for a course. For that purpose I suppose it did its job: now I know a hell of a lot more about argumentation, and most importantly I know the theoretical base of it. Perhaps I’ll pass this course 🤞

Personally I think there were some really cringe examples that didn’t exactly make it easier to understand the content but hey, that’s life. Also since this was written for the American folk it certainly had some traits and issues that don’t necessarily have such a big role in other societies. Nevertheless the opposing examples were a good way to show how argumentation really works in real life.

[Wandering Scribe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it for a course. It was mind-numbingly dull in both presentation and narration.

[John Sorensen]

A textbook for Speech 332. Well organized. I liked the explanation of spheres, and especially chapter 14 about argumentation in government, a MUST reread.

[Kristen Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Textbook for COMM 1270. It helped a lot in learning how to dissect argument and how to write your own.