Chapter 7 was mainly about counterarguments. A counterargument is basically a way to point out a flaw that can coincide with an argument made. In doing this, you point out the negative aspects of the argument when only the positive was shown.
One way of countering an argument is by raising an objection. When you raise an objection, you find a flaw in one's argument or claim. In other words, someone's argument may be untrue or not 100% true.
For example, here is a conversation me and my sister had.
Me: That welsh corgi is sooooo cute!
Sister: They are NOT cute. They are loud. That is not cute and they look ugly too. (objection)
Me: You are just saying that because one bit your nose.
Sister: No, I am saying that because they are always fat and they are trouble makers. It bit my nose, and that's mean; not cute. They're stupid. (objection)
She's really just joking around but a corgi really did bite her nose. LOL
As you can see, my sister was raising objections for my claims because she disagreed with them. At the same time, she even provided personal opinions to back up her claim. I disagree with her most of her claims too but there's no need to raise another objection because I know she's just joking.
Another way of countering an argument is refuting it. When you refute an argument, you are pointing out that the argument is flawed. This can show that the conclusion for the argument is false. Here is an example of refuting an argument.
My boyfriend hates Shinx, Hello Kitty, Plusle, Croagunk, Blue Bear, and Mamegoma. All the characters I just mentioned are all cute cartoon animals. I can conclude that he hates all cute cartoon animals.
He actually saw this argument and refuted it. He mentioned that the premise, "All the characters I just mentioned are all cute cartoon animals," is not believed to be true, or was dubious. He doesn't believe it should be true because he and many others think Croagunk is a butt ugly pokemon. He also said that my argument was not 100% true because he adores most cute cartoon animals. Because of this, my argument was not very strong or valid because the conclusion will always be false or will always be unlikely. The conclusion will always be false because he does not hate all cute cartoon animals.
- Pink Bean
I could tell that you really understood this section of the reading. You gave lots of details and examples to help support what you learned. I liked your example you gave about a Corgi because you showed how sometimes people use personal opinion to make counter arguments so they are not always necessarily right either. In your argument with your brother about him not liking cartoon characters I really see why he would refute. It is true that the premise was dubious and not true because it was based on personal opinion to begin with. Your post really helped me apply what I learned in the reading to real circumstances.
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