1. Communicating with Others “ We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” -Epictetus Chapter 1

3. SENDER MESSAGE CHANNEL RECEIVER    NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE FEEDBACK ENCODES DECODES TRANSMISSION MODEL OF COMMUNICATION

7. What is the Goal of Communication? -An argument occurs when there is disagreement, confusion, or ignorance about an issue to be resolved How is an argument solved? -If we seek the truth, we must find complete accuracy of propositions, statements, sentences, assertions, and beliefs. -Personal certainty does not equal truth. The Right Approach to Argumentation -Validity is the strength of our conclusions. -When we talk about validity we are referring to the internal Consistency of an argument.

8. Truth VS Validity How to recognize valid positions and finding most valid argument is the goal of a argumentation and critical thinking class Acquiring truth is not the goal of a course in argumentation and critical thinking Arguing validity promotes open-mindedness, encouraging constructive argumentation Arguing over truth promotes dogmatism, discouraging constructive argumentation Goal of validity is to find most valid argument, the most valid position can change as new info is found Based on self-esteem, Resolving truth arguments leads to a win or lose environment Threshold for validity is measured using the entire Continuum of Certainty Threshold of truth is measured by absolute certainty On any subject there can be many valid positions On any one subject there can be only one truth Internal consistency of an argument, conclusion reached is consistent with information used Complete accuracy, beyond doubt, dispute or debate

9. THRESHOLD Threshold refers to the degree of validity on the Continuum of Certainty that the addvocate must demonstate before an audience will commit to a decision. -Each audience and individual person has a different “breakthrough point” at which they are convinced of a specific argument. THE CONTINUUM OF ARGUMENTATIVE CERTAINTY 0%------------25%------------50%------------75%------------100% Opinion Assertion Inference Fact

10. The critical thinker should keep the following in mind when arguing outside the courtroom: -No two people necessarily have the same threshold on the same topics. -Audience adherence to a point of view is not possible until an advocate reaches the threshold of his or her target audience. -On some topics, people may have thresholds that cannot be reached at all. -Threshold will also vary depending on the topic. -Threshold is affected by both psychological and physiological conditions. -Threshold can be lowered.