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Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning

Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning consists of 24 lectures taught by Professor David Zarefsky, introducing the formal study of argumentation. The lectures are divided into five parts with what a group of lectures focus on: part 1 (lectures 1 through 4) reviews the intellectual and historical backgrounds of argumentation; part 2 (lectures 5 through 11) explores the strategies and tactics of argument construction, attack, and defense; part 3 (lectures 12 through 18) consider the components of argument in detail and examine how they work; part 4 (lectures 19 through 20) focuses on the appraisal of arguments; and part 5 (lectures 21 through 24) investigates how argumentation functions in society.

Lecture 01 - Introducing Argumentation and Rhetoric
Lecture 02 - Underlying Assumptions of Argumentation
Lecture 03 - Formal and Informal Argumentation
Lecture 04 - History of Argumentation
Lecture 05 - Argument Analysis and Diagramming
Lecture 06 - Complex Structures of Argument
Lecture 07 - Case Construction - Requirements and Options
Lecture 08 - Stasis - The Heart of Controversy
Lecture 09 - Attack and Defense I
Lecture 10 - Attack and Defense II
Lecture 11 - Language and Style in Argument
Lecture 12 - Evaluating Evidence
Lecture 13 - Reasoning from Parts to Whole
Lecture 14 - Reasoning with Comparisons
Lecture 15 - Establishing Correlations
Lecture 16 - Moving from Cause to Effect
Lecture 17 - Commonplaces and Arguments from Form
Lecture 18 - Hybrid Patterns of Inference
Lecture 19 - Validity and Fallacies I
Lecture 20 - Validity and Fallacies II
Lecture 21 - Arguments between Friends
Lecture 22 - Arguments among Experts
Lecture 23 - Public Argument and Democratic Life
Lecture 24 - The Ends of Argumentation