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This site provides a field guide for the identification and critical evaluation of all kinds of arguments and commonly recurring types of problem or question.

The Argument Guide is really a pair of “field guides” structured as identification keys. One is a guide to the full range of arguments, from the deductive inferences common to mathematical proofs to the statistical and causal arguments that shape public policy, to the wild and woolly inferences when draw on when nothing else works. For each kind of argument in the guide, you’ll find a discussion of structure of such an argument and the conditions under which it is valid or strong. You’ll learn tips for spotting arguments of that sort, and what questions to ask anyone trying to convince you of a claim by appealing to such an argument. If you want to know whether you’re looking at an argument by analogy or an inference to the best explanation, consult the argument guide. If you want to know under what conditions an appeal to a statistical p-value makes a compelling case for some claim, consult the argument guide.

The second is a guide to commonly recurring types of problem or question, such as: What’s the best choice? Does X cause Y? Which explanation should I believe? Is there a way to automate this? Each type of question is associated with one or more kinds of argument that are commonly used to justify or even produce answers to that sort of problem. So, for example, we often appeal to statistical arguments to answer questions about whether a treatment made a difference. We appeal to various optimality arguments when to find and justify answers to questions about choosing the best.

To identify arguments or problems, you will use a “key”. A key is a series of questions that helps you narrow down the possibilities until only a few are left. This is a common tool in other disciplines, particular in biology, where it’s important to identify efficiently and with confidence. For each question, you can choose to read a detailed explanation complete with a set of tips for recognizing the right answer and examples to show you how the question applies.

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