Arguments from Ignorance explores the situations in which the argument from ignorance (also known as the lack-of-knowledge inference, negative evidence, or default reasoning) functions as a respectable form of reasoning and those in which it is indeed fallacious. Douglas Walton draws on everyday conversations on all kinds of practical matters in which the argumentum ad ignorantiam is used quite appropriately to infer conclusions. He also discusses the inappropriate use of this kind of argument, referring to various major case studies, including the Salem witchcraft trials, the McCarthy hearings, and the Alger Hiss case.This book makes an original contribution in the areas of argumentation theory and informal logic, contending that, despite its traditional classification as a fallacy, the argument from ignorance is a genuine, very common, and legitimate type of argumentation with an identifiable structure. But the book is also interdisciplinary in scope, explaining many widely interesting and controversial subjects in artificial intelligence, medical education, philosophy of science, and philosophy of law in a clear way that makes it accessible to a broad range of readers.
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Douglas Walton is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Winnipeg. He is the author of many books, including The Place of Emotion in Argument (Penn State, 1992), Plausible Argument in Everyday Conversation (SUNY, 1992), and Slippery Slope Arguments (Oxford, 1992).
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First Sentence:
A man is sitting inside a warehouse that has a tin roof and no windows. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
A man is sitting inside a warehouse that has a tin roof and no windows. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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11
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- Handbook of the Logic of Argument and Inference: The Turn Towards the Practical (Studies in Logic and Practical Reasoning) by R.H. Johnson on page 372, and page 396
- Philosophy in Classical India: An Introduction and Analysis by Jonardon Ganeri in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Philosophy in Classical India: An Introduction and Analysis by Jonardon Ganeri in Back Matter
- Fallacies and Argument Appraisal (Critical Reasoning and Argumentation) by Christopher W. Tindale on page 126
- Fundamentals of Critical Argumentation (Critical Reasoning and Argumentation) by Douglas Walton on page 322
See all 11 books citing this book
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