The Nature of Arguments

Part six of a six-part series on critical reasoning. In this final lecture we will look at fallacies. These are bad arguments that can easily be mistaken for good arguments. 

Part five of a six-part series on critical reasoning. In this lecture we will continue with the evaluation of arguments - this time deductive arguments - focusing in particular on the notion of validity. 

In this first lecture, using Descartes famous argument for the claim “I think therefore I am’, we examine how to identify and evaluate arguments. 

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Ontological Argument. In the eleventh century St Anselm of Canterbury proposed that it was possible to prove the existence of God using reason alone. His argument was ridiculed by some of his contemporaries, but was analysed and improved by ...  Show more

Whenever you get into an argument, whether you're discussing politics with a colleague or the distribution of chores with your spouse, you likely feel like you're floundering. You feel worked up, but you don't feel like you're getting your point across, much less convincing th ...

James Grant, Lecturer in Philosophy at Oxford University, introduces some of the key concepts in philosophical debates about global poverty. He then discusses Peter Singer's argument that not donating to aid agencies is as wrong as letting a drowning child die.