Stuart Greene

While reading the article by Stuart Greene I learned a few different things. First, I really agree with the very first sentence of the article. “Argument is very much a part of what we do every day.” I don’t think that could be any truer. I don’t think that there is a day that goes by where I don’t have an “argument” with someone. Whether it is trying to convince my dad of something or having a heated debate with a co-worker on medical ethics. From this article, I learned the importance of finding out whom else has argued the position you are trying to take, and what were some of the conflicts associated with it. On page 146 the author states “Like verbal conversations you have with others, effective arguments never take place in a vacuum; they take into account previous conversations that have taken place about the subject under discussion.” This sentence only reinforces the importance of taking previous work on your subject matter into account. I also learned that the way you position yourself within an argument is based on three things. The first being what arguments you share that were previously stated, secondly what arguments you want to refute that were previously stated, and lastly what new information and arguments do you want to bring to the paper. I also liked in the conclusion where the author said “research can be conceived as the discovery and purposeful use of information.” This article was helpful to read and learn about what makes up an effective argument.