Читать книгу Making Arguments: Reason in Context - Edmond H. Weiss - Страница 17

It may sound strange to suggest that we argue all the time. That conjures an image of everyone disagreeing with everyone else, without cessation. “Nice day,” someone says. “You think so, prove it,” comes the response.

When we say we argue all the time, we mean that the disposition to assess claims rationally (with evidence and justification) is always with us during our waking hours (and perhaps even while we are dreaming). Thinking, speaking, and writing are part of a continuum of intellectual activity that goes on in us all the time. We are always working out what is the rational response to the situation, whether or not we choose to act in accordance with that response. The smoker knows every good reason not to smoke (he’s worked it out argumentatively). The student knows the night before an exam may not be the best time to drink (but might do so anyway). Before going into a meeting with her boss, a young executive is rehearsing in her mind all the arguments she will use in asking for a raise.

To the extent that we are nearly always considering the reasons to do this or that, choosing among alternative paths and building a case to support the choice… to that extent our lives are filled with rational arguments.