An argument by example (also known as argument from example) is an argument in which a claim is supported by providing examples. Most conclusions drawn in surveys and carefully
controlled experiments are arguments by example and
generalization. Studies that analyze past speeches also draw conclusions by taking specific examples of communication and inferring generalizations from them.[1]
Arguments from example may be difficult to recognize because they can look like mere illustration.[2] For example:
Taxonomists use Latin words to classify various animals into such categories as kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. Thus, some species of bear are Ursus americanus (American black bear), Ursus arctos (brown bear), and Ursus maritimus (polar bear).
Though the above paragraph contains a common conclusion indicator word ("thus"), it nevertheless is merely illustrating a fact of taxonomy. However, this could be made into an argument.
Taxonomists use Latin words to classify various animals so that scientists who speak different languages can communicate discoveries more easily. For example, a French biologist might describe an interesting characteristic of ours blanc to a Greek biologist. The Greek biologist might then respond that she has noted a similar characteristic in πολική αρκούδα. If they had begun by calling the animal Ursus arctos, they might have saved time and avoided confusion.
In this case, the writer is trying to persuade the reader of the utility of taxonomy.
^Reinard, John C. "Composing the Communication Argument: The Reasoning and the Evidence". California State University, Fullerton. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
^Patrick J. Hurley (1 January 2011). A Concise Introduction to Logic. Cengage Learning. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-0-8400-3417-5. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
and 29 Related for: Argument by example information
An argumentbyexample (also known as argument from example) is an argument in which a claim is supported by providing examples. Most conclusions drawn...
showing that its form is invalid. This can be done by a counter example of the same form of argument with premises that are true under a given interpretation...
precedent set by one case would literally make it impossible to convict any bank robbers is remote. Another example of a strawman argument is U.S. president...
attribute of the person making an argument rather than attacking the substance of the argument itself. This avoids genuine debate by creating a personal attack...
linguistics. Logic studies arguments, which consist of a set of premises together with a conclusion. An example is the argument from the premises "it's Sunday"...
called proof by contradiction. The "absurd" conclusion of a reductio ad absurdum argument can take a range of forms, as these examples show: The Earth...
regress is vicious (e.g. by showing that it is implausible given the limitations of the human mind). In this example, the argument has a negative form since...
teleological argument (from τέλος, telos, 'end, aim, goal'; also known as physico-theological argument, argument from design, or intelligent design argument) is...
Such an argument is called a valid argument, for example: all men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal. For valid arguments, it is...
mathematics, an argument of a function is a value provided to obtain the function's result. It is also called an independent variable. For example, the binary...
For example in law, in courts by the judge, the parties and the prosecutor, in presenting and testing the validity of evidences. Also, argumentation scholars...
An argument map or argument diagram is a visual representation of the structure of an argument. An argument map typically includes all the key components...
cosmological arguments. Other arguments for the existence of God have been proposed by St. Anselm, who formulated the first ontological argument; Thomas Aquinas...
ontological argument is a philosophical argument, made from an ontological basis, that is advanced in support of the existence of God. Such arguments tend to...
One such factor is the form of the argument: for example, people draw valid inferences more successfully for arguments of the form modus ponens than of...
A cosmological argument, in natural theology, is an argument which claims that the existence of God can be inferred from facts concerning causation, explanation...
addressing the claims, but in this case the ill feeling is not created by the argument; it already exists. Using the language of set theory, the formal fallacy...
through one or more examples or cases—rather than a full-fledged proof. The structure, argument form and formal form of a proof byexample generally proceeds...
doomsday argument was originally proposed by the astrophysicist Brandon Carter in 1983, leading to the initial name of the Carter catastrophe. The argument was...
considered as a function of its distributional parameterization argument. For example, consider a model which gives the probability density function f...
ordinary conversation. Many different argumentation schemes have been identified. Each one has a name (for example, argument from effect to cause) and presents...
impossible, or where an argument is incorrectly made that a position is correct simply because it is in the middle. An example of an argument to moderation would...
person using the tactic is often sarcastic in their argument. This dialogue presents an example of appeal to ridicule: Person A: At one time in prehistory...
construction of an argument that may appear to be well-reasoned if unnoticed. The term was introduced in the Western intellectual tradition by the Aristotelian...
Ad nauseam is a Latin term for an argument or other discussion that has continued to the point of nausea. For example, "this has been discussed ad nauseam"...
more arguments. Usually, each argument must be specified in full (this is the case in the C programming language). Later languages (for example, in C++)...
described. By extension, an argument can contain a formal fallacy even if the argument is not a deductive one; for instance an inductive argument that incorrectly...
identified other limitations in the following decades. For example, they concluded that Rogerian argument is less likely to be appropriate or effective when communicating...
to an argument in which the premises assume the conclusion without supporting it. This makes it an example of circular reasoning. Some examples are: "People...
Global Information