So what are the 3 things that every argument needs to have?
1. Terms must be unambiguous
2. Premise must be true
3. Argument must be logical
But how many times are these point so easily strayed from?
How many times are people talking in circles while simply defining a word differently?
Or you see someone start from – what they think – is an axiomatic premise – and you are disagreeing before their first sentence comes out.
We could all do better at this.
Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy at Boston College, has briefly addressed the importance of correct argumentation in his book Three Philosophies of Life . In a subsection “Rules for Talking Back,” he writes the following: Three things must go right with any argument: (1) The terms must be unambiguous (2) The premises must be true (3) The argument must be logical.
–Ravi Zacharias, The Real Face of Atheism
