The skills of argument

• Main Author: Kuhn, Deanna (Author)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: New York Cambridge University Press 1991; Cambridge
• Subjects: Reasoning (Psychology) > Case studies
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.
• Physical Description: 324 pages illustrations 24 cm
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (p [312]-317) and index
• ISBN: 0521404517; 052142349X (pbk.)

The Skills of Argument presents a comprehensive, empirical study of informal reasoning as argument, involving subjects across the life span. Professor Kuhn asked her subjects questions that people have occasion to think and talk about in everyday life, such as "What causes prisoners to return to crime after they are released?" "What causes unemployment?" "What causes children to fail in school?" Subjects were asked to offer their own theories regarding the cause of the phenomenon and then asked to provide supporting evidence for their theories. This is the first major study of how people reason in everyday life, and it highlights the importance of argumentative reasoning in everyday thought. Professor Kuhn's findings address crucial issues in cognitive and developmental psychology, as well as in education, and her work will also appeal to philosophers, political scientists, and linguists interested in argumentative discourse.