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Informal Logic: A Pragmatic Approach

Informal Logic is an introductory guidebook to the basic principles of constructing sound arguments and criticizing bad ones. Non-technical in approach, it is based on 186 examples, which Douglas Walton, a leading authority in the field of informal logic, discusses and evaluates in clear, illustrative detail. Walton explains how errors, fallacies, and other key failures of argument occur. He shows how correct uses of argument are based on sound strategies for reasoned persuasion and critical responses. Among the many subjects covered are: forms of valid argument, defeasible arguments, relevance, appeals to emotion, personal attack, straw man argument, jumping to a conclusion, uses and abuses of expert opinion, problems in drawing conclusions from polls and statistics, loaded terms, equivocation, arguments from analogy, and techniques of posing, replying to, and criticizing questions. This new edition takes into account many new developments in the field of argumentation study that have occurred since 1989, many created by the author. Drawing on these developments, Walton includes and analyzes 36 new topical examples and also brings in recent work on argumentation schemes. Ideally suited for use in courses in informal logic and introduction to philosophy, this book will also be valuable to students of pragmatics, rhetoric, and speech communication.

Paperback: 366 pages

Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (June 2, 2008)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0521713803

ISBN-13: 978-0521713801

Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #158,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #66 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Criticism #76 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy > Logic #147 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Logic & Language

This text is tough to beat as a resource with which to build a foundation for critical thought. The author clearly presents each topic of focus while emphasizing key points and utilizing examples to ensure the information finds a home in the reader's mind. The format and style of this work contribute to its readability and make it ideal as a reference once the first pass has been made. One's only imaginable complaint might be that the text is unnecessarily lengthy with regard to some explanations. Then again, these instances might not be seen in this light when a concept has to be revisited as a refresher or further clarification outside of the initial reading. As far as basic logic/argumentation texts are concerned, this is amongst the best that are currently available.

I found this book to be very logical, well laid out, and interesting. I had no problem reading through this book. In fact it was a breeze reading and I am now interested in reading more of the author's books on logic and argumentation. I would like to add that this is the first book on logic I have read. Additionally I found the information in the book to be very practicable/easy to put into use. I find myself unconsciously using techniques, from this book, for critical evaluation to criticize and evaluate the arguments used by others, and using the techniques for promoting open dialogue at work and in my other day to day interactions.I think this book would be great to read in high school, though I am not implying it is "high school level" material. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

Interesting book, but worth reading. You will become an expert on classifying arguments and making valid cases. Simply learning all the logistics of arguments. I bought this book because it was assigned for my Philosophy 102 course, but I did take an interest in it.

As a professional LSAT tutor/blogger in NYC, I can say that this book is very useful for LSAT prep. It clearly explains and demonstrate multiple examples of valid and invalid arguments. Walton is obsessed with logical fallacies and covers many of the common ones appearing on the LSAT.When to read: Before you begin studying or when you need a break.

I rented this book for my Logic and Critical Thinking class. We were each split into groups and assigned a chapter to present to the class. Many of the groups had trouble with the book because the way the information is written is quite thick. A lot of the chapters keep referencing other chapters in ways you have to keep flipping back and forth. Once you got used to the style of the authors, it wound up being a little easier to read.Its a hard book to sit down and read. Its one of those books where its best to know a little about the topic before you jump right in. If you're interested in logical fallacies, but know nothing about them beyond the name, find another book.

This book is very useful, numerous elaborate and clear examples for every point. Maybe a bit too long, but very well referenced, that once you finish it, you may refer to it at any point with ease.I recommend it as a very strong book in logic and argumentation,

The content was fine, but I got the impression that the book needed extensive editing. It was very repetitive, and sometimes the terms that he used changed.

Liked it as much as you would like any college text book :-/

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