For the Sake of Argument

Part 0: Introduction Part 1: Truth * Why Truth? * Bullshit * Beliefs of No Consequence * Okay But Remembers We're Talking about Philosophy * Consequences? Part 2: The Right Way to Argue * And the Wrong Way to Argue * A Social Activity * Respect and Open Questions * What Not to Imitate * Common(s) Ad Hominem Fallacies Part 3: Writing Philosophy * Why * How Part 4: Good and Bad Writing * Clarity * The Disvalue of the Obscure * Jargon * Examples * Greening * Awful Language * Do As I Say, Not As I Do Part 5: How Arguments Work * The Basic Structures * Deduction * Induction Part 6: "That's Like Arguing" * Critiquing Other Kinds of Arguments Part 7: Where You Get True Premises: The Obvious * True/Justified Premises * The Paradox of Justification * Maybe Needs No Justification: The Self-Evident * Maybe Needs No Justification: Common Sense * Maybe Needs No Justification: Evidence of Your Senses Part 8: Where You Get True Premises: Authorities * Maybe Needs No Justification: What Authorities Say * Authority and Truth * Citing Philosophers * Citing Other Works Part 9: Where You Get True Premises: Analysis * Justifying and Refuting Analyses * A Priori * Questions about Analysis * The Practicality of Argumentation Part 10: The Thought Experiment * Imaginary Experiments * Philosophical Thought Experiments Part 11: Inference to the Best Explanation * The Best Explanation * Theory * Other Criteria for a Good Explanation * Philosophical Inferences to the Best Theoretical Explanation: Some Examples Part 12: Afterword Appendix 1: Some Very Brief Suggestions about Further Reading Appendix 2: Forms for Footnotes and Bibliography Appendix 3: Glossary