Reasoning and Argumentation

GraduateCenter^LMU Workshop for Doctoral Candidates

In research and in everyday life we are constantly making arguments to convince others of our ideas and our views. For example, in science, the research presentation or grant application needs to convince its audience of the benefits and the novelty it brings to the field, and careers can depend on how it is judged. However, to be effective in argumentation, one needs to be effective in reasoning.

Thus, in this workshop, we will look at how people use reasoning to convince others, and how these efforts can be more productive. Beyond the most common forms of reasoning, the workshop will also take a closer look at those forms that are more common in science, such as hypothetical reasoning, analogical reasoning and inductive reasoning. In this workshop participants will look at a range of principles and frameworks to better understand how to construct effective arguments of their own, how to avoid some common and tempting mistakes in reasoning, and how to recognize fallacies in the arguments of others.

Workshop topics:

• How to construct arguments - especially in research
• Improving skills in presenting own research arguments - including the presentation of an own three-minute thesis
• Improving skills in analyzing and evaluating arguments from everyday discourse
• Improving critical instincts for judging own arguments and those of others
• Applying principles to evaluate argument cogency and recognizing common fallacies in argumentation

Language of workshop: English

Target group: Doctoral candidates of LMU Munich (the number of participants is limited)

Certificate of attendance: Participants will receive a certificate of attendance from the GraduateCenter^LMU.