CHAPTER 13: ARGUMENTATION IN SCIENCE
The chapter on argument and evidence in science is intended to strengthen the students’ understanding of
these two subjects. While science is a specialized sphere of argumentation many of its standards are held
to in the argumentation of most educated people. So, the scientific use of argument and evidence types
has relevance for the student of general argumentation. Science majors will not make up as significant a
percentage of your class as pre-law majors may but non-science majors can still make a connection to
other classes they take. Many social science courses like psychology hold to these standards. Even in
communication, linguistics, and political science, a significant proportion of the research follows the
standards of the scientific sphere.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. The values of scientific study begin with the value of
2. Even if the hypothesis cannot be directly observed, scientists still require that there be
3. Scientific argumentation deals in claims of
4. Scientific results must be complete enough to
5. In one sense, all scientific argument is by
6. In one form or another, the most common scientific argument advanced is
7. Definitions can probably be understood as arguments from
8. Scientific explanations are empirical arguments when the evidence
9. While all of the evidence forms appear in scientific argument, the following is clearly the most
commonly
relied upon:
10. While induction and deduction are better known to students of argumentation, in science the more
appropriate term for developing a hypothesis is
11. The scientific assumption that there is order in the universe implicates the commonplace of
ESSAY QUESTIONS
2. Describe the ways in which arguments about climate change within the scientific community differ
3. What are the most commonly used types of argument in scientific argumentation? Identify them and
4. In what ways is argument from authority in science different from its use in other spheres of
EXERCISES/PROJECTS
1. Interview a faculty member at your college or university who would be considered a scientist as we
have defined a scientist in this chapter. Ask questions about the kinds of arguments and evidence s/he
2. Develop a presentation about a controversy in science. There are many discussed in journals like
3. Select a controversial scientific issue, such as climate change. Read about it in Nature, Science, or other
peer reviewed journals. Then find a rendition of that issue in popular culture. We recommend viewing a