Empirical and Normative Argument Quality:The Need to Distinguish Convincing Arguments From Good Arguments

• In Event: Argument, Engagement, and Persuasion

Abstract

The label ‘argument quality’ covers an empirical approach which is about the question “is this argument convincing?”, and a normative approach that addresses the question “should this argument be convincing?” As a result, the same argument can be classified as ‘weak’ from an empirical perspective, but ‘irrelevant’ or even a ‘counterargument’ from the normative approach. Whereas this discrepancy does not pose a problem for the use of argument quality as a litmus test for central processing, it does stunt our understanding of the persuasion process and blocks the ability to provide evidence-based guidelines for designing more effective persuasive messages. We propose to replace the label ‘argument quality” by more informative labels for the various manipulations of argument quality.

Author

• Hans Hoeken, Utrecht U