The essential dialogue illustrating this is as follows: It is also distinct from mere contradiction. Argument is distinct from the curses, ridicule, and taunts of abuse, as we learn from Palin’s initial startled interaction with Graham Chapman’s “Mr. The sketch reinforces the idea that the philosopher’s sense of “argument” differs from others in common parlance. (The sketch continues briefly before ending with a touch of absurd slapstick: a department offering “being hit on the head” lessons.) I ask them to pay close attention to any definitions or arguments they detect. I show students the “Argument Clinic” sketch through to the point where Palin’s character leaves Cleese’s character’s office in a huff. Hilarity and frustration ensue when it becomes evident that the two have very different conceptions of argumentation. After a disorienting misstep into the Abuse office, he finds himself “arguing” with John Cleese’s character (identified as “Mr. In their “Argument Clinic” sketch, an unnamed Man, played by Michael Palin, enters an office reception where he requests to have an argument. Students can readily recall and repeat this definition (or variations on it), but are often initially unsure of how to apply it. One of the first concepts in any introductory course in philosophy is that of an argument: An argument is a collection of statements, one of which is the argument’s conclusion and the rest of which are the argument’s premises, which are intended to support or justify the conclusion.
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