Critical argumentation is a practical skill that needs to be taught, from the very beginning, through the use of real or realistic examples of arguments of the kind that the user encounters in everyday life. In this introductory textbook of critical argumentation an example-based method of teaching is therefore used. All points covered are introduced and illustrated through the use of examples representing arguments, or problems of various kinds that arise in argumentation, of a kind that will be quite familiar to readers from their own personal experiences. Exercises appended to each section of the book are designed to give practice in putting these skills to work.

As well as being a skill, critical argumentation is an attitude. It is an attitude that is useful in working your way through a problem or making a thoughtful decision. But it is most useful when you are confronted by an argument and you need to arrive at some reasoned evaluation of it on a balance of considerations in a situation where there are arguments on both sides of an issue. A purpose of this book therefore is to sharpen this critical attitude, which we all already have to some degree, to focus and heighten it in a constructive way, by providing an introduction to its basic methods. The methods presented are based on the latest state-of-the-art techniques developed in argumentation theory and informal logic.