Argumentation Schemes (Part 1)

I don't know if anybody is interested in this kind of thing, but in case they are the following is based on a set of handouts I once prepared on argumentation schemes. It is based on work by the argumentation theorist Douglas Walton (taken specifically from this book). He has literally written the book on every informal fallacy out there, worth checking out.

The argumentation schemes here are what Walton calls "common presumptive arguments". A presumptive argument is, according to Walton, not based on deductive nor inductive principles. Instead, it is based on defeasible presumptions. They are far more common in argument than we might care to think, so familiarity with them is essential.

Each image provides the abstract form of the argument, an example and a set of critical questions.


1. Argument from the Position to Know

2. Appeal to Expert Opinion

3. Appeal to Popular Opinion 

4. Argument from Analogy

5. Argument from Correlation to Cause

6. Argument from Positive/Negative Consequences

7. The Slippery Slope Argument