From this chapter, I learned about counter-arguments. Regarding raising objections, doing so indicates that an argument is bad. An example of a bad argument is "Letting the kids outside to play is dangerous for their health." The reason why this is a bad argument is because it is subjective; it is based on opinion and is not a proven fact. Another concept I learned was refuting an argument directly. Ways you can do so are by showing that one of the arguments is dubious, or doubtful, showing that the argument is not valid or supported, and showing that the conclusion is false. An example would be "Having a husband seems nice at first because you feel attractive and appreciated. But then as you get older, your looks start to fade and he expresses less interest in you. You let your looks go, so he wants a divorce."
To reduce to the absurd means to indicate that at least one of several claims is dubious or they are collectively unacceptable, by drawing a false or unwanted conclusion from them. To break it down more clearly, what it means is if one of the claims is doubtful, then the conclusion will be false and vice versa. If an argument is strong but the conclusion is false, then one of the premises is false.
Hi NDSJ91! I blogged about raising objections and refuting an argument directly and indirectly as well. I liked that you gave examples of what are weak arguments and for how to refute an argument directly. In my blog, I chose to show an example of a dialogue. The two guys in my example were discussing why one of them thought college was a waste of time. While the other guy would object to the statements by saying college is a great way to build a successful career.. This example was showing how to raise objection. Reducing to the absurd seems interesting; it is a way of refuting an argument indirectly.
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