Teaching and study · ATLAS 260
From persuasion to reasoned judgement
An argument can be persuasive and still contain a gap. These stations move from claim and reason through the structure of an inference to what remains open.
Which reasons support a judgement, and under which conditions must it be revised?
Responsible editor: Michael Reich · Prepared: 2026-10-17. Versioned research edition. No DOI or external archival deposit is documented.
Case study
Fictional exercise written for this material. Not empirical data.
An imagined study group recommends a new learning app: “Since using it, our results have improved. Nobody has proved that it does not help. Therefore everyone should use it.” Previous study time, task differences and alternative explanations are not given.
Materials and schedule
Worksheet · 45 minutes
Approximately ages 16+, advanced school groups, higher education and adult learning.
Read short specialist texts; distinguish statement, observation and interpretation. Responses may be spoken, written or given as an annotated sketch.
Learning objectives
- Identify claim, reason and implicit warrant.
- Test counterexamples and an argument’s scope.
- Formulate an open question without treating missing knowledge as proof.
5 min introduction · 20 comparing two stations · 10 evidence and counterexample · 10 shared reflection
The worksheet contains two selected stations. Read definitions, open sources and separate observation from inference.
Assignment
- Separate the three sentences into observation, asserted reason and recommendation. Mark one implicit warrant.
- Compare argumentation and argument from ignorance. Explain why absence of disproof establishes neither effectiveness nor ineffectiveness.
- Write a qualified recommendation, a possible exception and a testable next investigative step.
Source examination
Open at least one complete Atlas profile and select a reference listed there. Record title, locator where available and documented scope. Separate your inference from what the reference actually supports. A reference alone does not establish every statement in a profile.
Station 1 · AT-CORE-238-032
Argumentation
The linking of claims and reasons in pursuit of justified assent.
Formulate a claim and the reason why someone should accept it. Record the two separately.
What exactly is being justified, and on what grounds?
Read the definition and distinctions in the linked full profile. Which statement is supported by its documented reference, and which arises only from your comparison with the exercise?
Sources and references (2)
- W02 · Metzler Lexikon Sprache · PDF-Seiten 76, 77, 129, 138, 139 · Volltext-/Artikelabgleich
Show scope of evidence
Offenes Beziehungsnetz → Grundbegriffsprüfung → Metzler/HWRh-Abgleich → ATLAS_238
- W03.1 · Historisches Wörterbuch der Rhetorik, Band 1 · PDF-Seiten 5, 7, 28, 52, 55 · Volltext-/Artikelabgleich
Show scope of evidence
Offenes Beziehungsnetz → Grundbegriffsprüfung → Metzler/HWRh-Abgleich → ATLAS_238
Sources and references
- W02 · Metzler Lexikon Sprache · PDF-Seiten 76, 77, 129, 138, 139 · Volltext-/Artikelabgleich
- W03.1 · Historisches Wörterbuch der Rhetorik, Band 1 · PDF-Seiten 5, 7, 28, 52, 55 · Volltext-/Artikelabgleich
Full profile and scope of evidence: https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-CORE-238-032
Your response, evidence and counterexample
Station 2 · AT-ADD-20261016-0003
Argument from ignorance
An argument from ignorance takes the absence of disproof or confirmation as support for declaring a claim true or false.
Examine the treatment of missing knowledge. Uncertainty and refutation are different states.
How can a statement be rewritten if it infers certainty from the absence of disproof?
Read the definition and distinctions in the linked full profile. Which statement is supported by its documented reference, and which arises only from your comparison with the exercise?
Sources and references (3)
- Historisches Wörterbuch der Rhetorik, Bd. 1, Artikel „Argument“; hg. von Gert Ueding, Tübingen: Max Niemeyer 1992. Sp. 897–900 und 903–904; PDF-Seiten 457–458 und 460
Show scope of evidence
Historische Erörterung von ad ignorantiam, ad verecundiam, ad populum; a-fortiori-Beispiel. Die engeren heutigen Arbeitsschwerpunkte sind als solche markiert. | Original Atlas applications remain separate.
- John Locke: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book IV, Chapter XVII, §§ 19–22
Show scope of evidence
Historische Formulierungen nicht als deckungsgleich mit jeder späteren Fehlschlussdefinition behandeln. Keine historischen Erstbelegsbehauptungen. | Original Atlas applications remain separate.
- Atlas der Sprache: Vergleichsstand Release 15.8.0 / Sites 352
Show scope of evidence
Arbeitsbasis des zuletzt in diesem Chat veröffentlichten Stands, keine neue vollständige Produktivinventur und kein unabhängiger wissenschaftlicher Beleg. | Original Atlas applications remain separate.
Sources and references
- Historisches Wörterbuch der Rhetorik, Bd. 1, Artikel „Argument“; hg. von Gert Ueding, Tübingen: Max Niemeyer 1992. Sp. 897–900 und 903–904; PDF-Seiten 457–458 und 460
- John Locke: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book IV, Chapter XVII, §§ 19–22 · https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10616/pg10616.html
- Atlas der Sprache: Vergleichsstand Release 15.8.0 / Sites 352
Full profile and scope of evidence: https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-ADD-20261016-0003
Your response, evidence and counterexample
Research boundary
These working questions are exercises. They are not experimental findings and do not replace specialist assessment of a particular dispute.
Citation
Michael Reich: From persuasion to reasoned judgement. Atlas der Sprache / Atlas of Language. Material version atlas-260-20261017-04. ATLAS 260; source release 15.9.1. https://atlasoflanguage.com/study/streit-und-gruende. Add access date.
The fixed edition version is linked separately. Source rights apply individually.