A point of disagreement
The concept of the warrant in analyzing arguments was developed by the philosopher Stephen Toulmin. Toulmin conducted wide-ranging inquiries into ethics, science and moral reasoning. Warrants are essential in making an argument, whether the argument is in writing or part of a speech or debate.
Definition
The book "The Craft of Research" defines a warrant as "a statement that connects a reason to a claim." In other words, if someone makes a claim, he should have valid reasons for that claim. The reason needs to have relevance to the claim. If the relevance of the reason, or warrant, is not well accepted, then there is room for disagreement as to the reasoning for the claim.
Significance
Warrants point to how reasons are relevant to a given claim. Making claims is a practice done in situations varying from everyday conversations, to academic research papers. Claiming that quality of life is better in China than the U.S. because China has a higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an example of an argument using a verifiable fact, yet agreeing on the reasoning may be difficult. There are different ways to define quality of life and a person may not consider a country's GDP to be one of them. The debatable warrant in this case is that GDP is the main indicator of quality of life.
Identification
Identifying a warrant in an argument is not always easy. Warrants are often not stated but rather implied. A warrant is generally only stated when the person making the argument anticipates that it may not be accepted. Therefore, examining the reasoning behind a claim is sometimes the only way to identify a warrant.
Assumptions
All ways of approaching an argument involve warrants. Using the terms warrant and assumption interchangeably is a common practice. Both refer to the level of acceptability of the reasoning behind a claim that is supporting an argument.
Misconceptions
Warrants considered valid may differ from person to person, culture to culture and even from generation to generation. The idea that a warrant is always either valid or invalid is not true. While most people in some cultures may agree with the claim that bullfighting is wrong because of inhumane treatment of the bull, the underlying warrant is not widely valid in other cultures.
Tags: quality life, behind claim, claim that, making argument, reasoning behind, reasoning behind claim
