COUNTERARGUMENT
Onewaytostrengthenyourargumentanddemonstrateacomprehensiveunderstandingofthe
issueyouarediscussingistoanticipateandaddresscounterargumentsorobjections.Byconsideringopposingviews,youshowthatyouhavethoughtthingsthrough,andyoudisposeofsome
ofthereasonsyouraudiencemighthavefornotacceptingyourargument.Askyourselfwhat
someonewhodisagreeswithyoumightsayinresponsetoeachofthepointsyou’vemadeor
aboutyourpositionasawhole.Ifyoucan’timmediatelyimagineanotherposition,herearesome
strategiestotry:
• Dosomeresearch.Itmayseemtoyouthatnoonecouldpossiblydisagreewiththeposition
youaretaking,butsomeoneprobablyhas.Forexample,somepeoplearguethattheHolocaustneveroccurred.IfyouaremakinganargumentabouttheNazitreatmentofJewsduring
WorldWarII,therefore,youmightwishtoseewhatsomeofthesepeoplehavetosay.
• Talkwithafriendorwithyourinstructor.Anotherpersonmaybeabletoplaydevil’sadvocateandsuggestcounterargumentsthathaven’toccurredtoyou.
• Considereachofyoursupportingpointsindividual.Evenifyou+inditdif+iculttoseewhyanyonewoulddisagreewithyourcentralargument,youmaybeabletoimaginemoreeasilyhow
someonecoulddisagreewiththeindividualpartsofyourargument.Thenyoucanseewhich
ofthesecounterargumentsaremostworthconsidering.Forexample,ifyouargued“Cats
makethebestpets.Thisisbecausetheyarecleanandindependent,”youmightimagine
someonesaying“Catsdonotmakethebestpets.Theyaredirtyanddemanding.”
Onceyouhaveconsideredpotentialcounterarguments,decidehowyoumightrespondtothem:
Willyouconcedethatyouropponenthasapointbutexplainwhyyouraudienceshouldnonethelessacceptyourargument?Orwillyourejectthecounterargumentandexplainwhyitismistaken?Eitherway,youwillwanttoleaveyourreaderwithasensethatyourargumentisstronger
thanopposingarguments.
Twostrategiesareavailabletoincorporatecounterargumentsintoyouressay:
Refutation
Refutationseekstodisproveopposingargumentsbypointingouttheirweaknesses.Thisapproachisgenerallymosteffectiveifitnothostileorsarcastic;withmethodical,matter-of-factlanguageidentifythelogical,theoretical,orfactual+lawsoftheopposition.
Forexample,inanessaysupportingthereintroductionofwolvesintowesternfarmlands,awritermightrefuteopponentsbychallengingthelogicoftheirassumptions:
Althoughsomefarmershaveexpressedconcernthatwolvesmightposeathreattothesafety
ofsheep,cattle,orevensmallchildren,theirfearsareunfounded.Wolvesfearhumanseven
morethanhumansfearwolves,andwilltrespassontodevelopedfarmlandonlyifdesperate
forfood.Theuninhabitedwildernessthatwillbecomethewolves’newhomehassuchan
abundanceoffoodthatthereisvirtuallynochancethattheseshyanimalswillstrayanywherenearhumans.
Here,thewriteracknowledgestheopposingview(wolveswillendangerlivestockand
children)andrefutesit(thewolveswillneverbehungryenoughtodoso).
Accommodation
Accommodationacknowledgesthevalidityoftheopposingview,butarguesthatother
considerationsoutweighit.Inotherwords,thisstrategyturnsthetablesbyagreeing(to
someextent)withtheopposition.
Forexample,thewriterarguingforthereintroductionofwolvesmightaccommodatethe
opposingviewbywriting:
Criticsoftheprogramhavearguedthatreintroducingwolvesisfartooexpensivea
projecttobeconsideredseriouslyatthistime.Althoughthereintroductionprogram
iscostly,itwillonlybecomemorecostlythelongeritisputonhold.Furthermore,
wolveswillhelpcontrolthepopulationofpestanimalsinthearea,savingfarmers
moneyonexterminationcosts.Finally,thepreservationofanendangeredspeciesis
worthfarmoretotheenvironmentandtheecologicalmovementthanthemoneythat
taxpayerswouldsaveifthiswolfrelocationinitiativeweretobeabandoned.
Thiswriteracknowledgestheopposingposition(theprogramistooexpensive),agrees
withit(yes,itisexpensive),andthengoesontoarguethatdespitetheexpense,theprogramisworthwhile.
SF
H
Don’tplaydirty.Whenyousummarizeopposingarguments,becharitable.Presenteach
argumentfairlyandobjectively,ratherthantryingtomakeitlookfoolish.Youwantto
convinceyourreadersthatyouhaveconsideredcarefullyallsidesoftheissuesthatyou
arenotsimplyattackingorcaricaturingyouropponents.
Sometimeslessismore.Itisusuallybettertoconsideroneortwoseriouscounterargumentsinsomedepth,ratherthantoaddresseverycounterargument,nomatterhow.
Keepanopenmind.Besurethatyourreplyisconsistentwithyouroriginalargument.
Carefulconsiderationofcounterargumentscancomplicateorchangeyourperspectiveon
anissue.There’snothingwrongwithadoptingadifferentperspectiveorchangingyour
mind,butifyoudo,besuretoreviseyourthesisaccordingly.