Lesson 8: Argumentation, Critical Thinking, And Ethics

Introduction

A speech is a solemn responsibility. The man who makes a bad thirty-minute speech to 200 people wastes only a half an hour of his own time. But he wastes 100 hours of the audience’s time—more than four days—which should be a hanging offense.

—Jenkin Lloyd Jones

A lot of people are in the mood for a good argument. They seem to want to confront people, ideas, and opinions without having first used the skill of critical thinking. In this lesson, you will learn the importance of critical thinking, reasoning, and ethics as they apply to your everyday life and to public speaking.