The section of Nancy V. Wood’s “Essentials of Argument” that I have read so far has been very informative on the basics of argument. It shows the different styles of argument as well as different examples that illustrate which styles work best based on the situation. After reading about adversarial and consensual argument styles I thought about what my style was, and I was able to find out more about myself then I had thought.
With my thought complete about what my personal argument style is, I decided that I am a consensual arguer. I don’t really see myself as someone who is closed-minded, confrontational, or aggressive when it comes to argument. When I partake in an argument I am fairly open-minded because I think that finding a compromise is almost always the main goal of any sort of argument or controversial discussion. It is easier for me to imagine myself as either a negotiator writing about plans to resolve a conflict or as someone conducting a discussion and then helping to find a consensus. It seems to be harder to see things as two-sided, having a right and wrong or pro and con because there should not be one set rule that applies to all situations. Every situation is different, which causes there to be grey-area, which allows for many different views on one single area.
After completing the list of style descriptions on page 21 in “Essentials of Argument” the consensual style does indeed describe me best. The majority of my responses where from the consensual style with some adversarial style mixed in. If I were to have my preference, I would argue as a consensual because it seems to be more productive and efficient, and it also seems to be much more civilized. With more thought, I recalled an argument that I had with a friend right before I left for school in August. We both had opposing viewpoints on a certain subject; however after talking about the details we took pieces from both sides and decided that although we at first had different ideas, we were looking for the same goal in the end. After thinking back to this experience I confirmed my thoughts that I am a consensual arguer.
2 comments:
Your SWA gave me a lot of insight, especially since I am an adversarial arguer. It made me see the other side of the situation I have.
I have a similar style of argument in that in most my cases my goal is for compromise. Although in some cases that I feel strongly about I might fight for a particular side but I am still open to compromise.
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