Reference no: EM133366286

Question: What modern people want to be made to understand is simply that all argument begins with an assumption; that is, with something that you do not doubt. (2) You can, of course, if you like, doubt the assumption at the beginning of your argument, but in that case you are beginning a different argument with another assumption at the beginning of it. (3) Every argument begins with an infallible dogma, and that infallible dogma can only be disputed by falling back on some other infallible dogma; you can never prove your first statement or it would not be your first. (4) All this is the alphabet of thinking. (5) And it has this special and positive point about it that it can be taught in a school, like the other alphabet. (6) Not to start an argument without stating your postulates could be taught in philosophy as it is taught in Euclid, in a common schoolroom with a blackboard. (7) And I think it might be taught in some simple and rational degree even to the young, before they go out into the streets and are delivered over entirely to the logic and philosophy of the Daily Mail.

Which of the following sentences, if placed before sentence 1, would best orient the audience and provide an engaging introduction to the topic of the paragraph?

-All those interested in engaging in discourse and debate, not only those studying argumentation, need to understand how dogma affects them.

-Effective argumentation is a skill many people fail to possess even in the modern era of social media, where everyone seems to have an opinion.

-The alphabet of thinking, although known to few even in this era of debate and discussion, is an interesting approach to thinking about argumentation.

-Those skilled in the art of debate know that an effective line of reasoning can be completely destroyed by one simple disruptor: dogma.