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A lot of things people write plays no argumentative role. It can serve the function of emphasis, rhetoric or something else. This extraneous material should not be included in the reconstructing of an argument. The word ‘since’ transforms a conditional statement into a statement that asserts both the conditional and the antecedent of that conditional. The first step in reconstructing an argument is to make a list of the argument’s premises and conclusion that leaves out extraneous material.

DEFUSING THE RHETORIC
Metaphors, slang and expressive epithets should be eliminated while reconstructing an argument. Expressive epithets are terms used to refer to some person, group or other entity, without actually using the name.

LOGICAL STREAMLINING
When reconstructing arguments, the logical relationships should be displayed in the simplest, clearest and most familiar ways possible. There are two rules of thumb when logical streamlining:

1.        Where appropriate, rewrite sentences

Argument reconstruction clarifies what the arguer actually said and to supplement the arguer, as some statements are implicit. The reconstruction of an argument can be presented as a bad argument or as a good argument, depending on the goal (e.g. political debate). A bad argument does not mean that the proposition is false. The principle of charity states that people should also choose the best reconstruction of an argument to discover reasons for accepting or rejecting particular prepositions, advancing the cause of knowledge.

TRUTH
The truth-value of a proposition is the truth of the proposition. The two truth-values are true and false.

DEDUCTIVE VALIDITY
A conclusion is valid if the conclusion would be true, given that the premises are also true. The truth of premises is, in principle, not relevant for the validity of an argument. Validity should be judged by disregarding

People do not reason logically, but decision making encompasses all human behaviour. Choices can be rational (internally consistent). People expect choices to show transitivity. If a relationship holds between item one and item two and between item two and item three then the relationship should also hold between item one and item three. Utility is the personal value we attach to outcomes rather than to their absolute monetary value.

Normative theories of decision making imply that some choices are better than other choices. The optimal choice in normative theories depends on the theory.

The expected value theory states that the optimal choice is the choice that offers the largest financial payoff. People also tend to go for choices with the maximum utility. People are not always consistent in their choices with expected value and utility, as this requires a lot of time and motivation. There

A common element in all experiments is the deliberate manipulation of an assumed cause followed by an observation of the effects that follow. A quasi-experiment is an experiment that does not uses random assignment of participants to conditions.

An inus condition is an insufficient but non-redundant part of an unnecessary but sufficient condition. It is insufficient, because in itself it cannot be the cause, but it is also non-redundant as it adds something that is unique to the cause. It is an insufficient cause.

Most causal relationships are non-deterministic. They do not guarantee that an effect occur, as most causes are inus conditions, but they increase the probability that an effect will occur. To different degrees, all causal relationships are contextually dependent.

A counterfactual is something that is contrary to fact. An effect is the difference between what did happen and what would have happened. The counterfactual cannot be