counterargument vs. counterexample

[ellenb]

Dear Powerscore,

I wondering how can I distinguish a counterargument from a counterexample? Could you provide some examples.

Thanks

Ellen

[Jon Denning]

Hey Ellen - thanks for the question. I guess the easiest way to think about it is almost part vs whole: a counterexample would be given as a part of the larger counterargument, much like a premise is given as a piece of an overall argument. So a counterexample would be a specific instance of something that the author presents to support his/her overall argument (counterargument if given to refute an alternative viewpoint).

Make sense?

[ellenb]

could you please give a specific example? or maybe a specific question from the hw that provides a counterexample?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,

Ellen

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Ellen,

Here's one off the top of my head:

• Argument: Driving faster than posted speed limits causes many accidents per year. Thus, we should install speed governors on car that limit their ability to exceed the posted speed limit.
  
  Counterargument: That's a bad idea. Sometimes people need to exceed the speed limit for safety or health reasons. For example, perhaps a driver needs to go faster than the posted limit to avoid hitting another car or to avoid and accident. Or perhaps someone needs to speed to get someone to the hospital more quickly.

Inside that counterargument, there are two counterexamples at the end that are used to support the overall point that it's a bad idea to install speed governors on cars.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[Nikki Siclunov]

Also, a counterargument need not contain a counterexample. For instance, here's another counterargument to Dave's example above:

Argument: Driving faster than posted speed limits causes many accidents per year. Thus, we should install speed governors on car that limit their ability to exceed the posted speed limit.

Counterargument: That's a bad idea. Drinking large amounts of soda is also bad for us, but the recent proposal to restrict the sale of super-sized drinks in restaurants has been a disaster. In an effort to attract consumers, many restaurants now offer free refills on normal-sized soda drinks.

In this counterargument we have the use of analogy. This may be a good or a bad thing depending on how convinced you are that the comparison is reasonable, but there is no counterexample here. Just a counterargument that contains an analogy.