Reflective Argument Analysis

Wilhoit (2009) explains building an argument is a complex task that does not require adhering to a specific rules and methods prescribed to you throughout your high school career. Although they certainly have a place in arguments in that they provide the infrastructure, the key premised to building an academic argument is understanding and establishing the rhetorical situation. It will give you an understanding of who the writer and the audience is, what is the subject or topic, the reason or occasion and finally the purpose of why the argument it being written (p.1-4). In this essay we will take a step by step look at how to construct a reflective argument in response to Michael Hardt’s “Are we capable of Democracy” argument in Examined Life.

In producing a response argument we must first establish the rhetorical for the assignment. The writer is obvious, me, however, what is my role or stance, at this point of constructing the argument I am not clear on the stance as I have not determined my thesis, the role I play in writing this essay is that of a student. The Audience is Derek Moyer, professor of this class, the topic is democracy, revolution and human nature. The occasion or reason for the production of this argument is this is an assignment. The purpose is to develop an detailed outline of how I would proceed in writing a response to Michael Hardt’s essay “Are we capable of Democracy.”
After establishing rhetorical situation we proceed into the reflection stage, which WIlhoit explains as an introspective process in which you assess your knowledge of the topic, your feeling, beliefs and values and the motive for the feeling, belief and values in reference to the topic. In the course of reading Hardt essay I gained some of his perspective and knowledge with regards to his definition of human nature, revolution and democracy. My beliefs and understanding of those 3 topic and not completely different, democracy is government by the people, it is also one of those theories that over the years has been misinterpreted and misconstrued. Human nature is just that the nature of people, how they develop, grow and adjust to the world they live in. Revolution well, Michael Hardt states it best in Examined Life, “…- it did not correspond to my reality” (Hardt, 2009).
Next I will address: What have I heard or read about democracy, revolution and human nature?

As well as how and when did I learn this? How trustworthy or authoritative are my source of information’s? How might my feeling or belief be misguided (Wilhoit, 2009, pp. 130-131)? I have spent my life in the American school system and through that education I have gained access to both creditable and authoritative information as well as some information that it’s less than trustworthy. I have also visited many countries outside the United States so I feel that I have a general idea of what others think about democracy and human nature. Within U.S democracy is an entitlement of being a citizen. A majority of neighboring nations consider the U.S. as the land of opportunity; a true democratic nation. The reality is that the U.S is likely the closest reflection of democracy but it is nowhere near the true definition. My thoughts on democracy are completely subjective and based more on citizenship experience that actually knowledge. The same goes for my experience with human nature, there is a school of thought that states that a person’s nature is not changeable. However, if that were true, I would not be in a classroom striving to obtain my bachelor’s degree at the age of 43, I would be a homeless, hopeless drug addict begging on a street corner for a dollar in downtown Portland without hope or aspiration. My feeling and belief around democracy and human nature are just that my feeling

and belief. In my opinion as you transformed from a derelict malcontent to productive member of society you can’t help to be a bit jaded and one direction orientated in terms of your perspective of human nature and its ability to transform. I have changed so I believe that every person can, democracy is a theory that will never rise full fruition because those in power don’t want to give up power. In my opinion if every person worked the “12 step of recovery,” we would have a kinder, gentler society that is more tolerant and accepting.
Following the reflective stage and assessing whether the information you have is sufficient to create an effective academic argument, you have two choices the first is to proceed into the development or writing of the argument or to advance the argument through research.

For the purpose of developing this response argument I would elect to do more research. The rationale is that my knowledge is based on experience and emotion and not grounded in facts and in writing and effective, persuasive and convincing arguments you need to support your assertions and while I have large amounts of passion for my opinion they are just that opinions that are not fact based but rather emotion based and while that emotion will enable me to produce an persuasive argument once the research is complete it is not enough to manufacture an academic

argument.
The research I will conduct will be primarily through secondary research which is essential research that has been pre-fabricated by those that have previously researched or investigate the topic of the argument (Wilhoit, 2009, pp.131). Prior to driving into research on 3 broad topics I will formulate questions that will assist me in staying within the parameter of the argument that I will be present. While at this point my thesis has not been finalized, I can gage the type of research to examine. Specifically for this assignment I would look for articles or essay that speak of revolution in term of democracy, as well as how democracy and human nature are related. I would also look for challenger of Hardt position “Revolution is not just about a transformation for democracy- revolution really requires a transformation of human nature, so that people are capable of democracy” (Hardt, 2009, pp. 138). Hardt will of course be one of the references I use to construct this argument, how I will use the above question to define my search through a site that has reputable, authoritative and credible material, EBSCOhost would be a reliable place to start the research. I would also do some global search through a site like Google or Bing to take in some popular sources, to give me the perspective of the ordinary person.
Next will formulate the opening and closing sections of the argument to ensure that they fall directly in line with the thesis and provoke the emotion and persuasiveness necessary to elicit a change of heart in my reader. The body of the argument will include break down the thesis into its individual components and show how each relates to the other, providing reasons, evidence and qualification for my claim. Likely I will want to Start and End strong providing the truly compelling information at the beginning and at the end. I will also be sure to bring in opposing viewpoint, to add more credibility or ethos to my argument. The final stages will be drafting, revising and editing, section by section confirming that the information and the language is conveying and supporting my claim. As you can ascertain constructing a persuasive academic argument is no trifling task.
There is plenty to contend with, you are continually moving forward while keeping in mind what came before. The rhetorical situation needs to be at the forefront of through during reflection through the final draft. The reflection and research are integral parts of the thesis and they are in order for a reason. Developing your thesis prior to reflection and research will give your argument a sense of bias as you research what directed by what you wanted to prove and not based on the information you gather. Each step of the process affects the next step and to assemble a persuasive and academically sound arguments you must take the necessary time to develop each step to completion.