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So many times students confuse the arguments of philosophers with opinions. It is important to distinguish them because our understanding of what philosophical reasoning does depends on a clear understanding of the difference. Philosophers certainly do express opinions, but they do more than this. This is what makes their works worth reading. If they were only expressing their opinion there would be no reason to concern ourselves with what they say. It is the fact that they provide reasoning to back up their opinion that makes their claims worth noticing and analyzing.

So, what is the difference between an argument and an opinion? Let me illustrate with an example. Suppose I say "Toyota produces the best cars in the world." Clearly, this is my opinion and you may disagree. But, suppose in addition to this I present some reasons for my belief that Toyota produces the best cars in the world. For example, I say that they produce the best cars because they are fuel efficient, they have a high resale value, they are low maintenance, and are inexpensive to repair. Now I am presenting an argument. Granted you may disagree with my argument but now, in order to explain why you disagree, you need to show where my reasoning is faulty. Are my facts incorrect? Do my facts not really support my conclusion? It's no use simply saying that you disagree because that gets us no further. You need to say why you disagree. The reason you need to do this is because I have said why I believe that Toyota produces the best cars in the world. It is the "why" question that is important.

This "why" question is best answered with evidence. However, this raises a good question: What constitutes sufficient evidence? This question is well answered by Vincent Ruggiero in a book titled Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking. In it, he spells out three general guidelines. First, "evidence is sufficient when it permits a judgment to be made with certainty. Wishing, assuming, or pretending that a judgment is correct does not constitute certainty." This standard is usually very difficult to reach which brings us to the second point. "If certainty is unattainable, evidence is sufficient if one view of the issue has been shown to have the force of probability." The important consideration when trying to demonstrate probability is that you have considered all options and shown, not simply stated, that your position is the most probable among all competing options. If certainty and probability

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