blaw ch1

the ability to understand the structure of an argument and apply a set of evaluative criteria to assess its merits.

a position or stance on an issue; the goal toward which reasoning moves.

an explanation or justification provided as support for a conclusion

• 1. What are the facts?
• 2. What is the issue?
• 3. What are the reasons and conclusion?
• 4. What are the relevant rules of law?
• 5. Does the legal argument contain significant ambiguity?
• 6. What ethical norms are fundamental to
• the court's reasoning?
• 7. How appropriate are the legal analogies?
• 8. Is there relevant missing information?

Susceptible to two or more possible interpretations.

a standard of conduct

standards of conduct that we consider good or virtuous.

the four norms that provide the major ethical direction for the laws governing business behavior: freedom, stability, justice, and efficiency.

a comparison based on the assumption that if two things are alike in some respect, they must be alike in other respects.