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Evidence vs Argument - What's the difference?

evidence | argument |

As nouns the difference between evidence and argument

is that evidence is facts or observations presented in support of an assertion while argument is a fact or statement used to support a proposition; a reason.

As a verb evidence

is to provide evidence for, or suggest the truth of.

evidence

Noun

(en-noun)
  • Facts or observations presented in support of an assertion.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03, author=
  • , volume=100, issue=2, page=106, magazine=(w) , title= Pixels or Perish , passage=Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence , for explaining a theory, for telling a story.}}
  • (legal) Anything admitted by a court to prove or disprove alleged matters of fact in a trial.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2004, date=April 15, work=The Scotsman
  • , title= Morning swoop in hunt for Jodi's killer , passage=For Lothian and Borders Police, the early-morning raid had come at the end one of biggest investigations carried out by the force, which had originally presented a dossier of evidence on the murder of Jodi Jones to the Edinburgh procurator-fiscal, William Gallagher, on 25 November last year. }}
  • One who bears witness.
  • * Sir (Walter Scott)
  • infamous and perjured evidences

    Derived terms

    * anecdotal evidence * circumstantial evidence * evidence-based medicine * hearsay evidence

    Derived terms

    * after-discovered evidence * clear and convincing evidence * demurrer to evidence * preponderance of evidence, preponderance of the evidence * self-evidence

    Verb

    (evidenc)
  • To provide evidence for, or suggest the truth of.
  • She was furious, as evidenced by her slamming the door.

    argument

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A fact or statement used to support a proposition; a reason.
  • * Ray
  • There is no more palpable and convincing argument of the existence of a Deity.
  • A verbal dispute; a quarrel.
  • A process of reasoning.
  • * John Locke
  • The argument is not about things, but names.
  • (philosophy, logic) A series of propositions organized so that the final proposition is a conclusion which is intended to follow logically from the preceding propositions, which function as premises.
  • *
  • (mathematics) The independent variable of a function.
  • (programming) A value, or reference to a value, passed to a function.
  • * {{quote-web, date = 2011-07-20
  • , author = Edwin Mares , title = Propositional Functions , site = The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , url = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2011/entries/propositional-function , accessdate = 2012-07-15 }}
    In ‘The Critic of Arguments’ (1892), Peirce adopts a notion that is even closer to that of a propositional function. There he develops the concept of the ‘rhema’. He says the rhema is like a relative term, but it is not a term. It contains a copula, that is, when joined to the correct number of arguments it produces an assertion. For example, ‘__ is bought by __ from __ for __’ is a four-place rhema. Applying it to four objects a'', ''b'', ''c'', and ''d'' produces the assertion that ''a'' is bought by ''b'' from ''c'' for ''d (ibid. 420).
    Parameters are like labeled fillable blanks used to define a function whereas arguments are passed to a function when calling it, filling in those blanks.
  • (programming) A parameter in a function definition; an actual parameter, as opposed to a formal parameter.
  • (linguistics) Any of the phrases that bears a syntactic connection to the verb of a clause.
  • *
  • In numerous works over the past two decades, beginning with the pioneering work of Gruber (1965), Fillmore (1968a), and Jackendoff (1972), it has been argued that each Argument' (i.e. Subject or Complement) of a Predicate bears a particular ''thematic role'' (alias ''theta-role'', or ''θ-role'' to its Predicate), and that the set of ''thematic functions'' which ' Arguments can fulfil are drawn from a highly restricted, finite, universal set.
  • (astronomy) The quantity on which another quantity in a table depends.
  • The altitude is the argument of the refraction.
  • The subject matter of a discourse, writing, or artistic representation; theme or topic; also, an abstract or summary, as of the contents of a book, chapter, poem.
  • * Shakespeare
  • You and love are still my argument .
  • * Jeffrey
  • the abstract or argument of the piece
  • * Milton
  • [shields] with boastful argument portrayed
  • Matter for question; business in hand.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Sheathed their swords for lack of argument .

    Usage notes

    * (formal parameter in a function definition) Some authors regard use of "argument" to mean "formal parameter" to be imprecise, preferring that argument'' refers only to the value that is used to instantiate the ''parameter'' at runtime, while ''parameter refers only to the name in the function definition that will be instantiated.

    Synonyms

    * (programming value) actual argument * See also * See also

    Meronyms

    * (logic) proposition, premise, conclusion

    Derived terms

    * ad hominem argument * argumentable * argumental * argumentation * argumentative * argumentatively * argumentativeness * argument form * argument from design * argumentive * argumentize * argumentless * cosmological argument * etymological argument * ontological argument * teleological argument