Refuting an argument as stated in the Epstein text is there are several ways of refuting an argument:
1. Show that at least one of the premises is dubious
2. Show that the argument isn’t valid or strong
3. Show that the conclusion is false
When refuting indirectly with an argument it is sometimes hard to point out if the premises is false of dubious, but you know there is something wrong with the premises.
Reducing to the absurd:
“To reduce to absurd is to show that at least one of several claims is false or dubious, or collectively they are unacceptable, by drawing a false or unwanted conclusion from them,” as stated in the text. . When reducing the absurd you need to find a false conclusion. So if a argument has a absurd conclusion, then the premises is not want you want, but it still must remain as a strong or valid argument.
You explained refuting an argument and reducing to the absurb are clear, but I think it would be nice to have an example about each of them. Having an example would make it more easier to understand the concept. For example in refuting an argument, my group member was watching this girl killing a bunny and she later wrote an apology letter that she is depressed and her cat helped her through. My group remember responded, "Wow, she even have a cat? She could've killed her cat". I told my group member that, even though she killed a bunny, it doesn't mean that she would kill her own cat. These would call slippery slope argument.
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