Summary of the Model

Here is a summary of the aesthetic properties that constitute my model of beautiful argument reconstructions.

Generally, beautiful reconstructions are

• concise,

• linear,

• progressive,

• and nested, when appropriate.

Each property has corresponding general rules, which I list below.

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Concision

C1 – Propositions should be combined if doing so does not negatively affect flow or dialectical usefulness.

C2 – Supporting arguments should be removed if they are uninteresting and unimportant to the main argument, and if the spirit of the main argument can be maintained.

C3 – Propositions should be implicit if they are unimportant and uncontroversial.

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Linearity

L1 – Broad premises should be listed first.

L2 – If there are multiple broad premises, their order does not matter unless they belong to different arguments, in which case they should be placed in their respective arguments.

L3 – Conditionals should be listed first but should be placed in their respective arguments.

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Progression

P1 – Every conclusion should be directly preceded by the minimum number of necessary premises that belong to the argument.

P2 – Main conclusions should follow every proposition prior to them. Follow the trail of logic backward to determine if this is true for any reconstruction.

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Nestedness

N1 – Nested lists should be utilized when they are not distracting and can help the reader understand the argument.

N2 - Different colors may be used to designate a nested list if it is helpful to present the argument clearly.

N3 – Collapsible lists should be used when possible.

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You can find a more detailed explanation of my model in my book, The Beauty of Argument Reconstruction.