In reasoning and argument mapping, a counterargument, also known as a rebuttal, is an objection

Objection (argument)

In informal logic an objection , is a reason arguing against a premise, lemma or main contention. An objection to an objection is known as a rebuttal.-See also:* Argumentation theory* Argument map...

 to an objection. A counterargument can be used to rebut an objection to a premise

Premise

Premise can refer to:* Premise, a claim that is a reason for, or an objection against, some other claim as part of an argument...

, a main contention or a lemma

Lemma (logic)

In informal logic and argument mapping, a lemma is simultaneously a contention for premises below it and a premise for a contention above it....

. Other synonyms for such opposing reasons are counter-reasons or concessions.

A counterargument might seek to cast doubt on facts of one or more of the first argument

Argument

In philosophy and logic, an argument is an attempt to persuade someone of something, or give evidence or reasons for accepting a particular conclusion.Argument may also refer to:-Mathematics and computer science:...

's premises, or to show that the first argument's contention does not follow from its premises in a valid manner, or the counterargument might pay little attention to the premises and common structure of the first argument and simply attempt to demonstrate the truth of a conclusion incompatible with that of the first argument.

Writing

To speak of counterarguments is not to assume that there are only two sides to a given issue nor that there is only one types of counter-argument.

Table: Parsing multiple counter-arguments
Counterargument 1		Counterargument 2		Counterargument 3
.		.		.

Support Statement	Type		Support Statement	Type		Support Statement	Type
.	.		.	.		.	.

Response 1		Response 2		Response 3
.		.		.

For a given argument, there is often a large number of counterarguments, some of which are not compatible with each other.

Speech

In a debate or in a speaking context, a counter-argument can be handled in a variety of ways.

Counterexample

The attempt to rebut an argument may involve generating a counter-argument or finding a counter-example.

External links

• Harvard, counter-argument