ARGUS — User Guide

What is ARGUS?

ARGUS is a protocol for the critical analysis of argumentative texts, designed to be used with an artificial intelligence (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any other language model). It dissects the mechanics of a text — its logic, rhetoric, presuppositions, implicit strategies — without being fooled by its persuasive power.

ARGUS is not a simple prompt. It is a structured method in seven steps, supplemented by fourteen absolute rules, that forces the AI to abandon its natural complacency toward well-written texts and produce a rigorous analysis.

What does the acronym mean?

ARGUS = Analytical Rigor Guided by a Universal and Systematic protocol.

The name also evokes Argus, the hundred-eyed giant of Greek mythology: a multiple, vigilant gaze that misses nothing.

Key terms explained

• Framing (or opening device) : the way a text begins — its title, first sentences, first paragraph — imposes a framework that determines what can be said or thought, and what is excluded from debate.
• Undemonstrated presupposition : a claim the text treats as true without ever proving it.
• Straw man : an opposing position constructed by the author in a simplified form to be easily refuted.
• Falsifiability : the capacity of a thesis to be contradicted by facts.
• Methodological perimeter : ARGUS analyzes the text from within, without verifying facts against external sources.
• Implicit strategic function : what the text does without explicitly saying so.
• Performative contradiction : when the text does the opposite of what it says.
• Confidence level : assessment of a hypothesis’s strength (strong, medium, weak).

How to use ARGUS

1. Get the protocol as text or .docx file (downloadable from this site).
2. Open a conversation with the AI of your choice.
3. Provide the protocol to the AI :
   • If the AI accepts attachments, attach the .docx file directly.
   • Otherwise, copy and paste the full protocol text.
4. Add the text to be analyzed, by pasting or attaching it.
5. Give a simple instruction : “Analyze the text below using the ARGUS protocol.”
6. The AI will apply step 0 (relevance test), then the seven steps.
7. The result will be a structured analysis, far more rigorous than a spontaneous one.

Important : ARGUS is designed for argumentative texts (op-eds, essays, speeches, manifestos). It is not suitable for purely literary or documentary texts.