Counter-Arguments - Raising Objections

I had a recent run-in with the technique Epstein calls "Raising Objections" in Chapter 7 of his book Critical Thinking.

The other weekend, I hired my brother to work in my backyard.  He was doing a major overhaul, and working very hard.  He sent me inside because I was in the way.  The job as outlined was:

• Clear the weeds
• Put down 2 layers of gold fill
• Fix the stairs
• Trim the overflow of my neighbors jasmine (i.e., it comes over fence onto my side.  I had already begun trimming the jasmine and asked him to finish the job.)

This was easily a weekend of work. 

I went out a lunchtime the first day to offer him a meal and see how far he had gotten.  Much to my horror, he had trimmed the jasmine not the way I had started, but clear back to the fenceline.  It had lost it's hold and was falling over into my neighbors yard.

His argument, 

• You told me to trim the jasmine and you did not specify that I trim it in the same way you did.

My counter-argument,

• I told you I had already done part of the job and you could easily see how it had been done.

His argument,

• You did not say that you were done with the area you had worked on. 
• Besides, you have the right to trim it back to the fence line.  If it falls over, that's the neighbors concern.  They can prop it up if they like.

My counter-argument,

• Having the right to trim it to the fence does not mean I want to do it.  I like it coming over the fence a little
• Besides, I do not want to irritate my neighbors.

His argument,

• But your yard looks much bigger without it coming over, and it looks messy with it coming over all uneven.
• Besides, it's already done and it will grow back.

In case it's not clear by now, although I love my brother, he and I have very different tastes.  He loves symetry and straight, square lines.  I love asymetry and a little visual variety.  His thinking is also very straight.  If it's your right and you act on it, no-one should object. And he is not worried about my neighbors.

At the end of the weekend I decided he had the stronger argument.  It was done. The yard looked bigger.  The weeds were gone.  The stairs were fixed.  The vine would grow back.  I was dealing primarily with a difference in artistic taste.(and a desire to maintain harmony by informing the neighbors before going so far with any trimming).  Everything else that he had molded into his vision was easily changed into something I liked.  And the stairs are GOOD!