u5db_critical thinking

MgjZfIu0
Home>Homework Answsers>Business & Finance homework help>Operations Management homework help

Assignment Details: This assignment must be 4 paragraphs

Read Chapter 10 for the process of evaluating an argument. There are different purposes for arguments (p. 348): to decide, to explain, to predict, to persuade, and each has a specific structure. Look at the following subjects are decide what your opinion is. Then do a point by point evaluation for each using the format from the text:

  1. Computers are controlling our lives.
  2. Reality television’s has a positive or negative impact on society.
  3. Open immigration.

 

 

 

CHAPTER 10 Constructing Arguments

Should We Prolong Life at All Costs?

Ethical dilemmas are an unavoidable part of life. What is your reaction to this photograph of a comatose patient on life-support equipment surrounded by his family? Do you believe that medical technology should be used to extend people's lives in all cases? Why or why not?

Consider carefully the following dialogue about whether marijuana should be legalized:

  • DENNIS: Did you hear about the person who was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for possessing marijuana? I think this is one of the most outrageously unjust punishments I've ever heard of! In most states, people who are convicted of armed robbery, rape, or even murder don't receive fifteen-year sentences. And unlike the possession of marijuana, these crimes violate the rights of other people.
  • CAROLINE: I agree that this is one case in which the punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime. But you have to realize that drugs pose a serious threat to the young people of our country. Look at all the people who are addicted to drugs, who have their lives ruined, and who often die at an early age of overdoses. And think of all the crimes committed by people to support their drug habits. As a result, sometimes society has to make an example of someone—like the person you mentioned—to convince people of the seriousness of the situation.
  • DENNIS: That's ridiculous. In the first place, it's not right to punish someone unfairly just to provide an example. At least not in a society that believes in justice. And in the second place, smoking marijuana is nothing like using drugs such as heroin or even cocaine. It follows that smoking marijuana should not be against the law.
  • CAROLINE: I don't agree. Although marijuana might not be as dangerous as some other drugs, smoking it surely isn't good for you. And I don't think that anything that is a threat to your health should be legal.
  • DENNIS: What about cigarettes and alcohol? We know that they are dangerous. Medical research has linked smoking cigarettes to lung cancer, emphysema, and heart disease, and alcohol damages the liver. No one has proved that marijuana is a threat to our health. And even if it does turn out to be somewhat unhealthy, it's certainly not as dangerous as cigarettes and alcohol.
  • CAROLINE: That's a good point. But to tell you the truth, I'm not so sure that cigarettes and alcohol should be legal. And in any case, they are already legal. Just because cigarettes and alcohol are bad for your health is no reason to legalize another drug that can cause health problems.
  • DENNIS: Look—life is full of risks. We take chances every time we cross the street or climb into our car. In fact, with all of these loonies on the road, driving is a lot more hazardous to our health than any of the drugs around. And many of the foods we eat can kill. For example, red meat contributes to heart disease, and artificial sweeteners can cause cancer. The point is if people want to take chances with their health, that's up to them. And many people in our society like to mellow out with marijuana. I read somewhere that over 70 percent of the people in the United States think that marijuana should be legalized.

    Thinking Critically About Visuals

    “Let Herbs Grow Free!”

    Would you be inclined to join a “Legalize Marijuana” protest like this one? Why do some people believe that marijuana should be legalized? Why do others believe that it shouldn't?

  • CAROLINE: There's a big difference between letting people drive cars and letting them use dangerous drugs. Society has a responsibility to protect people from themselves. People often do things that are foolish if they are encouraged or given the opportunity to. Legalizing something like marijuana encourages people to use it, especially young people. It follows that many more people would use marijuana if it were legalized. It's like society saying, “This is all right—go ahead and use it.”
  • DENNIS: I still maintain that marijuana isn't dangerous. It's not addictive—like heroin is—and there is no evidence that it harms you. Consequently, anything that is harmless should be legal.
  • CAROLINE: Marijuana may not be physically addictive like heroin, but I think that it can be psychologically addictive because people tend to use more and more of it over time. I know a number of people who spend a lot of their time getting high. What about Carl? All he does is lie around and get high. This shows that smoking it over a period of time definitely affects your mind. Think about the people you know who smoke a lot—don't they seem to be floating in a dream world? How are they ever going to make anything of their lives? As far as I'm concerned, a pothead is like a zombie—living but dead.
  • DENNIS: Since you have had so little experience with marijuana, I don't think that you can offer an informed opinion on the subject. And anyway, if you do too much of anything, it can hurt you. Even something as healthy as exercise can cause problems if you do too much of it. But I sure don't see anything wrong with toking up with some friends at a party or even getting into a relaxed state by yourself. In fact, I find that I can even concentrate better on my schoolwork after taking a little smoke.
  • CAROLINE: If you believe that, then marijuana really has damaged your brain. You're just trying to rationalize your drug habit. Smoking marijuana doesn't help you concentrate—it takes you away from reality. And I don't think that people can control it. Either you smoke and surrender control of your life, or you don't smoke because you want to retain control. There's nothing in between.
  • DENNIS: Let me point out something to you: Because marijuana is illegal, organized crime controls its distribution and makes all the money from it. If marijuana were legalized, the government could tax the sale of it—like cigarettes and alcohol—and then use the money for some worthwhile purpose. For example, many states have legalized gambling and use the money to support education. In fact, the major tobacco companies have already copyrighted names for different marijuana brands—like “Acapulco Gold.” Obviously, they believe that marijuana will soon become legal.
  • CAROLINE: Just because the government can make money out of something doesn't mean that they should legalize it. We could also legalize prostitution or muggings and then tax the proceeds. Also, simply because the cigarette companies are prepared to sell marijuana doesn't mean that it makes sense to. After all, they're the ones who are selling us cigarettes.

Continue this dialogue, incorporating other views on the subject of legalizing marijuana.

 

Recognizing Arguments

The preceding discussion is an illustration of two people engaging in dialogue, which we have defined (in Chapter 2) as the systematic exchange of ideas. Participating in this sort of dialogue with others is one of the keys to thinking critically because it stimulates you to develop your mind by carefully examining the way you make sense of the world. Discussing issues with others encourages you to be mentally active, to ask questions, to view issues from different perspectives, and to develop reasons to support conclusions. It is this last quality of thinking critically—supporting conclusions with reasons—that we will focus on in this chapter and the next.

   When we offer reasons to support a conclusion, we are considered to be presenting an argument.

argument A form of thinking in which certain statements (reasons) are offered in support of another statement (a conclusion).

   At the beginning of the dialogue, Dennis presents the following argument against imposing a fifteen-year sentence for possession of marijuana (argument 1):

  • REASON: Possessing marijuana is not a serious offense because it hurts no one.
  • REASON: There are many other more serious offenses in which victims' basic rights are violated—such as armed robbery, rape, and murder—for which the offenders don't receive such stiff sentences.
  • CONCLUSION: Therefore, a fifteen-year sentence is an unjust punishment for possessing marijuana.

Can you identify an additional reason that supports this conclusion?

  • REASON:

   The definition of argument given here is somewhat different from the meaning of the concept in our ordinary language. In common speech, “argument” usually refers to a dispute or quarrel between people, often involving intense feelings (e.g., “I got into a terrible argument with the idiot who hit the back of my car”). Very often these quarrels involve people presenting arguments in the sense in which we have defined the concept, although the arguments are usually not carefully reasoned or clearly stated because the people are so angry. Instead of this common usage, in this chapter we will use the word's more technical meaning.

   Using our definition of argument, we can define, in turn, the main ideas that make up an argument: reasons that are presented to support an argument's conclusion.

reasons Statements that support another statement (known as a conclusion), justify it, or make it more probable.

conclusion A statement that explains, asserts, or predicts on the basis of statements (known as reasons) that are offered as evidence for it.

   The type of thinking that uses argument—reasons in support of conclusions—is known asreasoning, and it is a type of thinking you have been doing throughout this book, as well as in much of your life. We are continually trying to explain, justify, and predict things through the process of reasoning.

   Of course, our reasoning—and the reasoning of others—is not always correct. For example, the reasons someone offers may not really support the conclusion they are supposed to support. Or the conclusion may not really follow from the reasons stated. These difficulties are illustrated in a number of the arguments contained in the dialogue on marijuana. Nevertheless, whenever we accept a conclusion as likely or true based on certain reasons, or whenever we offer reasons to support a conclusion, we are using arguments to engage in reasoning—even if our reasoning is weak or faulty. In this chapter and the next, we will be exploring both the way we construct effective arguments and the way we evaluate arguments to develop and sharpen our reasoning ability.

   Let us return to the dialogue on marijuana. After Dennis presents the argument with the conclusion that the fifteen-year prison sentence is an unjust punishment, Caroline considers that argument. Although she acknowledges that in this case “the punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime,” she goes on to offer another argument (argument 2), giving reasons that lead to a conclusion that conflicts with the one Dennis drew.

  • REASON: Drugs pose a very serious threat to the young people of our country.
  • REASON: Many crimes are committed to support drug habits.
  • CONCLUSION: As a result, sometimes society has to make an example of someone to convince people of the seriousness of the situation.

Can you identify an additional reason that supports this conclusion?

  • REASON:

CUE WORDS FOR ARGUMENTS

Our language provides guidance in our efforts to identify reasons and conclusions. Certain key words, known as cue words, signal that a reason is being offered in support of a conclusion or that a conclusion is being announced on the basis of certain reasons. For example, in response to Caroline's conclusion that society sometimes has to make an example of someone to convince people of the seriousness of the situation, Dennis gives the following argument (argument 3):

  • REASON: In the first place, it's not right to punish someone unfairly just to provide an example.
  • REASON: In the second place, smoking marijuana is nothing like using drugs such as heroin or even cocaine.
  • CONCLUSION: It follows that smoking marijuana should not be against the law.

In this argument, the phrases in the first place and in the second place signal that reasons are being offered in support of a conclusion. Similarly, the phrase it follows that signals that a conclusion is being announced on the basis of certain reasons. Here is a list of the most commonly used cue words for reasons and conclusions.

Cue words signaling reasons

since

in view of

for

first, second

because

in the first (second) place

as shown by

may be inferred from

as indicated by

may be deduced from

given that

may be derived from

assuming that

for the reason that

Cue words signaling conclusions

therefore

then

thus

it follows that

hence

thereby showing

so

demonstrates that

(which) shows that

allows us to infer that

(which) proves that

suggests very strongly that

implies that

you see that

points to

leads me to believe that

as a result

allows us to deduce that

consequently

 

   Of course, identifying reasons, conclusions, and arguments involves more than looking for cue words. The words and phrases listed here do not always signal reasons and conclusions, and in many cases arguments are made without the use of cue words. However, cue words do help alert us that an argument is being made.

    • 10 years ago
    • 8
    Report issue
    Answer(1)
    Michelle Lewis Phd
    4.3 (475)
    4.5 (28)
    Chat

    Purchase the answer to view it

    NOT RATED
    • evaluation_of_an_argument.edited.docx