Article analysis and discussion

Diagramming Argument

For each of the following, a) identify inference indicators, and b) identify each claim by drawing square brackets around each claim and numbering the claims c) portray the structure of the argument using arrow diagrams

1. In all wars there is the chance innocent people will be killed, and we should never kill innocent people, even for a good cause. So, we should not participate in this war.

2. Some people justify deception as simply a part of good business practice. However, good business practice is built upon trust. And trust is undermined by deception. So, good business practice should not be built upon deception.

3. Whenever we find evidence of this kind of erosion, we know that it has taken many millions of years for the rock formation to develop. Therefore, we know this rock formation developed over many millions of years.

4. An ethics committee should be impartial. If it is appointed by and answers solely to those it is monitoring, it cannot be impartial. So an ethics committee must be appointed by and answer to an independent source.

5. Deregulation of electrical power in California brought tremendous increases in the cost of electricity; in some cases, increases of three thousand percent were common. The proposal to deregulate electrical power in Ontario is likely to produce even worse consequences, for Canada is surrounded by American states that have higher energy costs, and those states will rapidly drive up the cost of electricity within Ontario.

6. Never buy a car more than five years old. The repair costs are too high.

7. We should all work to control global warming. If we don’t, the world will be uninhabitable by humans within fifty years. My opponents contend that this would be costly. Yet recent studies by the European Union estimate that it would take less than one percent of Gross National Product to implement such reforms. Such an investment would not be costly considering the alternative.

8. We shouldn’t ban books in the schools. It undermines free thought and it limits what we can teach. To those who object, arguing that this would allow racist and other unacceptable books in the schools, I reply that such works, if taught to expose racism and sexism, can have a positive role in the curriculum.

9. We should legalize marijuana. It would have many benefits. It would give chemotherapy patients access to a drug that would help alleviate their symptoms. It would allow police time to chase more “deserving” criminals. It would give people a recreational drug that is far safer than tobacco or alcohol. To those who assert that it would justify impaired driving, I reply that this is not the case. Alcohol being legal does not mean that a person can legally drive under the influence. If a person is going to smoke up and drive, then that person is under the influence and should be charged. Legalizing marijuana does not inherently mean that we justify its abuse.

10. Definitions cannot, by their very nature, be either “true” or “false,” only more or less useful. For this reason, it makes relatively little sense to argue over definitions.

11. She won’t get the promotion. She has antagonized virtually everyone on the committee.