COMP 2: Can You Change Someone’s Mind With the Six?

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Chapter 11

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Learning Objectives

In this chapter you will learn to:

11.1 Identify different claim types and their characteristic patterns of development.

11.2 Use strategies based on claim types to help focus an argument, generate ideas for it, and structure it persuasively.

11.3 Be mindful of how different claim types work together in hybrid arguments.

In Parts One, Two, and Three of this text, we showed how argument entails both inquiry and persuasion. We explained strategies for creating a compel- ling structure of reasons and evidence for your arguments (logos), for linking your arguments to the beliefs and values of your audience (patho s), and for establishing your credibility and trustfulness (ethos). We also showed you how to think about arguments rhetorically, how to do a rhetorical analysis of both verbal and visual texts, and how to use collaborative rhetoric as an alterative to classical argument.

Now, in Part Four, we examine arguments in depth by explaining five types of claims. Each type has its own characteristic patterns of development and support. Because almost all arguments use one or more of these types of claims as "moves" or building blocks, knowing how to develop each claim type will advance your skills in argument. The claims we examine in Part Four are related to an ancient rhetorical concept called stasis, from a Greek term meaning "stand," as in "to take a stand on something." There are many competing theories of stasis, so no two rhetoricians discuss stasis in exactly the same way. In Part Four, we present a version of stasis theory based on five types of claims. Studying these claim types will increase your flexibility and sophistication as an arguer.

An Introduction to the Types of Claims 213

The Types of Claims and Their Typical Patterns of Development 11.1 Identify different claim types and their characteristic patterns

of development.

To appreciate what a study of claim types can do, imagine one of those heated but frustrating arguments in which the question at issue keeps shifting. Everyone talks at cross-purposes, with each speaker's point unconnected to the previous speaker's. Suppose your heated discussion is about the use of steroids. You might get such a discussion back on track if you say: "Hold it for a moment. What are we actually arguing about here? Are we arguing about whether steroids are a health risk or whether steroids should be banned from sports? These are two different issues. We can't debate both at once." Whether you recognize it or not, you are applying the concept of claim types to focus the argument.

To understand how claim types work, let's return to the concept of stasis. A stasis is an issue or question that focuses a point of disagreement. You and your audience may agree on the answer to question A and so have nothing to argue about. Likewise, you may agree on the answer to question B. But on question C you disagree. Question C constitutes a stasis where you and your audience diverge. It is the place where disagreement begins, where as an arguer you take a stand against another view. Thus you and your audience may agree that steroids, if used carefully under a physician's supervision, pose few long-term health risks but still disagree on whether steroids should be banned from sports. This last issue constitutes a stasis, the point where you and your audience part company.

Rhetoricians have discovered that the kinds of questions that divide people have classifiable patterns. In this text we identify five broad types of claims each type originating in a different kind of question. Table 11.1 gives you an over- view of these five types of claims, each of which is developed in more detail in

Table 11.1 Five Types of Claims about Truth or Value

Claim Type and Generic Question

Claims about Truth (Reality or the Way Things Are)

Examples of Issue Questions Typical Methods for Structuring an Argument

Definitional arguments: In what category does this thing belong? (Chapter 12)

• Is solitary confinement cruel and unusual pu nishment?

• Create a definit ion that establishes criteria for the category.

Resemblance arg uments: To what is this thing similar? (Chapter 12)

Causal arguments: What are the causes or consequences of this phenomenon? (Chapter 13)

• Is a ski lled video game player an athlete?

• Is req uiring someone to buy medical insurance like requi ring him or her to buy car insurance?

• Is addiction to sugar like add ict ion to tobacco?

• What are the causes of bee colony collapse disorder?

• What might be t he consequences of raising the m inimum wage to a living wage?

• Use examples to show how the contested case meets the criteria.

• Let the analogy or precedent itself create the desired rhetorical effect. [or]

• Elaborate o n t he relevant similarit ies between the g iven case and the analogy or precedent.

• Explain t he links in a causal chain going from cause to effect , or summarize experimental studies showing cause or consequence.

(Continued)

214 Chapter 11

Claim Type and Generic Question

Claims About Values

Evaluation and et hical arguments: What is the worth or value of this thing? (Chapter 14)

Proposal arguments : What action should we take? (Chapter 15)

Examples of Issue Questions

• Is tal k therapy a good approach for t reating anxiety?

• Is it ethical to use reprod uctive technology to make "designer babies"?

• Shou ld medical insurance policies be requi red to cover contraception?

• Shou ld the federal government enact a carbon tax?

Typical Methods for Structuring an Argument

• Establish the criteria for a "good" or "ethical" member of this class or category.

• Use examples to show how the contested case meets the criteria.

• Make the problem vivid . • Explain your solutio n. • Justify your sol utio n by showing how it is

motivated by principle, by good consequences, or by resemblance to a previous action that the audience approves of.

subsequen t ch apters . It also show s you a typical structure for each type of argu- m ent. Note that the first three claim types concern question s of truth or reality, w h ereas the last two concern questions of value. You 'll appreciate the significance of this distinction as you p roceed through this chapter.

For Writing and Discussion Identifying Types of Claims Working as a class or in small groups, read the fol low ing questions and decide w hich claim type is repre- sented by each. Sometimes there are several different ways to c lassify a claim, so if you believe that the question fits two categories, explain your reasoning.

1. Should the U.S. president be authorized to employ w eapon ized drones to kill terrorists? 2. Is taking Adderall to increase concentration on an exam a form of cheating? 3. What w ould be the economic consequences of a carbon tax aimed at reducing carbon em issions? 4. Is burning the U.S. flag an act of free speech? 5. Is the war on drugs rea lly like f ighting an actual war? 6. How effective is acupuncture in reducing morn ing sickness? 7. Is acupuncture quackery or real medicine? 8. Should universities ban the use of calculators during calculus exams? 9. Does the rodeo sport of riding bucking horses or bulls constitute cruelty to an imals?

10. Why are couples w ho live together before marriage more likely to divorce than couples w ho don't live together before marriage?

Using Claim Types to Focus an Argument and Generate Ideas: An Example 11.2 Use strategies based on claim types to help focus an argument, generate

ideas for it, and structure it persuasively.

Having provided an overview of the types of claims, w e now sh ow you som e of the benefits of this knowledge. First of all, understanding claim types will h elp you focus an argument b y asking you to d etermine what's at stake between you

An Introduction to t he Types of Clai ms 215

and your audience. Where do you and your audience agree and d isagree? What are the questions at issue? Second, it will help you generate ideas for your argu- ment by suggesting the kinds of reasons, examples, and evidence you'll need.

To illustrate, let's take the recent public controversy about e-cigarettes, which use a battery-powered heating element to vaporize the liquid in a small cartridge. The user inhales the vap or (an act often called "vaping"). Cartridges can be pur- chased containing various amounts of nicotine or no nicotine at all; flavored liquids (such as apple cinnamon or peach cobbler) are also available. Although there is debate about whether the vapors from e-cigarettes are harmful, everyone agrees that the nicotine-laced liquid itself is poisonous if ingested in its liquid form. In the absence of federal regulations, many states and cities have enacted their own laws ab out e-cigarettes, often treating them exactly as if they were real cigarettes banning them from b ars, restaurants, and other public places; forbidding their sale to m inors; and restricting the ways they can be advertised.

Let's now take the hypothetical case of a city debating a policy one-cigarettes. Imagine three different writers. Writer 1 wants to ban e-cigarettes, making them subject to the same restrictions as real cigarettes. Writer 2 wants to promote e-cigarettes as a preferred alternative to real cigarettes. Writer 3, a libertarian opposed to the nanny state, wants no restrictions on e-cigarettes other than forb idding sale of nicotine cartridges to minors and making sure that the liquid- containing cartridges are childproof. Let's consider how familiarity with claim types can help each writer generate ideas for his or her argument.

Writer 1: Ban £-Cigarettes Writer 1, who believes that e-cigarettes are harmful, imagines a somewhat live- and-let-live audience inclined to take no action against e-cigarettes. Her goal is to portray e-cigarettes negatively in order to persuade this audience that e-cigarettes should be banned.

• Definition argument: Because regular cigarettes are already banned in p ublic places, Writer 1 wants to place e-cigarettes in the same category as real cigarettes. For part of her argument she can use a definitional strategy, showing that e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes belong in the same category because both deliver nicotine extracted from tobacco leaves. She can argue that the differences between regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes, such as one p roducing smoke and the other vapor, are superficial. What makes them the same is the delivery of nicotine.

• Resemb l ance argument: Using a resemblance strategy, Writer 1 can also show how e-cigarettes are designed to look like regular cigarettes and make smoking look cool again. You can blow "smoke" rings w ith the exhaled vap or, just as you can w ith real tobacco smoke.

• Causal argument: To increase her negative portrayal of e-cigarettes, Writer 1 can also use a causal strategy. She can argue that e-cigarettes will hook children and teenagers on real cigarettes. She can show how flavored vapors such as "bubble gum" or "pancake" seem marketed to children and how the availability of cartridges that combine flavored vapors with nicotine give Big Tobacco a new way to create the next generation of nicotine addicts.

• Evaluation argument: Here Writer 1 will have to summarize and rebut counterviews that e-cigarettes are a good replacement for regular cigarettes.

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Supporters will say thee-cigarettes are better than regular cigarettes because e-cigarettes contain fewer carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) and are thus safer. Writer 1 will need to argue that the negative aspects of e-cigarettes- nicotine addiction and the enticement of children toward smoking outweigh their increased safety. She can also argue that the propellant ingredients in the cartridges have not yet been proven safe, and she can refer to research showing that the liquid itself is extremely poisonous if ingested directly.

• Proposal argument: The city council should bane-cigarettes.

This example shows that writers often need to argue issues of reality and truth in order to make claims about values. In this case, Writer 1's proposal claim to bane-cigarettes is based on reasons that are themselves derived from defini- tion, resemblance, and cause: "E-cigarettes should be banned because they contain the same tobacco-derived nicotine as real cigarettes (definition), because they are advertised to make smoking look cool again (resemblance), and because they will hook kids on smoking (cause)."

Writer 2: Promote £-Cigarettes as a Preferred Alternative to Real Cigar-ettes Writer 2 shares with his audience a belief that cigarettes are harmful and that smoking should be banned. However, he wants to emphasize the benefits of e-cigarettes to people who already smoke. Like Writer 1, he can use the five claim types to generate strategies for his argument.

• Definition argument: To portray e-cigarettes more positively, Writer 2 can make the definitional claim that e-cigarettes are not the same as real cigarettes and thus belong in a different category. He can argue that the essential trait of real cigarettes is cancer-causing tar derived from the combustion of tobacco leaves. It is the danger of the tar and secondhand smoke, not the nicotine, that gave rise to the anti-smoking movement in the first place. By arguing that the delivery of nicotine is a superficial rather than essential criterion for defining cigarettes, Writer 2 can show that e-cigarettes' absence of tar and secondhand smoke makes them essentially different from real cigarettes.

• Resemblance argument: Using a resemblance strategy, Writer 2 can show that although e-cigarettes are essentially different from real cigarettes, the two have pleasing similarities. Vaping provides the same physical and social pleasures as does smoking, but without the harm to self and others.

• Causal argument: Writer 2 can also portray e-cigarettes positively through the causal argument that they can save current smokers' lives by converting them from a dangerous way of getting nicotine to a less dangerous way of getting nic- otine. Without condoning nicotine addiction, Writer 2 can point to the positive health consequences of getting a nicotine hit without the carcinogens. Writer 2 can also argue that e-cigarettes can help people stop smoking because vapers can gradually reduce the nicotine content in the cartridges they purchase.

• Evaluation argument: Here Writer 2 can claim that e-cigarettes are better than real cigarettes by arguing that the health benefits of no smoke and no tar outweigh the drawbacks of an addiction to nicotine, which in itself causes little health risk.

• Proposal argument: E-cigarettes should be promoted as a safe alternative to real cigarettes.

An Introduction to the Types of Claims 217

Writer 3: Place No Restrictions on £-Cigarettes Writer 3 is a libertarian who dislikes nanny-state restrictions on our individual freedoms. She wants to argue that the only restrictions on e-cigarettes should be federally mandated childproofing of the cartridges, truth-in-labeling require- ments about what the cartridges contain, and banning sales of nicotine-containing cartridges to minors.

• Definition argument: Writer 3, like Writer 2, can argue that e-cigarettes are in a different category from regular cigarettes. Unlike regular cigarettes, e-cigarettes present no proven dangers either to self or to others through secondhand smoke.

• Resemblance argument: To celebrate the libertarian endorsement of individual freedom, Writer 3 can show the resemblance between taking a pleasurable hit on an e-cigarette and other pleasures frowned upon by the nanny state drinking sugary sodas, buying a Big Mac, or owning a muscle car.

• Causal argument: Whereas Writer 2 argues that e-cigarettes are safer than regular cigarettes, Writer 3 can argue that nobody has demonstrated any firsthand or secondhand health hazards for e-cigarettes. She can make the additional causal argument that government wants to treat e-cigarettes like regular cigarettes so that they can tax them heavily to produce "sin-tax" rev- enue. She can also argue that nanny-state regulations lead to the loss of per- sonal freedoms and the shutting down of free enterprise.

• Evaluation argument: Writer 3 can argue that people should be free to make their own evaluations of e-cigarettes.

• Proposal argument: The city should place no restrictions on sales of e-cigarettes to adults.

Hybrid Arguments: How Claim Types ork Together in Arguments 11.3 Be mindful of how different claim types work together in hybrid

arguments.

As thee-cigarette example shows, hybrid arguments can be built from different claim types. A writer might develop a proposal argument with a causal subar- gument in one section, a resemblance subargument in another section, and an evaluation subargument in still another section. Although the overarching pro- posal argument follows the typical structure of a proposal, each of the subsections follows a typical structure for its own claim type.

Some Examples of Hybrid Arguments The following examples show how these combinations of claim types can play out in actual arguments. (For more examples of hybrid arguments, see Chapter 15, Tables 15.1 and 15.2, where we explain how lower-order claims about reality and truth can support higher-order claims about values.)

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Evaluation Argument Addressed to Parents

Shooter video games are bad for kids

because they are socially toxic.

because they have been shown to promote violence in some males.

because they desensitize users to violence in the same way that army training games do.

Evaluation claim

Definition claim

Causal claim

Resemblance claim

Values claim

Truth/reality claims

Proposal Argument Addressed to Local Newspaper Readers

Our region should build a light-rail transportation system

because light rail would get a substantial number of commuters out of cars.

because light rail has been successful in

other regions.

because light rail is cost effective and environmentally sound.

For Writing and Discussion Exploring Different Claim Types and Audiences

Individual task:

Proposal claim Values claim

Causal claim

Resemblance claim Truth/reality claims

Evaluation claim

Choose one of the following issues and role-play one of the suggested authorial purposes. Write out your exploratory ideas for how you might use several of the claim types (definition, resemblance, cause, evalua- tion, proposal) to develop your argument. Use our example arguments about e-cigarettes as your models. Imagine an aud ience skeptical of your chosen position.

1. Carbon footprint: You want (do not want) the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the amount of carbon dioxide that power plants can em it.

2. Gun restrictions: You want (do not want) the federal government to ban assau lt rifles and high-volume ammunition cartridges.

3. Diet: You want your classmates to adopt (or not to adopt) the paleo diet. 4. M inimum wage: You want (do not want) your c ity or state to adopt as its minimum wage a living wage

of $15 per hour. 5. Some other issue that you think w ill be reasonably familiar to your classmates.

Group task: Share with classmates your init ial efforts to use the claim types to help generate ideas. What worked for you and what didn't? Where was it useful to think of the category in which something belonged (definition)? For example, is carbon dioxide a "pollutant," a "poison," or a "harmless and natural chemical compound"? Where was it helpful to th ink about resemb lance? Is a paleo diet like a caveman's d iet? How about cause and effect? What will be the consequences of rais ing the m inimum wage? How d id your th inking about issues of truth or reality help you develop evaluation or proposal c laims?

An Introduction to t he Types of Clai ms 219

An Extended Example of a Hybrid Argument As the previous examples illustrate, different claim types often serve as build- ing blocks for larger arguments. We ask you now to consider a more extended example. Read the following argument from Outside Magazine aimed at enthu- siasts of outdoor sports such as hiking, camping, mountain climbing, skiing, biking, and distance running. The magazine's readers are often health-conscious consumers of multivitamins and other dietary supplements such as minerals, fish oils, herbals, botanicals, enzymes, antioxidants, amino acids, and other substances often ingested as tablets, capsules, p owders, energy drinks, or energy bars. In this startling article, the writer uses recent scientific studies to make the evalua- tion claim that these supplements are either "useless" or "worse than useless." Notice how this overall evaluation claim is supported by claims from definition, resemblance, and cause.

Your Daily Multivitamin May Be Hurting You ALEX HUTCHINSON

In June, at this year's European College of Sp ort Science conference in Barcelona,

Introduces the evaluation issue

I-- ''Are supplements good/bad?"

Mari Carmen Gomez-Cabrera, a physiologist at the University of Valencia and one of the world's leading experts on antioxidants, was debating the merits of sup ple- ments with two top researchers. For more than 90 minutes they went back and forth, parsing the accumulated evidence in front of a packed auditorium. Finally, Gomez-Cabrera landed on a provocative question that summarized her position.

===: The debate, she explained, isn't whether supplements are good or bad for Restates evaluation

athletes. Rather, it's "are they useless, or are they worse than useless?" t-- issue with implied ___, claim: Supplements

The question may come as a shock to the more than half of Americans who take are either useless or some sort of dietary supplement a vast catch-all term that includes everything worse than useless f 't . d . 1 t h b 1 d' t t' f b t rom VI am1ns an mmera s o er a reme 1es o exo 1c per ormance oos ers like deer-antler s prav and ~lutamine. It's no surprise that the purported muscle- building supplements make unproven claims and may come with hazardous side effects. But in the past few years, Gomez-Cabrera and a growing number of researchers have come to believe that even respectable mainstream supplements such as v itamins C and E suffer from the same basic flaw: few aiJIJarent benefits and increasing evidence of negative effects. For example, in July's issue of the Journal of Physiology, researchers discovered that resveratrol, an antioxidant in red wine, actually limited the positive effects of cardiovascular exercise like an increased V02 max when taken daily in high concentrations. In July, scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that men with high levels of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA in their b lood, often from fish-oil supplements, had a significantly greater risk of prostate cancer.

According to Pieter Cohen, a professor at Harvard Medical School, there are really only two types of sp orts supplements: those that are safe but don't work, and those that might work but have side effects, especially at higher than normal levels. "If any supplement, no matter how beneficial, has a pharmaceutical effect, it's also got a downside," he says. "There's no way to get around that basic principle."

Further develops evaluation claim: Supplements are bad because they make unproven claims and because they may come with hazardous side effects

Uses causal argu- 1-- ments to illu strate

bad side effects

Definition claim: Supplements belong

.._ t o one of two catego- ries: (1) safe but don't work or (2) work but h ave bad side effects

Develops definition argument by showing

r-- h ow supplements fit first category of being safe but useless

Most supplements stay firmly in the first category. Taking a daily multivitamin, s Cohen emphasizes, won't harm you, but it usually won't help either, which is why major health organizations such as the American Heart Association and the Ameri- can College of Sports Medicine don't recommend supplements to healthy people.___,

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Causal argument showing bad side effects (places supplements in second category of being harmful)

Causal argument showing still more bad side effects

Causal argument from psychology showing different bad effect: People who take supple- ments feel they are healthier and thus actually act in1 ess healthy ways

Brief resemblance argument: Taking a vitamin is NOT like eating spinach or going to the gym

Conclusion

-

-

It's not that vitamins and minerals aren't important. If you don't get enough vitamin C, you can get scurvy; without enough iron, you can become anemic; and if you live far enough north to see Russia from your backyard, you may need some extra vitamin D. But all three of these substances have also been linked to negative effects at high doses. Same goes for prolonged use of other common supplements such as vitamin E and calcium. In short, unless tests have shown that you're low in a particular vitamin or mineral, there's no evidence to suggest that you should take a daily supplement.

r--

That rule also applies if you're an athlete who takes supplements because, say, you assume your training requires an antioxidant boost to speed recovery. Gomez-Cabrera and her colleagues at the University of Valencia have shown that antioxidant supplements suppress the oxidative stress that signals your body to adapt and get stronger. The result: regular use of something seemingly innocuous such as vitamin C can actually block gains in endurance-boosting mitochondria.

!:::::=

- The balance between risk and return also works in subtler ways, as Wen-Bin Chiou, a psychologist at National Sun Yatsen University in Taiwan, has shown in a series of experiments on a phenomenon called the licensing effect. As part of a battery of tests, subjects were asked to take a pill; half were told the pill was a multivitamin, while the other half were told it was a placebo. In truth, they were all placebos.

In subsequent tests, the subjects who thought they'd taken a vitamin con- sistently behaved in less healthy ways. When asked to try out a pedometer, they were more likely to choose a shorter walking route; at lunch, they chose less healthy food. In follow-up studies, Chiou has also discovered that smokers who think they've been given a vitamin smoke more, and people who are given a weight-loss supplement are less likely to stick to their diet. The same thing hap-

- pens when you go to the gym or eat a plate of spinach. The difference is that exercise and vegetables have real benefits, so you've still got a chance to come out ahead. If you take a pill with no benefits, the best you can do is break even.

-

Which brings us back to Gomez-Cabrera in Barcelona. She, of all people, has enormous respect for the powers of micronutrients such as antioxidants she has devoted her life to studying them. "But if you eat enough fruits and vegetables, five servings a day," she says, "I don't think you need anything else." And if you're not eating like that, then taking a pill isn't a solution. In fact, it may be part of the problem . ..___.

As this editorial demonstrates, awareness of different kinds of claims can help you increase your flexibility and effectiveness as an arguer. In the following chapters, we discuss each of the claim types in more detail, showing how they work and how you can develop skills and strategies for supporting each type of claim.

Chapter 12

Learning Objectives

In this chapter, you will learn to:

12.1 Explain what is at stake in arguments about definition and resemblance.

12.2 Explain four types of categorical arguments.

12.3 Explain the criteria-match structure of categorical arguments based on definition.

12.4 Use criteria-match reasoning to generate ideas for your own definition argument.

12.5 Write your own definition argument.

Arguments about definition or resemblance concern disputes about what category something belongs to, either directly by definition or indirectly or metaphorically through comparison or resemblance. They are among the most common argument types you will encounter.

Case 1: In What Category Does My Wad of Gum (Wrapped in Mustard--Stained Tissue) Belong? Th is cartoon by Rina Piccolo poses a definitional issue. The ethically motivated hero of this cartoon, trying valiantly to do the right thing, ponders the criteria for each bin. Is her wad of t issue-wrapped gum "just p lain old garbage"? Or is it perhaps "organic waste"? (The answer depends on how you define "garbage" versus "organic waste.") While point- ing to the challenges of c lassifying waste, the cartoon gently mocks the bureaucratic mind that invents all these categories and then has to define them. In the wonderful way that cartoons can work, the cartoon's categorical choices can even define human actors. As long as the woman stands pondering, she defines herself as a "concerned

221

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en vironmentalist." But the next person m ight define herself as an en vironmental scoffer by chucking the w ad of gum into the "no conscience" bin or the "climate change denier/ polluter" bin. This cartoon both mocks environmental ists and honors the definitional dif- ficulties of defining and sorting different kinds of waste.

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Case 2: Is a Frozen Embryo a Person or Property? An infertile couple concei ved several embryos in a test tube and then froze the ferti lized embryos for future use. During the couple's divorce, they disagreed about the disposition of the embryos. The woman wanted to use the frozen embryos to try to get pregnant, and the man wanted to destroy them. When the courts were asked to decide what should be done w ith the embryos, several questions of definition arose: Should the frozen embryos be categorized as " persons," thus becoming analogous to children in custody disputes? Or should they be divided up as "property," w ith the man getting half and the woman get- ting the other half? Or should a new legal category be created for them that regards them as more than property but less than actual persons? The judge decided that frozen em- bryos "are not, strictly speaking, either ' persons' or ' property,' but occupy an interim category that entitles them to special respect because of their potential for human life."*

hat Is at Stake in an Argument about Definition and Resemblance? 12.1 Explain what is at stake in arguments about definition and resemblance.

Definition and resemblance arguments occur when ever a community disagrees about the category a particular p erson, thing, act, or phenomenon should be placed in or identified with. H ere are some examples:

Issues Involving Categories

Question Does this specific phenomenon ...

... belong to (or is it similar to) this category?

Is atmospheric carbon dioxide a pollutant? At mospheric carbon dioxide Pollutant

For purposes of our state's tax on candy, Cough drop is a cough drop "candy" or an "over-t he- counter drug"?

Is women's obsession w ith thinness today Women's obsession with similar in effect to women's footbinding in t hinness ancient China?

Candy (or over-the-counter drug)

Footbinding in ancient China

* See Vincen t F. Stempel, "Procreative Rights in Assisted Reproductive Technology : Why the Angst?" A lbany Law Review 62 (1 999), 1187.

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 223

Much is at stake when we place things into categories because the category that something belongs to can have real consequences. Naming the category that something belongs to makes an implicit mini-argument.

Consequences Resulting fron1 Categorical Clain1s To appreciate the consequences of categorical claims, consider the competing cat- egories proposed for whales in the international controversy over commercial whaling. What category does a whale belong to? Some arguers might say that "whales are sacred animals," implying that their intelligence, beauty, grace, and power mean they should never be killed. Others might argue that "whales are a renewable food resource" like tuna, crabs, cattle, and chickens. This category implies that we can harvest whales for food the same way we harvest tuna for tuna fish sandwiches or cows for beef. Still others might argue that "whales are an endangered species" a category that argues for the preservation of whale stocks but not necessarily for a ban on controlled hunting of individual whales. Each of these whaling arguments places whales in a separate, different category that implicitly urges the reader to adopt that category's perspective on whaling.

Significant consequences can also result from resemblance claims. Consider the way that media analysts tried to make sense of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by comparing them to differ- ent kinds of previous events. Some commentators said, "The September 11 attacks are like Timothy McVeigh's bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995" an argument that framed the terrorists as criminals who must be brought to justice. Others said, "The September 11 attacks are like the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor" an argument suggesting that the United States should declare war on some yet-to-be-defined enemy. Still others said, "The Sep- tember 11 attacks are like an occasionally disastrous earthquake or an epidemic," arguing that terrorists will exist as long as the right conditions breed them and that it is useless to fight them using the strategies of conventional war. Under this analogy, the "war on terror" is a metaphorical war like the "war on poverty" or the "war against cancer." Clearly, each of these resemblance claims had high-stakes consequences. In 2001, the Pearl Harbor claim prevailed, and the United States went to war, first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq. Many critics of these wars continue to say that war is an inappropriate strategy for fighting the "disease of terrorism."

The Rule of Justice: Things in the San1e Category Should Be Treated the San1e Way As you can see, the category we place something into either directly through definition or indirectly through comparison can have significant implications for people's actions or beliefs. To ensure fairness, philosophers refer to the rule of justice, which states that "beings in the same essential category should be treated in the same way." For example, the problem of how the courts should treat the users or sellers of marijuana depends on the category marijuana belongs to. Mari- juana might be placed in the same category as tobacco and alcohol, in which case the possession and sale of marijuana would be legal but subject to regulation and taxes. Or marijuana could be placed in the same category as meth, cocaine, and heroin; in this case, it would be an illegal drug subject to criminal prosecution. Some states have placed marijuana in the same category as penicillin and insulin, making it a legal drug so long as it is obtained from a licensed dispensary with a

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doctor's prescription. Many states are not happy with any of these categories and are trying to define marijuana in some fourth way.

To take another example, suppose your professor says that absence from an exam can be excused for emergencies only. How would you define "emer- gency"? Clearly, if you broke your leg on the morning of an exam, you would be excused. But is attending your grandmother's funeral or your best friend's wed- ding an "emergency"? How about missing an exam because your car wouldn't start? Although your interests might be best served by a broad definition of emergency, your professor might prefer a narrow definition, which would per- mit fewer exceptions.

The rule of justice becomes especially hard to apply when we consider con- tested cases marked by growth or slow change through time. At what point does a child become an adult? When does a binge drinker become an alcoholic, an Inter- net poker player a compulsive gambler, or a fetus a human person? Although we may be able arbitrarily to choose a particular point and declare that" adult" means someone at least eighteen years old or that "human person" means a fetus at con- ception, at three months, or at birth, in the everyday world the distinction between child and adult, between fetus and person, between Friday-night poker playing and compulsive gambling seems an evolution, not a sudden and definitive step. Nevertheless, our language requires an abrupt shift between categories. In short, applying the rule of justice often requires us to adopt a digital approach to reality (switches are either on or off, either a fetus is a human person or it is not), whereas our sense of life is more analogical (there are numerous gradations between on and off; there are countless shades of gray between black and white).

As we can see from the preceding examples, the promise of language to struc- ture what psychologist William James called "the buzz and confusion of the world" into an orderly set of categories turns out to be elusive. In most category debates, an argument, not a quick trip to the dictionary, is required to settle the matter.

For Writing and Discussion Applying the Rule of Justice Suppose your land lord decides to institute a "no pets" rule. The rule of justice requ ires that all pets have to go-not just your neighbor's barking dog, but also Mrs. Brown's cat, the kids' hamster downstairs, and your own pet tarantula. That is, all these animals have to go, unless you can argue that some of them are not "pets" for purposes of the landlord's "no pets" rule.

1. Working in small groups or as a class, define pets by establishing the criteria an animal would have to meet to be included in the category "pets." Consider your land lord's "no pets" ru le as the cultural context for your definition.

2. Based on your criteria, which of the fol lowing animals is definitely a pet that wou ld have to be removed from the apartment? Based on your criteria, which animals could you exclude from the "no pets" rule? How would you make your argument to your landlord?

• a German shepherd • a small housecat • a tiny, well-trained lapdog • a gerbi l in a cage • a canary • a tank of tropical fish • a tarantula

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 225

Types of Categorical Arguments 12.2 Explain four types of categorical arguments

Categorical arguments assert that a disputed phenomenon is (or is not) either a member of a certain category or is like a certain category. Such arguments can be divided into four kinds:

1. Simple categorical arguments, in which there is no dispute about the defini- tion of the category.

2. Definition arguments, in which there is a dispute about the boundaries of the category and hence its definition.

3. Resemblance arguments by analogy, in which the writer uses metaphor or other figurative language to link the phenomenon to a certain category.

4. Resemblance arguments by precedent, in which the arguer claims that one phenomenon or situation is similar to another phenomenon or situation.

Let's look at each in turn.

Sin1ple Categorical Argun1ents A categorical argument is "simple" if there is no disagreement about the defini- tion of the category into which a person, event, or phenomenon is placed. For example, if you make the claim that "Joe is bossy," you are placing him in the category of "bossy people." In this case, you assume that you and the audi- ence agree on what "bossy" means. Your dispute is simply whether Joe meets the criteria for "bossy." To support your claim, you would provide examples of his bossiness (his poor listening skills, his shouting at people, his making decisions without asking the committee). Similarly, if you want to make the simple categorical claim that "low-carb diets are dangerous," you would need to provide evidence of this danger (scientific studies, testimony from doctors, anecdotes). The dispute in this case is about low-carb diets, not about the defi- nition of" dangerous." To rebut a simple categorical claim, you would provide counterevidence to show that the person, event, or phenomenon does not meet the criteria for the category.

For Writing and Discussion Supporting and Rebutting Simple Categorical Claims Working ind ividually or in small groups, consider how you would support the following simple categorical claims. What examples or other data wou ld convince readers that the specified case fits within the named category? Then discuss ways you might rebut each claim.

1. Bottled water is environmentally unfriendly. [That is, bottled water belongs in the category of "environ- mentally unfriendly substances."]

2. Macklemore is a pure rapper. 3. Americans today are obsessed w ith their appearance. [That is, Americans belong in the category of

"people obsessed with their appearance."] 4. Competitive cheerleading is physical ly risky. 5. Dinosaurs were warm-blooded.

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Definition Argutnents Simple categorical arguments morph into definition arguments whenever stake- holders disagree about the boundaries of a category. In the previous exercise, suppose that you had said about Macklemore, "Well, that depends on how you define 'pure rapper."' The need to define the term "pure rapper" adds a new layer of complexity to your arguments about Macklemore. You are disputing not only specifics about Macklemore but also the definition of "pure rapper" itself.

Full-blown definition arguments occur, then, when the disputants don't agree on the definition of the category into which a person, event, or phenomenon is placed. Consider, for example, the environmental controversy over the defini- tion of wetland. Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act provides for federal protection of wetlands, but it leaves the task of defining wetland to administrative agencies and the courts. Currently, about 5 percent of the land surface of the con- tiguous forty-eight states is potentially affected by the wetlands provision, and 75 percent of this land is privately owned. Efforts to define wetland have created a battleground between pro-environment and pro-development or property-rights groups. Farmers, homeowners, and developers often want a narrow definition of wetlands so that more property is available for commercial or private use. Environmentalists favor a broad definition in order to protect different habitat types and maintain the environmental safeguards that wetlands provide (includ- ing control of water pollution, spawning grounds for aquatic species, and flood- water containment).

The problem is that defining wetland is tricky. For example, one federal reg- ulation defines a wetland as any area that has a saturated ground surface for twenty-one consecutive days during the year. But how would you apply this law to a pine flatwood ecosystem that was wet for ten days this year but thirty days last year? And how should the courts react to lawsuits claiming that the regulation itself is either too broad or too narrow? One can see why the wetlands controversy provides hefty incomes for lawyers and congressional lobbyists.

As we will explain in more detail later in this chapter, definition arguments require a criteria-match structure in which the arguer must first define the category term by specifying the criteria that must be met for something to be placed in that category. The writer then shows that the disputed person, event, or phenomenon matches those criteria.

Resemblance Argutnent Using Analogy Whereas definition arguments claim that a particular phenomenon belongs to a certain category, resemblance arguments simply compare one thing to another. A common kind of resemblance argument uses analogies imaginative comparisons often with subtle persuasive effects. If you don't like your new boss, you can say that she's like a Marine drill sergeant or the cowardly captain of a sinking ship. Each of these analogies suggests a different category in which to place your boss, clarifying the nature of your dislike while conveying an emotional charge. The arguer's intention is to transfer the audience's understanding of (or feelings about) the second thing back to the first. The risk of resemblance arguments is that the differences between the two things being compared are often so significant that the argument collapses under close examination.

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 227

Sometimes, as in the "My boss is like a Marine drill sergeant" example, argu- ers use short, undeveloped analogies for quick rhetorical effect. At other times, arguers develop extended analogies that carry a substantial portion of the argu- ment. As an example of an extended analogy, consider the following excerpt from a professor's argument opposing a proposal to require a writing proficiency exam for graduation. In the following portion of his argument, the professor compares development of writing skills to the development of physical fitness.

A writing proficiency exam gives the wrong symbolic messages about writing. It suggests that writing is simply a skill, rather than an active way of thinking and learning. It suggests that once a student demonstrates proficiency, then he or she doesn't need to do any more writing.

Imagine two universities concerned with the physical fitness of their stu- dents. One university requires a junior-level physical-fitness exam in which students must run a mile in less than 10 minutes, a fitness level it considers minimally competent. Students at this university see the physical-fitness exam as a one-time hurdle. As many as 70 percent of them can pass the exam with no practice; another 10-20 percent need a few months' training; and a few hope- less couch potatoes must go through exhaustive remediation. After passing the exam, any student can settle back into a routine of TV and potato chips having been certified as "physically fit."

The second university, however, believing in true physical fitness for its students, is not interested in minimal competency. Consequently, it creates programs in which its students must take a one-credit physical-fitness course each term for the entire four years of the undergraduate curriculum. There is little doubt which university will have the more physically fit students. At the second university, fitness becomes a way of life, with everyone developing his or her full potential. Similarly, if we want to improve our students' writing abilities, we should require writing in every course throughout the curriculum.

Thus analogies have the power to get an audience's attention like virtually no other persuasive strategy. But seldom are they sufficient in themselves to provide full understanding. At some point, with every analogy, you need to ask your- self, "How far can I legitimately go with this? At what point are the similarities between the two things I am comparing going to be overwhelmed by their dis- similarities?" Analogies are useful attention-getting devices, but they can conceal and distort as well as clarify.

For Writing and Discussion Developing Analogies The following exercise will help you clarify how analogies function in the context of arguments. Working indi- vidually or in smal l groups, think of two analogies for each of the following topics. One analogy should urge readers toward a positive view of the topic; the other should urge a negative view. Write each of your analo- gies in the following one-sentence format:

___ is like : A, B, C .. . (in which the first term is the contested topic being discussed; the second term is the analogy; and A, B, and C are the points of compari son).

(continued)

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Example

• Topic: Cramming for an exam • Negative analogy: Cramming for an exam is like pumping iron for ten hours straight to prepare for a

weight-lifting contest: exhausting and counterproductive. • Positive analogy: Cramming for an exam is like carbohydrate loading before a big race: It gives your

brain a full supply of facts and concepts, all fresh in your mind.

• Topics:

1. Checking social media constantly 2. Building a wall to secure U.S. borders 3. Using steroids to increase athletic performance 4. Paying college athletes 5. Eating at fast-food restaurants

Resemblance Arguments Using Precedent Another kind of resemblance argument uses precedent for its persuasive force. An argument by precedent tries to show that a current situation is like a past situation and that therefore a similar action or decision should be taken or reached. You can refute a precedence argument by showing that the present situation differs substantially from the past situation.

Precedence arguments are very common. For example, during the debate about healthcare reform in the first year of Barack Obama's presidency, support- ers of a single-payer, "Medicare-for-all" system pointed to Canada as a success- ful precedent. According to supporters, a single-payer system was successful in Canada; it would therefore also be successful in the United States. But opponents also used the Canadian precedent to attack a single-payer system. They pointed to problems in the Canadian system as a reason to reject a Medicare-for-all system in the United States.

A good example of an extended precedence argument can be found in an article entitled "The Perils of Ignoring History: Big Tobacco Played Dirty and Mil- lions Died. How Similar Is Big Food?"* The authors' goal is to place "Big Food" in the same category as "Big Tobacco." The authors argue that the food-processing industry is trying to avoid government regulations by employing the same "dirty tricks" used earlier by Big Tobacco. The authors show how Big Tobacco hired lob- byists to fight regulation, how it created clever advertising to make cigarette smok- ing seem cool, and how it sponsored its own research to cast doubt on data linking nicotine to lung cancer or asthma to secondhand smoke. The researchers argue that Big Food is now doing the same thing. Through lobbying efforts, coordinated lawsuits, and public-relations campaigns, Big Food resists labeling ingredients in food products, casts doubt on scientific evidence about possible carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) in processed foods, and uses advertising to create a local, "family farm" image for Big Food. The researchers use this precedence argument to call for stricter government oversight of Big Food.

*Kelly D. Brownell and Kenneth E. Warner, "The Perils of Ignoring History: Big Tobacco Played Dirty and Millions Died. How Similar Is Big Food?" The Milbank Quarterly 87.1 (2009), 259-294.

For Writing and Discussion Using Claims of Precedent

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 229

Consider the fol lowing claims of precedent, and evaluate how effective you think each precedent might be in establishing the claim. How would you develop the argument? How wou ld you cast doubt on it?

1. To increase alumni giving to our university, we should put more fund ing into our footbal l program. When University X went to postseason bowls for three years in a row, alumni donations to building programs and academics increased by 30 percent. We can expect the same increases here.

2. Postwar democracy can be created successfully in Afghanistan because it was created successfully in Germany and Japan following World War II.

3. Euthanasia laws work successfully in the Netherlands. Therefore they will work successfully in the United States.

Examining Visual Arguments

• ~· ~-

Claim about Category (Definition) This cartoon, by pol itical cartoonist Randy Bish of the Pittsburgh Tribu ne Review, creates a visual pun that makes a categorical argument against heroin. How does Bish's rendering of the letter "r" make a categori- cal claim? What is that claim? How effective do you find this cartoon in highlighting the seductive danger of heroin?

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The Criteria-Match Structure of Definition Arguments 12.3 Explain the criteria-match structure of categorical arguments

based on definition.

Of the four types of categorical arguments explained in the previous section, defi- nition arguments require the fullest range of argumentative skills. For the rest of this chapter, we'll explain more fully the argumentative moves required to write your own definition argument.

Overview of Criteria-Match Structure Definition arguments usually have a two-part structure: (1) a definition part that tries to establish the boundaries of the category and (2) a match part that argues whether a given case meets that definition. To describe this structure, we use the term criteria-match. Here are two examples:

Definition issue: In a divorce proceeding, is a frozen embryo a "person" rather than "property"?

Criteria part: What criteria must "a person" meet?

Match part: Does a frozen embryo meet these criteria?

Definition issue: Is this thirty-acre parcel of land near Swan Lake a "wetland"?

Criteria part: What criteria must a wetland meet?

Match part: Does this parcel of land meet these criteria?

To show how a definition issue can be developed into a claim with supporting reasons, let's look more closely at a third example:

Definition issue: For purposes of my feeling good about buying my next pair of running shoes, is the Hercules Shoe Company a socially responsible company?

Criteria part: What criteria must a company meet to be deemed "socially responsible"?

Match part: Does the Hercules Shoe Company meet these criteria?

Let's suppose you work for a consumer information group that wishes to encourage patronage of socially responsible companies and the boycott of socially irresponsible companies. Your group's first task is to define socially responsible company. After much discussion and research, your group establishes three criteria that a company must meet to be considered socially responsible:

Your definition: A company is socially responsible if it (1) avoids polluting the environment, (2) sells goods or services that contribute to the community's well- being, and (3) treats its workers justly.

The criteria section of your argument would explain and illustrate these criteria.

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 231

The match part of the argument would then try to persuade readers that a specific company does or does not meet the criteria. A typical thesis statement might be as follows:

Your thesis statement: Although the Hercules Shoe Company is nonpolluting and provides a socially useful product, it is not a socially responsible company because it treats workers unjustly.

Toullllin Fralllework for a Definition Argulllent Here is how the core of the preceding Hercules definition argument could be displayed in Toulmin terms. Note how the reason and grounds constitute the match argument while the warrant and backing constitute the criterion argument.

Toulmin Analysis of the Hercules Shoe Company Argument

ENTHYMEME

CLAIM The Hercules Shoe Company is not a socially responsible company

REASON because it treats workers unjustly.

GROUNDS Evidence of unjust treatment:

• Evidence that the company manufactures its shoes in East Asian sweatshops

• Evidence of the inhumane conditions in these shops

• Evidence of hardships imposed on displaced American workers

WARRANT Socially responsible companies treat workers justly.

BACKING • Arguments showing that just treatment of

workers is right in principle and also

benefits society

• Arguments that capitalism helps society

as a whole only if workers achieve a reasonable standard of living, have time for leisure, and are not exploited

CONDITIONS OF REBUTTAL Attacking reasons and grounds

• Possible countervidence that the shops maintain humane working conditions

• Possible questioning of statistical data

about hardships on displaced workers

CONDITIONS OF REBUTTAL Attacking warrant and backing

Justice needs to be considered from an emerging nation's standpoint:

• The wages paid to workers are low by American standards but are above

average by East Asian standards.

• Displacement of American workers

is part of the necessary adjustment of adapting to a global economy and does not mean that a company is unjust.

As this Toulmin schema illustrates, the warrant and backing constitute the criteria section of the argument by stating and defending "just treatment of work- ers" as a criterion for a socially responsible company. The reason and grounds

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constitute the match section of the argument by arguing that the Hercules Shoe Company does not treat its workers justly. How much emphasis you need to place on justifying each criterion and supporting each match depends on your audi- ence's initial beliefs. The conditions of rebuttal help you imagine alternative views and see places where opposing views need to be acknowledged and rebutted.

For Writing and Discussion Identifying Criteria and Match Issues Consider the fo llowing definition claims. Working individually or in small groups, identify the criteria issue and the match issue for each of the follow ing claims.

Definition issue: A Honda assembled in Oh io is (is not) an American-made car. Criteria part: What criteria must an "American-made car" meet? Match part: Does a Honda assembled in Ohio meet these criteria? Claims:

1. American Sign Language is (is not) a "foreign language" for purposes of a college graduation requirement.

2. The vio lence in Grand Theft Auto is (is not) constitutionally protected free speech. 3. Bungee jumping from a crane is (is not) a "carnival amusement ride" subject to state safety

inspections. 4. For purposes of a state sales tax on "candy," a Twinkie is (is not) candy. 5. A skilled video game player is (is not) a true athlete.

Creating -Criteria Using Aristotelian Definition When creating criteria for a category, you can often follow the pattern of Aristo- telian definition. The Aristotelian definitional strategy, regularly used in diction- aries, defines a term by placing it within the next larger class or category and then showing the specific attributes that distinguish the term from other terms within the same category. For example, according to a legal dictionary, robbery is "the felonious taking of property" (next larger category) that differs from other acts of theft because it seizes property "through violence or intimidation." Legal dictionaries often provide specific examples to show the boundaries of the term. Here is one example:

There is no robbery unless force or fear is used to overcome resistance. Thus, sur- reptitiously picking a man's pocket or snatching something from him without resistance on his part is larceny, but not robbery.

Many states specify degrees of robbery with increasingly heavy penalties. For example, armed robbery involves the use of a weapon to threaten the victim. In all cases, robbery is distinguished from the lesser crime of larceny, in which no force or intimidation is involved.

As you can see, an Aristotelian definition of a term identifies specific attri- butes or criteria that enable you to distinguish it from other members of the next larger class. We created an Aristotelian definition in our example about socially responsible companies. A socially responsible company, we said, is any company (next larger class) that meets three criteria: (1) it doesn't pollute the environment;

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 233

(2) it creates goods or services that promote the community's well-being; and (3) it treats its workers justly.

In constructing Aristotelian definitions, you may find it useful to employ the concepts of accidental, necessary, and sufficient criteria.

• An accidental criterion is a usual but not essential feature of a concept. For example, armed robbers frequently wear masks, but wearing a mask is an accidental criterion because it has no bearing on the definition of rob- bery. In our example about socially responsible companies, "makes regular contributions to charities" might be an accidental criterion; most socially responsible companies contribute to charities, but some do not. And many socially irresponsible companies also contribute to charities often as a public-relations ploy.

• A necessary criterion is an attribute that must be present for something to belong to the category being defined. To be guilty of robbery rather than larceny, a thief must have used direct force or intimidation. The use of force is thus a necessary criterion for robbery. However, for a robbery to occur, another criterion must also be met: The robber must also take property from the victim.

• Sufficient criteria are all the criteria that must be present for something to belong to the category being defined. Together, the use of force plus the taking of property are sufficient criteria for an act to be classified as robbery.

Consider again our defining criteria for a "socially responsible" company: (1) the company must avoid polluting the environment; (2) the company must create goods or services that contribute to the community's well-being; and (3) the company must treat its workers justly. In this definition, each criterion is neces- sary, but none of the criteria alone is sufficient. In other words, to be defined as socially responsible, a company must meet all three criteria at once, as the word and signals. It is not enough for a company to be nonpolluting (a necessary but not sufficient criterion); if that company makes a shoddy product or treats its workers unjustly, it fails to meet the other necessary criteria and can't be deemed socially responsible. Because no one criterion by itself is sufficient, the company must meet all three criteria together before it can be deemed socially responsible.

In contrast, consider the following definition of sexual harassment as established by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in its 1980 guidelines:

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affect- ing such individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreason- ably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.*

Here each of these criteria is sufficient. If just one criterion is met, the act constitutes sexual harassment.

*Quoted in Stephanie Riger, "Gender Dilemmas in Sexual Harassment Policies and Proce- dures," American Psychologist 46 (May 1991), 497-505.

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For Writing and Discussion Working with Criteria Working indiv idually or in small groups, try to determine whether each of the following is a necessary criterion, a sufficient criterion, an accidental criterion, or no c riterion fo r defin ing the indicated concept. Be prepared to explain your reasoning and to account for d ifferences in points of view.

Criterion Concept to Be Defined

Presence of gills Fish

Profane and obscene language R-rated movie

Poem Line endings that form a rhyming pattern

Disciplining a child by spanking Child abuse

Vegetarian

Murder

Diet that excludes meat

Killing another human being

Good sex life Happy marriage

Creating-criteria Using an Operational Definition In some rhetorical situations, particularly those arising in the physical and social sciences, writers need precise operational definitions that can be measured empiri- cally and are not subject to problems of context and conflicting values and beliefs. A social scientist studying the effects of television on aggression in children needs a precise, measurable definition of aggression. Typically, the scientist might mea- sure "aggression" by counting the number of blows a child gives to an inflatable bobo doll over a fifteen-minute period when other play options are available. In our wetlands example, a federal authority created an operational definition of wetland: a wetland is a parcel of land that has a saturated ground surface for twenty-one consecutive days during the year.

Such operational definitions are useful because they are precisely measurable, but they are also limited because they omit criteria that may be unmeasurable but important. Thus, we might ask whether it is adequate to define an honors student as someone with a 3.8 GPA or higher or a successful sex-education program as one that results in a 25 percent reduction in teenage pregnancies. What important aspects of an honors student or a successful sex-education program are not con- sidered in these operational definitions?

Conducting the Match Part of a Definitien Argument In conducting a match argument, you need to supply examples and other evidence showing that your contested case does (does not) meet the criteria you established in your definition. In essence, you support the match part of your argument in much the same way you would support a simple categorical claim.

For example, if you were developing the argument that the Hercules Shoe Company is not socially responsible because it treats its workers unjustly, your

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 235

match section would provide evidence of this injustice. You might supply data about the percentage of shoes produced in East Asia, about the low wages paid to these workers, and about the working conditions in these factories. You might also describe the suffering of displaced American workers when Hercules closed its American factories and moved operations to Asia, where the labor is non- union and cheap. The match section should also summarize and respond to

• • opposing views.

Idea-Generating Strategies for Creating Your Own Criteria-Match Argument 12.4 Use criteria-match reasoning to generate ideas for your own definition

argument.

In constructing criteria to define your contested term, you can either research how others have defined your term or make your own definitions. If you use the first strategy, you turn to standard or specialized dictionaries, judicial opinions, or expert testimony to establish a definition based on the authority of others. The second strategy is to use your own critical thinking to make your own defini- tion, thereby defining the contested term yourself. This section explains these approaches in more detail.

Strategy 1: Research How Others Have Defined the Terin When you take this approach, you search for authoritative definitions acceptable to your audience yet favorable to your case. When the state of Washington tried to initiate a new sales tax on candy, lawyers and legislators wrestled with a defi- nition. They finally created the following statute, which is available to the public on a government website:

What Is the Definition of Candy?

"Candy" is a preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeten- ers combined with chocolate, fruits, nuts, or other ingredients or flavorings in the form of bars, drops, or pieces. Candy does not require refrigeration, and does not include flour as an ingredient.

"Natural or artificial sweeteners" include, but are not limited to, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, invert sugar, sucrose, fructose, sucra- lose, saccharin, aspartame, stevia, fruit juice concentrates, molasses, evaporated cane juice, and rice syrup. "Flour" includes any flour made from a grain, such as wheat flour, rice flour, and corn flour. Items that require "refrigeration," either before or after opening, are not candy. For example, popsicles, ice cream bars, and fruits in sweet- ened syrups are not candy.

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This definition made it easy for state officials to exclude from the "candy tax" any snack food that contained flour. Thus Twinkies, Fruit Loops cereal, and chocolate-covered pretzels were exempt from the tax. But considerable debate occurred over cough drops and halvah (a traditional dessert in India and Medi- terranean countries). The state decided to exclude cough drops if the package contained a "drug facts" panel and a list of active ingredients. (Such cough drops were then classified as "over-the-counter drugs.") Halvah made with nut-butter was taxed as candy but not halvah made with flour.

Turning to established definitions is thus a first step for many definition argu- ments. Common sources of these definitions are specialized dictionaries, such as Black's Law Dictionary, which form a standard part of the reference holdings of any library. Other sources of specialized definitions are state and federal appel- late court decisions, legislative and administrative statutes, and scholarly articles examining a given definition conflict. Lawyers use this research strategy exhaus- tively in preparing court briefs. They begin by looking at the actual text of laws as passed by legislatures or written by administrative authorities. Then they look at all the court cases in which the laws have been tested and examine the ways courts have refined legal definitions and applied them to specific cases. Using these refined definitions, lawyers then apply them to their own case at hand.

If your research uncovers definitions that seem ambiguous or otherwise unfavorable to your case, you can sometimes appeal to the "original intentions" of those who defined the term. For example, if a scientist is dissatisfied with definitions of wetlands based on consecutive days of saturated ground surface, she might proceed as follows: "The original intention of Congress in passing the Clean Water Act was to preserve the environment." What Congress intended, she could then claim, was to prevent development of those wetland areas that provide crucial habitat for wildlife or that inhibit water pollution. She could then propose an alternative definition based on criteria other than consecutive days of ground saturation.

Strategy 2: Create Your Own Extended Definition* Often, however, you need to create your own definition of the contested term. An effective strategy is to establish initial criteria for your contested term by thinking of hypothetical cases that obviously fit the category you are trying to define and then altering one or more variables until the hypothetical case obviously doesn't fit the category. You can then test and refine your criteria by applying them to borderline cases. For example, suppose you work at a homeless shelter where you overhear your clients discuss an incident that strikes you as potential"police brutality." You wonder whether you should write to your local paper to bring attention to the incident.

* The defining strategies and collaborative exercises in this section are based on the work of George Hillocks and his research associates at the University of Chicago. See George Hillocks Jr., Elizabeth A. Kahn, and Larry R. Johannessen, "Teaching Defining Strategies as a Mode of Inquiry: Some Effects on Student Writing," Research in the Teaching of English 17 (October 1983), 275-84. See also Larry R. Johannessen, Elizabeth A. Kahn, and Carolyn Calhoun Walter, Designing and Sequencing Prewriting Activities (Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1982).

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 237

A Possible Case of Police Brutality

Two police officers confront an inebriated homeless man who is shouting obscenities on a street corner. The officers tell the man to quiet down and move on, but he keeps shouting obscenities. When the officers attempt to put the man into the police car, he resists and takes a wild swing at one of the officers. As eyewitnesses later testified, this officer shouted obscenities back at the drunk man, pinned his arms behind his back in order to handcuff him, and lifted him forcefully by the arms. The man screamed in pain and was later discovered to have a dislocated shoulder. Is this officer guilty of police brutality?

To your way of thinking, this officer seems guilty: An inebriated man is too uncoordinated to be a threat in a fight, and two police officers ought to be able to arrest him without dislocating his shoulder. But a friend argues that because the man took a swing at the officer, the police were justified in using force. The dislocated shoulder was simply an accidental result of using justified force.

To make your case, you need to develop a definition of "police brutality." You can begin by creating a hypothetical case that is obviously an instance of police brutality:

A Clear Case of Police Brutality

A police officer confronts a drunk man shouting obscenities and begins hitting him in the face with his police baton. [This is an obvious incidence of police brutal- ity because the officer intentionally tries to hurt the drunk man without justification; hitting him with the baton is not necessary for making an arrest or getting the man into the police car.]

You could then vary the hypothetical case until it is clearly not an instance of police brutality.

Cases That Are Clearly Not Police Brutality

Case 1:

The police officer handcuffs the drunk man, who, in being helped into the police car, accidentally slips on the curb and dislocates his arm while falling. [Here the injury occurs accidentally; the police officer does not act intentionally and is not negligent.]

Case 2:

The police officer confronts an armed robber fleeing from a scene and tack- les him from behind, wrestling the gun away from him. In this struggle, the officer pins the robber's arm behind his back with such force that the robber's shoulder is dislocated. [Here aggressive use of force is justified because the robber was armed, dangerous, and resisting arrest.]

Using these hypothetical cases, you decide that the defining criteria for police brutality are (1) intention and (2) use of excessive force that is, force beyond what was required by the immediate situation. After more contemplation, you are

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convinced that the officer was guilty of police brutality and have a clearer idea of how to make your argument. Here is how you might write the "match" part of your argument:

Match Argument Using Your Definition

If we define police brutality as the intentional use of excessive force, then the police officer is guilty. His action was intentional because he was purposefully responding to the homeless man's drunken swing and was angry enough to be shouting obscenities back at the drunk (according to eyewitnesses). Second, he used excessive force in applying the handcuffs. A drunk man taking a wild swing hardly poses a serious danger to two police officers. Putting handcuffs on the drunk may have been justified, but lifting the man's arm violently enough to dislocate a shoulder indicates excessive force. The officer lifted the man's arms violently not because he needed to but because he was angry, and acting out of anger is no justification for that violence. In fact, we can charge police officers with police brutality precisely to protect us from being victims of police anger. It is the job of the court system to punish us, not the police's job. Because this officer acted intentionally and applied excessive force out of anger, he should be charged with police brutality.

The strategy we have demonstrated developing criteria by imagining hypothetical cases that clearly do and do not belong to the contested category- gives you a systematic procedure for developing your own definition for your argument.

For Writing and Discussion Developing a Definition

Individual task: 1. Suppose you want to define the concept of courage. In each of the following cases, decide whether

the person in question is acting courageously or not. In each instance explain your reasoning. a. A neighbor rushes into a burning house to rescue a child from certain death and emerges, cough ing

and choking, with the chi ld in his arms. Is the neighbor courageous? b. A firefighter rushes into a burning house to rescue a child from certain death and emerges with

the chi ld in her arms. The firefighter is wearing protective c lothing and a gas mask. When a newspaper reporter calls her courageous, she says, "Hey, this is my job." Is the firefighter courageous?

c. A teenager rushes into a burning house to recover a memento given to him by his girlfriend, the first love of his life. Is the teenager courageous?

d. A parent rushes into a burn ing house to save a trapped child. The fire marshal tells the parent to wait because there is no chance that the child can be reached from the first floor. The fire marshal wants to try cutting a hole in the roof to reach the child. The parent rushes into the house anyway and is burned to death. Was the parent courageous?

2. Now formulate your own definition of a "courageous act." Use the follow ing format: "An act would be considered courageous if it meets the follow ing criteria: [you specify]."

3. Finally, apply your definition to the fol lowing case: An extreme sport enthusiast sets a record for a hang-glid ing descent from a certain state's highest cliff. Is th is record-setting descent a courageous act? Write a paragraph in which you argue that the descent is or is not courageous.

Defi nition and Resemblance Arguments 239

Group task: Share the results from the individual task on courage. Then make up your own series of controversial cases, like those given previously for "courage," for one or more of the following concepts:

a. cruelty to animals

b . child abuse

c . t rue athlete

d . sexual harassment

e . free speech protected by the First Amendment

Finally, using t he strategy of making up hypothetical cases that do and do not belong to each category, construct a def inition of your chosen concept.

riting Assignment: A Definition Argument 12.5 Write your own definition argument.

The assignment for this chapter focuses on definition disputes about categories. Write an essay in which you argue that a borderline or contested case fits (or does not fit) within a given category. In the opening of your essay, introduce the bor- derline case you will examine and pose your definition question. In the first part of your argument, define the boundaries of your category (criteria) by reporting a definition used by others or by developing your own extended definition. In the second part of your argument (the match), show how your borderline case meets (or doesn't meet) your definition criteria.

Exploring Ideas Ideally, in writing this argument you will join an ongoing conversation about a definition issue that interests you. What cultural and social issues that con- cern you involve disputed definitions? In the public arena, you are likely to find numerous examples simply by looking through news stories for example, the disputes about the definition of "torture" in interrogating terrorist suspects or about "freedom of religion" in debates about religious organizations having to pay for contraception in employees' health insurance. Often you can frame your own definition issues even if they aren't currently in the news. Is using TiVo to avoid TV commercials a form of theft? Is flag burning protected free speech? Is solitary confinement "cruel and unusual punishment"? Is Walmart a socially responsible company? Are voter ID laws racist?

If you have trouble discovering a local or national issue that interests you, you can create fascinating definition controversies among your classmates by asking whether certain borderline cases are "true" or "real" examples of some category: Are highly skilled video game players (race car drivers, synchronized swimmers, marbles players) true athletes? Is a gourmet chef (skilled furniture maker, tag- ger) a true artist? Is a chiropractor (acupuncturist, naturopathic physician) a "real doctor"? Working as a class or in small groups inside or outside class, create an

240 Chapter 12

argumentative discussion on one or more of these issues. Listen to the various voices in the controversy, and then write out your own argument.

You can also stimulate definition controversies by brainstorming borderline cases for such terms as courage (Is mountain climbing an act of courage?), cruelty to animals (Are rodeos [zoos, catch-and-release trout fishing, use of animals for medi- cal research] guilty of cruelty to animals?), or war crime (Was the U.S. firebombing of Tokyo in World War II a war crime?).

As you explore your definition issue, try to determine how others have defined your category. If no stable definition emerges from your search, create your own definition by deciding what criteria must be met for a contested case to fit within your category. Try using the strategy for creating criteria that we discussed earlier in this chapter with reference to police brutality. Once you have determined your criteria, freewrite for five or ten minutes, exploring whether your contested case meets each of the criteria.

Identifying Your Audience and Determining What's at Stake Before drafting your argument, identify your targeted audience and determine what's at stake. Consider your responses to the following questions:

• What audience are you targeting? What background do they need to under- stand your issue? How much do they already care about it?

• Before they read your argument, what stance on your issue do you imagine them holding? What change do you want to bring about in their views?

• What will they find new or surprising about your argument?

• What objections might they raise? What counterarguments or alternative points of view will you need to address?

• Why does your argument matter? Who might be threatened or made uncom- fortable by your views? What is at stake?

Organizing a Definition Argument As you compose a first draft of your essay, you may find it helpful to understand typical structures for definition arguments. There are two basic approaches, as shown in Figures 12.1 and 12.2. You can either discuss the criteria and the match separately or interweave the discussion.

Questioning and Critiquing a Definition Argument A powerful way to stimulate global revision of a draft is to role-play a skeptical audience. The following questions will help you strengthen your own argument or rebut the definition arguments of others. In critiquing a definition argument, you need to appreciate its criteria-match structure because you can question the criteria argument, the match argument, or both.

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 241

Figure 12.1 Definit ion argument: Organization Plan 1

Introduce the issue and state your claim.

Present your criteria.

Present your match argument.

Conclude.

Questioning Your Criteria

• Engage reader's interest in your definition issue and show why it is controversial or problematic.

• Show what's at stake.

• Provide background information needed by your audience.

• State your claim.

• State and develop criterion 1 .

• State and develop criterion 2.

• Continue with the rest of your criteria.

• Anticipate and respond to possible objections to the criteria.

• Consider restating your claim for clarity.

• Argue that your case meets (does not meet) criterion 1 .

• Argue that your case meets (does not meet) criterion 2.

• Continue with the rest of your match argument.

• Anticipate and respond to possible objections to the match argument.

• Perhaps sum up your argument.

• Help reader return to the #big picture" of what's at stake.

• End with something memorable.

• Could a skeptic claim that your criteria are not the right ones? Could he or she offer different criteria or point out missing criteria?

• Could a skeptic point out possible bad consequences of accepting your criteria?

• Could a skeptic cite unusual circumstances that weaken your criteria? • Could a skeptic point out bias or slant in your definition?

Questioning Your Match

• Could a skeptic argue that your examples or data don't meet the STAR crite- ria (see Chapter 4) for evidence?

• Could a skeptic point out counterexamples or alternative data that cast doubt on your argument?

• Could a skeptic reframe the way you have viewed your borderline case?

242 Chapter 12

Figure 12.2 Definition argument: Organization Plan 2

Introduce the issue and state your claim.

Present series of criterion-match arguments.

Respond to possible objections to your argument.

Conclude.

Readings

• Engage reader's interest in your definition issue and show why it is problematic or controversial.

• Show what's at stake.

• Provide background information needed by your audience.

• State your claim.

• State and develop criterion 1 and argue that your case meets (does not meet) the criterion.

• State and develop criterion 2 and argue that your case meets (does not meet) the criterion.

• Continue with the rest of your criterion-match arguments.

• Anticipate and summarize possible objections.

• Respond to the objections through rebuttal or •

concession.

• Perhaps sum up your argument.

• Help reader return to the #big picture" of what's at stake.

• End with something memorable.

Our first reading, by student writer Arthur Knopf, grew out of his research into agricultural subsidies and the nutritional content of foods. It was written for the assignment in Learning Objective 12.5.

Student Essay ------------------------------

15 Milk a Health Food?

Arthur Knopf

If asked to name a typical health food, most of us would put milk high on our lists. We've all seen the "Got Milk?" ads with their milk-mustached celebrities or the dairy product campaigns entitled "Milk, It Does a Body Good" or "Body By Milk." These ads, featuring well-known athletes or trim celebrities, argue visually that milk helps you grow fit and strong. But if you define "health food" based on science rather than on marketing claims, and if you include in your definition of health food concerns for the planet as well as for individual bodies, then milk might not fit the category of health food at all.

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 243

My first criterion for a "health food" is that the food should have a scientifically supported health benefit with minimal risks. Based on the food pyramid from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), m ilk at first glance seems to fit this criterion. On the MyPyramid website the dairy group (milk, yogurt, cheese) is one of the essential components of a healthy diet (USDA). All elements of the milk group provide calcium, which is important for healthy bones and the prevention of osteoporosis. Dairy products also provide important vitamins. But the website entry under the dairy group specifies in a footnote, "Choose fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese." One cup of whole milk, according to the website, contains 70 more calories than a cup of skim milk (147 calories compared to 83). The extra 70 calories are potentially harmful saturated fats and sugar, linked to heart disease and obesity. We can say then that "nonfat m ilk" fits my first criterion for a health food, but that the rest of the milk group may not.

So how do dairy products in general get listed as essential ingredients on the food pyramid rather than just low-fat milk or yogurt? The answer to this question brings us to my second criterion for a health food: Potentially unhealthy aspects of the food should be w idely disclosed, not h idden by marketing. Because we are bombarded daily by conflicting nutrition claims, many people turn to the U.S. government for neutral, unbiased information. But the p lace of dairy products on the USDA food pyramid may be itself a result of marketing. The USDA's mandate isn't directly to promote health, but rather to promote agriculture and to help farmers flourish economically. In recommending three servings of dairy products per day, the food pyra- mid serves the interests of dairy farmers by promoting the whole class of dairy products, not just skim milk. According to the Environmental Work- ing Group's Farm Subsidy Primer, the USDA spent $4.8 billion in dairy sub- sidies between 1995 and 2009 ("Farm Subsidy Primer"). All these policies invest public dollars to create a steady consumption of dairy products and fundamentally depend on the premise that dairy products are good for us.

As we have seen, skim milk may be good for us, but dairy products in general are more problematic. When the fat in whole milk is removed to make skim milk, it is not thrown away. It is used to make high-calorie, high- fat products like cheese and ice cream. Revealing its true ambivalence to public nutrition, the USDA warns against saturated fats in its food pyramid site while simultaneously working w ith companies like Domino's Pizza to increase the amount of cheese in their products. According to The New York Times (Moss), the USDA helped Domino's create a p izza w ith 40 p ercent more cheese and paid for a $12 m illion ad campaign to promote it. The New York Times further writes that Americans now consume almost three times as much cheese as we did in 1970. At a time of a national obesity epidemic, the promotion of dairy products either directly or indirectly introduces h igh- calorie, high-saturated-fat foods into our d iet while making many persons think they are eating healthfully.

Finally, I would like to suggest a third criterion for health food. A true s health food should be good not only for our bodies but also for the earth. Milk, as it is currently produced in the United States, clearly does not meet this criterion. According to environmental writer Jim Motavalli, both " the front

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244 Chapter 12

and rear ends of a cow" compete with coal plant smokestacks and vehicle tail- pipes as "iconic" causes of global warming and environmental degradation. Drawing on statistical sources from both the United Nations and the USDA, Motavalli states that livestock in the United States consumes 90 percent of the soy crop and more than 70 percent of the corn and grain crops foods that could otherwise be used for people and could be grown in a more envi- ronmentally friendly way. Not only do cattle consume much of the world's grain supply, the need to clear space for grazing contributes to the destruction of rain forests. The other end of the cow, says Motavalli, is equally destruc- tive. While chewing their cuds, cows directly emit methane gas (according to Motavalli, methane has a greenhouse effect 23 times more potent than car- bon dioxide), and the concentration of their manure in factory farm sludge ponds produces ammonia, nitrous oxide, and additional methane. According to Motavalli, cows produce a staggering amount of manure ("five tons of waste for every U.S. citizen"), producing 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gases more than all of the world's cars, trains, and planes. Motavalli also cites additional health risks posed by cows, including dangers of disease from unsafe processing of manure and from antibiotic-resistant bacteria (half of the world's antibiotics are given to cattle instead of humans).

In sum, there is no doubt that skim milk, along with low-fat yogurt and cheese, is a vital source of bone-building calcium and belongs on our list of health foods. But for most people, "milk" evokes dairy products in general, all of which we tend to associate with health. What we don't picture is the extra sugar and saturated fat in whole milk and cheese nor the environ- mental dangers of the dairy and livestock industries in general. From the perspective of the earth, perhaps dairy products should not be considered a health food at all.

Works Cited

"Farm Subsidy Primer." Environmental Working Group, farm.ewg.orgl subsidyprimer.php. Accessed 8 Apr. 2018.

Moss, Michael. "While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales." The New York Times, 6 Nov. 2010, www.nytimes.comi2010I11I07 lusl07fat. html.

Motavalli, Jim. "The Meat of the Matter." Orlando Weekly, 31 July 2008, www.orlandoweekly.coml orlando I the-meat-of-the-matter I Content?oid=2273952.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. MyPyramid, www.cnpp.usda.gov lmypyramid. Accessed 8 Apr. 2018.

Critiquing "Is Milk a Health Food?"

1. Identify the following features of Arthur's essay: (1) his implied definition of "health food"; (2) his criteria for determining whether a borderline case is a health food; (3) his match arguments showing whether milk fits each of the criteria.

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 245

2. Do you agree with Arthur's criterion that a true health food ought to be good for the planet as well as good for the body?

3. Based on Arthur's argument, do you think the inclusion of dairy products in the USDA's recommendations for a healthy diet is still justified? Visit the USDA's nutrition website, www.choosemyplate.gov. Would you suggest changes to these USDA recommendations? If so, what changes would you recommend and why?

The second reading, by student Alex Mullen, was also written for the defini- tion assignment in Learning Objective 12.5. Alex's argument was stimulated by class discussions of property ownership in digital environments.

Student Essay

A Pirate But Not a Thief: What Does "Stealing" Mean in a Digital Environment?

Alex Mullen

I am a pirate. In the eyes of the law, I could face serious punishment in fines, up to thousands of dollars, or jail time for my crime. Legally, it matters very little that my crime is one perpetrated by millions of people every year (you yourself may be guilty of it) or that there are far worse offenders out there. But before we get out the noose and head for the yardarm, I think I ought to describe my crime. In my History of Film class we were asked to watch Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion. Now, if you've spent any time searching for 1930s foreign films you will undoubtedly know what a pain it is to find them, and of the twenty or so films we watched for my class a grand total of three were available on streaming sites such as Netflix, Hulu, and You Tube. While there were several copies of this particular film at my university library, all had been checked out. I planned to make a journey to the fabled Scarecrow Video (one of the largest rental libraries in the United States), but time was running low at this point. Finally, I broke down and used a person-to-person torrent site to download the film illegally. In the end all the trouble was worthwhile, as La Grande Illusion remains one of the greatest films I have ever seen. After watching it several times and writing a brief paper, I deleted the film from my computer. Although I feel that my action was justifiable, many people think what I did was no better than shoplifting and that I am guilty of theft. As a film lover and aspiring filmmaker, I am conflicted on the issue of online piracy. Nevertheless, I contend that what I did wasn't stealing because I deprived no one of either property or profit.

Let's take a step back from online piracy and focus simply on what stealing is in its most basic form. In my mind, stealing is the unlawful tak- ing of another's property or profits without permission. It is the underlying assumption about what makes stealing wrong that needs to be considered. In the case of property, stealing is wrong not because the thief has the prop- erty but because the original owner has been deprived of it. The owner's loss causes the wrong, not the thief's gain. To give an example in very simple

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246 Chapter 12

terms, if you have a phone case and I make a copy of that case (as is quite possible with a 3D printer), you still possess the original case, so no harm has been done to you, the owner. However, suppose that you made your living by selling these phone cases. If I made exact duplicates with my 3-D printer and then sold these cases to others, then you could be deprived of profits that you might otherwise have received. Again, the wrong comes from the creator's loss and not the thief's gain.

Now let's focus on my particular example of online piracy. While I concede that piracy has the distinct potential to be stealing, I reject the accu- sation that all piracy is stealing. Based on the first part of my definition of stealing, my downloading La Grande Illusion deprived no consumer or creator of his or her copy of the film. This is why accusations that compare online piracy to shoplifting are false. In the case of shoplifting, the owner I creator has one fewer piece of merchandise to make a profit on; with online piracy, such loss does not occur because the original copy still exists.

However, the second part of my definition, which focuses on prof- its, still remains to be examined. Perhaps by downloading the film I have deprived the creators/ owners of profits they would normally receive. Let me begin by saying that I never intended to purchase La Grande Illusion. While intention does not often register in legal matters, it does have a bear- ing on the type and degree of wrongdoing. Film-industry lawyers often argue that every time a film is pirated, the rightful owner is deprived of money because the pirate would have otherwise purchased the film. This claim, however, is fallacious because there is no way to show that these potential consumers would have purchased the film (I certainly wouldn't have). So while we may agree that some of these people would have pur- chased the film, it would be inaccurate to claim that in all cases piracy directly deprives creators of profit. I argue that what I did in the case of La Grande Illusion was more like borrowing than theft. Borrowing a film from a library (or renting it from a video store) has the same basic effect on the owner I creator as online piracy. That is, a library or video store purchases a copy and then loans it or rents it to others. Thus, many persons may not purchase a copy from the owner I creator because they can use this single public or commercial copy. Yet we do not consider borrowing or renting stealing even though it can have the same economic ramification as piracy. To go a step further, any time I borrow a film from a friend I cause the same outcome found so reprehensible in online piracy. In my case, instead of borrowing La Grande Illusion from an institution or business, I borrowed it from another individual via the Internet.

s There is, of course, the counterargument that I could have rented the film from Scarecrow and thus stole profit from this film-rental store much loved by film buffs. While it is true that I did not benefit Scarecrow with my patronage (a fact that I partially regret because I do try to support Scarecrow as often as possible), it would be inaccurate to say that I stole from Scarecrow. I am under no obligation to supply them with profits. When I pay money to a rental organization, I am not paying for the film; I am paying for the service of being able to use their copy of the film for 24 hours. Had I purchased the film directly from the filmmaker, I would do the same harm to Scarecrow. Thus my not utilizing Scarecrow to obtain La Grande Illusion is not theft.

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 247

While I understand why the film industry (and also the music industry) views downloading from file-sharing torrent sites as piracy, their motives focus on preserving profits and blur the distinctions among buying, rent- ing, and borrowing. If I owned a DVD version of a movie and loaned it to a friend, no one would object. But if I make the same movie available to a friend via a torrent or file-sharing site, I become a pirate subject to huge fines. The intention is the same; only the format changes. The problem stems from the hazy concept of" ownership" in a digital environment where physical copies are replaced by digital copies. Certainly, we pay to possess digital copies of films, music, and video games, but is this really the same as physical ownership? After all, I can lend, rent, or even sell a physical DVD, but such actions are impossible with digital copies without committing piracy. Our consumption of media is evolving rapidly, and while undoubt- edly there will always be those who exploit these changes for personal gain, I feel we need to realize that our understanding of ownership, stealing, and illegal use must evolve along with these changes.

Critiquing "A Pirate But Not a Thief: What Does 'Stealing' Mean in a Digital Environment?"

1. Identify the following features of Alex's essay: (1) his definition of "stealing"; (2) his examples to illustrate the definition; (3) his match argument showing whether his downloading of the film fits each of the criteria; and (4) his sum- mary of and responses to objections and opposing views.

2. Do you agree with Alex's contention that his downloading the film was an act of "borrowing" rather than "stealing"?

3. What do you see as the major strengths of Alex's argument? The major weaknesses?

4. Do you think that the laws about online piracy should be changed? At what point does online piracy clearly become stealing?

Our last reading is an op-ed piece from the Los Angeles Times by Mark Oppen- heimer, a freelance author, journalist, and host of the podcast Unorthodox. The occasion for this piece was a pending bill in Connecticut to raise the age of legal marriage to eighteen. Oppenheimer notes the bewildering ways that "adulthood" is defined in different contexts and points out potential negative consequences of this definitional problem.

Ho-w Do We Define Adulthood? MARK OPPENHEIMER

The legislature in my home state of Connecticut is considering a bill that would raise the age of legal marriage to 18. Right now, like 26 other states, Connecticut sets no minimum age: 16- and 17-year-olds can marry with parental consent, and younger children 15, 14, heck, 8 or 9 can marry with parental consent and a judge's approval. Between 2000 and 2014, there were 14 marriages in Connecticut involving 14-year-old girls.

248 Chapter 12

As it happens, Connecticut is part of a trend. Eight states are considering similar bills, an explosion of interest due to the work of activist Fraidy Reiss, who entered into an arranged marriage with a fellow ultra-Orthodox Jew when she was 19, later divorced, and now runs a nonprofit called Unchained at Last.

Setting aside the merits of her movement and I think there are many the bill raises a larger question: Who counts as an adult? Our federal and state laws are an inconsistent patchwork of mixed messages. You can drive at 16 in most places, although not in New Jersey, where you have to be 17, or South Dakota, where you can get a license with some restrictions at 14 1/2. You can vote for president at 18, the same age at which you have to register for the draft. But if you are drafted at 18, you can't have a beer after a rough day of basic training you have to wait until you're 21. Also at 18, you can buy a rifle or a shotgun from a licensed dealer but not a handgun. For that, you have to wait until you're 21.

Want to change these laws? You can run for the House of Representatives at 25, the Senate at 30, the presidency at 35. You can be mayor of most cities at a far younger age, usually 18, which means you could theoretically run a town without being able to drink in its bars.

s These inconsistencies aren't our countries' most pressing problem. But our culture's inability to agree on when adulthood begins contributes to some awfully infantile behavior, or at least our tolerance of it.

When the writer Charles Murray visited Middlebury College recently, stu- dents who disagreed with his views on race shouted him down, yelled obsceni- ties, banged on windows, set off fire alarms and, after his talk, grabbed the hair of the professor who had debated against him. Some liberals said, in the students' defense, "They are children!" That's an odd way to think about adults old enough to vote and enlist in the Army, but perhaps a rational take on man-boys too young to drink.

We need to figure out who counts as an adult. It makes no sense to expect people to die for their country but not drink for their pleasure. By the same token, it's absurd to say that people who aren't old enough to vote are old enough to get married if you can't vote for town government, you shouldn't be able to form your own household. There should be one age of majority when all of these rights are bestowed at once.

Of course, it's not easy to determine the right age. Research suggests that our brains don't reach cognitive maturity until we are well into our 20s a strong argument for not letting 18-year-olds buy liquor or, for that matter, letting 18-year- olds drive cars or buy guns. Conversely, because 16-year-olds (and younger) can have babies, there's a good argument for letting them marry the babies' fathers, with the hope of creating stable families.

But the fact that any age of maturity we choose will necessarily seem arbitrary shouldn't blind us to the common-sense wisdom of having a uniform one. Eighteen when most people are done with high school seems as good an age as any.

10 If we raise the marriage age to 18, and lower the drinking age to 18 where it used to be in most states then we'd have one meaningful age of majority for marriage, voting, drinking, and military service.

Not to mention signing contracts. "We don't allow children to enter into sig- nificant binding contracts before 18," said Derek Slap, a Democratic legislator from West Hartford who said he'll probably vote for the Connecticut marriage bill.

Definition and Resemblance Arguments 249

But what, I asked, about a couple of 17-year-olds who are truly in love? "Maybe once in a while Romeo and Juliet would have to cool their jets for a year," Slap said. "But I am OK with that."

Critiquing "How Do We Define Adulthood?"

1. Oppenheimer proposes an operational definition of adulthood: age 18. What reasons does he offer to support his claim?

2. Oppenheimer implies that there are problems with the operational definition of adulthood as age 18. What are some of these problems?

3. What other criteria besides age could be used to determine adulthood? How would you define adulthood if you couldn't specify an age?

4. If you had to vote on a single age for adulthood, would you agree with Oppenheimer that 18 is the best choice? Why or why not?

5. What is at stake in this argument?

250

Chapter 13

Learning Objectives

In this chapter you will learn to:

13.1 Explain and illustrate kinds of causal arguments.

13.2 Explain how different causal mechanisms function in cause/ consequence arguments.

13.3 Understand key causal terms and avoid inductive fallacies in causal arguments.

13.4 Write your own cause or consequence argument.

We encounter causal issues all the time. What has caused the declining birth rate among teens in the United States? Why has kombucha become a popular drink among millennials? Why has there been a marked decline in the number of teen- agers getting a driver's licence? Why are white teenage girls seven times as likely to smoke as African American teenage girls? Why do couples who live together before marriage have a higher divorce rate than those who don't? Why did fidget spinners become a fad?

In addition to asking causal questions like these, we pose consequence questions as well: What might be the consequences of installing stricter proof- of-citizenship requirements for voting? What might be the social and economic consequences of establishing public preschool programs? What have been the consequences of the smart phone on the social life of pre-teens and teens?

Often arguments about causes and consequences have important stakes because they shape our view of reality and influence government policies and individual decisions. This chapter explains how to wrestle responsibly with cause/ consequence issues to produce effective causal arguments.

Case 1: What Causes Global Warming? One of the early clues linking global warming to atmospheric carbon dioxide (C02) came from side-by-side comparisons of graphs plotting atmospheric carbon d ioxide and global temperatures over time. These graphs show that increases in g lobal temperature parallel increases in the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, the graphs show only a correlation, or association, between increased carbon dioxide and higher aver- age temperature. To argue that an increase in C02 could cause global warming, scientists needed to explain the links in a causal chain. They did so by comparing the earth to a greenhouse. Carbon dioxide, like glass in a greenhouse, lets some of the earth's heat

radiate into space but also reflects some of the heat back to the earth. The h igher the concentration of carbon dioxide, the more heat is reflected back to the earth.

(A) 400

390

§ 380 ·--- ~ 370 ,_ a:. 360 Vl ...... ,_ ~ 350

340

C02 in Atmosphere (B) 14.7

14.6 Vl ::I 14.5 ·-Vl -Q) u 14.4 Vl Q)

~ 14.3 O'l

~ 14.2

14. 1

Mean Global Temperature

Causal Arguments 251

330~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 4. 0 +-T--1r-r-r......--~~T'"'T"'"'"T ....... "'T"'"'T"'"'"1r-r-T"......--~""T'"T""T"'"'T"'"'T......-r-1 1980 1985 1 990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Year

SOURCE: Data from Dr. Pieter Tans, NOANESRL

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Year

SOURCE: Data from NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Surface Temperature Analysis

Case 2: What Has Caused the Change in the Rate of Teen Pregnancies in the United State in the Last Five Years? Although the United States sti ll has the highest rate of teen pregnancies among developed countries, stud ies show a decline in teen pregnancies since the early 1990s. What has caused this decline? Some economists point to the recession of 2007-2009 as a major cause, c laim ing that as the job market t ightened, teens became afraid of not being able to get jobs when encumbered with babies. Other sources emphasize the role of parents in cautioning teens about irresponsible choices concerning sexual behavior and reproduction. A quite different explanation comes from a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research analyzing the impact of media images on viewers. This study has found a cor- re lation between the decl ine in teen pregnancies and the watching of the MTV docudrama 16 and Pregnant (wh ich premiered in 2009) and its spinoff Teen Moms. While the Parents Television Council and other critics argue that these shows sensational ize and glamorize the lives of the teen moms, researchers, using Nielsen ratings and geograph ic data on viewer- ship and data from Google Trends and Twitter, found that watch ing these shows "led to more searches and tweets regard ing b irth control and abortion, and ultimately led to a 5. 7 percent reduction in teen b irths in the eighteen months" after 16 and Pregnant f irst aired.* This study broadens social thinking on the use of reality TV and social media in promoting safe sex, as well as its potential value in addressing other social and health causes.

An Overview of Causal Arguments 13.1 Explain and illustrate kinds of causal arguments.

Typically, causal arguments try to show how one event brings about another. When causal investigation focuses on material objects for example, one billiard ball striking another the notion of causality appears fairly straightforward. But when humans become the focus of a causal argument, the nature of causality becomes more vexing. If we say that something happened to "cause" a person to act in a cer- tain way, what do we mean? Do we mean that she was "forced" to act in a certain

*Melissa S. Kearney and Phillip B. Levine. "Media Influences on Social Outcomes: The Impact of MTV's 16 and Pregnan t on Teen Childbearing," NBER Working Paper No. 19795, National Bureau of Economic Research, January 2014.

252 Chapter 13

way, thereby negating her free will (as in, an undiagnosed brain tumor caused her to act erratically), or do we mean more simply that she was "motivated" to act in a certain way (as in, her anger at her parents caused her to act erratically)? When we argue about causality in human beings, we must guard against confus- ing these two senses of" cause" or assuming that human behavior can be predicted or controlled in the same way that nonhuman behavior can. A rock dropped from a roof will always fall at thirty-two feet per second squared, and a rat zapped with electricity for turning left in a maze will always stop turning left. But if we raise interest rates, will consumers save more money? If so, how much money will they save? This is the sort of question that can be debated endlessly.

Kinds of :Causal Argum_ents Arguments about causality can take a variety of forms. Three typical kinds are speculations about possible causes, arguments for an unexpected or surprising cause, and predictions of consequences.

• Speculations about possible causes. Sometimes arguers speculate about pos- sible causes of a phenomenon. For example, whenever a shooter opens fire on innocent bystanders (as in the 2015 mass killing at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida; the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Con- necticut; or the nearly fatal wounding of a Republican legislator practicing for a congressional baseball game in June 2017) social scientists, police inves- tigators, terrorism specialists, and media commentators begin analyzing the causes. One of the most thoroughly studied and heavily debated shooting incidents occurred in 1999 when the nation was shocked by one of the first incidents of mass school shooting the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colorado, in which two male students opened fire on their classmates, killing thirteen people, wounding twenty-three others, and then shooting themselves. Figure 13.1 illustrates some of the proposed theories for the Columbine shootings. What was at stake was not only our desire to understand the sociocultural sources of school violence but also our desire

Figure 13.1 Speculation about possible causes: Columbine High School massacre

Violent movies

and violent TV

Proposed Causes

Music of

Marilyn Manson

Breakdown of

the traditional

family

Alienation from

popular school

cliques

Inadequate Irresponsible

Violent video American

fascination

with guns

Lack of

school

discipline

Internet

nee-Nazi

chat rooms

Effect Columbine High School Shootings

school prescribing of

counselin antidepressants

(one of the

shooters was

on Prozac) Internet

bomb making

instructions

to institute policies to prevent future school shootings. If a primary cause is the availability of guns, then we might push for more stringent gun-control laws. But if the primary cause is the disintegration of the traditional fam- ily, the shooters' alienation from high-school cliques, or the dangerous side effects of antidepressant medications, then we might seek different solutions.

• Arguments for an unexpected or surprising cause. Besides sorting out possible causes of a phenomenon, sometimes arguers try to persuade readers to see the plausibility of an unexpected or surprising cause. This was the strategy used by syndicated columnist John Leo, who wanted readers to consider the role of violent video games as a contributing cause to the Columbine massacre.* After suggesting that the Littleton killings were partly choreographed on video-game models, Leo suggested the causal chain shown in Figure 13.2.

Figure 13.2 Argument for a surprising cause: Role of violent video games in the Columbine massacre

Many youngsters are left alone for long periods of

time (because both parents are working).

They play violent video games obsessively.

Their feelings of resentment and powerlessness .upour

into the killing games."

The video games break down a natural aversion to

killing, analogous to psychological techniques

employed by the military.

Realistic touches in modern video games blur the

.uboundary between fantasy and reality."

Youngsters begin identifying not with conventional

heroes but with sociopaths who get their kicks from

blowing away ordinary people ("pedestrians, marching

bands, an elderly woman with a walker").

Having enjoyed random violence in the video games,

vulnerable youngsters act out the same adrenaline

rush in real life.

*John Leo, "Kill-for-Kicks Video Games Desensitizing Our Children," Seattle Times,27 April 1999, B4.

Causal Arguments 253

254 Chapter 13

• Predictions of consequences. Another frequently encountered kind of causal argument predicts the consequences of current, planned, or proposed actions or events. Consequence arguments have high stakes because we often judge actions on whether their benefits outweigh their costs. As we will see in Chapter 15, proposal arguments usually require writers to predict the conse- quences of a proposed action, conduct a cost/benefit analysis, and persuade readers that no unforeseen negative consequences will result. Just as a phe- nomenon can have multiple causes, it can also have multiple consequences. Figure 13.3 shows the consequence arguments considered by environmen- talists who propose eliminating several dams on the Snake River in order to save salmon runs.

Toulmin Framework for a Causal Argument Because causal arguments can involve lengthy or complex causal chains, they are often harder to summarize in because clauses than are other kinds of argu- ments. Likewise, they are not as likely to yield quick analysis through the Toulmin schema. Nevertheless, a causal argument can usually be stated as a claim with because clauses. Typically, a because clause pinpoints one or two key elements in the causal chain rather than summarize every link. John Leo's argument linking the Columbine massacre to violent video games could be summarized in the fol- lowing claim with a because clause:

Violent video games may have been a contributing cause to the Littleton mas- sacre because playing these games can make random, sociopathic violence seem pleasurable.

Figure 13.3 Predictions of consequences: Eliminating dams on the Snake River

Proposed Elimination of several dams on Snake River

Action above Lewiston, Idaho

Predicted Increased salmon Consequences runs

Restoration of

ecosystem -increased

sense of natural balance

Increased opportunities for

recreational fishing; tourist

dollars brought to area

Loss of several thousand jobs

associated with operation of

the dams and with river

navigation system (made

possible by dams)

Loss of hydropower

generated by dams

Transference of shipping from

barges (low environmental

impact) to overland trucks

and trains (high

environmental impact)

Causal Arguments 255

Once stated as an enthymeme, the argument can be analyzed using Toulmin' s schema. It is easiest to apply Toulmin's schema to causal arguments if you think of the grounds as the observable phenomena at any point in the causal chain and the warrants as the shareable assumptions about causality.

Toulmin Analysis of the Violent Video Games Argument

ENTHYMEME

CLAIM Violent video games may have been a -

shooting

REASON because playing these games can

make random, sociopathic violence seem

pleasurable.

GROUNDS

• Evidence that the killers, like many young

people, played violent video games

• Evidence that the games are violent

• Evidence that the games involve random,

sociopathic violence (not good guys versus bad

guys) such as killing ordinary people-marching

bands, little old ladies, etc.

• Evidence that young people derive pleasure

from these games

WARRANT

If young people derive pleasure from random,

sociopathic killing in video games, they can

transfer this pleasure to real life, thus leading

to the Columbine shooting.

BACKING • Testimony from psychologists

• Evidence that violent video games desensitize

people to violence

• Analogy to military training in which video

games are used to umake killing a reflex action"

• Evidence that the distinction between fantasy

and reality becomes especially blurred for

unstable young people

Qualifiers

CONDITIONS OF REBUTTAL Attacking the reason and grounds

• Perhaps the killers didn't play violent video

games.

• Perhaps the video games are no more

violent than traditional kids' games such as

cops and robbers.

• Perhaps the video games do not feature

sociopathic killing.

CONDITIONS OF REBUTTAL Attacking the warrant and backing

• Perhaps kids are fully capable of

distinguishing fantasy from reality.

• Perhaps the games are just fun with no

transference to real life.

• Perhaps the games are substantially

different from military training games.

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For Writing and Discussion Developing Causal Chains

Individual task: 1. Create a causal chain to show how the item on the left could lead to the item on the right.

a. Invention of the automobile Changes in sexual mores b. Increased dependence on smartphones New cultural trend toward "bailing " (abrupt

canceling of social engagements) c. Growth of social media as a source of news The increasing polarization of politics in the

United States d. Millennials' desire for an urban lifestyle Redesign of cities e. Development of way to prevent rejections in

transplant operations Liberalization of euthanasia laws

2. For each of your causal chains, compose a claim w ith an attached because clause summarizing one or two key links in the causal chain -for example, "Millennials' desire for an urban lifestyle is spurring the redesign of cities because Millennials' car- and house-free habits are prompting developers to build new high-density urban communities that offer easy access to work and pleasure."

Group task: Share you r causal claim and because clause links with the other members of your class.

Two Methods for Arguing That One Event Causes Another 13.2 Explain how different causal mechanisms function

in cause/consequence arguments.

One of the first things you need to do when preparing a causal argument is to note exactly what sort of causal relationship you are dealing with: a onetime phenom- enon, a recurring phenomenon, or a puzzling trend. Here are some examples.

Kind of Phenomenon

Onet ime phenomenon

Recurring phenomenon

Puzzl ing trend

Examples

• Volvo's 2017 decision to stop build ing gasoline-powered cars and move ent irely to electric or hybrid vehicles

• The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States • The 2017 coll ision of the USS Fitzgerald (a guided-missile destroyer)

with a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel near Yokosuka , Japan

• Failure of teenagers to practice safe sex • Homelessness • Recidivism (tendency of former prisoners to ret urn to crime after

release from prison)

• Increase in the number of events cou nted as Olympic sports • Increase in opioid addiction (prescribed pain ki ller) in rural America • Declining populations of both bats and honeybees

With recurring phenomena or with trends, one has the luxury of being able to study multiple cases, often over time. You can interview people, make repeated observations, or study the conditions in which the puzzling phenomenon occurs.

But w ith a onetime occurrence, one's approach is more like that of a detective th an a scientist. Because one can't repeat the event with different variables, one must rely only on the immediate evidence at h and, which can quickly disappear. Having briefly stated these words of caution, let's turn now to two main ways th at you can argue that one event causes another.

First Method: Explain the Causal Mechanism Directly The most convincing kind of causal argument identifies every link in the causal ch ain, showing how an initiating cause leads step by step to an observed effect. A causes B, which causes C, which causes D. In some cases, all you have to do is fi ll in the missing links. In other cases when your assumptions about how one step leads to th e next may seem questionable to your audience you have to argue for th e causal connection with more vigor.

A careful sp elling out of each step in the causal ch ain is th e technique used by science writer Rob ert S. Devine in the following passage from h is article "The Trouble with Dams." Although the benefits of dams are w idely understood (th ey produce pollution-free electricity while provid ing flood control, irrigation, barge transp ortation, and recreational boating), the negative effects are less commonly known and understood. In this article, Devine tries to persuade readers that dams have serious negative consequences. In th e following p assage, he explains how dams reduce salmon flows by slowing the migration of smolts (newly hatched, young salmon) to the sea.

Causal Argument Describing a Causal Ch ain

Such transformations lie at the heart of the ongoing environmental harm done by dams. Rivers are rivers because they flow, and the nature of their flows defines much of their character. When dams alter flows, they alter the essence of rivers.

Consider the erstwhile river behind Lower Granite (a dam on Idaho's Snake River). Although I was there in the springtime, when I looked at the water it was moving too slowly to merit the word "flow" and Lower Granite Lake isn't even one of the region's enormous storage reservoirs, which bring currents to a virtual halt. In the past, spring snowmelt sent powerful currents down the Snake during April and May. Nowad ays hydropower operators of the Columbia and Snake systems store the runoff behind the dams and release it during the winter, when demand and the price for electricity rises. Over the ages, however, many populations of salmon have ad apted to the spring surge. The smolts used the strong flows to migrate, d rifting downstream with the current. During the journey smolts' bodies undergo physiological changes that require them to reach salt water quickly. Before dams backed up the Snake, smolts coming down from Idaho got to the sea in six to twenty days; now it takes from sixty to ninety days, and few of the young salmon reach salt water in time. The emasculated current is the single largest reason that the number of wild adult salmon migrating up the Snake each year has crashed from predevelopment runs of 100,000-200,000 to what was p rojected to be 150-750 this year.*

This tightly constructed passage connects various causal chains to explain the decline of salmon runs.

*RobertS. Devine, "The Trouble with Dams," Atlantic (August 1995), 64-75. The example quotation is from page 70.

Causal Arguments 257

258 Chapter 13

Smelts use the river flow to reach the sea.

Dams restrict th e flow of the river.

A trip that took 6 to 20 days before development

now takes 60 to 90 d ays.

M igrating smelts undergo physiological chan ges that

demand quick access to salt water.

Lengthened migration time kills the smelts.

Describing each link in the causal chain and making each link seem as plausible as possible is the most persuasive means of convincing readers that a specific cause leads to a specific effect.

Second Method: Infer Causal Links Using Inductive Reasoning If we can't explain a causal link directly, we often employ a reasoning strategy called induction. Through induction we infer a general conclusion based on a limited number of specific cases. For example, if on several occasions you got a headache after drinking red wine but not after drinking white wine, you would be likely to conclude inductively that red wine causes you to get headaches, although you can't explain directly how it does so. However, because there are almost always numerous variables involved, inductive reasoning leads to only probable truths, not certain truths.

THREE WAYS OF THINKING INDUCTIVELY When your brain thinks induc- tively, it sorts through data looking for patterns of similarity and difference. In this section we explain three ways of thinking inductively: looking for a common element, looking for a single difference, and looking for correlations.

1. Look for a common element. One kind of inductive thinking sends you on a search for a common element that can explain recurrences of the same phe- nomenon. For example, psychologists attempting to understand the causes of anorexia have discovered that many anorexics (but not all) come from perfec- tionist, highly work-oriented homes that emphasize duty and responsibility. This common element is thus a suspected causal factor leading to anorexia.

2. Look for a single difference. Another approach is to look for a single differ- ence that may explain the appearance of a new phenomenon. When infant death rates in the state of Washington shot up in July and August 1986, one event making these two months different stood out: increased radioactive fallout over Washington from the April Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in Ukraine. This single difference led some researchers to suspect radiation as a possible cause of the increase in infant deaths.

3. Look for correlations. Still another method of induction is correlation, which means that two events or phenomena tend to occur together but doesn't imply that one causes the other. For example, there is a correlation between nearsightedness and both intelligencesand academic achievement. (That is, in a given sample of nearsighted people and people with normal eyesight, the nearsighted group will have a somewhat higher average IQ score as well as higher academic rankings.) But the direction of causality isn't clear. It could be that high intelligence causes people to read more, thus ruining their eyes (high intelligence causes nearsightedness). Or it could be that nearsighted- ness causes people to read more, thus raising their academic achievement level and their IQ scores (nearsightedness causes high intelligence). Or it could be that some unknown phenomenon, perhaps a gene, is related to both nearsightedness and intelligence. So keep in mind that correlation is not causation it simply suggests possible causation.

For Writing and Discussion Developing Plausible Causal Chains Based on Correlations

Causal Arguments 259

Working individually or in small groups, develop plausible causal chains that may explain the relationship between the following pairs of phenomena:

a. A person who registers a low stress level on an electrochemical stress meter

b. A binge drinker at college parties

c. A person who grew up in a house w ith two or more bathrooms

d. An area with an increased crime rate e. A member of the National Rifle Association

does daily meditation

has increased risk of becoming a perpetrator or victim of sexual violence is likely to have higher SAT scores than a person who grew up in a one-bathroom home also has an increased homelessness rate supports restrictions on immigration

Examining Visual Arguments

A Causal Claim This billboard is part of a Texas campaign to fight sex trafficking. How do both the text and image in this bill- board suggest links in a causal chain? Although this ad oversimplifies the complex issue of human trafficking, and some would say it represents only one view of sex workers, how do the words and the choice of images combine to make powerful appeals to both logos and pathos?

260 Chapter 13

Key Terms and Inductive Fallacies in Causal Arguments 13.3 Understand key causal terms and avoid inductive fallacies

in causal arguments.

Because causal arguments are often easier to conduct if writer and reader share a few specialized terms and concepts, this section explains key terms in causal reasoning and offers ways to avoid inductive fallacies.

A Glossary of Key Terms • The problem of oversimplified cause. One of the great temptations is to look

for the cause of something, as if a phenomenon has only one cause rather than multiple causes. For example, in recent years the number of persons in the United States sending out Christmas cards has declined substantially. Many commen- tators attribute the decline to the increasing use of Facebook, which keeps old friends in touch year-round, eliminating the need for holiday "family letters." But there may be other causes also, such as a decline in the number of nuclear fami- lies, fewer networks of long-term friends, or generational shifts away from older traditions. When you make a causal argument, be especially careful how you use words such as all, most, some, the, or in part. For example, to say that all the decline in Christmas cards is caused by Facebook is to make a universal statement about Facebook as the cause. An argument will be stronger and more accurate if the arguer makes a less sweeping statement: Some of the cause for the decline in Christmas cards can be attributed to Facebook. Arguers sometimes deliberately mix up these quantifiers to misrepresent and dismiss opposing views.

• Immediate and remote causes. Every causal chain extends backward indefi- nitely into the past. An immediate cause is the closest in time to the event being examined. Consider the causes for the release of nuclear contaminants around the Fukushima nuclear power plant following the 2011 earthquake off the coast of Japan. The immediate cause was loss of power to the water pumps that cooled the reactor's fuel rods, causing the rods to overheat and partially melt. A slightly less immediate cause (several days earlier) was the earth- quake-produced tsunami that had swept away the diesel fuel tanks needed to run the backup generators. These immediate causes can be contrasted with a remote cause in this case, a late-1960s design decision that used backup diesel generators to power the water pumps in case of an electrical power loss to the reactor facility. Still more remote causes were the economic and regulatory systems in the late 1960s that led to this particular design.

• Precipitating and contributing causes. These terms are similar to immediate and remote causes but don't designate a temporal link going into the past. Rather, they refer to a main cause emerging out of a background of subsidiary causes. For example, if a husband and wife decide to separate, the precipitating cause may be a stormy fight over money, after which one of the partners (or both) says, "I've had enough." In contrast, contributing causes would be all the background factors that are dooming the marriage: preoccupation with their careers, disagreement about priorities, in-law problems. Note that contribut- ing causes and the precipitating cause all coexist at the same time.

• Constraints. Sometimes an effect occurs because some stabilizing factor a constraint is removed. In other words, the presence of a constraint may keep a certain effect from occurring. For example, in the marriage we have been discussing, the presence of children in the home may be a constraint against divorce. As soon as the children graduate from high school and leave home, the marriage may well dissolve.

• Necessary and sufficient causes. A necessary cause is one that has to be present for a given effect to occur. For example, fertility drugs are necessary to cause the conception of septuplets. Every couple who has septuplets must have used fertility drugs. In contrast, a sufficient cause is one that always produces or guarantees a given effect. Smoking more than a pack of cigarettes per day is sufficient to raise the cost of one's life insurance policy. This statement means that if you are a smoker, no matter how healthy you appear to be, life insur- ance companies will always place you in a higher risk bracket and charge you a higher premium. In some cases, a single cause can be both necessary and sufficient. For example, lack of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) is both a necessary and a sufficient cause of scurvy. (Think of those old-time sailors who didn't eat fruit for months.) It is a necessary cause because you can't get scurvy any other way except through absence of ascorbic acid; it is a sufficient cause because the absence of ascorbic acid always causes scurvy.

Avoiding Com_m_on Inductive Fallacies That Can Lead to Wrong Conclusions Largely because of its power, informal induction can often lead to wrong conclu- sions. You should be aware of two common fallacies of inductive reasoning that can tempt you into erroneous assumptions about causality. (Both fallacies are treated more fully in the Appendix.)

• Post hoc fallacy: The post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy ("after this, therefore because of this") mistakes sequence for cause. Just because event A regularly precedes event B doesn't mean that event A causes event B. The same rea- soning that tells us that flipping a switch causes the light to go on can make us believe that low levels of radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster caused a sudden rise in infant death rates in the state of Washington. The nuclear disaster clearly preceded the rise in death rates. But did it clearly cause it? Our point is that precedence alone is not proof of causality and that we are guilty of the post hoc fallacy whenever we are swayed to believe that one thing causes another just because it comes first.

• Hasty generalization: The hasty generalization fallacy occurs when you make a generalization based on too few cases or too little consideration of alter- native explanations: You flip the switch, but the light bulb doesn't go on. You conclude too hastily that the light bulb has burned out. (Perhaps the power has gone off or the switch is broken.) How many trials does it take before you can make a justified generalization rather than a hasty generaliza- tion? It is difficult to say for sure.

Both the post hoc fallacy and the hasty generalization fallacy remind us that induction requires a leap from individual cases to a general principle and that it is always possible to leap too soon.

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262 Chapter 13

For Writing and Discussion Brainstorming Causes and Constraints The terms in the preced ing g lossary can be effective brainstorming tools for thinking of possible causes of an event. For the following events, try to think of as many causes as possible by brainstorm ing possible immediate causes, remote causes, precipitating causes, contributing causes, and constraints.

1. Working individual ly, make a list of different kinds of causes/constraints for one of the following: a. Your decision to attend your present college b. An important event in your life or your family (a job change, a major move, etc.) c. A personal opin ion you hold that is not w idely shared

2. Working as a group, make a list of d ifferent kinds of causes/constraints for one of the follow ing: a. Why women's fash ion and beauty magazines are the most frequently purchased magazines in

college bookstores

b. Why U.S. students consistently score below Asian and European students in academic achievement c. Why large supermarket chains are selling more organic food

riting Assignment: A Causal Argument 13.4 Write your own cause or consequence argument.

Choose an issue about the causes or consequences of a trend, event, or other phe- nomenon. Write an argument that persuades an audience to accept your expla- nation of the causes or consequences of your chosen phenomenon. Within your essay you should examine alternative hypotheses or opposing views and explain your reasons for rejecting them. You can imagine your issue either as a puzzle or as a disagreement. If a puzzle, your task will be to create a convincing case for an audience that doesn't have an answer to your causal question already in mind. If a disagreement, your task will be more overtly persuasive because your goal will be to change your audience's views.

Exploring Ideas Arguments about causes and consequences abound in public, professional, and personal life, so you shouldn't have difficulty finding a causal issue worth inves- tigating and arguing.

Responding to his experiences as a junior-high math tutor, student writer Jesse Goncalves investigated the causes of math anxiety. He argued that math anxiety is primarily a learned behavior passed onto children from math-anxious parents and instructors (see the Readings at the end of this chapter). Student writer Carlos Macias, puzzled by the ease with which college students are issued credit cards, wrote a researched argument disentangling the factors leading young people to bury themselves in debt (see the Readings at the end of this chapter). Other students have focused on causal issues such as these: Why do kids join gangs? What are the consequences of mandatory drug testing (written by a stu- dent who has to take amphetamines for narcolepsy)? Why has the age of first marriage steadily increased since 1970?

If you have trouble finding a causal issue to write about, you can often create provocative controversies among your classmates through the following strategies:

• Make a list of unusual likes and dislikes. Think about unusual things that people like or dislike. You could summarize the conventional explanations that people give for an unusual pleasure or aversion and then argue for a surprising or unexpected cause. What attracts people to extreme sports? How do you explain the popularity of the paleo diet or of Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead?

• Make a list of puzzling events or trends. Another strategy is to make a list of puzzling phenomena and then try to explain their causes. Start with onetime events (a curriculum change at your school, the sudden popularity of a new app ). Then list puzzling recurring events (failure of intelligent teenagers to practice safe sex). Finally, list some recent trends (growth of naturopathic medicine, increased interest in tattoos and piercing). Engage classmates in discussions of one or more of the items on your list. Look for places of dis- agreement as entry points into the conversation.

• Explore contested or puzzling causes or consequences from your experi- ence. What causal issues or surprising consequences emerge from your par- ticipation in a group, club, sports team, internship, or job? Based on your experience, does having an internship during the academic year lead to a higher GPA or a lower GPA (or neither)? Based on your interviews with per- sons who have worked in assisted-living businesses, does animal therapy decrease depression in elderly residents? Based on your own experiences, what causes and consequences that others in this community might care about have you been inspired to explore?

• Brainstorm consequences of a recent or proposed action. Arguments about consequences are among the most interesting and important of causal disputes. If you can argue for an unanticipated consequence of a real or proposed action, whether good or bad, you can contribute importantly to the conversation. What might be the consequences, for example, of placing "green taxes" on coal- produced electricity; of legalizing marijuana; of overturning Roe v. Wade (which legalized abortion); or of requiring national public service for all young adults?

Identifying Your Audience and Determining What's at Stake Before drafting your argument, identify your targeted audience and determine what's at stake. Consider your responses to the following questions:

• What audience are you targeting? What background do they need to under- stand your issue? How much do they already care about it?

• Before they read your argument, what stance on your issue do you imagine them holding? What change do you want to bring about in their views?

• What will they find new or surprising about your argument?

• What objections might they raise? What counterarguments or alternative points of view will you need to address?

• Why does your argument matter? Who might be threatened or made uncom- fortable by your views? What is at stake?

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264 Chapter 13

Organizing a Causal Argument At the outset, it is useful to know some of the standard ways that a causal argument can be organized. Later, you may decide on a different organizational pattern, but the standard ways shown in Figures 13.4, 13.5, and 13.6 will help you get started.

Figure 13.4 Argument explaining links in a causal chain

Introduce the issue and state your claim.

Explain the links in the chain going from cause to effect.

Conclude.

• Engage reader's interest in your causal issue and

show why it is controversial or problematic.

• Show what's at stake.

• State your claim.

• Explain the links and their connections in order.

• Anticipate and respond to possible objections if

needed.

• Perhaps sum up your argument.

• Return to the .ubig picture" of what's at stake.

• End with something memorable.

Figure 13.5 Argument proposing multiple causes or consequences of a phenomenon

Introduce the issue and state your claim.

Propose relative contributions of different causes of a phenomenon or relative importance of different consequences.

Respond to possible objections to your argument (if needed).

Conclude.

• Engage reader's interest in your causal issue and

show why it is problematic or controversial.

• Show what's at stake.

• State your claim.

• Describe the first possible cause or consequence

and explain your reasoning.

• Continue with the rest of your causes or

consequences.

• Arrange causes or consequences in increasing

order of importance, significance, or surprise.

• Anticipate and summarize possible objections.

• Respond through rebuttal or concession.

• Perhaps sum up your argument.

• Return to the .ubig picture" of what's at stake.

• End with something memorable.

Figure 13.6 Argument proposing a surprising cause or consequence

Introduce the issue and state your claim.

• Engage reader's interest in your causal issue and

show why it is problematic or controversial.

• Show what's at stake.

• State your claim.

• Describe the first commonly assumed cause or

consequence and show why you don't think the

explanation is adequate.

Causal Arguments 265

Reject commonly assumed causes or consequences.

• Continue with the rest of your commonly assumed

causes or consequences.

Argue for your surprising cause or consequence.

Conclude.

• Describe your surprising cause or consequence.

• Explain your causal reasoning.

• Anticipate and respond to possible objections if

needed.

• Perhaps sum up your argument.

• Return to the #big picture" of what's at stake.

• End with something memorable.

Figures 13.5 and 13.6 are similar in that they examine numerous possible causes or consequences. Figure 13.5, however, tries to establish the relative impor- tance of each cause or consequence, whereas Figure 13.6 aims at rejecting the causes or consequences normally assumed by the audience and argues for an unexpected, surprising cause or consequence. Figure 13.6 can also be used when your purpose is to change your audience's mind about a cause or consequence.

Questioning and Critiquing a Causal Argument Knowing how to question and critique a causal argument will help you antici- pate opposing views in order to strengthen your own. It will also help you rebut another person's causal argument. Here are some useful questions to ask:

• When you explain the links in a causal chain, can a skeptic point out weak- nesses in any of the links?

• If you speculate about the causes of a phenomenon, could a skeptic argue for different causes or arrange your causes in a different order of importance?

• If you argue for a surprising cause or a surprising consequence of a phenom- enon, could a skeptic point out alternative explanations that would undercut your argument?

• If your argument depends on inferences from data, could a skeptic question the way the data were gathered or interpreted? Could a skeptic claim that

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the data aren't relevant (for example, research done with lab animals might not apply to humans)?

• If your causal argument depends on a correlation between one phenomenon and another, could a skeptic argue that the direction of causality should be reversed or that an unidentified, third phenomenon is the real cause?

Readings Our first reading, by student writer Jesse Goncalves, was written in response to the assignment in this chapter. He became interested in the causes of math anxiety when he worked as a math tutor in a junior high school. Jesse's argument illus- trates the format and documentation system for a paper following the guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA). For further discussion of the APA documentation system, see Chapter 18.

Running head: WHAT CAUSES MATH ANXIETY?

What Causes Math Anxiety?

Jess Goncalves

October 18, 2018

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WHAT CAUSES MATH ANXIETY? 2

What Causes Math Anxiety?

Why are so many people afraid of math? As an applied mathe- matics major, I did not realize the extent to which math can become inaccessible to those who fear it until I began working in a middle- school math classroom. Math anxiety is defined as "feelings of fear, apprehension, or dread that many people experience when they are in situations that require solving math problems" (Casad, Hale, & Wachs, 2015). After I learned about math anxiety, I quickly came to recognize the anxiety in many of my students, several of my col- lege peers, and occasionally myself. Indeed, nearly half of all chil- dren in the United States develop moderate to severe math anxiety, a condition that often remains with them for the rest of their lives (Boaler, 2016). A great deal of research has been conducted on the causes of math anxiety over the past 50 years, and a wide variety of factors have been implicated. Contrary to the prevailing view that math anxiety is directly caused by a combination of genetics, institutional policies, and cultural forces, I argue that math anxiety may be best understood as a learned behavior that is passed on to children from math-anxious parents and teachers, leading to an intergenerational cycle of math anxiety.

Harkening back to the age-old question of nature versus nur- ture, many scholars have proposed and researched a connection between genetics and math anxiety, and some studies indicate that nature is indeed a strong predictor of a child's level of anxiety. A team of psychology researchers headed by Dr. Zhe Wang found that "[g]enetic factors accounted for roughly 40°/o of the variation in mathematical anxiety" when they studied 514 pairs of 12-year- old twins (2014). Dr. Wang and her co-authors argue that many of the same genetic factors that make people more likely to develop other anxieties also put them at a higher risk of developing rna th anxiety. They also note that biological factors such as dyscalculia, better known as mathematical dyslexia, are linked to poor math performance (Wang et al., 2014). Citing studies that implicate poor performance as both a cause and consequence of math anxiety, Dr. Wang contends that being genetically predisposed to struggle in math constitutes a predisposition towards math anxiety. Despite these findings, Dr. Wang does not side strongly with nature in the debate; her team discovered that "environmental factors indepen- dent of both general anxiety and math problem solving accounted for ... 53°/o of the total variance" in math anxiety (2014). What,

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then, are the factors that assume 53°/o responsibility for the epi- demic of math anxiety?

Education policy is one environmental influence often cited

3

as a cause of math anxiety. For example, Dr. Jo Boaler, a professor of mathematics education at Stanford University, condemns the frequency of timed testing as a major cause of math anxiety. She argues that "timed testing ... transforms children's brains, lead- ing to an inevitable path of math anxiety and low math achieve- ment" (2016). Timed testing is a policy problem due to mandated standardized testing. Moreover, as Dr. Boaler says, "some of the wording in the Common Core State Standards may point to an increased use of timed tests" (2016). Therefore, according to Dr. Boaler, education policy contributes substantially to the epidemic of math anxiety. Beyond policy, many cultural influences have also been accused of inducing rna th anxiety.

Perhaps the most often blamed and highly researched cultural cause of math anxiety is the unfounded stereotype that males are better at math than females. As Dr. Bettina Casad, a professor of psychology at University of Missouri-St. Louis, and her collabora- tors assert, "[C]ultural biases about the superiority of boys and men in math permeate our social consciousness" (2015). In a study of the interplay between these biases and math anxiety, Casad found that the "endorsement of math-gender stereotypes may be an antecedent for developing math anxiety for both boys and girls" (2015). Therefore, males and females alike who believe in men's mathematical superiority are at greater risk of developing math anxiety. Because "girls and women are more negatively impacted by cultural biases," a higher number of females suffer from math anxiety (Casad, Hale, & Wachs, 2015). However, the degree to which children are exposed to and influenced by math-gender ste- reotypes is primarily predicated on their parents and teachers.

While genetics, policy, and culture are all contributing causes of math anxiety, I argue that they do not contribute as significantly or directly as math-anxious parents and teachers. The instructors that shape children's relationships to math are foremost among the "environmental factors" responsible for math anxiety (Wang et al., 2014). Teachers also play a major role in determining the influ- ence of education policies on children, as they are charged with the implementation of policy in their classrooms. Similarly, the extent to which math-gender stereotypes impact children depends in large part on their parents' and teachers' endorsement or rejection

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WHAT CAUSES MATH ANXIETY? 4

of those stereotypes. Thus, parents and teachers are the most immediate and significant causes of math anxiety, as they are the primary vehicles through which policy and culture exert influence.

When they frequently help with homework, math-anxious parents can instill math anxiety in their children by modeling negative attitudes towards math and promoting math-gender stereotypes. Parental homework help is normally correlated with improvement in students' performance; however, a team led by psychology researcher Dr. Erin Maloney found that when par- ents with math anxiety frequently helped with homework, their children's performance and level of math anxiety were negatively affected (2015). The correlation between parents' and children's math anxiety was present only when parents helped with horne- work, another indication that the anxiety is transmitted primarily through socialization rather than genetics. Maloney argues that math-anxious parents can cause their children to develop math anxiety because they "tend to believe that math is not useful and have low math self-efficacy and low motivation to succeed in math," so communicating their beliefs is "dernotivating" to their children (2015). She also suggests that parents who are themselves afraid of failure in math "may be more likely to express negativ- ity when their child is struggling, which in turn could cause their children to also learn to fear failing in mathematics and to avoid engaging in challenging situations" (Maloney et al., 2015). A separate study headed by Dr. Bettina Casad and colleagues sup- ported Maloney's discovery that math-anxious parents often instill math anxiety in their children. Their results showed that "parents' anxiety plays a role in children's math anxiety, and the variables interact to predict several math education outcomes including math self-efficacy, math GPA, math behavioral intentions, math attitudes, and math devaluing" (2015). Casad also noted that math- anxious mothers are particularly prone to share their anxiety with their daughters, which she postulated is a result of these mothers endorsing math-gender stereotypes. Accordingly, Dr. Elizabeth Gunderson, a professor of psychology at Temple University, and her collaborators found that "parents' gender stereotypes bias their beliefs about their own child's math ability, and these beliefs affect children's own self-perceptions about math" (2012). So, while the endorsement of math-gender stereotypes can cause females and males alike to develop math anxiety, children generally learn to believe these stereotypes from math-anxious parents who have

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WHAT CAUSES MATH ANXIETY? 5

themselves internalized the beliefs. In this way, through negative attitudes and biases, math anxiety is passed from one generation of parents to the next in a never-ending cycle. Unfortunately, chil- dren who do not receive homework help or who internalize stereo- types from a math-anxious parent, are still at risk of learning math anxiety from a teacher who suffers from the condition.

Perhaps even more influential than parents in the perpetu- ation of math anxiety are the many math-anxious elementary school teachers. An estimated 60°/o of elementary school teachers report having moderate to high levels of math anxiety (Bekdernir, 2010), which has been shown to affect instructional practices and classroom dynamics to the point where students perform worse and are at an increased risk of developing math anxiety them- selves. Dr. Mehrnet Bekdernir, an education researcher, speculates that math-anxious teachers gravitate towards elementary school to avoid teaching middle- or high-school math, however points out that elementary school is the time when children are most prone to developing math anxiety (2010). Dr. Kristin Hadley and Dr. Jim Dorward, both professors of teacher education, found that "teachers who were anxious about teaching mathematics tended to teach in a more traditional manner" (2011), meaning they adopted a conventional, by-the-book pedagogical style and declined to try more innovative strategies. This suggests that math- anxious teachers may be more likely to follow policies that increase students' math anxiety by encouraging traditional practices like frequent timed testing. They also may reject innovative new poli- cies meant to reduce students' anxiety, such as accommodating different learning styles. As a result, the effect of education policy on children's math anxiety is mediated by teachers' levels of math anxiety. Teachers with math anxiety are also more likely to endorse and perpetuate math-gender stereotypes, and for their students, this translates directly to increased math anxiety (Casad, Hale, & Wachs, 2015). For instance, Dr. Elizabeth Gunderson found that in classrooms where teachers had high math anxiety, girls often carne to endorse the stereotype that boys are better at math (2012). Therefore, through their instructional practices and biases, teachers with math anxiety put their students, some of whom will become the next generation of teachers, at an increased risk of developing math anxiety themselves. Luckily, individual parents and teachers can work to overcome math anxiety and thereby begin to break the cycle.

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Because cultural forces and policy decisions work primarily through math-anxious parents and teachers to cause math anxiety in children, with genetics playing a subordinate role, addressing math anxiety in adults could greatly reduce the rate of math anxi- ety in future generations. Policy changes and cultural shifts are necessary to end the epidemic, but those transitions need to begin at the kitchen table and in front of the classroom, where parents and teachers must confront their own anxieties and math gender biases. I will certainly apply the lessons of this research to improve my own practice as a mentor, and perhaps one day as a teacher, to ensure that I do not perpetuate the cycle of math anxiety.

References Bekdemir, M. (2010). The pre-service teachers' mathematics anxi-

ety related to depth of negative experiences in mathematics classroom while they were students. Educational Studies in Math- ematics, 75(3), 311-328.

Boaler, J. (2016). Timed tests and the development of math anxiety. Education Week. Retrieved from http:/ /www.edweek.org/ew I articles I 2012 I 07 I 03 I 36boaler.h31.html

Casad, B., Hale, P., & Wachs, F. (2015). Parent-child math anxiety and math-gender stereotypes predict adolescents' math educa- tion outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1597.

Gunderson, E. A., Ramirez, G., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. (2012). The role of parents and teachers in the development of gender- related math attitudes. Sex Roles, 66, 153-166.

Hadley, K., & Dorward, J. (2011). The relationship among elemen- tary teachers' mathematics anxiety, mathematics instructional practices, and student mathematics achievement. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 5(2), 27-44.

Maloney, E., Ramirez, G., Gunderson, E., Levine, S., & Beilock, S. (2015). Intergenerational effects of parents' math anxiety on children's math achievement and anxiety. Psychological Sci- ence, 26(9), 1480-1488.

Wang, Z., Hart, S. A., Kovas, Y., Lukowski, S., Soden, B., Thomp- son, L.A., ... & Petrill, S. A. (2014). Who is afraid of math? Two sources of genetic variance for mathematical anxiety. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55, 1056-1064.

Critiquing "What Causes Math Anxiety?"

1. In his research paper, Jesse's strategy is to present an unexpected cause of math anxiety. What unexpected cause or causes does Jesse argue for in this paper?

2. Which common explanations of math anxiety does Jesse summarize and explain? How effectively does Jesse use research evidence to persuade you that these causes contribute to math anxiety but aren't as important as Jesse's primary causes?

3. How effectively does Jesse support his claim that math anxious students are more likely to learn math anxiety from a math-anxious parent than to inherit math anxiety through the genes? What does he use as evidence? Are you persuaded by this evidence?

4. For Jesse, the most important cause of math anxiety is math-anxious elemen- tary teachers. What causal chain does he propose? That is, what is it that math- anxious teachers say or do that passes on math anxiety to their students? How does Jesse use research evidence to make his case? Are you persuaded?

5. How would you characterize Jesse's use of logos ethos, and pathos in this essay?

Our second reading is from a blog by professional freelance writer and nov- elist Kris Saknussemm. It explores the surprising phenomenon that people have trouble recognizing themselves in moving pictures of themselves (videos), which should serve as mirrors. There seems to be no clear causal explanation for this counterintuitive observation that technological advancement might lead to a decline in self-recognition.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Are We Really Here at All? Can We Tell? KRIS SAKNUSSEMM

Does greater technological sophistication bring us closer to self-awareness or does it distance us further? How odd, if increased intelligence in one sphere means a kind of basic blindness in another.

The mirror test was developed in 1970 by psychologist Gordon Gallup Jr. The goal of the test was to measure animals' capacity for self-recognition by marking animals with unscented dyes. Can an animal, watching itself move in the mirror, correlate the "marked" image in the mirror to the physical marking on its body? To date, these animals have passed the mirror test: orca whales, bottlenose dol- phins, Asian elephants, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and Eurasian mag- pies. Humans, of course, can pass the mirror test, right? Well, here's the irony. With all our advances regarding image production and our exposure to visual information, our mental processing of images of ourselves seems to have led to disconnection and distance. Our perception seems to have failed to keep up or may have even stepped backward.

Take this example, which fascinated me. The groom was in his 50s, the bride in her 40s. The reception venue was an ordinary family home. I found the ram- bunctious grandchildren and the older folks swapping stories in the WD-40 garage a refreshing change to the high-priced, high-fashion wedding events I'd recently attended. The working-class house hummed with festivity ... and

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then ... the brother of the bride, who'd been videoing the activities, p lugged his camera into the living-room TV.

Then the children stopped playing and gathered around. Within three minutes, all the Nerfball hustle and bustle had ceased and everyone was engaged w ith the images on the screen. You may say that the people in attendance were in some way "hypnotized" by images of themselves. This is the Era of the Selfie, after all. You might imagine the people laughing at each other, or in some egotistical/ self-esteem competition, checking out how much camera time they received rela- tive to others. But what if something much more peculiar happened?

s What I directly observed was people having trouble identifying themselves in the video. There was what the novelist Franz Kafka called a "strange uncer- tainty." I experienced this myself, despite the fact I was wearing a distinctive shirt. It got me doing research about technology, the human brain, and the culturally constructed sense of self.

In 1971, a Harvard University team of psychologists investigated auditory stimulation and response. The recording industry was at peak production. Radio had survived the onslaught of TV and remained the overall most pervasive form of information and entertainment delivery. Terms such as "noise pollution" were gaining currency. As a #1 song of the day said, "The air was full of sound."

Despite the level of auditory stimulation, test subjects demonstrated impres- sive capacity for subtle perceptions and distinctions. It appeared that the "more noise, the greater the ability to distinguish signal." We were getting smarter about sound. Good news. The famous "cocktail party effect" first identified by Colin Cherry in 1953 (whereby people have the selective-attention capability of hearing their name spoken in a crowded room) was in full evidence in Harvard's study. But by radical and paradoxical contrast, test subjects showed a remarkable confusion when listening to recordings of their own voices. It wasn't just that they didn't like the sound of their voices. They had perceptual trouble actually recognizing them.

Now, the deeper, related problem of visual recognition is supported by other studies. One of the largest treatment facilities in the United States, specializing in substance-abuse problems, introduced video into its rehabilitation program. The idea was to let people with alcohol issues openly indulge in drinking and then to videotape them. According to the program director, "We were working on the premise that when people were presented with hard evidence of how alcohol affected their behavior, they might reevaluate on a very personal level." The treatment center anticipated some shamed resistance. Instead, a significant percentage of participating patients did not express the expected degree of denial regarding their behavior their issue was if it was really them in the video at all. This phenomenon of "nonrecognition" or severely delayed acceptance of recogni- tion has been further demonstrated by one of America's most prominent security companies. When presented with CCTV images of themselves, people literally do not see themselves at first, not pushing their loaded carts toward the checkout stand nor talking with a friend by an apartment elevator. No cause for denial in these cases just lack of connection in a very fundamental way.

Perhaps we just want to see a different self? But there's something more at work than privately curated, idealized notions of ourselves, as younger or thinner.

10 Actually, as technology has introduced greater degrees of stimulation/ information into our perceptual lives, humans may have become more adept at processing detail and sorting through information with the important

exception of depictions of ourselves. In blunt terms, the more "mirrors," the less self-recognition. If more exposure leads us to less effective and accurate cognitive processing, do we need to rethink the interaction between apparent technological advance and actual human perception? If the more we see of ourselves the less we immediately recognize, there's a problem maybe many.

Critiquing "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Are We Really Here at All? Can We Tell?"

1. Saknussemm points out a surprising consequence of our technological advances. The more we become sophisticated in producing and observing moving images of ourselves, the less we recognize ourselves in the videos. Have you ever had the experience of not quite recognizing yourself in a video? ("Hey, that doesn't look like me or sound like me.") How relevant and effective are the examples Saknussemm cites of this causal phenomenon?

2. How does does Saknussemm explain the cause of this phenomenon? What causal explanations does he consider but discount? What explanations do you propose?

3. Written as a blog, this piece has a speculative informal style that often includes abrupt and surprising transitions. How effective is this piece at arousing your own curiosity about our failure to recognize ourselves in videos? How would the piece be different if it were written in the genre of an academic research paper?

Our final reading has been chosen for its historical interest. Written by student Carlos Macias in 2008, it first appeared in the 8th edition of Writing Arguments. It examines the phenomenon of credit card debt among college students, showing how the lack of federal regulation on credit card companies led to exploitive prac- tices that often mired students in unexpected debt. In 2009, Congress approved the Credit Card Act (signed into law by President Obama), which made many of these exploitive practices illegal. Students younger than 21 must now have a co-signer to receive a credit card a requirement that has led to more extensive use of debit cards and a significant reduction in student credit card debt. Carlos's argument shows what it was like for college students before federal regulations reduced the aggressive practices of credit card companies.

Student Essay

"The Credit Card Company Made Me Do It!" The Credit Card Industry's Role in Causing Student Debt

Carlos Macias

One day on spring break this year, I strolled into a Gap store. I found several items that I decided to buy. As I was checking out, the cute female clerk around my age, with perfect hair and makeup, asked if I wanted to open a GapCard to save 10 percent on all purchases I made at Gap, Banana

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Republic, and Old Navy that day. She said I would also earn points toward Gap gift certificates in the future. Since I shop at the Gap often enough, I decided to take her up on her offer. I filled out the form she handed me, and within seconds I a jobless, indebted-from-student-loans, full-time college student with no substantial assets or income whatsoever was offered a card with a $1000 credit line. Surprised by the speed at which I was approved and the amount that I was approved for, I decided to proceed to both Banana Republic and Old Navy that day to see if there was anything else I might be interested in getting (there was). By the end of the day, I had rung up nearly $200 in purchases.

I know my $200 shopping spree on credit is nothing compared to some of the horror stories I have heard from friends. One of my friends, a college sophomore, is carrying $2000 on a couple of different cards, a situation that is not unusual at all. The problem is that most students don't have the income to pay off their balances, so they become hooked into paying high interest rates and fees that enrich banks while exploiting students who have not yet learned how to exercise control on their spending habits.

Who is to blame for this situation? Many people might blame the stu- dents themselves, citing the importance of individual responsibility and proclaiming that no one forces students to use credit cards. But I put most of the blame directly on the credit card companies. Credit cards are enormously profitable; according to a New York Times article, the industry made $30 bil- lion in pretax profits in 2003 alone (McGeehan). Hooking college students on credit cards is essential for this profit, not only because companies make a lot of money off the students themselves, but because hooking students on cards creates a habit that lasts a lifetime. Credit card companies' predatory lending practices such as using exploitive advertising, using credit scoring to determine creditworthiness, disguising the real cost of credit, and taking advantage of U.S. government deregulation are causing many unwitting college students to accumulate high levels of credit card debt.

First of all, credit card companies bombard students with highly sophis- ticated advertising. College students, typically, are in an odd "in-between" stage where they are not necessarily teens anymore, provided for by their parents, but neither are they fully adults, able to provide entirely for them- selves. Many students feel the pressures from family, peers, and themselves to assume adult roles in terms of their dress and jobs, not relying on Mom or Dad for help. Card companies know about these pressures. Moreover, col- lege students are easy to target because they are concentrated on campuses and generally consume the same media. I probably get several mailings a month offering me a preapproved credit card. These advertisements are filled with happy campus scenes featuring students wearing just the right clothes, carrying their books in just the right backpack, playing music on their iPods, or opening their laptop computers. They also appeal to stu- dents' desire to feel like responsible adults by emphasizing little emergen- cies that college students can relate to, such as car breakdowns on a road trip. These advertisements illustrate a point made by a team of researchers in an article entitled "Credit Cards as Lifestyle Facilitators": The authors explain how credit card companies want consumers to view credit cards as "lifestyle facilitators" that enable "lifestyle building" and "lifestyle

signaling" (Bernthal et al.). Credit cards make it easy for students to live the lifestyle pictured in the credit card ads.

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Another contributing cause of high credit card debt for college students s is the method that credit card companies use to grant credit through credit scoring that does not consider income. It was credit scoring that allowed me to get that quadruple-digit credit line at The Gap while already living in the red. The application I filled out never asked my income. Instead, the personal information I listed was used to pull up my credit score, which is based on records of outstanding debts and payment history. Credit scoring allows banks to grant credit cards based on a person's record of responsibil- ity in paying bills rather than on income. According to finance guru Suze Orman, "Your FICO [credit] score is a great tool to size up how good you will be handling a new loan or credit card" (21). Admittedly, credit scoring has made the lending process as a whole much fairer, giving individuals such as minorities and women the chance to qualify for credit even if they have minimal incomes. But when credit card companies use credit scoring to determine college students' creditworthiness, many students are unpre- pared to handle a credit line that greatly exceeds their ability to pay based on income. In fact, the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advo- cacy organization in North Carolina, lobbied Congress in September 2003 to require credit card companies to secure proof of adequate income for college-age customers before approving credit card applications ("Credit & Prepaid Cards"). If Congress passed such legislation, credit card compa- nies would not be able to as easily take advantage of college students who have not yet learned how to exercise control on their spending habits. They would have to offer students credit lines commensurate with their incomes. No wonder these companies vehemently opposed this legislation.

Yet another contributing cause of high levels of credit card debt is the high cost of having this debt, which credit card companies are especially tal- ented at disguising. As credit card debt increases, card companies compound unpaid interest, adding it to the balance that must be repaid. If this balance is not repaid, they charge interest on unpaid interest. They add exorbitant fees for small slip-ups like making a late payment or exceeding the credit limit. While these costs are listed on statements when first added to the balance, they quickly vanish into the "New Balance" number on all subsequent state- ments, as if these fees were simply past purchases that have yet to be repaid. As the balance continues to grow, banks spike interest rates even higher. In his 2004 article "Soaring Interest Compounds Credit Card Pain for Millions," Patrick McGeehan describes a "new era of consumer credit, in which thou- sands of Americans are paying millions of dollars each month in fees that they did not expect ... lenders are doubling or tripling interest rates with little warning or explanation." These rate hikes are usually tucked into the pages of fine print that come with credit cards, which many consumers are unable to fully read, let alone understand. Usually, a credit card company will offer a very low "teaser rate" that expires after several months. While this industry practice is commonly understood by consumers, many do not understand that credit card companies usually reserve the right to raise the rate at any time for almost any reason, causing debt levels to rise further.

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Admittedly, while individual consumers must be held accountable for any debt they accumulate and should understand compound and variable interest and fees, students' ignorance is welcomed by the credit card indus- try. To completely explain how the credit card industry has caused college students to amass high amounts of credit card debt, it is first necessary to explain how this vicious monster was let loose during banking deregulation over the past 30 years. In 1978, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates by ruling that the federal government could not set a cap on interest rates that banks charged for credit cards; that decision was to be left to the states. With Uncle Sam no longer protecting consumers, Delaware and South Dakota passed laws that removed caps on interest rates, in order to woo credit card comp anies to conduct nationwide business there (McGeehan). Since then, the credit card industry has become one of the most profitable industries ever. Credit card companies were given another sweet deal from the U.S. Supreme Court in 1996, when the Court deregulated fees. Since then, the average late fee has risen from $10 or less, to $39 (McGeehan). While a lot of fees and finance charges are avoidable if the student pays the balance in full, on time, every month, for college students who carry balances for whatever reason, these charges are tacked on, further adding to the principal on which they pay a high rate of compounded interest. Moreover, the U.S. govern- ment has refused to step in to regulate the practice of universal default, where a credit card company can raise the rate it charges if a consumer is late on an unrelated bill, like a utility payment. Even for someone who pays his or her bills in full, on time, 99 p ercent of the time, one bill-paying slip-up can cause an avalanche of fees and frustration, thanks to the credit card industry.

Credit card companies exploit college students' lack of financial savvy and security. It is no secret that most full-time college students are not inde- pendently wealthy; many have limited means. So why are these companies so willing to issue cards to poor college students? Profits, of course! If they made credit cards less available to struggling consumers such as college students, consumers would have a more difficult time racking up huge balances, plain and simple. It's funny that Citibank, one of the largest, most profitable credit card companies in the world, proudly exclaims "Live richly" in its advertise- ments. At the rate that it and other card companies collect interest and fees from their customers, a more appropriate slogan would be "Live poorly."

Works Cited

Bernthal, Matthew, et al. "Credit Cards as Lifestyle Facilitators." Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 32, no. 1, 2005, pp. 130-45.

"Credit & Prepaid Cards: Our Policy Positions." Center for Responsible Lending, www.responsiblelending.org/ issues I credit-prepaid-cards I credit-prepaid-cards-policy. Accessed 18 June 2005.

McGeehan, Patrick. "Soaring Interest Comp ounds Credit Card Pain for Millions." The New York Times, 21 Nov. 2004, www.nytimes.com/ 2004 I 11 I 21 /business I soaring-interest-compounds-credit -card-pain- for-millions.html.

Orman, Suze. The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke. Riverhead, 2005.

Critiquing "The Credit Card Company Made Me Do It!"

1. How effective is Carlos's argument that the predatory practices of banks and credit card companies are the primary cause of credit card debt among college students? (See our introduction to Carlos's paper, which was written in 2008 before the signing of the federal Credit Card Act.)

2. The problems illustrated in Carlos's paper had received national attention for many years, but no legislation was passed until the 2009 Credit Card Act. This act has apparently been successful. According to ConsolidatedCredit. org, 46 percent of college students had a credit card in their name in 2005. By 2015, only 23 percent had credit cards. By 2015, only one in ten purchases by college students used credit cards. Instead, 42 percent of purchases used debit cards while 40 percent used cash. From the perspective of a college student, what are the advantages and disadvantages of a credit card versus a debit card?

3. Given the problems with credit card debt highlighted by Carlos, do you think federal regulations were necessary to protect college students? Or should the government stay out of the regulatory business and let individuals look out for themselves?

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Chapter 14

Learning Objectives

In this chapter you will learn to:

14.1 Explain and illustrate the difference between categorical and ethical evaluation arguments.

14.2 Conduct a categorical evaluation argument using a criteria-match strategy.

14.3 Conduct an ethical evaluation argument using principles or consequences.

14.4 Be mindful of common problems encountered in evaluation arguments.

14.5 Write your own categorical or ethical evaluation argument.

In our roles as citizens and professionals, we are continually expected to make evaluations and to persuade others to accept them. In this chapter, you will learn to conduct two kinds of evaluation arguments: categorical and ethical. Both have clarifying power to help us make difficult choices about good or bad, right or wrong.

Case 1: How Should We Evaluate the Film District 9? In the fi lm District 9 (2009), d irected by South African Neill Blomkam p and produced by Peter Jackson, a spacesh ip has stalled out over Johannesbu rg, South Africa, where it has hovered for several decades. Its starving alien passengers, derogatorily called "The Prawns" for their appearance, have been placed in what has become a crowded, milita- rized prison ghetto called District 9. As t he fil m begins, South Africans have grown dis- gusted with and intolerantly fearful of the growing alien population, while corporate powers seek t hese aliens' technolog ically advanced bio-weapons. As this poster suggests- based on its "No Humans Allowed" sign, its ominous "You are not welcome here" slogan, and its barbed w ire perimeter-the fi lm includes graphic echoes of the racism of apartheid and disturbing depictions of xenophobia, abusive corporate powers, and m istreatment of

Evaluation and Ethical Arguments 281

refugees (the aliens). Nominated for numerous awards, District 9 sparked heated evalua- tion arguments about whether it is a good film or a flawed fi lm. Part of the debate focuses on what evaluative criteria to use-a decision that depends on the category into which the film should be placed. Should it be evaluated as a science-fiction film, as a corporate espionage thriller, or as a commentary on global social justice? Some critics, for example, have argued that District 9 is not a great science-fiction film, but they have argued that it is a deeply provocative and moving commentary on social justice.

PETER JACKSON PRESENTS

A FILM BY NEILL BLOMKAMP

Case 2: What Is a "Good Organ" for a Transplant? How Can an Ill Person Ethically Find an Organ Donor? In the United States, some 117,000 sick people are waiting for an organ transplant. Some of these people have been waiting as long as six years, and some w ill die before they can find a donor. The problem of organ shortages raises two kinds of evaluation issues. First, doctors are reevaluating the criteria by which they judge a "good" organ-that is, a good lung, kidney, or liver suitable for transplanting. Formerly, people who were elderly or

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obese or who had engaged in risky behaviors or experienced heart fai lure or other medical conditions were not considered sources of good organs. Now doctors are reconsidering these sources as well as exploring the use of organs from pigs. Second, the shortage of organs for donation has raised numerous ethical issues: Is it ethical for people to bypass the national waiting list for organs by advertising on billboards and websites in search of a volunteer donor? Is it morally right for people to sell their organs? Is it right for patients and families to buy organs or in any way remunerate living organ donors? Some states are passing laws that allow some financ ial compensation to living organ donors.

An Overview of Categorical and Ethical Evaluation Arguments 14.1 Explain and illustrate the difference between categorical and ethical

evaluation arguments.

In this chapter we explain strategies for conducting two different kinds of evalu- ation arguments. First, we examine categorical evaluations of the kind "Is this thing a good member of its class?"* (For example: Is Ramon a good leader?) In such an evaluation, the writer determines the extent to which a given something possesses the qualities or standards of its category or class. What are the traits of good leaders? Does Ramon possess these traits? Second, we examine ethical arguments of the kind "Is this action right (wrong)?" (For example: Was it right or wrong to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II?) In these arguments, the writer evaluates a given act from the perspective of some system of morality or ethics.

To see the difference between the two kinds of evaluations, consider the case of terrorists. From a nonethical standpoint, you could make a categorical evalu- ation by saying that certain people are "good terrorists" in that they fully realize the purpose of the class "terrorist": They cause great anguish and damage with a minimum of resources, and they bring much attention to their cause. In other words, they are good at what they do terrorism. However, if we want to con- demn terrorism on ethical grounds, we have to construct an ethical argument that terrorism is wrong. The ethical question is not whether a person fulfills the purposes of the class "terrorist," but rather whether it is wrong for such a class to exist. In the rest of this chapter, we explain categorical evaluations and ethical evaluations in more detail.

Constructing a Categorical Evaluation Argument 14.2 Conduct a categorical evaluation argument using a criteria-match strategy.

A categorical evaluation uses a criteria-match structure similar to the structure we examined in definition arguments (see Chapter 12).

*In addition to the term good, a number of other ev aluative terms involve the same kind of thinking: effective,successful , workable, excellen t, valuable, and so forth.

Evaluation and Ethical Arguments 283

Criteria-Match Structure of Categorical Evaluations A typical claim-with-reasons frame for an evaluation argument has the following criteria-match structure:

This thing/phenomenon is/is not a good member of its class because it meets (fails to meet) criteria A, B, and C.

Claim: This thing/phenomenon is (is not) a good member of its class. Criteria: The criteria for being a good member of this class are A, B, and C. Match: The thing/phenomenon meets (fails to meet) criteria A, B, and C.

The main conceptual difference between an evaluation argument and a defini- tion argument is the nature of the contested category. In a definition argument, one argues whether a particular thing belongs within a certain category. (Is this

TOULMIN ANALYSIS OF THE FRACKING ARGUMENT SUPPORTING ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY

ENTHYMEME

CLAIM Fracking is a good method for

extracting natural gas from shale formations

REASON because it is environmentally safe.

GROUNDS

• Descriptions of safety measures employed

by industry

• Descriptions of local, state, and federal

regulations aimed at insuring safety

• Summaries of peer-reviewed studies and

government studies showing the safety of

fracking

• Refutation of anecdotal scare stories told by

environmentalists

WARRANT

Environmental safety is an important criterion

for evaluating a method of drilling for natural gas

BACKING

Arguments that safety must be a prime

consideration of any business plan. One major

accident could undermine public support of

fracking. [Backing tries to counter the arguments

of environmentalists that business interests put

profit ahead of safety.]

CONDITIONS OF REBUTTAL

Attacking the reason and grounds

Arguments that fracking is not environmentally

safe

• Studies pointing to possible dangers such as

contamination of aquifers, earthquakes,

flaring of methane, and so forth

• Arguments that local, state, and federal

regulations are too loose and unenforced

• Statistics about environmental costs in doing

the fracking (huge amounts of required water,

recovering contaminated water, use of carbon

fuels to run the machinery, and so forth)

CONDITIONS OF REBUTTAL

Attacking the warrant and backing

• Environmentalists will endorse the warrant,

but may say that even if fracking is safe, it

undermines the urgency of finding alternative

energy sources.

• Business interests might want to loosen an

insistence on absolute safety by

acknowledging that some accidents are

inevitable.

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swampy area a wetland?) In an evaluation argument, we know what category something belongs to. For example, we know that this 2014 Nissan Leaf is a used car. For an evaluation argument, the question is whether this 2014 Nissan Leaf a good used car. Or, to place the question within a rhetorical context: Is this 2014 Nissan Leaf a good used car for me to buy for commuting back and forth to campus?

To illustrate the criteria-match structure of an evaluation argument, let's ask whether hydraulic fracturing (commonly called fracking) is a good means for extracting natural gas from shale formations. Supporters of £racking might say "yes," because £racking meets three major criteria:

• It is technologically efficient at extracting huge supplies of otherwise untappable natural gas.

• It is cost-effective.

• It is environmentally safe.

Opponents might make two counterarguments: First, they might claim that £rack- ing is not environmentally safe. (Safety is a crucial criterion. Opponents argue that £racking doesn't meet this criterion.) Second, they might argue that £rack- ing, by producing lots of relatively cheap natural gas, removes the urgency from efforts to convert the country to sources of renewable energy, such as the sun and the wind. Thus, £racking might be cost-effective (criterion 2) in the short run but disastrous in the long run. The following figure provides a Toulmin analysis of how proponents of £racking might develop their third reason: "Fracking is environmentally safe."

Developing Your Criteria To help you develop your criteria, we suggest a three-step thinking process:

1. Place the thing you are evaluating in the smallest relevant category so that you don't compare apples to oranges.

2. Develop criteria for your evaluation based on the purpose or function of this category.

3. Determine the relative weight of your criteria.

Let's look at each of these steps in turn.

STEP 1: PLACE THE THING YOU ARE EVALUATING IN THE SMALLEST RELEVANT CATEGORY Placing your contested thing in the smallest relevant category is a crucial first step. Suppose, for example, that you want one of your professors to write you a letter of recommendation for a summer job. The professor will need to know what kind of summer job you are applying for. Are you apply- ing to become a camp counselor, a law-office intern, a retail sales clerk, or a tour guide at a wild animal park? Each of these jobs has different criteria for excellence.

To take a different example, suppose that you want to evaluate e-mail as a medium of correspondence. To create a stable context for your evaluation, you need to place e-mail in its smallest relevant category. You may choose to evalu- ate e-mail as a medium for business communication (by contrasting e-mail with direct personal contact, phone conversations, or postal mail), as a medium for staying in touch with high-school friends (in contrast, say, to text messaging,

Evaluation and Ethical Arguments 285

Facebook or Instagram), or as a medium for carrying on a long-distance romance (in contrast, say, to old-fashioned love letters). Again, criteria will vary across these different categories.

By p lacing your contested thing in the smallest relevant class, you avoid the apples-and-oranges problem. That is, to give a fair evaluation of a perfectly good apple, you need to judge it under the class "apple" and not under the next larger class, "fruit," or a neighboring class such as "orange." To be even more precise, you may wish to evaluate your apple in the class "eating apple" as opposed to "pie apple" because the latter class is supposed to be tarter and the former class juicier and sweeter.

STEP 2: DEVELOP CRITERIA FOR YOUR EVALUATION BASED ON THE PURPOSE OR FUNCTIONS OF THIS CATEGORY Suppose that the summer job you are applying for is tour guide at a wild animal park. The functions of a tour guide are to drive the tour buses, make people feel welcome, give them interest- ing information about the wild animals in the park, and make their visit pleasant. Criteria for a good tour guide would thus include reliability and responsibility, a friendly demeanor, good speaking skills, and knowledge of the kinds of animals in the wild animal park. In our e-mail example, suppose that you want to evalu- ate e-mail as a medium for business communication. The purpose of this class of communication is to provide a quick and reliable means of communication that increases efficiency, minimizes misunderstandings, and protects the confidential- ity of internal communications. Based on these purposes, you might establish the following criteria:

A good medium for business communication: • Is easy to use, quick, and reliable • Increases employee efficiency • Prevents misunderstandings • Maintains confidentiality where needed

STEP 3: DETERMINE THE RELATIVE WEIGHT OF YOUR CRITERIA In some evaluations, all the criteria are equally important. However, sometimes a phenom- enon to be evaluated is strong in one criterion but weak in another. This situation forces the evaluator to decide which criterion takes precedence. For example, the supervisor interviewing candidates for tour guide at the wild animal park may find one candidate who is very knowledgeable about the wildlife but doesn't have good speaking skills. The supervisor would need to decide which of these two criteria gets more weight.

Making Your Match Argument Once you've established and weighed your criteria, you'll need to use examples and other evidence to show that the thing being evaluated meets or does not meet the criteria. For example, your professor could argue that you would be a good wildlife park tour guide because you have strong interpersonal skills (based on your work on a college orientation committee), that you have good speaking skills (based on a speech you gave in the professor's class), and that you have quite a bit of knowledge about animals and ecology (based on your major in environmental science).

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In our e-mail example, you might establish the following working thesis:

Despite its being easy to learn, quick, and reliable, e-mail is often not an effec- tive medium for business communication because it reduces worker efficiency, leads to frequent misunderstandings, and often lacks confidentiality.

You could develop your last three points as follows:

• E-mail reduces worker efficiency. Although much important work can be done efficiently on e-mail, workers have to spend inordinate time sepa- rating important e-mail from noise (workplace announcements, annoying "reply all" strings, forwarded jokes, and so forth). You can use personal

Examining Visual Arguments

An Evaluation Claim For many people, the polar bear has become the iconic image of the environmental repercussions of global warming. Th is photograph of a "polar bear" march ing in a smal l-town parade creates a visual argument against c limate change. Th is parade entry was sponsored by the Backbone Campaign, an environmental group that specializes in "artfu l activism," using visually arresting and often humorous costumes, papier mache puppets, and other forms of art to advocate for progressive environmenta l pol icy. How effective is this visual argument as a smal l-town parade entry? Imagine that you are on a comm ittee brainstorming for an "artful entry" into the small-town parade. What argument would you make in favor of a polar bear theme? How effective is this two-person polar bear costume?

Evaluation and Ethical Arguments 287

anecdotes and research data to show how employees must sort through volumes of e-mail daily to sort out what messages need immediate atten- tion. Managing e-mail eats into worker time (one research article says that the average worker devotes ten minutes of every working hour to reading and responding to e-mail).

• E-mail leads to misunderstandings. Because an e-mail message is often com- posed rapidly without revision, e-mail can cause people to state ideas impre- cisely, to write something they would never say face to face, or to convey an unintended tone. You could give a personal example of a high-consequence misunderstanding caused by e-mail.

• E-mail often lacks confidentiality. You could provide anecdotal or research evi- dence of cases in which a person clicked on the "reply to all" button rather than the "reply" button, sending a message intended for one person to a w hole group of people. Also, people sometimes forward e-mails without the sender's permission. Finally, e-mail messages are archived forever, so mes- sages that you thought were deleted may show up years later in a lawsuit.

As these examples illustrate, the key to a successful match argument is to use suf- ficient examples and other evidence to show how your contested phenomenon meets or does not meet each of your criteria.

For Writing and Discussion Developing Criteria and Match Arguments The following small-group exercise can be accomplished in one or two class hours. It gives you a good model of the process you can go through in order to write your own categorical evaluation.

1. Choose a specific controversial person, thing, or event to evaluate. To help you think of ideas , try brainstorming controversial members of the fol lowing categories: people (athletes, political leaders, musicians); technology (new car features, phone apps); media (a social network, a TV program, a radio station); government and world affairs (an economic policy, a Supreme Court decision); the arts (a fi lm , a book); your college or university (food service, an administrative policy); the world of work (a job, a company operation, a dress pol icy); or any other categories of you r choice.

2. Place you r controversial person or thing within the smallest relevant class, thus provid ing a rhetorical context for your argument and showing what is at stake. Do you want to evaluate Harvey's Hamburger Haven in the broad category of restaurants, in the narrow category of hamburger joints, or in a different narrow category such as late-night study places?

3. Make a list of the purpose or function of that class, and then list the criteria that a good member of that class would need to have in order to accomplish its purpose or function. (What is the purpose or function of a hamburger joint versus a late-night study place? What criteria for excellence can you derive from these purposes or funct ions?)

4. If necessary, rank you r criteria from most to least important. (For a late-night study place, what is most important: good ambience, Wi-Fi availability, good coffee, or conven ient location?)

5. Provide examples and other evidence to show how you r contested something matches or does not match each of your criteria. (As a late-night study place, Carol's Coffee Closet beats out Harvey's Hamburger Haven. Although Harvey's Hamburger Haven has the most convenient location, Carol's Coffee Closet has Wi-Fi, an ambience conducive to studying, and excellent coffee.)

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Constructing an Ethical Evaluation Argument 14.3 Conduct an ethical evaluation argument using principles or consequences.

A second kind of evaluation argument focuses on moral or ethical issues, which can often merge or overlap with categorical evaluations. For example, many apparently straightforward categorical evaluations can turn out to have an ethi- cal dimension. Consider again the criteria for buying a car. Most people would base their evaluations on cost, safety, comfort, and so forth. But some people may feel morally obligated to buy the most fuel-efficient car, to buy an Ameri- can car, or not to buy a car from a manufacturer whose labor policies they find morally repugnant. Depending on how large a role ethical considerations play in the evaluation, we may choose to call this an ethical argument based on moral considerations rather than a categorical evaluation based on the purposes of a class or category.

When we are faced with an ethical issue, we must move from arguments of good or bad to arguments of right or wrong. The terms right and wrong are clearly different from the terms good and bad when the latter terms mean, simply, "effec- tive" (meets purposes of class, as in "This is a good laptop") or "ineffective" (fails to meet purposes of class, as in "This is a bad cookbook"). But right and wrong often also differ from what seems to be a moral use of the terms good and bad. We may say, for example, that sunshine is good because it brings pleasure and that cancer is bad because it brings pain and death, but that is not quite the same thing as saying that sunshine is "right" and cancer is "wrong." It is the problem of "right" and "wrong" that ethical arguments confront.

There are many schools of ethical thought too many to cover in this brief overview so we'll limit ourselves to two major systems: arguments from conse- quences and arguments from principles.

Consequences as the Base of Ethics Perhaps the best-known example of evaluating acts according to their ethical consequences is utilitarianism, a down-to-earth philosophy that grew out of nineteenth-century British philosophers' concern to demystify ethics and make it work in the practical world. Jeremy Bentham, the originator of utilitarianism, developed the goal of the greatest good for the greatest number, or "greatest hap- piness," by which he meant the most pleasure for the least pain. John Stuart Mill, another British philosopher, built on Bentham's utilitarianism by using predicted consequences to determine the morality of a proposed action.

Mill's consequentialist approach allows you to readily assess a wide range of acts. You can apply the principle of utility which says that an action is morally right if it produces a greater net value (benefits minus costs) than any available alternative action to virtually any situation, and it will help you reach a deci- sion. Obviously, however, it's not always easy to make the calculations called for by this approach because, like any prediction of the future, an estimate of conse- quences is conjectural. In particular, it's often very hard to assess the long-term consequences of any action. Too often, utilitarianism seduces us into a short-term

Evaluation and Ethical Arguments 289

analysis of a moral problem simply because long-term consequences are difficult to predict.

Principles as the Base of Ethics Any ethical system based on principles will ultimately rest on moral tenets that we are duty bound to uphold, no matter what the consequences. (See our discussion of "sacred values" in Chapters 1 and 2.) Sometimes the moral tenets come from religious faith for example, the Ten Commandments. At other times, however, the princip les are derived from philosophical reasoning, as in the case of Ger- man philosopher Immanuel Kant. Kant held that no one should ever use another person as a means to his own ends and that everyone should always act as if his acts are the basis of universal law. In other words, Kant held that we are duty bound to respect other people's sanctity and to act in the same way that we would want all other people to act. The great advantage of such a system is its clarity and precision. We are never overwhelmed by a multiplicity of contradictory and difficult-to-quantify consequences; we simply make sure we are following (or not violating) the princip les of our ethical system and proceed accordingly.

Exam.ple Ethical Argum.ents Exam.ining Capital Punishm.ent To show you how to conduct an ethical argument, let's now apply these two strategies to the example of capital punishment. In general, you can conduct an ethical evaluation by using the frame for either a principles-based argument or a consequences-based argument or a combination of both.

• Principles-Based Frame: An act is right (wrong) because it follows (violates) principles A, B, and C.

• Consequences-Based Frame: An act is right (wrong) because it will lead to con- sequences A, B, and C, which are good (bad).

A principles-based argument looks at capital punishment through the lens of one or more guiding principles. Kant's principle that we are duty bound not to violate the sanctity of other human lives could lead to arguments opposing capital punishment. One might argue as follows:

Principles-based argument opposing capital punishment: The death penalty is wrong because it violates the principle of the sanctity of human life.

You could support this principle either by summarizing Kant's argument that one should not violate the selfhood of another person or by pointing to certain religious systems such as Judeo-Christian ethics, where one is told "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord" and "Thou shalt not kill." To develop this argument further, you might examine two exceptions in which principles-based ethicists may allow killing self-defense and war and show how capital punishment does not fall into either category.

Princip les-based arguments can also be developed to support capital punishment. You may be surprised to learn that Kant himself despite his arguments for the sanctity of life supported capital punishment. To make such

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an argument, Kant evoked a different principle about the suitability of the pun- ishment to the crime:

There is no sameness of kind between death and remaining alive even under the most miserable conditions, and consequently there is no equality between the crime and the retribution unless the criminal is judicially condemned and put to death.

Stated as an enthymeme, Kant's argument is as follows:

Principles-based argument supporting capital punishment: Capital punishment is right because it follows the principle that punishments should be proportionate to the crime.

In developing this argument, Kant's burden would be to show why the principle of proportionate retribution outweighs the principle of the supreme worth of the individual. Our point is that a principles-based argument can be made both for and against capital punishment. The arguer's duty is to make clear what prin- ciple is being evoked and then to show why this principle is more important than opposing principles.

Unlike a principles-based argument, which appeals to certain guiding max- ims or rules, a consequences-based argument looks at the consequences of a deci- sion and measures the positive benefits against the negative costs. Here is the frame that an arguer might use to oppose capital punishment on the basis of negative consequences:

Consequences-based argument opposing capital punishment: Capital punishment is wrong because it leads to the following negative consequences:

• The possibility of executing an innocent person • The possibility that a murderer who may repent and be redeemed is

denied that chance • The excessive legal and political costs of trials and appeals • The unfair distribution of executions so that one's chances of being put

to death are much greater if one is a minority or is poor

To develop this argument, the reader would need to provide facts, statistics, and other evidence to support each of the stated reasons.

A different arguer might use a consequences-based approach to support capital punishment:

Consequences-based argument supporting capital punishment: Capital punishment is right because it leads to the following positive consequences:

• It may deter violent crime and decrease the murder rate. • It saves the cost of lifelong imprisonment. • It stops criminals who are menaces to society from committing more

murders. • It helps grieving families reach closure and sends a message to victims'

families that society recognizes their pain.

It should be evident, then, that adopting an ethical system doesn't lead to auto- matic answers to one's ethical dilemmas. A system offers a way of proceeding a way of conducting an argument but it doesn't relieve you of personal respon- sibility for thinking through your values and taking a stand. When you face an

Evaluation and Ethical Arguments 291

ethical dilemma, we encourage you to consider both the relevant principles and the possible consequences the dilemma entails. In many arguments, you can use both principles-based and consequences-based reasoning as long as irreconcilable contradictions don't present themselves.

For Writing and Discussion Developing an Ethical Argument

Individual task: Develop a frame for an ethical argument (based on princip les, consequences, or both) for or against any two of the following actions. Use the previous examples on capital punishment as a model.

1. Eating meat 2. Using publ ic transportation instead of own ing a car 3. Legalizing assisted suicide for the term inally ill 4. Sell ing human organs 5. Allowing concealed weapons on college campuses

Group task: Share your arguments with classmates.

Common Problems in Making Evaluation Arguments 14.4 Be mindful of common problems encountered in evaluation arguments.

When conducting evaluation arguments (whether categorical or ethical), writers can bump up against recurring problems that are unique to evaluation. In some cases, these problems complicate the establishment of criteria; in other cases, they complicate the match argument. Let's look briefly at some of these common problems.

• The problem of standards what is commonplace versus what is ideal: In various forms, we experience the dilemma of the commonplace versus the ideal all the time. Is it fair to get a ticket for going seventy miles per hour on a sixty- five-mile-per-hour freeway when most of the drivers go seventy miles per hour or faster? (Does what is commonplace going seventy override what is ideal obeying the law?) Is it better for high schools to pass out free con- traceptives to students because students are having sex anyway (what's com- monplace), or is it better not to pass them out in order to support abstinence (what's ideal)?

• The problem of mitigating circumstances: This problem occurs when an arguer claims that unusual circumstances should alter our usual standards of judg- ment. Ordinarily, it is fair for a teacher to reduce a grade if you turn in a paper late. But what if you were up all night taking care of a crying baby? Does that count as a mitigating circumstance to waive the ordinary criterion? When you

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argue for mitigating circumstances, you will likely assume an especially heavy burden of proof. People assume the rightness of usual standards of judgment unless there are compelling arguments for abnormal circumstances.

• The problem of choosing between two goods or two bads: Often an evaluation issue forces us between a rock and a hard place. Should we cut pay or eliminate jobs? Put our parents in a nursing home or let them stay at home, where they have become a danger to themselves? In such cases, one has to weigh conflicting criteria, knowing that the choices are too much alike either both bad or both good.

• The problem of seductive empirical measures: The need to make high-stakes eval- uations has led many people to seek quantifiable criteria that can be weighed mathematically. Thus we use grade point averages to select scholarship win- ners, student evaluation scores to decide merit pay for teachers, and judges' combined scores to evaluate figure skaters. In some cases, empirical measures can be quite acceptable, but they are often dangerous because they discount important nonquantifiable traits. The problem with empirical measures is that they seduce us into believing that complex judgments can be made math- ematically, thus rescuing us from the messiness of alternative points of view and conflicting criteria.

• The problem of cost: A final problem in evaluation arguments is cost. Some- thing may be the best possible member of its class, but if it costs too much, we have to go for second or third best. We can avoid this problem somewhat by placing items into different classes on the basis of cost. For example, a Mercedes will exceed a Kia on almost any criterion of quality, but if we can't afford more than a Kia, the comparison is pointless. It is better to compare a Mercedes to a Lexus and a Kia to an equivalent Ford. Whether costs are expressed in dollars, personal discomfort, moral repugnance, or some other terms, our final evaluation of an item must take cost into account.

riting Assignment: An Evaluation or Ethical Argument 14.5 Write your own categorical or ethical evaluation argument.

Write an argument in which you try to change your readers' minds about the value, worth, or ethics of something. Choose a phenomenon to be evaluated that is controversial so that your readers are likely at first to disagree with your evaluation or at least to be surprised by it. Somewhere in your essay you should summarize alternative views and either refute them or concede to them (see Chapter 6).

Exploring Ideas Evaluation issues are all around us. Think of disagreements about the value of a person, thing, action, or phenomenon within the various communities to which you belong your dorm, home, or apartment community; your school community, including clubs or organizations; your academic community, in- cluding classes you are currently taking; your work community; and your city,

Evaluation and Ethical Arguments 293

state, national, and world communities. Once you have settled on a controver- sial thing to be evaluated, place it in its smallest relevant category, determine the purposes of that category, and develop your criteria. If you are making an ethi- cal evaluation, consider your argument from the perspective of both principles and consequences.

Identifying Your Audience and Determining What's at Stake Before drafting your argument, identify your targeted audience and determine what's at stake. Consider your responses to the following questions:

• What audience are you targeting? What background do they need to under- stand your issue? How much do they already care about it?

• Before they read your evaluation argument, what stance on your issue do you imagine them holding? What change do you want to bring about in their view?

• What will they find new or surprising about your argument?

• What objections might they raise? What counterarguments or alternative points of view will you need to address?

• Why does your evaluation matter? Who might be threatened or made uncom- fortable by your views? What is at stake?

Organizing an Evaluation Argument As you write a draft, you may find useful the prototypical structures for evalua- tion arguments shown in Figures 14.1 and 14.2. Of course, you can always alter these plans if another structure better fits your material.

Questioning and Criti~uing a Categorical Evaluation Argument Here is a list of questions you can use to critique a categorical evaluation argument:

• Will a skeptic accept my criteria? Many evaluative arguments are weak because the writers have simply assumed that readers will accept their criteria. When- ever your audience's acceptance of your criteria is in doubt, you will need to argue for your criteria explicitly.

• Will a skeptic accept my general weighting of criteria? Another vulnerable spot in an evaluation argument is the relative weight of the criteria. How much anyone weights a given criterion is usually a function of his or her own inter- ests relative to your contested something. You should always ask whether some particular group might have good reasons for weighting the criteria differently.

• Will a skeptic accept my criteria but reject my match argument? The other major way of testing an evaluation argument is to anticipate how readers may object to your stated reasons and grounds. Will readers challenge you by showing that you have cherry-picked your examples and evidence? Will they provide counterexamples and counterevidence?

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Figure 14.1 Organization p lan 1: Criteria and match in separate sections

Introduce the issue and state your claim.

Present your criteria.

Present your match argument.

Conclude.

• Engage reader's interest in your evaluation issue

and show why it is controversial or problematic.

• Showwhat'satstake.

• Provide background information needed by your

audience.

• State your claim.

• State and develop criterion 1.

• State and develop criterion 2.

• Continue with the rest of your criteria.

• Anticipate and respond to possible objections to

the criteria.

• Consider restating your claim for clarity.

• Argue that your case meets (does not meet)

criterion 1.

• Argue that your case meets (does not meet)

criterion 2.

• Continue with the rest of your match argument.

• Anticipate and respond to possible objections to

the match argument.

• Perhaps sum up your argument.

• Help reader return to the ~~big picture" of what's

at stake.

• End with something memorable.

Critiquing an Ethical Argument Ethical arguments can be critiqued through appeals to consequences or prin- ciples. If an argument appeals primarily to principles, it can be vulnerable to a simple cost analysis. What are the costs of adhering to this principle? There will undoubtedly be some, or else there would be no real argument. If the ar- gument is based strictly on consequences, we should ask whether it violates any rules or principles, particularly such commandments as the Golden Rule- "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you" which most mem- bers of our audience adhere to. By failing to mention these alternative ways of thinking about ethical issues, we undercut not only our argument but our credibility as well.

Evaluation and Ethical Arguments 295

Figure 14.2 Organization plan 2: Criteria and match interwoven

Introduce the issue and state your claim.

Present series of criterion-match arguments.

Respond to possible objections to your argument.

Conclude.

Readings

• Engage reader's interest in your evaluation issue

and show why it is controversial or problematic.

• Show what's at stake.

• Provide background information needed by your

audience.

• State your claim.

• State and develop criterion 1 and argue that your

case meets (does not meet) the criterion.

• State and develop criterion 2 and argue that your

case meets (does not meet) the criterion.

• Continue with the rest of your criterion-match

arguments.

• Anticipate and summarize possible objections.

• Respond to the objections through rebuttal or •

concession.

• Perhaps sum up your argument.

• Help reader return to the #big picture" of what's

at stake.

• End with something memorable.

Our first reading, by student writer Lorena Mendoza-Flores, critiques her former high school for the way it marginalizes Hispanic students. Lorena, a physics major in college, has changed the name of her high school and chosen not to reveal her home state.

Student Essay

Silenced and Invisible: Problems of Hispanic Students at Valley High School

Lorena Mendoza- Flores

Every year, thousands of Mexican families come to the United States in order to escape economic hardships in Mexico and hope for better schools for their children. While many American schools try to accommodate immigrant

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non-native speakers, many immigrant families, according to case-study interviews, have increasingly negative perceptions of these attempts (Roess- ingh). There are action plans to bridge the gap between disadvantaged and advantaged students, yet Hispanic ESL (English as a Second Language) youth continue to perform considerably below that of other students (Good et al.). These problems pose the question: What is wrong with the way our schools treat Hispanic immigrants? Perhaps we could gain some understand- ing if we looked at a specific school my own Valley High School in an agri- cultural region of [name of state]. Valley High School is a perfect example of a school with a growing Hispanic population, well-intentioned teachers, and hopes for Latino students' success that simply fall through. The failures at my school include inadequate ESL training for teachers, inadequate counsel- ing for immigrant students, poor multicultural training for all teachers, and failure to value Hispanic identity and provide support for families.

Despite the fact that the Valley School District has 52 percent Hispanic students, a large percentage of whom have Spanish as their first language and parents who speak only Spanish, the staff at Valley High School is overwhelmingly white, with only one Hispanic teacher and only three or four teachers who speak Spanish. Even with a large number of ESL students, Valley High School has not hired teachers who are adequately trained in ESL. There is only one ESL teacher, who is responsible for all the ESL students. These students are assigned to regular classes and then go to the ESL classrooms for what is supposed to be extra support. When I've gone into the ESL classroom, I've found students surfing random sites online and the teacher, also the yearbook ad visor, working on pages for the annual. Because I was senior editor of the yearbook, he was very open to talking to me about his students, always complaining that they didn't work hard enough even though I could see they weren't being given meaning- ful work. I was frustrated because it was obvious that the ESL classroom did not engage either the students or the teacher. The students' language progress remained stagnant, while the expectations of standardized testing became increasingly more demanding, dooming ESL students to failure.

Another problem is inadequate counseling for Hispanic students and inadequate methods of assessing their progress so they can be placed in the right classes. When immigrant students need help, teachers often recruit other students to address their needs. As a student mentor, I was called upon a few times to speak with students about their performance in class. In one particular situation, the math teacher called me in to talk to a student who had decided to drop out. The teacher was visibly concerned for the student's welfare but didn't have any means for understanding or address- ing the student's issues. The student told me that he did not feel like he belonged at school. The lack of adequate counseling sent the message that immigrant students were not worth fighting for to stay in our school.

Additionally, when students enter the school, their skills in other coursework are not taken into consideration. All ESL students are placed in the basic math and English courses, and while they might move down, sometimes as far as being placed in special education classes, they're never moved up. A student's aptitude in math or science may never get recognized in the four years that he or she is in high school because the ESL students

Evaluation and Ethical Arguments 297

move as a single group and take just about all coursework together. Their status as ESL students becomes the sole determinant of their identity as a student within the school system, and they are not given the same consid- erations and levels of attention required to grow and develop academically. Personally, I have fallen victim to our school's overlooking of student prog- ress. When I entered the Valley School District in 8th grade, I had already taken several years of algebra and tested far above other students in my grade. At my previous school in another district, I had surpassed the school's highest level of math. In fact, my 5th-7th grade math instructor had to find advanced online material for me so that I could keep progressing. Entering the Valley School District, however, I regressed two years. Even though I communicated to both my math teacher and the counselor that I was being placed too low and that the nearby high school had several higher-level courses, I was kept in the same class. The next year, I was shocked to see that two 8th grade white students were in my 9th grade geometry class; the system had catered to them while it had denied to me an acknowledgement of the same earned achievement. I felt d ismissed because I was Hispanic.

A third problem is that outside of the ESL classroom, in the regular s classroom settings, teachers are often untrained in how to create safe mul- ticultural dialogue. One time in sociology my teacher asked the class why the Hispanic students were performing so much worse than white students. I tried to explain that our supp ort was inadequate. I stated that since most Hispanic students came from immigrant backgrounds, our parents weren't able to help us maneuver through the school system. In doing our home- work, we had no one to turn to, and if the instructions were unclear, we did not have access to a resource such as an English-speaking parent, something that many white students and faculty never even thought about when con- sidering this gap in performance. When I started talking about these things, white students around the room started becoming upset. They argued that they were hard workers and didn't have their parents do their homework for them. Obviously, my point was not to dismiss their efforts but to empha- size that these are two different worlds we're living in. Coming from an immigrant background, I and my fellow Hispanic students undoubtedly had more obstacles to overcome every step of the way. What was most troubling about this situation was that at no point did my sociology teacher step up and defend the validity of my arguments. Teachers need to know how to facilitate these multicultural clashes by helping make injustices more visible rather than marginalizing someone for bringing up uncomfortable issues.

Finally, Valley H igh School does little to honor cultural identity or reach out to immigrant families. My senior year I was president of the Interna- tional Club (the only club at our school that had lots of immigrant student participation). Without my consent, or that of the members, my advisor began a transition to convert the International Club into the InterAct club affiliated with the community's Rotaract Club (part of Rotary). While this new connection w ith the Rotary would provide more funding, the only club that was primarily made up of Hispanic members was now being taken over by one sponsored by an all-white organization. In this transition, our advi- sor had pre-elected leaders (also all white) to move it forward. By the time

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I graduated, the transition was well underway. In fact, on Cinco de Mayo, International Club's major event every year, our club members realized that our advisor d idn't think this event was worth our time. As the only Mexican teacher, this advisor did not even advocate for the desires of our community. Ultimately, she turned her back on the members, and the following year InterAct became a primarily white club, just like every other club at school.

The loss of a club supporting Hispanic students is matched by failure to create a welcoming environment for Hispanic parents and families. When immigrant parents come to the school, they have to wait around until they can find a translator if they want to speak to a teacher or administrator. Usu- ally this interpreter is another student, creating awkward moments for par- ents who don't want to discuss their children's problems in front of another student. The school occasionally does try to reach out to Hispanic parents by holding Hispanic Nights where all the events are held in Spanish. However, all the other school events are held only in English. Considering that the school population is more than half Hispanic, the absence of any interpret- ers makes it clear the school thinks of itself as white. In addition, there are no translators at larger school events such as academic award nights or sporting banquets. As a result, immigrant parents and families feel isolated from the school and unwelcomed.

Debate remains over the exact or best procedures for helping immigrant ESL students successfully integrate into schools, but what is not debated is that these students deserve equal opportunities to learn and grow. Just as any other students, immigrant students should meet the demanding academic standards needed for higher education, but first they must have adequate support. It is essential that schools support educational reforms that address the problem areas apparent at Valley High School. Particularly, schools need to hire qualified ESL instructors, provide adequate counseling for immigrant students, enable teachers to develop multicultural sensitivity and skills at handling ethnic conflict, and provide outreach to immigrant families while valuing their culture.

Works Cited

Good, Mary Ellen, et al. "Latino English Language Learners: Bridging Achievement and Cultural Gaps Between Schools and Families." Journal of Latinos & Education, vol. 9, no. 4,2010, pp. 321-39.

Roessingh, Hetty. "The Teacher Is the Key: Building Trust in ESL High School Programs." Canadian Modern Language Review, vol. 62, no. 4, 2006, pp. 563-90.

Critiquing "Silenced and Invisible: Problems of Hispanic Students at Valley High School"

1. What criteria does Lorena Mendoza-Flores use to evaluate her high school 's treatment of Hispanic students?

2. For evidence, Lorena uses primarily personal experiences, anecdotes, and observations. How effective do you find this evidence in developing the match part of her argument?

Evaluation and Ethical Arguments 299

3. If Lorena were to identify the real name of her former high school and send the argument directly to the principal and to the city newspaper, how do you think it would be received?

4. How effectively does Lorena make appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos?

In our next reading, student writer Hadley Reeder, a major in environmental studies with a specialization in policy, politics, and justice, writes about her sec- ondary interest, feminist issues and gender equality. From the vantage point of her college experience, she evaluates the inadequacy of her high school's dress code, particularly its unfairness toward female students.

Student Essay

A Defective and Detrimental Dress Code

Hadley Reeder

Most educational discussions of dress codes say that they are intended to create a positive and peaceful learning environment. A secondary pur- pose often mentioned is that dress codes level the social playing field for students. But to what extent are these purposes achieved? I suggest that a key dimension of dress code policies lies in their implementation and enforcement. While a quality learning environment and dress equality are important, they cannot be achieved without specifications for enforcement of the policy. From the expansive dress freedom of a university campus, I now see even more clearly the failure of my high school's dress-code policy. A good dress code in a public high school would state its require- ments (acceptable and unacceptable items of clothing and accessories and styles) clearly, and most importantly it would outline an enforcement policy that would promote social justice. While my high school's dress code does clearly define what is and is not acceptable to wear at school and school events, it fails to explain how it will be enforced among its student body to avoid arbitrariness and gender discrimination and thus is socially unjust.

I don't think anyone would dispute that a high-school dress code should be clear in its specifications of what is or is not appropriate and allowed. The G H High School Dress Code meets this criterion by iden- tifying what is required of students. The policy states:

DRESS CODE On ALL days and at ALL school events: Do not wear clothing or accessories that present a health or safety hazard, damage school property, promote/ display substances or actions illegal for high- school age students, promote/ display weapons or violence, degrade others, have topics/images that are offensive, are inappropriate for the workplace, or disrupt the educational process in any way. Clothes must cover the midriff, cleavage, and undergarments. As students are stand- ing, shorts and skirts need to go beyond the tips of the hands when arms are fully extended at their sides. No strapless tops. Faces need to be uncovered and visible. No bandanas. No clothing or accessories that are associated with gang affiliation.

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This code explicitly covers what can and cannot be worn in terms that apply across all genders and backgrounds of the high-school popu- lation. At the same time, it states when and where the dress code is to be followed. So far, so good.

However, neither the dress code nor the Student Handbook identifies the dress-code enforcers, the disciplinary action required, and how the dress code will be implemented to promote social justice. Are all faculty equally responsible for reporting violations of the code? Students can assume that GHHS staff has the power to enforce the dress code, but enforcement responsibility is not spelled out as it should be. For example, what hap- pens when a student attends school wearing "an article of clothing that degrades others?" A male student in my senior English class wore aT-shirt featuring a half-naked woman multiple days throughout the school year without discipline. How is this T-shirt not "degrading to others" in the classroom? This instance clearly is an example of a violation of the GHHS Dress Code that went unenforced. In contrast, my Spanish teacher called me out into the hall in front of everyone to tell me my clothing was "inappropri- ate." I was wearing a white tank top that was apparently "too revealing," showing my bra straps and bralette. On the spot, she gave me the option to change my clothes (which I didn't have) or do detention, but neither option is listed in the dress code. I'm not sure which was more degrading digging through the Lost and Found to find something semi-clean to wear or trying to return to class without everyone knowing what had happened. Interest- ingly enough, I had made it through the halls and three of my classes, and nobody had commented on my tank top. On another occasion, the female vice principal approached my friend, who was wearing a short dress, and said, "I like your dress, but I am unsure of the message you are sending to your peers." The vice principal did not ask her to change or enforce real consequences. Later I noticed the cheerleaders' skirts didn't follow the "going beyond the tips of the hands" rule. They are representatives of our school, so why didn't the rules apply to them? These examples illustrate the confusion over when the dress code policy is enforced and by whom. I think most educators and students would agree that a dress code is ineffec- tive when a disparity in staff enforcement and favoring or discriminating against either gender occurs.

The social injustice of the arbitrariness and discriminatory effects of the GHHS Dress Code manifest most blatantly in the way that females are punished more frequently and harshly than their male peers. Simply put, the enforcing of the dress code against females interferes with their learn- ing, forcing them to miss class. I suggest, though, that the social injustice touches deeper issues when it works on females' identity and self-esteem, playing into the bigger and even more important conversation about gender discrimination in our society. As Anna Kessel, athletic reporter and writer for The Guardian and The Observer, has noted, the female body has become a "public space" where people can critique, judge, and sexualize all they want (33). Because the female body is constantly" on display" in our culture, girls are held responsible for covering up and hiding their bodies to keep others from looking at them. My high school's dress code and I would

Evaluation and Ethical Arguments 301

speculate, many other dress codes directly fuels this societal perspective. I see the effect this message has on young girls with my Girls on the Run group, which I coach two days a week at Stevens Middle School. In this afterschool program, these third-grade through fifth-grade girls are much more conscious of their bodies than I was at their age. Some of the older girls do not like to wear shorts or tank tops when they run because they do not want to show that much skin. These young girls already have a fear of their own bodies, and this fear will be reinforced in their education at schools with dress codes similar to the dress code at GHHS. Dress codes like these are forcing females to conform to while male behaviors like sexual prowess, commenting on females' appearance, and pushing the rules are accepted or go unnoticed. Why is it that males often are not asked to comply with dress codes? Why do the rules not apply to them as often?

Students do need some limitations as to what they can and cannot s wear to school. A school dress code helps them learn what is expected in professional work environments. Dress codes are an important part of the school environment and should diminish distractions and promote educa- tional success. But is the code at GHHS accomplishing this goal? Without fair enforcement by school staff members to all students, I argue, this dress code fails in its goal. The room for arbitrary enforcement and dis- criminatory punishment, which falls heavily on females, sends the wrong message to our student body and will have long-term negative effects, as did the teacher who questioned my morality. Her words reminded me of the message society sends to women every day, that their bodies are a public space for judgment. Is this a message GHHS really wants to send our youth?

Work Cited

Kessel, Anna. Eat Sweat Play. Pan Macmillan, 2016.

Critiquing "A Detrimental and Defective Dress Code"

1. What criteria does Hadley Reeder use to evaluate her high school's dress code? What other criteria might be used?

2. Hadley hoped that the administrators of her former high school might read her argument. How persuasive do you think her criteria would be for this audience?

3. This argument relies mostly on evidence from personal experience. How does this evidence support Hadley's criteria? How might it be disputed? If she were to argue for an institutional change in the dress code, what other kinds of evidence could she enlist?

4. How persuasive do you find Hadley's causal reasoning that discrimination in dress codes has deeper personal and social repercussions for girls than it does for boys?

Our final readings represent two different ethical arguments emerging from recent research on therapeutic cloning at the Oregon Health and Sciences

302 Chapter 14

University. The first article, by Judith Daar and Erez Aloni, appeared as an op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times. Judith Daar, a professor of both law and medicine, is a member of the Ethics Committee of the American Society for Rep rod uc- tive Medicine. Her co-author Erez Aloni is a professor at Whittier Law School. The second article appeared a year earlier in National Review. It was written by Catholic writer Samuel Aquila, the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver, Colorado.

Three Genetic Parents- For One Healthy Baby JUDITH DAAR AND EREZ ALONI

Since January, a new California law allows for a child to have more than two legal parents. But children are still limited to two genetic parents. That could change soon, if the Food and Drug Administration approves human clinical trials for a technique known as mitochondrial replacement, which would enable a child to inherit DNA from three parents.

News of the pending application has caused a kind of panic not seen since Dolly the sheep was cloned, raising the possibility of a single genetic parent. But far from being the end of the human race as we know it, the technique might be a way to prevent hundreds of mitochondrial-linked diseases, which affect about one in 5,000 people.

The idea of multi-person reproductive collaborations is not new. Over the last several decades we have acclimated to various forms of assisted reproduc- tive technologies. Indeed, in the U.S. about 75,000 infants are born each year to parents who enlist the aid of egg donors, sperm donors, or gestational carriers. These methods, however, still involve the "traditional" merger of DNA from one male and one female.

Mitochondrial replacement would alter this two-genetic-parent model by introducing a third set of DNA into the procreative process. The technique would enable women who carry harmful mutations in their mitochondria to have a child without those harmful mutations. As with all human reproduction, the child would carry a combination of genes from one male and one female. However, in this technique, the nucleus of the mother's egg would be injected into a "third parent's" nucleus-free egg containing healthy mitochondrial DNA. As a result, the child would inherit the characteristics of the original male and female but have healthy mitochondria from a third person.

s Experiments employing the technique conducted on monkeys resulted in healthy offspring that did not carry the harmful mutation. Now, a team at Oregon Health and Sciences University is seeking approval from the FDA to begin human clinical trials.

It seems likely that, if it is proved safe and effective, mitochondrial replace- ment will eventually join the panoply of techniques facilitating the birth of healthy children through assisted conception. But it should be no surprise that the new technology is causing a furor.

The introduction of assisted reproductive technologies has followed a pre- dictable pattern: initial panic followed by widespread condemnation, followed by

Evaluation and Ethical Arguments 303

gradual acceptance as a technique becomes more widespread. In the 1950s, when reports of pregnancies using donor sperm first appeared in medical journals, lawmakers declared the process "mechanical adultery" and sought its criminal- ization. Early reports of success with in vitro fertilization in the 1970s provoked editorials that decried the process as totally immoral. In the 1990s, the introduc- tion of pre-implantation diagnosis of genetic diseases provoked allegations of a war on disabled individuals.

Today, detractors remain, but the methods have been embraced as the stan- dard of care in reproductive medicine. Once a technique proves safe and effective, its ability to assist in the birth of healthy children generally paves the way for public approval.

For some, the introduction of a third genetic parent is alarming because the novel genetic configuration could be embedded in the child's DNA in perpetuity, with unknown implications for future generations. But the panic also rests in part on simple discomfort with upending the notion of genetic parenthood involving just two people.

A similar anxiety seized the public this year after California authorized judges 10 to recognize more than two people as a child's lawful parents. The law grew out of a horrendous situation in which the court's inability to recognize a third par- ent diverted a young child into foster care. Though it's hardly on par with the scientific breakthrough represented by mitochondrial replacement, the so-called three-parent law stirred deep fears about the durability of traditional family life in the modern era.

But the fears about three-parent possibilities both genetic and legal are likely to subside as people realize that they are aimed at one goal: the well-being of children. The California law orders judges to recognize three parents when not doing so "would otherwise be detrimental to the child." And mitochondrial replacement will be employed to avoid transmission of a heritable disease. If the "power of three" has the ability to improve a child's well-being, isn't that some- thing worth embracing?

The "Therapeutic Cloning" of Human Embryos SAMUEL AQUILA

Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray is the sort of timeless morality tale students read as an antidote, or at least an objection, to the hedonism that seems to follow naturally from youthful ideas about immortality.

The story is familiar to many: Dorian Gray is a narcissist who wishes that a portrait of him his copy in paint would age in his place. His wish comes true, and though his life is corrupted by a pursuit of pleasure, only his painted visage bears the effects. Dorian himself is visibly unscathed, though the novel's fatal climax exposes a soul rendered ugly by a life of egoistic debauchery.

The Picture of Dorian Gray took on a particular prescience yesterday. Scientists at Oregon Health and Science University reported a successful incidence of clon- ing, one that relied on the same method that researchers used 17 years ago to clone

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Dolly the sheep. This week, the cloned embryos were not sheep; they were human beings. The work is heralded as the success of "therapeutic cloning."

We w ill hear a lot about therapeutic cloning in the news this week. Researchers distinguish between "therapeutic cloning," which creates embryos in order to harvest their stem cells, and "rep roductive cloning," which has the intention of a live birth. The Oregon researchers insist that theirs was not an act of "reproductive cloning."

s But the distinction is spurious. Both types of cloning are reproductive. Both bring a new human being into existence. In fact, so-called therapeutic cloning is the more heinous because the process is intended to create life, exploit it, and then destroy it.

Consider what the cloning breakthrough means. Scientists have discovered how to create perfect human copies, to be used for the sole purpose of growing tis- sue in the effort to combat d isease, and then these copies will be destroyed. From a scientific perspective, this breakthrough could solve, among other problems, that of tissue rejection or a delay that renders organ transplant unfeasible. From the standpoint of materialism, there has been no greater advance in regenera- tive medicine. Through therapeutic cloning, a p erson's health can be enhanced immeasurably and only the copy, the embryo, will suffer the effects.

The problem is th at the embryo is not merely a copy. The embryo is not an extension of the patient who donated the DNA, a cell bank to be utilized without consequence. The embryo, though genetically identical, is a new manifestation of human life, endowed by its very being with dignity. The embryo is a human being.

The humanity of the cloned embryo will be aggressively denied in the weeks to come. Though human life demonstrably begins at the embryonic stage of devel- opment, the created embryo will be presented as a collection of tissue, a biological tabula rasa from which organs can be grown. Scientists will seek more funding, and the Dickey Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for the creation of cloned embryos, w ill be attacked.

In 1968, Pope Paul VI warned in Humanae Vitae that the sexual revolution, beginning with a cultural acceptance of the contraceptive mentality, would lead to a wholesale denial of human d ignity and the family. Now we are cloning embryos to destroy them. It w ill be only a matter of time before therapeutic cloning will cede to reproductive cloning. If we don't seriously contemplate the ethical consequences of therapeutic cloning now, eventually cloned human beings will be born in America.

10 The "progress" of therapeutic cloning w ill not be victimless. But the victims w ill be hidden from sight, tucked away in the dark like Dorian's decaying portrait.

The first class of victims, and the ones most pressing on our consciences, will be the embryos: brought into existence to be used, and then killed. If nurtured, as in a womb, these embryos would grow into fetuses, and then infants, and then children. They are, no matter their size, human beings. But because they are small and have no voice and offer such tremendous possibility, they will be ignored.

The embryos will be a class of human beings created only to be exploited and d iscarded.

The second class of victims will be the rest of us. We will be the ones remain- ing healthy and making progress and defeating disease all by means of killing. We w ill be the ones who appear beautiful, while our souls embrace the most har- rowing kind of social utilitarianism and darkness. If we ignore the problem, as we have done with contraception and abortion, we will only sink into a more violent depravity, like the one that befell vain Dorian Gray. We will be the ones whose p ortrait grows ever uglier, and who grow ever closer to madness.

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Critiquing "Three Genetic Parents-For One Healthy Baby" and "The 'Therapeutic Cloning' of Human Embryos"

1. In "Three Genetic Parents for One Healthy Baby," Daar and Aloni note that news coming from cloning research at Oregon Health and Science Univer- sity "has caused a kind of panic not seen since Dolly the sheep was cloned." An example of this panic is the earlier National Review article by Archbishop Aquila. Summarize Aquila's objection to both therapeutic and reproductive cloning. What rhetorical strategies do Daar and Aloni use to counter the objections of those like Archbishop Aquila?

2. Identify in both articles examples of arguments from consequence and argu- ments from principle used either to support the authors' claims or to sum- marize opposing claims.

3. Aquila acknowledges the health benefits of therapeutic cloning, particularly its potential for curing or preventing certain diseases. He recognizes also that many people will consider therapeutic cloning a moral good because it produces good consequences. To make his case for the moral evil of cloning, he creates an analogy argument based on Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Explain how this analogy functions. What does Aquila compare to what?

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Chapter 15

Learning Objectives

In this chapter you will learn to:

15.1 Explain the special features and concerns of proposal arguments.

15.2 Use a problem-solution-justification structure to develop proposal arguments.

15.3 Use heuristic strategies to develop supporting reasons for your proposal argument.

15.4 Use words and images to create an advocacy poster or advertisement.

15.5 Write your own proposal argument.

Proposal arguments are essential for the workings of a free and open society. A proposal argument motivates its audience to recognize a problem and then proposes a solution to the problem. When effective, proposal arguments call an audience to action. Whether you are writing a grant proposal to seek funding for a research project, a practical proposal for remedying a problem at your workplace, or a policy proposal to address a national issue, proposal arguments are among the most important kinds of writing you will ever be called upon to produce.

Case 1: Should the Supreme Court Overturn Roe v. Wade? Among the most heated debates in the United States is whether the due process and pri- vacy protections of the Fourteenth Amendment can be extended to a woman's right to an abortion. The right-to- life movement has intensified its efforts to restrict access to abor- tions at the state level and to overturn Roe v. Wade in the U.S. Supreme Court. Mean- while, pro-choice advocates such as Planned Parenthood have vigorous ly defended a woman's right to an abortion. Both sides make effective use of visual arguments. Right- to-life groups frequent ly use posters showing ultrasound images of unborn babies (often not using the word "fetus"). The poster in Figure 15.1, sponsored by Planned Parent- hood, features a starkly black question mark that on second look is seen to be made from a coat hanger. It makes an implied proposal c laim ("Abortion should remain legal") and supports it with a consequence argument: If abortions are outlawed, women will have abortions anyway-using coat hangers instead of med ically safe procedures. The

Figure 15.1 Planned Parenthood poster

When your right

to an abortion is taken away, what are you

going to do

Reproductive rights are under attack. The Pro-Choice Public Education Project. It's pro-choice or no choice. 1 {688) 253-CHOICE or www.protect.choice.org

Proposal Arguments 307

image of the coat hanger (reminiscent of horror stories about abortions prior to Roe v. Wade) appeals simultaneously to logos and pathos.

Case 2: ·How Should the United States Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Automobiles? The concern for climate change-combined w ith the high price of gasoline-has increased the popularity of small, energy-efficient cars. Much debated among policy makers is the role that federal or state governments should play in further promoting a green transporta- tion system. Some argue that the government should stay out of free markets, letting buyers decide for themselves what kinds of cars they want to buy. Others argue that free mar- kets do not currently make gasoline consumers pay for the "externalities" (societal costs) of gasoline consumption- particularly the cost to the environment of emitting more carbon into the atmosphere. Concerned citizens have proposed dozens of ideas for reducing the carbon footprint of cars and trucks. Among the proposals are the following: placing a "green tax" on gasoline; requiring auto manufacturers to increase the fuel efficiency of their fleets; giving tax credits for buying a fuel-efficient car, particularly an electric car; increasing incen- tives for carpooling or taking public transportation; increasing the cost of parking; charging different gas prices at the pump (with higher prices for less fuel-efficient cars); retrofitting cars to burn natural gas; and rebuilding cities so that housing is closer to worksites.

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The Special Features and Concerns of Proposal Arguments 15.1 Explain the special features and concerns of proposal arguments.

Although proposal arguments are the last type of argument we examine, they are among the most common arguments that you will encounter or be called on to write. The essence of proposal arguments is a call for action. In reading a proposal, the audience is enjoined to make a decision and then to act on it to do something. Proposal arguments are sometimes called should or ought argu- ments because those helping verbs express the obligation to act. They typically have a three-part structure: (1) description of a problem, (2) proposed solution, and (3) justification for the proposed solution. In the justification section of your proposal argument, you develop because clauses of the kinds you have practiced throughout this text.

Practical Proposals Versus Policy Proposals For instructional purposes, we distinguish between two kinds of proposal argu- ments practical proposals, which propose an action to solve some kind of local or immediate problem, and policy proposals, which propose a broad plan of action to solve major social, economic, or political problems affecting the common good. A student's proposal to build bike paths on campus would be an example of a practical proposal. In contrast, an argument that the United States should abolish the income tax would be a policy proposal.

The primary difference is the narrowness versus breadth of the concern. Prac- tical proposals are narrow, local, and concrete; they focus on the nuts and bolts of getting something done in the here and now. They are often concerned with the exact size of a piece of steel, the precise duties of a new person to be hired, or a close estimate of the cost of paint or computers to be purchased. Policy propos- als, in contrast, are concerned with the broad outline and shape of a course of action, often on a regional, national, or even international issue. What govern- ment should do about overcrowding of prisons would be a problem addressed by policy proposals. How to improve the security alarm system for the county jail would be addressed by a practical proposal.

Learning to write both kinds of proposals is valuable. Researching and writ- ing a policy proposal is an excellent way to practice the responsibilities of citizen- ship, which require the ability to understand complex issues and to weigh positive and negative consequences of policy choices. In your professional life, writing practical proposals may well be among your most important duties on the job. Effective proposal writing is the lifeblood of many companies and constitutes one of the most powerful ways you can identify and help solve problems.

Toulmin Framework for a Proposal Argument The Toulmin schema is particularly useful for proposal arguments because it helps you support your proposal with reasons linked to your audience's beliefs, assumptions, and values. Suppose that your university is debating whether to

Proposal Arguments 309

banish fraternities and sororities. Suppose further that you are in favor of ban- ishing the Greek system. One of your arguments is that eliminating the Greek system will improve your university's academic reputation. The following chart shows how you might use the Toulmin schema to make this line of reasoning as persuasive as possible.

Toulmin Analysis of the Greek System Argument

ENTHYMEME

CLAIM Our university should eliminate the

Greek system

REASON because doing so will improve our

university's academic reputation.

GROUNDS

Evidence that eliminating the Greek system will

improve our academic reputation:

• Excessive party atmosphere of some Greek

houses emphasizes social life rather than

studying-we are known as a party school.

• Last year the average GPA of students in

fraternities and sororities was lower than the

GPA of non-Greek students.

• New p ledges have so many house duties and

initiation rites that their studies suffer.

• Many new students think about rush more

than about the academic life.

WARRANT It is good for our university to achieve a better

academic reputation.

BACKING • The school would attract more serious

students, leading to increased prestige.

• Campus would be more academically focused

and attract better faculty.

• Losing the "party-school" reputation would put

us in better light for taxpayers and legislators.

• Students would graduate with more skills and

knowledge.

CONDITIONS OF REBUTTAL Attacking the reason and grounds

• Many of the best students are Greeks. Last

year's highest-GPA award went to a sorority

woman, and several other Greeks won

prestigious graduate school scholarships.

• Statistics on grades are misleading. Many

houses had a much higher average GPA than

the university average. Total GPA was

brought down by a few rowdy houses.

• Many other high-prestige universities have

Greek systems.

• There are ways to tone down the party

atmosphere on campus without abolishing

the Greek system.

• Greeks contribute significantly to the

community through service projects.

CONDITIONS OF REBUTTAL Attacking the warrant and backing

• No one will argue that it is not good to

have a strong academic reputation.

• However, skeptics may say that

eliminating sororities and fraternities won't

improve the university's academic reputation

but will hurt its social life and its wide range

of living options.

Special Concerns for P-roposal Argum_ents In their call for action, proposal arguments entail certain emphases and audience concerns that you don't generally face with other kinds of arguments. Let's look briefly at some of these special concerns.

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• The need for presence. To persuade people to act on your proposal, particularly if the personal or financial cost of acting is high, you must give your argument presence as well as intellectual force. By presence we mean an argument's abil- ity to grip your readers' hearts and imaginations as well as their intellects. You can give presence to an argument through appeals to pathos, such as effective use of details, provocative statistics, dialogue, illustrative narratives, and compelling examples that show the reader the seriousness of the problem you are addressing or the consequences of not acting on your proposal.

• The need to overcome people's natural conservatism. Another difficulty with pro- posals is the innate conservatism of all human beings, whatever their political persuasion, as suggested by the popular adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The difficulty of proving that something needs fixing is compounded by the fact that frequently the status quo appears to be working. So, when writing a proposal, sometimes you can't argue that what we have is bad, but only that what we could have would be better. Often, then, a proposal argument will be based not on present evils but on the evils of lost potential. And getting an audience to accept lost potential may be difficult indeed, given the inherently abstract nature of potentiality.

• The difficulty of predicting future consequences. Most proposal makers will be forced to predict consequences of their proposed action. As the "law of unintended consequences" suggests, few major decisions lead neatly to their anticipated results without surprises along the way. So when we claim that our proposal will lead to good consequences, we can expect our audience to be skeptical.

• The problem of evaluating consequences. A final problem for proposal writers is the difficulty of evaluating consequences. In government and industry, man- agers often use a cost-benefit analysis to reduce all consequences to a single- scale comparison, usually money. Although this scale may work well in some circumstances, it can lead to grotesquely inappropriate conclusions in other situations. Just how does one balance the environmental benefits of a green tax on gasoline against the suffering of drivers who can't afford to get to work? Also, a benefit for one group often entails a cost for others. For example, a higher minimum wage will benefit low-wage workers at a cost to consumers, who must pay higher prices, or to other low-wage workers who get laid off.

These, then, are some of the general difficulties facing someone who sets out to write a proposal argument. Although these difficulties may seem daunting, the rest of this chapter offers strategies to help you overcome them and produce a successful proposal.

Developing a Proposal Argument 15.2 Use a problem-solution-justification structure to develop

proposal arguments.

Writers of proposal arguments must focus on three main phases or stages of the argument: showing that a problem exists, explaining the proposed solution, and offering a justification.

Proposal Arguments 311

Examining Visual Arguments

( . ~ (

A P~Uposal Claim Th is photo of a dead baby albatross on a Pacific island near an albatross nesting ground resembles the photos taken by environmental photographer Chris Jordan in his well-known 2009 exhibit entitled Midway: Message from the Gyre. The purpose of that exhibit was to draw attention to the effects of the increasing amount of ocean garbage on albatrosses, wh ich mistake the garbage for food. How could this photo be used to generate concern and activism regarding t his environmental problem? The colorful, plastic-filled car- cass of the baby albatross creates a complex appeal to pathos in the way that it illustrates the problem. What verbal text wou ld you use to interpret the photo's message and call people to action?

Convincing Your Readers That a Proble111 Exists There is one argumentative strategy generic to all proposal arguments: calling your reader's attention to a problem. In some situations, your intended audience may already be aware of the p roblem and may h ave even asked for solutions. In such cases, you do not need to develop the problem extensively or motivate your audience to solve it. But in most situations, awakening your readers to the exis- tence of a problem a problem they may not have recognized before is your first important challenge. You must give your problem presence through anecdotes, telling statistics, or other means that show readers how the problem affects people or otherwise has important stakes. Your goal is to gain your readers' intellectual assent to the depth, range, and p otential seriousness of the problem and thereby motivate them to want to solve it.

Typically, the arguer develops the problem in one of two places: either (1) in the introduction prior to the presentation of the arguer's proposed solution or (2) in the body of the paper as the first main reason justifying the p roposed solution.

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In the second instance the writer's first because clause has the following structure: "We should do this action because it addresses a serious problem."

Here is how one student writer gave presence to a proposal, addressed to the chair of the mathematics department at her school, calling for redesign of the first-year calculus curriculum in order to slow its pace. She wants the chair to see the problem from her perspective.

Example Passage Giving Presence to a Problem

I want to become a high-school math teacher. For me, the problem with intro- ductory calculus is not its difficulty but its pace. My own experience in the Calculus 134 and 135 sequence last year showed me that it was not the learning of calculus that was difficult for me. I was able to catch on to the new concepts. My problem was that it went too fast. Just as I was assimilating new concepts and feeling the need to reinforce them, the class was on to a new topic before I had full mastery of the old concept. ... Part of the reason for the fast pace is that calculus is a feeder course for computer science and engineering. If prospective engineering students can't learn calculus rapidly, they drop out of the program. The high dropout rate benefits the Engineering School because it uses the math course to weed out an overabundance of engineering majors. Thus the pace of the calculus course is geared to the needs of the engineering curriculum, not to the needs of someone like me, who wants to be a high-school mathematics teacher and who believes that my own difficulties with math combined with my love for it might make me an excellent math teacher.

By describing the fast pace of the math curriculum from the perspective of a future math teacher rather than an engineering student, this writer brings visibility to a problem. What before didn't look like a problem (it is good to weed out weak engineering majors) suddenly became a problem (it is bad to weed out future math teachers). Establishing herself as a serious student genuinely interested in learning calculus, she gave presence to the problem by calling attention to it in anew way.

Explaining the Proposed Solution: Showing the Specifics of Your Proposal Having decided that there is a problem to be solved, you should lay out your thesis, which is a proposal for solving the problem. Your goal now is to stress the feasibility of your solution, including costs. The art of proposal making is the art of the possible. Certainly, not all proposals require elaborate descriptions of the implementation process. For example, if you are proposing that a local PTA chap- ter buy new tumbling mats for the junior-high gym classes, the procedures for buying the mats will probably be irrelevant. But in many arguments, the specifics of your proposal the actual step-by-step methods of implementing it may be instrumental in winning your audience's support.

You will also need to show how your proposal will solve the problem either partially or wholly. Sometimes you may first need to convince your reader that the problem is solvable and not something intractably rooted in "the way things are," such as earthquakes or jealousy. In other words, expect that some members

Proposal Arguments 3 13

of your audience will be skeptical about the ability of any proposal to solve the problem you are addressing. You may need, therefore, to "listen" to this point of view in your refutation section and to argue that your problem is at least p artially solvable.

To persuade your audience that your proposal can work, you can follow any one of several approaches. A typical approach is to use a causal argument to show that your solution is feasible. Another approach is to use a resemblance argument to show how similar proposals have been successful elsewhere. Or, if sim ilar things have failed in the past, you try to show how the present situation is different.

Offering a Justification_: Convincing Your Readers That the Benefits of Your Proposal Outweigh the Costs The justification phase of a proposal argument will need extensive development in some arguments and minimal develop ment in others, again dep ending on your particular problem and the rhetorical context of your proposal. If your audience already acknowledges the seriousness of the problem you are addressing and has simply been waiting for the right solution to come along, then your argument will be successful, provided you can convince your audience that your solution will work and that it won't cost too much. Such arguments depend on the clarity of your proposal and the feasibility of its implementation.

But what if the costs are high? What if your readers don't think the prob- lem is serious? What if they don't appreciate the benefits of solving the problem or the bad consequences of not solving it? In such cases you have to develop persuasive reasons for enacting your proposal. You may also have to determine who has the power to act on your proposal and apply arguments directly to that person's or agency's immediate interests. You need to know to whom or to what your power source is beholden or responsive. You must also know what values your power source holds that can be appealed to. In short, you're looking for the best p ressure points.

Using Heuristic Strategies to Develop Supporting Reasons for Your Proposal 15.3 Use heuristic strategies to develop supporting reasons for your

proposal argument.

To help you find supporting reasons for your proposal the pressure points that will move your audience we offer two heuristic strategies. (A heuristic is an exploratory problem-solving technique or invention aid that helps you generate ideas.) We call these heuristics the claim types strategy and the stock issues strategy.

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The Claim Types Strategy In Chapter 11 we explained how evaluation and proposal claims often use claims about category, cause, or resemblance for their supporting reasons. This fact leads to a powerful idea-generating strategy based on arguments from category (partic- ularly from a category of actions that adhere to a certain principle), on arguments from consequences, or on arguments from resemblance. Table 15.1 illustrates this claim types strategy.

Before we give you some simple strategies for using this approach, let's illus- trate it with another example.

Example

The United States should levy a "carbon tax" on carbon-based fuels

• because such a tax accords with the free-market principle that the price of a good should reflect the full cost of production (category I principle).

• because such a tax will accelerate the transition to cleaner fuels and thus help reduce global warming (cause/ consequence).

• because this approach is similar to the market-based tax on sulfur emissions that helped solve the problem of acid rain (resemblance).

Note how each of these supporting reasons appeals to the value system of dif- ferent kinds of voters. The writer argues that a carbon tax belongs to the category of things that use free market principles (particularly valued by conservative, pro-business voters); that it will lead to the good consequence of reducing global warming (valued particularly by environmentalists and others worried about cli- mate change); and that it is similar to something that has already proved success- ful (the market-based approach to fighting acid rain, which has been applauded by both liberals and conservatives). The claim types strategy for generating ideas is easy to apply in practice. Table 15.2 shows you how.

Table 15.1 Explanation of Claim Types Strategy for Supporting a Proposal Claim

Argument from principle o r category

Argument from consequences

Argument from resemblance

We should do this action

• because doing so adheres to this good principle [or]

• because this action belongs to this good category

• because this action w ill lead to these good conseq uences

• because this action has been done successfully elsewhere [or]

• because this action is like this ot her good action

We should support genetically modified foods

• because doing so values scient ific reason over emot ion [or]

• because genetically modified foods are safe [belong to the category of safe things]

• because biotech crops can reduce world hunger

• because biotech crops can improve t he environment by reducing use of pest icides

• because genetic modification is like nat u- ral crossbreeding that has been acceler- ated [or]

• because genetic modification of food is like scientific advancements in medicine

Proposal Arguments 315

Table 15.2 Suggestions for Applying the Claim Types Strategy to Your Proposal

A rgument from principle or category

A rgument from consequences

A rgument from resemblance

Show how your proposed action follows a principle valued by your audience or belongs to a category valued by your audience.

Show how your proposed action wil l lead to consequences val ued by your audience.

Show how your proposed action has been done success- fully elsewhere or is like another action valued by your audience.

The Stock Issues Strategy

Think of how you r proposed action ad heres to an audience-valued rule or principle or belongs to an audience-valued category (for example, "doing t his action is kind, just, constitutional , appropriately restrained, safe , efficient, and so forth").

Brainstorm consequences of your proposal and identify those that the audience w ill agree are good.

Fi nd analogies that compare your proposed action to something the audience already values or find previous places or times that your proposed action (or something similar to it) has been done successfully.

Another effective heuristic for a proposal argument is to ask yourself a series of questions based on the stock issues strategy. For example, suppose you wanted to develop the following argument: "To solve the problem of students who won't take risks with their writing, the faculty should adopt a pass/fail method of grad- ing in all writing courses." The stock issues strategy invites the writer to consider "stock" ways (that is, common, usual, frequently repeated ways) that such argu- ments can be conducted.

Stock issue 1: Is there really a problem here that needs to be solved? Is it really true that a large number of student writers won't take risks in their writing? Is this problem more serious than other writing problems, such as undeveloped ideas, lack of organization, and poor sentence structure? This stock issue invites the writer to convince her audience that a true problem exists. Conversely, an opponent of the proposal may argue that a true problem does not exist.

Stock issue 2: Will the proposed solution really solve this problem? Is it true that a pass I fail grading system will cause students to take more risks with their writ- ing? Will more interesting, surprising, and creative essays result from pass/ fail grading? Or will students simply put less effort into their writing? This stock issue prompts a supporter to demonstrate that the proposal will solve the problem; it also prompts the opponent to show that the proposal won't work.

Stock issue 3: Can the problem be solved more simply, without disturbing the status quo? An opponent of the proposal may agree that a problem exists and that the proposed solution might solve it. However, the opponent may say, "Are there not less radical ways to solve this problem? If we want more creative and risk-taking student essays, can't we just change our grading criteria so that we reward risky papers and penalize conventional ones?" This stock issue prompts supporters to show that only the proposed solution will solve the problem and that no minor tinkering with the status quo will be adequate. Conversely, oppo- nents will argue that the problem can be solved without acting on the proposal.

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For Writing and Discussion Generating Ideas Using the Claim Types Strategy Individual task: Use the strateg ies of principle/category, consequence, and resemblance to create because clauses that support each of the fo llowing claims. Try to have at least one because clause for each of the claim types, but generate as many reasons as possible. Don't worry about whether any individual reason exactly fits the category. The purpose is to stimulate thinking, not fi ll in the slots.

Example

Congress should not pass gun-control laws (proposal claim)

• because the Second Amendment guarantees the right to own guns (principle or category). • because owning a gun allows citizens to protect themselves, their homes, and their loved ones

from intruders (consequence). • because laws to ban guns wi ll be as ineffective as laws to ban alcohol during Prohibition

(resemblance).

Claims: 1. For graduation, col leges shou ld require one course with an integrated community service component. 2. Restaurants should be required to post calorie counts and other ingredient information for all menu

items. 3. Division-1 college athletes shou ld receive salaries. 4. Alcohol should not be al lowed on campus. 5. Parents should be heavily taxed for having more than two chi ldren.

Group task: Share your efforts with classmates. Then, working in small groups or as a class, repeat the exercise, taking the opposite position on each issue.

Stock issue 4: Is the proposed solution really practical? Does it stand a chance of actually being enacted? Here an opponent to the proposal may agree that the proposal would work but contends that it involves pie-in-the-sky idealism. Nobody will vote to change the existing system so radically; therefore, it is a waste of our time to debate it. Following this prompt, supporters would have to argue that pass/fail grading is workable and that enough faculty members are in favor of it that the proposal is worth debating. Opponents may argue that the faculty is so traditional that pass I fail has no chance of being accepted, despite its merits.

Stock issue 5: What will be the unforeseen positive and negative consequences of the proposal? Suppose we do adopt a pass/fail system. What positive or negative consequences may occur that are different from our initial predictions? Using this prompt, an opponent may argue that pass/fail grading will reduce the effort put forth by students and that the long-range effect will be writing of even lower quality than we have now. Supporters would try to find positive consequences perhaps a new love of writing for its own sake rather than for the sake of a grade.

Proposal Arguments 317

For Writing and Discussion Brainstorming Ideas for a Proposal The follow ing collaborative exercise takes you through the process of creating a proposal argument.

1. In small groups, identify and list several major problems facing students in your col lege or university. 2. Decide among yourselves which are the most important of these problems and rank them in order of

importance. 3. Take your group's number-one problem and explore answers to the following questions. Group record-

ers shou ld be prepared to present their group's answers to the class. a. Why is the problem a problem? b. For whom is the problem a problem? c. How w ill these people suffer if the problem is not solved? (G ive specific examples.) d. Who has the power to solve the problem? e. Why hasn't the problem been solved up to this point? f. How can the problem be solved? (That is, create a proposal.) g. What are the probable benefits of acting on your proposal? h. What costs are associated w ith your proposal? i. Who w ill bear those costs? j. Why should this proposal be enacted? k. Why is it better than alternative proposals?

4. As a group, draft an outline for a proposal argument in which you a. describe the problem and its significance. b. propose your solution to the problem. c. justify your proposal by showing how the benefits of adopting that proposal outweigh the costs.

5. Recorders for each group should write their group's outline on the board and be prepared to explain it to the class.

Proposal Arguments as Advocacy Posters or Advertisements 15.4 Use words and images to create an advocacy poster or advertisement.

A frequently encountered kind of proposal argument is the one-page newspaper or magazine advertisement often purchased by advocacy groups to promote a cause. Such arguments also appear as web pages or as posters or fliers. These condensed advocacy arguments are marked by their bold, abbreviated, tightly planned format. The creators of these arguments know they must work fast to capture our attention, give presence to a problem, advocate a solution, and enlist our support. Advocacy advertisements frequently use photographs, images, or icons that appeal to a reader's emotions and imagination. In addition to images, they often use different type sizes and styles. Large-type text in these documents frequently takes the form of slogans or condensed thesis statements written in an arresting style.

To outline and justify their solutions, creators of advocacy ads often put main supporting reasons in bulleted lists and sometimes enclose carefully selected facts and quotations in boxed sidebars. To add an authoritative ethos, the argu- ments often include fine-print footnotes and bibliographies. (For more detailed

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discussion of how advocacy posters and advertisements use images and arrange text for rhetorical effect, see Chapter 9 on visual argument.)

Another prominent feature of these condensed, highly visual arguments is their appeal to the audience through a direct call for a course of action: for exam- ple, go to an advocacy website to find more information on how to support the cause; send an e-mail to a decision maker or political representative; vote for or against the proposition or the candidate; or donate money to a cause.

Figure 15.2 shows an example of a student-produced advocacy poster. Here, environmental studies student Janie Bube urges residents of her city to build rain gardens to help solve the problem of excess stormwater. At the top of this poster, Janie gives the problem presence by using a flood photo she took during her internship fieldwork. She then offers her proposed solution, made visually appealing by another of her own photos a neighborhood rain garden. She offers three reasons to justify the creation of rain gardens, asserting why and how rain gardens work. The final lines of the poster send readers to a website for more information. The rhetorical effect of the text, image, and layout is to attract read- ers' attention, remind them of the problem, and push them toward adopting her proposed solution.

riting Assignment: A Proposal Argument 15.5 Write your own proposal argument.

Option 1: A Practical Proposal Addressing a Local Problem Write a practical proposal offering a solution to a local problem. Your proposal should have three main sections: (1) description of the problem, (2) proposed solution, and (3) justi- fication. Proposals are usually accompanied by a letter of transmittal a one-page business letter that introduces the proposal to its intended audience and provides some needed background about the writer. Document design is important in prac- tical proposals, which are aimed at busy people who have to make many decisions under time constraints. An effective design helps establish the writer's ethos as a quality-oriented professional and helps make the reading of the proposal as easy as possible. For a student example of a practical proposal, see Megan Johnson's argument at the end of this chapter.

Option 2: A Policy Proposal as a Guest Editorial Write a two- to three-page policy proposal suitable for publication as a feature editorial in a college or city newspaper, on an appropriate website, or in a publication associated with a par- ticular group, such as a church newsletter or employee bulletin. The voice and style of your argument should be aimed at readers of your chosen publication or website. Your editorial should have the following features:

1. The identification of a problem (Persuade your audience that this is a genuine problem that needs solving; give it presence.)

2. A proposal for action that will help alleviate the problem 3. A justification of your solution (the reasons why your audience should accept

your proposal and act on it)

Proposal Arguments 319

Option 3: A Researched Argument Proposing Public Policy Write an eight- to twelve-page proposal argument as a formal research paper, using researched data for development and support. In business and professional life, this kind of research proposal is often called a white paper, which recommends a course of action internally within an organization or externally to a client or stakeholder. An example of a researched policy proposal is student writer Ivan Snook's "Flirting with Disaster: An Argument against Integrating Women into the Combat Arms" at the end of this chapter.

Option 4: Multimedia Project: A One-Page Advocacy Poster or Advertise- ment Using the strategies of visual argument discussed in Chapter 9 and earlier in this chapter, create a one-page advocacy advertisement urging action on a pub- lic issue. Your advertisement should be designed for publication in a newspaper or website or for distribution as a poster or flier. For an example of a student- produced advocacy poster, see Janie Bube's poster in Figure 15.2.

Figure 15.2 Student advocacy poster

Is Stormwater Turning Your Street Into a Lake?

Installing green stormwater infrastructure technologies like rain gardens will address this problem.

Install a rain garden to:

• Slow, retain, and absorb runoff • Replicate the functioning of a forest in cleaning pollutants from the water • Add natural beauty

For further information contact Rain Wise through Seattle Public Utilities at rainwise@seattle .gov

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Option 5: Multimedia Project: A Proposal Speech with Visual Aids Deliver a proposal argument as a prepared but extemporaneous speech of approximately five to eight minutes, supported with visual aids created on presentation software such as PowerPoint or Prezi. Your speech should present a problem, propose a solution, and justify the solution with reasons and evidence. Use visual aids to give presence to the problem and to enhance appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos. Good aids use visual strategies to create encapsulated visual arguments; they are not simply bullet point outlines of your speech. Sandy Wainscott's speech outline and selected Power Point slides (at the end of this chapter) illustrate this genre.

Exploring Ideas Because should or ought issues are among the most common sources of arguments, you may already have ideas for proposal issues. To think of ideas for practical proposals, try making an idea map of local problems you would like to see solved. For initial spokes, try trigger words such as the following:

• Problems at my university (dorms, parking, registration system, financial aid, campus appearance, clubs, curriculum, intramural program, athletic teams)

• Problems in my city or town (dangerous intersections, ugly areas, inadequate lighting, parks, police policy, public transportation, schools)

• Problems at my p lace of work (office design, flow of customer traffic, mer- chandise display, company policies)

• Problems related to my future career, hobbies, recreational time, life as a con- sumer, life as a homeowner

If you can offer a solution to the problem you identify, you may make a valuable contribution to some phase of public life.

To find a topic for policy proposals, stay in touch with the news, which will keep you aware of current debates on regional and national issues. Also, visit the websites of your congressional representatives to see what issues they are cur- rently investigating and debating. You might think of your policy proposal as a white paper for one of your legislators.

Once you have decided on a proposal issue, we recommend you explore it by trying one or more of the following activities:

• Explore ideas by using the claim types strategy.

• Explore ideas by using the stock issues strategy.

• Explore ideas using the eleven questions (3a-3k) in the For Writing and Discussion exercise, "Brainstorming Ideas for a Proposal."

Identifying Your Audience and Determining What's at Stake Before drafting your argument, identify your targeted audience and determine what's at stake. Consider your responses to the following questions:

• What audience are you targeting? What background do they need to under- stand your problem? How much do they already care about it? How could you motivate them to care?

• After they read your argument, what stance do you imagine them holding? What change do you want to bring about in their view or their behavior?

Proposal Arguments 321

• What will they find uncomfortable or threatening about your proposal? Par- ticularly, what costs will they incur by acting on your proposal?

• What objections might they raise? What counterarguments or alternative solutions will you need to address?

• Why does your proposal matter? What is at stake?

Organizing a Proposal Argument When you write your draft, you may find it helpful to have at hand an orga- nization plan for a proposal argument. The plan in Figure 15.3 shows a typical structure for a proposal argument. In some cases, you may want to summarize and rebut opposing views before you present the justification for your own proposal.

Figure 15.3 Organization plan for a proposal argument

Introduce and develop the problem.

Present your proposed solution to the problem.

Justify your proposed solution through a series of supporting reasons.

Respond to objections or to alternative proposals.

Conclude.

• Engage readers' interest in your problem.

• Provide background, including previous attempts

to solve the problem.

• Give the problem #presence" by showing who is

affected and what is at stake.

• Argue that the problem is solvable (optional).

• First, state your proposal concisely to serve as

your thesis statement or claim.

• Then, explain the specifics of your proposal.

• Restate your claim and forecast your supporting

reasons.

• Present and develop reason I.

• Present and develop reason 2.

• Present and develop additional reasons.

• Anticipate and summarize possible objections or

alternative ways to solve the problem.

• Respond appropriately through rebuttal or •

concession.

• Sum up your argument and help readers return to

the #big picture" of what's at stake.

• Call readers to action.

• End with something memorable.

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Designing a One-Page Advocacy Poster or Advertisem.ent As an alternative to a traditional written argument, your instructor may ask you to create a one-page advocacy advertisement. The first stage of your invention process should be the same as that for a longer proposal argument. Choose a con- troversial public issue that needs immediate attention or a neglected issue about which you want to arouse public passion. As with a longer proposal argument, consider your audience in order to identify the values and beliefs on which you will base your appeal.

When you construct your argument, the limited space available demands effi- ciency in your choice of words and in your use of document design. Your goal is to have a memorable impact on your reader in order to promote the action you advo- cate. The following questions may help you design and revise your advocacy ad:

1. How could photos or other graphic elements establish and give presence to the problem?

2. How can type size, type style, and layout be used to present the core of your proposal, including the justifying reasons, in the most powerful way for the intended audience?

3. Can any part of this argument be presented as a memorable slogan or catch- phrase? What key phrases could highlight the parts or the main points of this argument?

4. How can document design clarify the course of action and the direct demand on the audience this argument is proposing?

5. How can use of color enhance the overall impact of your advocacy argument? (Note: One-page advertisements are expensive to reproduce in color, but you might make effective use of color if your advocacy ad were to appear as a poster or web page.)

Designing Power Point Slides or Other Visual Aids for a Speech In designing visual aids, your goal is to increase the persuasive effect of your speech rather than to demonstrate your technical wizardry. A common mistake with Power Point presentations is to get enamored with the program's bells and whistles. If you find yourself thinking about special effects (animations, fade-outs, flashing letters) rather than about "at a glance" visual appeals to logos or pathos, you may be on the wrong track. Another common mistake is to use slides simply to project a bullet-point outline of your speech. Our best advice in designing slides is thus to "think visual argument."

In terms of visual argument, effective presentation slides can usually be placed in three design categories:

• Slides using images (photographs, drawings) to enhance pathos or to create a snapshot that visually clarifies a concept (logo s)

• Slides using graphs or other visual displays of numbers to make numeric arguments

• Slides using bulleted (all-text) subpoints for evidence

Proposal Arguments 323

All the strategies for visual arguments discussed in Chapter 9 and in this chapter under the heading "Proposal Arguments as Advocacy Posters or Adver- tisements" apply equally to presentation slides.

In most cases, the title of the slide should put into words the slide's take-away point. That is, the title should provide a verbal summary of the slide's visual argu- ment. Most rhetoricians suggest that the title of a slide be a short sentence that makes a point rather than just a topic phrase.

Topic as Title (Weak)

Coal and the Environment

The Effect of Money on Happiness

Point as Title (Strong)

Burning Coal Produces Dangerous Greenhouse Gases

More Money Doesn't Mean More Happiness

Student writer Sandy Wainscott follows these principles in her speech and accompanying Power Point slides, shown in the reading at the end of this chapter.

Questioning and Critiquing a Proposal Argument As we've suggested, proposal arguments need to overcome people's innate con- servatism, the difficulty of anticipating all the consequences of a proposal, and so forth. What questions, then, can we ask about proposal arguments to help us anticipate these problems?

• Will a skeptic deny that my problem is really a problem? Be prepared for skeptics who aren't bothered by your problem, who see your problem as limited to a small group of people, or who think you are exaggerating.

• Will a skeptic doubt the effectiveness of my solution? A skeptic might agree that your problem is indeed important and worth solving but might not be con- vinced that your solution will work. For these skeptics, you'll need to provide evidence that your solution is feasible and workable. Also be prepared for skeptics who focus on the potential negative or unintended consequences of your proposed solution.

• Will a skeptic think my proposal costs too much? The most commonly asked question of any proposal is simply, "Do the benefits of enacting the proposal outweigh the costs?" Be wary of the (understandable) tendency to underestimate the costs and exaggerate the benefits of a proposal. Honesty will enhance your ethos.

• Will a skeptic suggest counterproposals? Once you've convinced readers that a problem exists, they are likely to suggest solutions different from yours. It makes sense to anticipate alternative solutions and to work out ways to argue why your solution is better. And who knows? You may end up liking the counterproposal better and changing your mind about what to propose!

Readings Our first reading, by student writer Megan Johnson, is a practical proposal address- ing the problem of an inequitable meal plan on her campus one that she claims discriminates against women. As a practical proposal, it uses headings and other elements of document design aimed at giving it a finished and professional appear- ance. When sent to the intended audience, it is accompanied by a single-spaced letter of transmittal following the conventional format of a business letter.

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Ms. Jane Doe

Student Essay

A Practical Proposal

Megan Johnson

Vice President for Budgeting and Finance

Certain University

Certain City

Certain State, Zip

Dear Ms. Doe:

Enclosed is a proposal that addresses our university's minimum meal-plan requirements for students living on campus. My proposal shows the problems associated with this requirement and suggests a workable solution for the university.

The enclosed proposal suggests a modest plan for allowing students to use their campus cards to purchase items off campus. Currently, students are required to purchase a minimum meal plan of $1,170, even though women eat less than men and often have to donate unspent meal funds back to the university. This proposal would give students the option to spend some of their meal plan money off campus. The benefits of my plan include more fairness to women students, fewer incentives toward binge eating, more opportunities for student bonding, and better relations with the nearby business community.

Through web research, I have discovered that other universities have systems in place similar to the one I am proposing. I hope that my proposal is received well and considered as a work- able option. A change in the minimum meal-plan requirement might make our university a more desirable option for more prospective students as well as ultimately benefit the general welfare of the current student body.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely, Megan Johnson (Student)

A Proposal to Allow Off-Campus Purchases with a University Meal Card, Submitted by Megan Johnson (Student)

Problem The problem with this university's required meal plan is that it is too large for many students, particularly women. For example, at the end of Winter Quarter, my final balance on my meal card was $268.50, all of which, except for $100, I had to donate back to the university. As the current system stands, students have to purchase a minimum meal plan for living on campus. The minimum meal plan totals $1,170 per quarter. During the academic year an amount of $100 may be rolled into the next quarter. At the end of the quarter any remaining funds, excluding the $100, will be removed from the meal plan. Therefore, if students do not spend the money on their meal plans, it will be wasted. As a woman, I am frustrated about having to decide whether to give my money back to the university or to use up my meal card by binge eating at the end of each quarter.

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Proposed Solution I propose that our university create a system in which students are able to use their campus meal plans at local businesses off campus such as local drug stores, grocery stores, and restaurants. As I will note later in this proposal, other universities have such a system, so the technical difficulties should be easy to solve. Basically, the card works as a debit card loaded with the amount of money the student places on the card. Local businesses would swipe a student's card the same way as the on-campus food service currently does, deducting the current charge against the amount still available on the card. It would probably be possible to limit the total number of dollars available for spending off campus.

Justification My proposal would allow on-campus residential students to use some of their meal-plan money on groceries, on non-food related items such as toiletries, or on an occasional off-campus meal at a local restaurant. This proposal would resolve the problem of gender bias in the current system, promote opportunities for more bonding among students, and ultimately help create a healthier student body. Moreover, it would show the university's commitment to its students' welfare.

First of all, the current meal plan policy tends to discriminate against women. All students on campus are required to have a minimum meal plan, even though men and women have clearly different eating habits. Men tend to eat much more than women and frequently have to add money to their meal plans to get through the quarter. In contrast, many women, like myself, don't use up their prepaid amounts. For example, my friend James ran out of his meal plan by the eighth week of the quarter whereas my roommate Blaire had over $400 left on her card at the end of the quarter. She and I, like many other women, will have to donate our money back to the school. Therefore, women often feel cheated out of their money while men do not. It is discriminatory to require all students, regardless of gender, to have the same minimum meal plan. However, if the university is going to require all students to have the same minimum meal plan, then the university needs to give women more options to spend their money on things other than food purchased in the school dining halls.

In addition? my proposal would create more opportunities for bonding. For example, it would allow persons who love to cook, such as me, to use the residence-hall kitchens to create "home- cooked meals" for floormates, thus creating more friendships among students. Personally, I have had the pleasure of helping create such bonds among the women on my floor by cooking a "family dinner" in our floor's kitchen. The aroma of the roasted chicken and homemade mashed potatoes drew the students on the fifth floor into the lounge. After our shared dinner, it seemed as if the residents of our floor felt more comfortable being around one another in a more family-like way. I think that cooking on campus gives students a sense of comfort that they do not get when they go to the dining halls and have food pre-made for them. While I would love to cook dinner for my floor more often, the bottom line is that ingredients are too expensive to pay for on my regular credit card when I have already purchased from the university more food than I can eat. If the school were to implement a system where we could use a portion of our meal plans off campus, students would be able to buy groceries from local stores and to put to better use the kitchens already built into the residence halls.

In addition to creating closer bonds between students, an off-campus option for our meal cards would help women eat more healthfully. The current system promotes bad eating habits, causing women to overeat or even to binge in order to use up their extra meal plan money. For example, with the leftover money on my card at the end of Fall Quarter, I bought cases of energy drinks, which are filled with high-fructose corn syrup and other empty calories. As another exam- ple, my friend Amber purchases multiple meals such as pizza and a burger for dinner because

(continued)

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she doesn't want to waste her money. Overeating is obviously unhealthy and could eventually lead to an increase in obesity or eating disorders. However, if students were able to use their meal card off campus, they could buy items such as shampoo or other toiletries, which would be more beneficial for women than overeating to avoid losing money.

Despite all these benefits of a new meal plan system, some administrators might be skeptical of the benefits and focus on the drawbacks instead. The biggest drawback is the potential loss of revenue to food services. As it is now, women help subsidize food costs for men. Without that sub- sidy, the food service might not be able to break even, forcing them to raise food costs for everyone. I don't have the financial expertise to know how to compute these costs. Clearly, however, other universities have thought about these issues and decided that allowing students to spend some of their food money off campus was a benefit worth providing for students. For example, the University of Texas, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Florida allow their meal cards to be used as debit cards at local businesses. As stated on their website, the University of Texas has a system called Bevo Bucks in which students can "purchase food, goods and services at participating locations, both on and off campus" by loading money onto their ID cards. Also, according to the University of Minnesota's website, students have a system called Flex Dine con- nected to their ID cards. FlexDine gives students the "convenience ... [to eat] at Papa John's for residence-hall residents." If other schools can implement off-campus use of dining cards, then the plan is feasible. It might also be possible to limit the number of dollars that could be spent each quarter off campus in order to assure a minimum level of revenue for the food service.

Even if my proposal would be costly in terms of lost revenue to the food service, the benefits of my plan might still outweigh the costs. A revised meal-card system might become a recruiting point for prospective students because they would feel as if the university is more personalized to fit the students' needs rather than just the university's needs. My proposal might help prospec- tive students see how close the students at our university are and might draw more students to apply here. (Our website and view books could even include pictures of students cooking in the residence-hall kitchens or eating at a local restaurant.) Moreover, local off-campus businesses would welcome the opportunity for more student customers and might offer special promotions for students. A new meal-card system might even improve the relationship between the university and the surrounding community.

Based on all these reasons, I believe that the university community as a whole would benefit if my proposal were enacted. The new plan would be especially appreciated by women students, many of whom now subsidize the food costs of men. In addition, the new system would bring students closer together by encouraging more creative use of the residence-hall kitchens for com- munity meals and by reducing the incentive toward binge eating at the end of each quarter. Finally, if other universities can use this system, then our university should be able to use it as well. Although the food service may lose money to local businesses, the university would ultimately benefit by creating a more flexible and attractive meal option especially for women and by showing administrative concern for student welfare.

Critiquing "A Proposal to Allow Off-Campus Purchases with a University Meal Card"

1. In your own words, summarize briefly the problem that Megan Johnson addresses, her proposed solution, and her justifying reasons.

2. Megan addresses her proposal to Ms. Jane Doe, an administrator who has the power to change policy. To what extent does Megan develop audience-based reasons that resonate with this audience of university administrators? How effectively does Megan anticipate and respond to objections her audience might raise?

Proposal Arguments 327

3. How does Megan establish a positive ethos in this argument? To what extent does she appeal to pathos as well as logos?

4. How effective is Megan's proposal?

Our second reading, by student writer Ivan Snook, is a researched public policy proposal written in response to the option 3 assignment in Learning Objective 15.5. Snook's argument is based both on library and Internet research and on personal experience (he is a returning veteran who served as a Marine infantry soldier in Iraq). The kairotic moment for this paper (written in March 2014) was a January 2014 decision by the Obama administration to allow women to serve in the combat arms a policy decision to which Snook objects. Snook's paper is formatted as a formal research paper using the documentation style of the Modern Language Association (MLA). A full explanation of this format is given in Chapter 18.

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Ivan Snook

Dr. Johnson

Argumentative Writing

March 31,2014

Snook 1

Flirting with Disaster: An Argument against Integrating Women into the Combat Arms

In 2005 I was a rifleman for the elite 1st Reconnaissance Bat- talion in Iraq. My deployment was not all bad. When we returned to Camp Fallujah to repair our humvee we ate great chow, enjoyed good entertainment, and drank contraband vodka. I never had a girlfriend, though. I was too busy working in my all-male infan- try unit. At the time I wished we had a few girls in the unit. What can I say? I wanted female companionship like the guys in non- combat jobs had. But I realized that women could never serve in the infantry because of the negative impact of boyfriend/ girlfriend dramatics on unit morale, cohesiveness, and ultimately combat effectiveness.

However, America's civilian leadership recently moved towards integrating women into frontline combat arms units such as infantry, tanks, and artillery. In January 2014, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta lifted the Pentagon's policy on all-male com- bat arms occupations. "The department's goal ... is to ensure that the mission is met with the best qualified and most capable people, regardless of gender," he said. "I'm not talking about reducing the qualifications for the job if they can meet the qualifications for the job, then they should have a right to serve" (qtd. in Michaels and Vanden Brook). President Obama expanded upon Panetta's senti- ment by saying, "Every American can be proud that our military will grow even stronger, with our mothers, wives, sisters, and daugh- ters playing a greater role in protecting this country we love" ( qtd. in Michaels and Vanden Brook, emphasis mine.)

If this policy change will indeed strengthen our military, every American should support it. However, no one has specified how integrating women into the combat arms will strengthen our mili- tary. I wholeheartedly agree with integrationists who claim that women can meet the rigorous physical and mental requirements

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Snook 2

for frontline combat. Any CrossFit has at least half a dozen women more physically and mentally fit than some of my Marine broth- ers in arms. If those were the sole criteria by which we evaluate infantrymen, I would endorse integration. But, how an individual soldier affects the combat unit as a whole must be considered. The great military theorist Carl von Clausewitz coined the term "friction" to represent the "[c]ountless minor incidents ... [that] combine to lower the general level of performance [of the military machine]." He continues, "We should bear in mind that none of its components is of one piece: each part is composed of individuals, every one of whom retains his potential of friction." Therefore, we must not judge individual soldiers only by their individual physi- cal capabilities, but also by their impact on the unit as a whole.

Introducing women to previously all-male combat units means introducing the friction of romantic relationships. Petty jealousies and other dramatic relational issues combine to lower the general level of performance. In 1997, the nonprofit global policy think tank RAND Corporation studied how romantic relationships affect coed military units. The study reported that such relationships "sexualize" the work environment, making it "difficult for col- leagues to regard one another as just coworkers. Thus, the cohe- sion of the unit is negatively affected" (Harrell and Miller 81). One respondent complained, "The [cafeteria] ... at night looks more like a singles club or promenade deck than a cafeteria [for a mili- tary unit]." Another said, "I get tired of seeing a junior enlisted female and her boyfriend [at the cafeteria] .... This place is like high school all over again. Everyone is dating others. To me this is not the military. We are here to do a job not meet our spouse. Guys seem more worried about getting a girl than doing their job" (Harrell and Miller 81-82).

Integrationists claim the military's high level of discipline coupled with strict rules against fraternization will prevent roman- tic relationships. However, those strict rules have always been in place and have never worked. During the Gulf War, 5 percent of deployed women were sent home early due to pregnancy. The Navy sends home on average 10 percent of deployed female sailors for the same reason. The USS Theodore Roosevelt, one of America's largest aircraft carriers, lost 45 of its 300 female sailors to

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pregnancy leave and became one of the many U.S. Navy ships to earn the nickname "The Love Boat" (Browne 246). My point is not about morality. These statistics demonstrate that despite strict rules against fraternization, 18-to-25-year-olds succumb to their natural urges. What else should one expect when young adults are locked away on ship or deployed to Afghanistan for months at a time? It is analogous to locking the doors on a coed college dormitory for a year and making rules against sex. It is preposterous to expect 18-to-25-year-olds to work, live, and relax together in such close proximity and expect no romantic relationships to sprout.

These problems are more than just trifling lovers' quarrels. They affect a serious decline in performance and can lead to a total breakdown of command structure. In 2005, Brian Kates of the New York Daily News visited Camp Bucca, a military prison in Southern Iraq, which he described as a drunken "out-of-control frat party." "In front of a cheering male audience, two young women wearing only bras and panties threw themselves into a mud-filled plastic kiddie pool and rolled around in a wild wrestling match." Sergeant Emil Ganim, who refereed the match, said other non-commissioned officers "had been lending out their rooms for soldiers to have sex." These were not just young privates, either. A witness told investiga- tors that a drunken first sergeant and master sergeant, two high- ranking non-commissioned officers, were in attendance (Kates). Although Camp Bucca was far away from any actual fighting, it is safe to assume similar sexual antics and command-structure break- downs will occur in coed frontline combat units, whose members confront their own mortality on a daily basis.

Still, Camp Bucca is not the worst-case scenario. The mili- tary is currently battling an epidemic of rape and sexual assault. A study conducted by the Department of Veterans' Affairs reported that one-third of female veterans say they were victims of rape or attempted rape. A third of those claim they were raped multiple times, and 14 percent claim they were gang raped (Browne). Intro- ducing females to frontline combat units will only exacerbate the problem. Dr. David Grossman, one of the world's foremost experts on human aggression and the psychology of combat, has explained how combat stress affects the human sex drive. He analogizes the human body's ability to cope with stress to a bathtub: It can hold

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Snook 4

only so much water before overflowing. When our body overflows with stress, the midbrain releases hormones causing a fight-or- flight response, often followed by a dramatic change in hunger and sex drive. Grossman writes, "Some people lose their appetite for food in response to stress, but many have an enhanced craving to eat. In the same way, some individuals can lose their sex drive in response to great stress, but other people experience a tremendous sex drive, especially after a combat situation in which they were triumphant" (275). Frontline combat is fueled by stress hormones, and the potential for a woman to be sexually assaulted is very high. An inter-unit sexual assault costs the unit two soldiers: the victim is typically transferred to a new unit, the assaulter is sent to prison. Replacing two comrades integrated in a tight-knit unit with two new recruits is a difficult blow to a unit's esprit de corps and trust members have in one another. Thus, to put at risk a female soldier's sexual well-being is to also put at risk her unit's combat ability.

Rather than respond to the physiological realities of preparing for and engaging in combat, integrationists such as CNN's Maren Leed deflect to a false analogy connecting integration of women to past arguments against integrating minorities and homosexu- als. Regarding minorities, race is a social construct, not a biological difference. Whereas the military somewhat successfully trained its men to not act on racial prejudices, it is improbable that 18-to- 25-year-old men can be trained not to be sexually attracted to women. Regarding homosexuals, one homosexual has little effect on a group of heterosexuals, but one female can have a significant impact on a large group of heterosexual men driven by stress hormones.

Another integrationist argument is that changes in modern warfare already put women in combat. They say modern warfare is "asymmetric" and attacks can come from anywhere. It is true that women have served in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, but inte- grationists erroneously believe the nature of warfare has evolved beyond traditional frontlines. Every American military engage- ment since World War II has been a limited war, but that does not mean all future wars will be. The wars our military must prepare to fight are global conflicts where combat troops face well-armed and well-trained enemies on traditional frontlines.

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Perhaps the most important argument made by integrationists, and one to which I am sympathetic, concerns fairness and equity. It is extremely difficult to be promoted to general without infantry training. Some may say the Army should change its promotion policy, but this would harm overall morale. Frontline troops more enthusiastically follow leaders who are sharing, or have at one time shared, the toils and dangers of war. Thus, high-ranking female officers hit a glass ceiling because no such experience is available to them. However, there is an alternative to break through this glass ceiling without making all combat units coed. The U.S. Army National Guard consists of every imaginable combat-arms occupa- tion. If these occupations were opened to aspiring female soldiers, those women would have access to the necessary experience for advancement to the military's upper echelon and have the option of transferring from the National Guard to active duty. General John Vessey began his illustrious career in the National Guard infantry and was later selected as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This compromise would give women the opportunity to get infantry training while still protecting our active-duty frontline infantry units from the unnecessary friction caused by romantic relationships.

Although some outsiders call terms like friction, morale, and unit cohesion mere buzzwords, to the Marines they mean life or death. Coed infantry is a parlous experiment with too much at stake. The restriction against women joining the infantry must be reinstated before the policy becomes entrenched and the negative side effects of romantic relationships deteriorate our fighting abil- ity. I fully support gender equality, and I am proud of the brave women in the Marines, Army, Navy, and Air Force who have sacri- ficed so much defending this country I love. But when one consid- ers the ultimate mission of the military, which is to win wars, we must not risk losing the cohesion of combat units when there is no exigent reason to do so except for the sake of expanding military career opportunities for women.

Works Cited

Browne, Kingsley. Co-Ed Combat: The New Evidence That Women Shouldn't Fight the Nation 's Wars. Sentinel, 2007.

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Snook 6

Clausewitz, Carl von. On War. Translated by M ichael Howard and Peter Paret, Princeton UP, 1984.

Grossman, David. On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace. 3rd ed., Warrior Science, 2008.

Harrell, Margaret C., and Laura L. Miller. "New Opportunities for Military Women: Effects Upon Readiness, Cohesion, and Morale." RAND Corporation, 1 Jan. 1997, www.rand.org/pubs/ monogra ph_reports I MR896 .html.

Kates, Brian. "Out of Control at Camp Crazy! Female Soldiers Dress Down & Get Dirty for Mud Romps." New York Daily News, 6 Feb. 2005, www.nydailynews.com/ archives/news/ control-camp-crazy- female-soldiers-dress-dirty-mud-romps-g-s-wild-article-1.590262.

Leed, Maren. "Will Infantry Men Accept Women as Peers?" CNN, 26 Jan. 2013, www.cnn.com/2013/01/25/opinion/ leed -women-in-infantry.

Michaels, Jim, and Tom Vanden Brook. "Women, Men Must Meet Same Combat Standards in Military." USA Today, 25 Jan. 2013, www.usatoday.com/story /news/world/2013/01/24/ women-in-combat-briefing/1861887.

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Critiquing "Flirting with Disaster: An Argument against Integrating Women into the Combat Arms"

1. What is Ivan Snook's core argument for not integrating women into the combat arms? What evi- dence does he provide in support of his argument? Do you find that evidence persuasive?

2. What opposing or alternative views does Snook summarize? How effectively does Snook respond to these views?

3. Snook offers as a counterproposal a way that women could get infantry training (for purposes of career advancement) without the need to make all infantry units coed. How effective do you find his counterproposal?

4. How effective is Snook's use of audience-based reasons? How would you evaluate his overall appeal to logos, ethos, and pathos?

Our third reading, from the Save-Bees.org website, is a one-page paid advocacy advertisement. Working in conjunction with other environmental organizations such as Beyond Pesticides, the Center for Food Safety, and Pesticide Action Network, the Save the Bees organization advocates a moratorium on pesticides that are killing off bees. The website itself demonstrates how the Internet can be used for education and advocacy. It solicits support for a petition directed to the U.S. Envi- ronmental Protection Agency calling for an immediate discontinuation in the use of certain toxic chemicals deadly to bees. On the web, this advocacy ad shows a list of organizations in support of this moratorium.

I I

• ne1

Honey bees, native bees and other pollinators are responsible for 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat. Bees pollinate 71 of the 100 crops that make up 90% of the world's food supply. Many fruits and vegetables, including apples, blueberries, strawberries, carrots and broccoli, as well as almonds and coffee, rely on bees. These beneficial insects are critica l to maintaining our diverse food supply.

Honey bee populations have been in alarming decline since 2006. Widespread use of a new class of toxic pesticides, neonicotinoids, is a significant contributing factor. In addition to killing bees outright, research has shown that even low levels of these dangerous pesticides impair bees' ability to learn, to find their way back to the hive, to collect food, to produce new queens, and to mount an effective immune response.

Proposal Arguments 335

' •

•

er can This week, 15 countries are imposing a two-year restriction on the use of several of these chemicals. Meanwhile, the United States is stalling.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates it will be 2018, 5 years from now, before it makes a decision on this deadly class of pesticides.

Bees can't wait 5 more years - they are dying now. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the power and responsibility to protect our pollinators. Our nation's food system depends on it.

HELP PROTECT FOOD CHOICES [!]....,.·· ... •• - •.•.• Save- Bees.org l!li-..a.~

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Critiquing the Save the Bees Advocacy Ad

1. How does this advocacy advertisement give presence to the problem with bees?

2. What solution does the ad propose for helping the bees? Why hasn't this solution already been adopted? What action does the ad ask readers to take?

3. What reasons and evidence does this advocacy ad provide to persuade readers to take action? How effective is this evidence?

4. How does this proposal argument appeal to personal interest as well as environmental values? How do appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos work together in this advocacy piece?

Our fourth reading, by student Sandy Wainscott, illustrates option 5 in Learning Objective 15.5. It is a proposal speech supported by visual aids. We have reproduced Sandy's outline for her speech, along with her scripts for the introduction and conclusion. (Although she delivered the body of the speech extemporaneously from her outline, she scripted the introduction and conclusion to reduce nervous- ness.) We have also reproduced four of her ten PowerPoint slides in Figure 15.4. She used these four slides to introduce each of the four main points shown on the outline. Note how she has constructed her slides as visual arguments supporting a main point (stated in the slide title).

Student Essay ------------------------------------

Why McDonald's Should Sell Meat and Veggie Pies: A Proposal to End Subsidies for Cheap Meat

Sandy Wainscott

Script for Introduction: McDonald's hamburgers are popular because they're satisfying and pretty darn cheap. But I will argue that the hamburger is cheap because the American taxpayer subsidizes the cost of meat. Uncle Sam pays agribusiness to grow feed corn while not requiring agribusiness to pay the full cost for water or for cleaning up the environmental damage caused by cattle pro- duction. If meat producers had to recover the true cost of their product, the cost of meat would be substantially higher, but there would be offsetting benefits: a healthier environment, happier lives for cows and chickens, and healthier diets for all of us.

1. Meat is relatively cheap partly because taxpayers help feed the cows. a. U.S. taxpayers give farmers money to grow feed corn, which is fed to cows. b. U.S. taxpayers provide farmers with cheap water.

2. Cheap meat threatens health. a. Factory-style farms significantly reduce effectiveness of antibiotics. b. Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are potentially huge killers. c. Factory farms are likely sources of new swine and bird flus. d. Meat-related food poisoning harms millions of people per year and causes thousands

of deaths.

3. Cheap meat hurts the environment. a. Factory farms create 130 times more sewage than humans. b. Animal farming contributes more to global warming than all forms of human transpor-

tation combined. c. Farming uses much of the world's land and water.

Proposal Arguments 337

4. Cheap meat requires cruelty to animals. a. Ninety-eight percent of egg-laying hens in the United States spend their entire lives in

stacked cubicle cages with 9-inch sides. b. Cruel conditions also exist for pigs and cows.

Script for Conclusion: If we stop providing taxpayer subsidies to farmers and require farmers to pay for the pollution they cause, the cost of meat would be much higher but with great benefits to our health and to our environment. A restaurant like McDonald's would likely adjust its menus. McDonald's would move the burger off its 99-cent menu and replace it with something like a meat pie, a similarly warm, quick, and satisfying choice, but with a lower proportion of meat than a burger. In a fair market, we should have to pay more for a hamburger than for a meat pie or a stir fry. But we would have the benefit of a healthier Earth.

Figure 15.4 Sandy's PowerPoint slides used to introduce main points

Meat is relatively cheap because taxpayers help feed the cows

- - $

Cheap meat hurts the environment US animal farms produce

Cheap meat threatens health Most antibiotics are used on farm animals

30 % used on humans

70% used on farm animals

• Animal farm ing is a leading contributor to antibiotic- resistant germs

Cheap meat reqiures cruelty to animals

Critiquing "Why McDonald's Should Sell Meat and Veggie Pies: A Proposal to End Subsidies for Cheap Meat"

1. Although it is common to design PowerPoint slides that use topics and bullets to reproduce the speaker's outline, most public speaking experts prefer the approach that Sandy takes in this speech. She uses photographs, drawings, and graphics to create a visual argument that reinforces rather than simply reproduces the verbal message of her speech. How do her slides operate visually to create arguments from both logos and pathos?

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2. Note that the top heading of each slide is a complete sentence making a point rather than a topic phrase without a subject and verb. For example, the top-left slide in Figure 15.4 might have had the heading "Cheap Meat" or "Role of Subsidies." Do you agree with most experts, who would say that the complete-sentence version ("Meat is relatively cheap because taxpayers help feed the cows") is more effective? Why or why not?

3. How effective do you find Sandy's speech?

Our final reading appeared in The Wall Street Journal on February 19,2011. The authors are both profes- sors of entomology at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. In 2007, Marcel Dicke was awarded the NWO-Spinoza award, often called the Dutch Nobel Prize. He gives speeches (summaries of which are available on the web) arguing that humans should eat insects rather than meat as one solution to the environmental degradation caused by the meat industry. Coauthor Arnold Van Huis coordinates a research consortium of scientists investigating the nutritional value of insects. He also gives cooking classes featuring bug recipes.

The Six-Legged Meat of the Future MARCEL DICKE AND ARNOLD VAN HUIS

At the London restaurant Archipelago, diners can order the $11 Baby Bee Brulee: a creamy custard topped with a crunchy little bee. In New York, the Mexican restaurant Toloache offers $11 chapulines tacos: two tacos stuffed with Oaxacan-style dried grasshoppers.

Could beetles, dragonfly larvae, and water bug caviar be the meat of the future? As the global population booms and demand strains the world's supply of meat, there's a growing need for alternate animal proteins. Insects are high in protein, B vitamins and minerals like iron and zinc, and they're low in fat. Insects are easier to raise than livestock, and they produce less waste. Insects are abundant. Of all the known animal species, 80°/o walk on six legs; over 1,000 edible species have been identified. And the taste? It's often described as "nutty."

Worms, crickets, dung beetles to most people they're just creepy crawlers. To Brooklyn painter and art professor Marc Dennis, they're yummy ingredients for his Bug Dinners.

The vast majority of the developing world already eats insects. In Laos and Thailand, weaver-ant pupae are a highly prized and nutritious delicacy. They are prepared with shallots, lettuce, chilies, lime, and spices and served with sticky rice. Further back in history, the ancient Romans considered beetle larvae to be gourmet fare, and the Old Testament mentions eating crickets and grasshoppers. In the 20th century, the Japanese emperor Hirohito's favorite meal was a mixture of cooked rice, canned wasps (including larvae, pupae, and adults), soy sauce, and sugar.

s Will Westerners ever take to insects as food? It's possible. We are entomologists at Wageningen Uni- versity, and we started promoting insects as food in the Netherlands in the 1990s. Many people laughed- and cringed at first, but interest gradually became more serious. In 2006 we created a "Wageningen- City of Insects" science festival to promote the idea of eating bugs; it attracted more than 20,000 visitors.

Over the past two years, three Dutch insect- raising companies, which normally produce feed for animals in zoos, have set up special production lines to raise locusts and mealworms for human con- sumption. Now those insects are sold, freeze-dried, in

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two-dozen retail food outlets that cater to restaurants. A few restaurants in the Netherlands have already placed insects on the menu, with locusts and mealworms (beetle larvae) usually among the dishes.

Insects have a reputation for being dirty and carrying diseases yet less than 0.5°/o of all known insect species are harmful to people, farm animals, or crop plants. When raised under hygienic conditions- eating bugs straight out of the backyard generally isn't recommended many insects are perfectly safe to eat.

Meanwhile, our food needs are on the rise. The human population is expected to grow from six bil- lion in 2000 to nine billion in 2050. Meat production is expected to double in the same period, as demand grows from rising wealth. Pastures and fodder already use up 70°/o of all agricultural land, so increasing livestock production would require expanding agricultural acreage at the expense of rain forests and other natural lands. Officials at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recently pre- dicted that beef could become an extreme luxury item by 2050,like caviar, due to rising production costs.

Raising insects for food would avoid many of the problems associated with livestock. For instance, swine and humans are similar enough that they can share many diseases. Such co-infection can yield new disease strains that are lethal to humans, as happened during a swine fever outbreak in the Neth- erlands in the late 1990s. Because insects are so different from us, such risks are accordingly lower.

Insects are also cold-blooded, so they don't need as much feed as animals like pigs and cows, which 10 consume more energy to maintain their body temperatures. Ten pounds of feed yields one pound of beef, three pounds of pork, five pounds of chicken, and up to six pounds of insect meat.

Insects produce less waste, too. The proportion of livestock that is not edible after processing is 30°/o for pork, 35°/o for chicken, 45°/o for beef, and 65°/o for lamb. By contrast, only 20°/o of a cricket is inedible.

Raising insects requires relatively little water, especially as compared to the production of conven- tional meat (it takes more than 10 gallons of water, for instance, to produce about two pounds of beef). Insects also produce far less ammonia and other greenhouse gases per pound of body weight. Livestock is responsible for at least 10°/o of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Raising insects is more humane as well. Housing cattle, swine or chickens in high densities causes stress to the animals, but insects like mealworms and locusts naturally like to live in dense quarters. The insects can be crowded into vertical stacked trays or cages. Nor do bug farms have to be restricted to rural areas; they could sprout up anywhere, from a suburban strip mall to an apartment building. Enterprising gourmets could even keep a few trays of meal worms in the garage to ensure a fresh supply.

The first insect fare is likely to be incorporated subtly into dishes, as a replacement for meat in meat- balls and sauces. It also can be mixed into prepared foods to boost their nutritional value like putting meal worm paste into a quiche. And dry-roasted insects can be used as a replacement for nuts in baked goods like cookies and breads.

We continue to make progress in the Netherlands, where the ministry of agriculture is funding a 15 new $1.3 million research program to develop ways to raise edible insects on food waste, such as brew- ers' grain (a byproduct of beer brewing), soyhulls (the skin of the soybean), and apple pomace (the pulpy remains after the juice has been pressed out). Other research is focusing on how protein could be extracted from insects and used in processed foods.

Though it is true that intentionally eating insects is common only in developing countries, everyone already eats some amount of insects. The average person consumes about a pound of insects per year, mostly mixed into other foods. In the U.S., most processed foods contain small amounts of insects, within limits set by the Food and Drug Administration. For chocolate, the FDA limit is 60 insect fragments per 100 grams. Peanut butter can have up to 30 insect parts per 100 grams, and fruit juice can have five fruit- fly eggs and one or two larvae per 250 milliliters (just over a cup). We also use many insect products to dye our foods, such as the red dye cochineal in imitation crab sticks, Campari, and candies. So we're already some of the way there in making six-legged creatures a regular part of our diet.

Not long ago, foods like kiwis and sushi weren't widely known or available. It is quite likely that in 2020 we will look back in surprise at the era when our menus didn't include locusts, beetle larvae, dragonfly larvae, crickets, and other insect delights.

340 Chapter 15

Critiquing "The Six-Legged Meat of the Future"

1. Earlier in this chapter, we noted that a problem faced by all proposal writers is "the need to over- come people's natural conservatism." Their readers' natural conservatism is a major constraint for coauthors Dicke and Van Huis ("Hey, I've never eaten bugs before! If four-legged meat was good enough for my parents, it's good enough for me!") How do the authors use the appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos to try to overcome this natural conservatism?

2. Although this journalistic piece does not have a tightly closed-form structure with transitions and because clauses marking each reason, it still provides a logical progression of separate reasons in support of eating insects. Convert this argument into a bulleted list of because clauses in support of the claim "Westerners should eat insects as a major source of protein."

3. Are you persuaded by this argument? Would you try some mealworm spaghetti or a handful of fried crickets? Why or why not?