Introduction To Critical Thinking

Introduction to CRITICAL
Thinking
BRUCE R REICHENBACH
Introduction to
Critical Thinking
Bruce R. Reichenbach
Boston Burr Ridge, IL Dubuque, IA Madison, Wl New York San Francisco St. Louis
Bangkok Bogota Caracas Lisbon London Madrid
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V
CONTENTS
Contents
PREFACE: TO THE INSTRUCTOR ix

Critical Thinking Skills and the Disciplines xi
An Overview of the Text xii
Teaching Hints xiii
1. Critical Thinking in Real Life 1

Case Study 1 1
Case Study 2 6
2. Six Steps of Critical Thinking 12
Critical Thinking Dispositions 14

Critical Thinking Skills 15
The Characteristics of Critical Thinking 18
The Guiding Model for the Text 20
Step 1: Knowledge 21
Step 2: Comprehension 22
Step 3: Application 23
Step 4: Analysis 24
Step 5: Synthesis 25
Step 6: Evaluation 26
Looking Ahead 29
Answers to the Exercises 30
3. Knowledge: Acquiring Information 31

The Topic 32
The Issue 38
Changing the Topic or Issue 46
vi The Thesis 49
CONTENTS The Main Points 56
Active Reading 59
4. Comprehension: Making Information Your Own 72

The Importance of Language 73
Fact and Opinion 79
Statements 83
Statements and Sentences 84
Diverse Functions of Sentences 86
Compound Statements 89
Our Knowledge of Truth and Falsity 92
Qualifying and Quantifying What We Say 97
Qualifiers 97
Quantifiers 99
Groups 100
Can, Ought, and Is 103
Summing-Up 105
5. Comprehension: Clarifying Your Language 108
Ambiguity Resulting from Careless Use of Language 109

Ambiguity Resulting from Confusion of Different Meanings 111
Ambiguity Resulting from Unclarity of Use 113
Ambiguous Referent 113
Ambiguous Modifier 113
Ambiguous Grammar 114
Ambiguous Comparison 114
Ambiguity Resulting from Vague Language 116
Layers of Meaning 121
Emotive Language 123
Six Ways to Misuse Emotive Language 128
Stereotyping 128
Euphemism 128
Dysphemism 129
Innuendo 129
Hyperbole 130
Persuasive Comparison 131
Bias-Free Language 137
Summing-Up 139
6. Analysis: Distinguishing Types of Discourse 143
Three Types of Informative Discourse 145

Description 145
Comparison 146 vii
Explanation 150 CONTENTS
Persuasive Discourse: Arguments 155
Locating Arguments 157
Testing for Premises and Conclusions 161
Diagramming Arguments 164
Four Types of Argument Structures 165
Combining Argument Structures 167
Looking Ahead 173
7. Analysis: Discovering How Arguments Work 178
Deductive and Inductive Arguments 179

Inductive Arguments 184
Generalizations 184
Analogies 185
Causal Arguments 189
Explanation and Argument 196
Finding Unstated Assumptions 201
Looking Ahead 207
8. Synthesis: Writing with Critical Thinking 213
Generating a Topic 215

Generating an Issue 216
Generating a Thesis 218
Generating the Main Points 219
Deciding What Needs Defense 223
Statements Not Needing Defense 223
Statements Needing Defense 225
Doing Research 230
Determining the Reliability of Sources 231
Exploring Resources on the Internet 235
Moving On 239
9. Synthesis: Solving Problems Creatively 242
Steps in Problem Solving 243

Resources 251
Summing Up 252
Scenarios: Problem Solving in Action 255
Scenario 1: Racial Conflict 255
Scenario 2: Educational Challenges 256
Scenario 3: Environmental Damage 257
viii 10. Evaluation: Assessing the Strength of Inductive
CONTENTS Arguments 259
Determining the Truth of Statements 260
Cogency in Inductive Arguments 262
Arguments from Authority 263
Generalizations 268
Arguments from Analogy 274
Causal Arguments 277
Critical Thinking in the Corporate World 281
Summing-Up 284
11. Evaluation: Identifying More Fallacies of Content 287

Fallacies of Ambiguity 288
Equivocation 288
Amphiboly 289
Fallacies of Relevance 293
Appeal to Force or Fear 293
Appeal to Pity 294
Ad Hominem 294
Appeal to Vanity 295
Appeal to Numbers 296
Fallacies of Time 296
Fallacies of Presumption 304
False Dichotomy 305
Begging the Question 305
Complex Question 307
Summing-Up 310
12. Evaluation: Assessing the Validity of Deductive

Arguments 313
Validity in Deductive Arguments 313

Argument Forms 314
Valid Conditional Argument Forms 315
Invalid Conditional Argument Forms 318
Disjunctive Arguments 319
Incomplete Arguments 321
Complex Arguments 323
Summing-Up 326
booking Ahead 327
CREDITS 333
INDEX 335
Preface
To the Instructor
You may be asking, "Why another book on critical thinking?" The answer is
that the writing level and approach of many of the current books presuppose
readers who can read with comprehension and already possess sophisticated
critical thinking skills the texts are designed to enhance. For example, critical
thinking texts often commence by explaining about and evaluating arguments.
But as we will see, analyzing and assessing arguments are higher-level critical
thinking skills presupposing prior skills that often need development. Stu¬
dents cannot construct and analyze, let alone evaluate, arguments if they first
have difficulty identifying the topic, thesis, and main points of what they read
or hear. Many beginning college students who have not developed critical
thinking skills flounder in this predicament. Many critical thinking texts also
proceed by making numerous fine distinctions that, though important as
advanced skill techniques, quickly are lost on beginners who may have trou¬
ble enough recognizing the undifferentiated examples in the real world. To
teach students who are deficient in critical thinking skills to think critically, the
instructor must begin at the beginning.
But how might you be convinced about the level at which some of your
students function? Consider the following descriptions of acceptable teaching
practices and student responses you may have encountered.
• You presuppose students bring critical thinking skills with them into your
course. You assume that they can clearly grasp the theses and arguments
developed in the assigned readings, follow the train of argument in your
lectures, and find and follow the main points of free-ranging class or
group discussions. And yet when you inquire about what they have read
or heard, do students give you a multitude of confused ideas with mini¬
mal interconnectedness? Do you find students who misidentify the thesis
or fail to see how the ideas are developed or defended?
• You assign problems or exercises with the readings to help students test
their understanding of what they read. Do you find that students complain
that you expected them to read the material and solve the problems before
you explained the concepts? Do some students not know how to go about
applying what they read or solving the chapter problems or exercises?
• You involve students from the very beginning of your course in evaluative
tasks. Perhaps the first questions you ask students about a reading or topic
require evaluation of the ideas presented. Do students respond to your
questions by saying, "I feel that . . .," thereby suggesting they lack the
ability both to ascertain clearly and carefully and to work with the evi¬
dence and arguments presented, thus resorting to their feelings?
• On your tests you ask students to compare and contrast. Are you then dis¬
appointed when students produce a paragraph on one item and a para¬
graph on the other, leaving you to perform the integration you expected
from them?
• At times you ask students to give the conclusion of the author's argument
and to identify the relevant evidence. Do you find many students present
a premise as the conclusion and treat the conclusion as evidence for the
premise, showing that they confuse these two roles?
• You model critical thinking in your class, looking at several sides of an
issue and weighing their respective merits and demerits. Do you find that
students who closely follow what you do cannot examine ideas on their
own from different points of view in discussion, in papers, and on tests?
One reason for our disappointment with certain student responses lies in
the disparity between our academic expectations and student reality. We
approach the classroom expecting our students to exercise significant critical
thinking abilities. We lecture, conduct discussions, and construct tests at the
higher stages of critical thinking—analysis, creative synthesis, and evaluation—
for this is where intellectual ferment happens. Here we manipulate, argue for,
synthesize, and evaluate ideas. But a number of students have not yet mas¬
tered the basic critical thinking skills. They still function at the beginning
stages and do not know how to access the higher levels that you are demon¬
strating. Indeed, often they are confused by their instructor's use of these
higher-level skills.
It is not that these students lack intelligence. They are bright but need to
be taught critical thinking at its beginning. But what is the beginning? My own
view of the beginning and how critical thinking proceeds from that point has
been influenced by the model developed by Benjamin Bloom in his Taxonomy
of Educational Objectives. Based on my thirty years of teaching, I believe Bloom
has accurately described a realistic set of sequential educational objectives.
Indeed, I now incorporate these stages and elements in all my course assign¬
ments—study questions, class discussions, papers, and tests—to facilitate stu¬
dents' critical thinking. Bloom's taxonomy, translated into a six-step sequence
for developing critical thinking abilities, provides the skeleton for this text.
Those unfamiliar with this taxonomy will find that it provides a very use¬
ful way to understand how the skills needed to become a critical thinker can
be systematically developed and how they piggyback on each other. By seeing
how this model applies to critical thinking, you will be able to assess whether
the model will significantly assist your students to become successful critical
thinkers. My guess is you will quickly recognize that in large measure Bloom
correctly identified the structure of educational objectives and paved the way xi
for students to make significant progress toward the goal of thinking critically. PREFACE
For those who already are familiar with Bloom's model, this text should
prove to be a boon, for it takes seriously his stages of educational objectives
and weaves them into a pattern for teaching and learning critical thinking.
Intentionally adopting his educational philosophy, I have built this book on
the prior themes as it proceeds, while constantly harking back to prior skills.
Since learning occurs through reinforcement, students will better learn the
skills of critical thinking when provided the opportunity to use repeatedly the
same structures in approaching the material to be analyzed.
At the same time, however, I want to stress that no approach to critical
thinking should be lockstep. Like us, students function simultaneously in dif¬
ferent stages of critical thinking; and critical thinking tasks, which might be
relegated theoretically to different stages, are interdependent. Thus, any
approach to writing a text about and teaching critical thinking must be flexible
and developmental, adjusting to the needs of the context while at the same
time recognizing some larger, overarching structure.
CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

AND THE DISCIPLINES
Before we go further, a technical issue must be addressed. Some have sug¬

gested that critical thinking texts like this cannot be written because there are
no generic critical thinking skills. Such skills, it is argued, are discipline ori¬
ented, making it impossible to move among disciplines in such a discussion.
Thus, literature has its unique critical thinking skills, biology another set, his¬
tory another, and so on.
Now it must be admitted that this is true of certain discipline-oriented
skills. Literary criticism, for example, is discipline specific, as is historical criti¬
cism, though surely the methods of each spill over into other disciplines.
But the skills on which the book focuses cross disciplines. In every disci¬
pline readers must be able to recognize topics, issues, themes, theses, main
points, premises and conclusions. They must be able to recognize, develop,
and evaluate arguments. They must be aware of ambiguity and emotionally
laden language that attempts to persuade without reason. They must develop
strategies for solving problems. It is these common, basic skills to which we
will attend.
Others object that critical thinking skills cannot be taught by themselves. Since
skills come embedded in content, instructors must teach content to teach skills.
Again, to a certain extent this is true. If the goal is to teach students to
understand the thesis of an argument, the arguments analyzed will have con¬
tent. Similar things can be said about other skill activities like playing basket¬
ball or the piano; no one can develop the skills needed to be a good basketball
player or pianist without balls, courts, and nets or pianos and music. So we all
learn skills when we work with content. But we can concentrate on the skills
themselves as we approach content-laden material. Accordingly, the text will
focus only indirectly on the content of the paragraphs and arguments; content
xii will be of concern insofar as it enables students to develop the skills requisite
PREFACE for being good critical thinkers.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE TEXT
Chapter 1 focuses on two case studies that require the application of critical
thinking. Its purpose is to motivate students to begin thinking about their
assumptions and the need to question what they read, hear, and see.
Chapter 2 lays out the model of critical thinking used to shape this text. By
introducing the model early, the book allows students to see how the model
functions so that they can operate consciously within its structure.
Chapter 3 attempts to help students become better readers and listeners.
Students must be adept at finding the topic, issue, thesis, and main points
before they proceed to analyze or critique what they read and hear. Since
everything builds on this knowledge, the book emphasizes this basic skill
throughout. Several editorials are included to enable students to develop their
skills.
Chapters 4 and 5 address comprehension. They focus on language: its
value, structure, ambiguity, meaning, and emotive content, with the goal of
encouraging students to become aware of how language affects their compre¬
hension. These chapters introduce some basic distinctions that ultimately can
prove helpful for making evaluative judgments.
Chapters 6 and 7 consider analysis. Though different kinds of discourse
are discussed, emphasis is placed on arguments. The chapters explore what
arguments are, the role of premises and conclusions, different types of argu¬
ments, and argument recognition. They also instruct on how to diagram argu¬
ments, an important skill for discerning argument structure that presents a
significant challenge for many students.
Chapter 8 begins the creative synthesis that uses the skills discussed and
developed in the book. It emphasizes how to go about writing an essay: how
to identify, research, and develop the topic, issue, thesis, and main points. This
chapter can be integrated with the earlier chapters, for student writing should
be encouraged throughout a critical thinking course.
Chapter 9 addresses problem solving. It focuses on getting students to
brainstorm, to see a diversity of problems and relevant solutions, to think
about the process of evaluating these solutions, and then to take careful steps
to go about resolving the problems. It adapts the method developed by a pro¬
gram called Future Problem Solving, presently used competitively nation¬
wide. Teachers are encouraged to use group work with this chapter. Groups
will be directed through seven stages of problem solving and given several
scenarios as group problem-solving exercises.
Chapters 10 through 12 concentrate on evaluation. Since successful,
rational evaluation cannot occur until the topic, issue, and thesis are identified
and the main points developed and explored, these chapters build on the pre¬
vious ones. Chapter 10 explores methods of evaluating inductive arguments in
a way comprehensible to beginning students. Chapter 11 focuses on a limited
number of fallacies of content, since these generally are easy for beginning stu¬
dents to understand and master while capturing their interest.
Chapter 12 continues the evaluation process with a brief foray into formal xiii
reasoning. Its brevity reflects the view that formal reasoning is a complex, PREFACE
high-level critical thinking skill requiring considerable time, training, and
practice to bring students to the level where they can use it in everyday exam¬
ples. This presents a difficult task for students beginning in critical thinking.
Consequently, although this chapter introduces students to some basic reason¬
ing structures they frequently encounter, it is not a substitute for an extended
logic course.
TEACHING HINTS
This text grows out of my experience in teaching critical thinking to students

who perform below the median on standardized critical thinking and college
entrance tests. Hence, it is written intentionally for beginning students who
need work in developing reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. These
students can become excellent thinkers; they merely need careful guidance in
skill development and lots of practice.
I have attempted to avoid needless complexity and endless distinctions,
which—though used in higher critical thinking activities—often confuse
rather than help the beginning student. One can play with skills only after
they are mastered at the basic level. Constant repetition of basic skills will be
of more value than making finer discriminations within broad categories.
At the same time, some distinctions are necessary in order to categorize
what readers and hearers experience. Labeling items that are different helps
keep them distinct in the mind. So the matter of introducing distinctions
requires a fine line. Users of the text should feel free to dispense with those
distinctions that prove unhelpful or confusing to students. For example, the
text distinguishes between ambiguity of meaning and ambiguity of use. This
distinction assists students to discover why something is ambiguous and how
to correct it. At the same time, some beginning students have trouble simply
finding the ambiguity. In their case the distinction can be dispensed with until
they have developed facility in recognizing ambiguity. Similar things can be
said about the section addressing different types of emotive language, like
euphemism, innuendo, and hyperbole.
Here are some suggestions for using this text.
• Most of the examples and exercises in this text are not artificial construc¬
tions but come from the popular media—newspapers (articles, editorials,
letters, cartoons, advertisements) and magazines—that students are more
likely to encounter. In choosing examples, I generally tried to avoid those
that would date the text (for example, those that appeal to particular histor¬
ical events, political issues, and current office holders). I encourage you to
use this text hand in glove with your local and school newspaper, popular
magazines, and television programs. Find editorials, opinion pieces, letters,
advertisements, even cartoons and give them to your students to practice the
skills the book addresses. By choosing issues currently in the news and
culture, you can create interesting exercises relevant to current student
thinking and reading.
xiv • Integrate Chapter 8, which helps students write argumentative pieces, with
PREFACE
the other chapters. Students should do a lot of writing on various topics or
positions throughout the course. Make sure that students are asked to
defend positions in which they do not believe.
• Videotape television programs and commercials and analyze them with the
class. For example, videotape a 60 Minutes editorial or a 20/20 segment
and have students find the topic, issue, thesis, and main points. Hand out
sheets that ask them to record the claims being made, what claims are
disputable, and what evidence is being adduced on behalf of those
claims. Tape a commercial and have them find any arguments, fallacies,
use of emotional language, and the like. Tape a segment of a tabloid-type
news show like Hard Copy and analyze it for its thesis, the main points
used to develop the thesis, the video techniques used to convey points,
emotive language, and ways to decode the subtle messages. Such exer¬
cises will encourage your students to become active rather than passive
observers.
• Have students make a portfolio of examples from newspapers, magazines,
books, and so on that illustrate ambiguity, vagueness, hyperbole, stereo¬
typing, paragraph diagramming, or the various fallacies. The portfolio can
include examples students find in the written or audiovisual media. Stu¬
dents should be asked to give the example (the actual article or a copy of
it, or a transcription of it if the source is oral), indicate how it illustrates
the critical thinking concept, convince the reader why it illustrates the crit¬
ical thinking concept, and carefully document their source. Have students
periodically bring these examples to class and analyze them in small
groups.
• Assign a different student each day to bring in a cartoon or advertise¬
ment that illustrates a point made in the chapter being read. She or he
might bring it to you ahead of time so you can make an overhead of it.
Have the student present the cartoon and elicit the class's response to it.
This will have the benefits of getting students to look for examples of
things they read in the text and of encouraging them to appreciate the
complexity of humor or the nature of advertising. Alternatively, make
overheads of puzzles (for example, from the card game Mindtrap) and
have students solve them in class. In the last case, employ the tech¬
niques of problem solving developed in Chapter 9 to familiarize your
students with those techniques and to help them develop steps to solve
problems.
• Many students with weak critical thinking skills have a weak vocabulary
because either they rarely read or, when they do, they do not read mate¬
rials that challenge them with unfamiliar words. In writing this text I
struggled with the issue of introducing what students generally would
consider to be new words. I have chosen to use a limited number of such
words, since the purpose of this book is to encourage students to grow,
expand, and develop good learning habits. Have students keep a vocabu¬
lary journal, entering what they consider to be new words, defining them
in their own language (not that of the dictionary), and finding examples
from printed material or the media using these new words. This journal xv
could also contain words that the students discover in other courses, PREFACE
thus connecting vocabulary expansion in this course with others they are
taking.
• Most of the chapters have a Collaborative Learning Exercise for use in the
classroom. In addition, many of the exercises can be structured as collabo¬
rative learning experiences. Students can work together to compare their
work and both identify where they answered the exercises differently
from each other and try to resolve those differences in light of the text.
While the answers to the odd-numbered examples in the exercises are pro¬
vided at the end of each chapter, the even-numbered examples can be
used in a variety of collaborative learning approaches. The McGraw-Hill
philosophy website also offers a number of Critical Thinking Exercises
that accompany this text. To utilize these exercises, visit the site at
www.mhhe.com/socscience/philosophy.
• Since skills require repetition, repeat points made in previous chapters as
you go through the exercises. For example, it is important to continue to
ask for topic, issue, thesis and main points, even when the particular exer¬
cise does not call for identifying them. Or again, comment on how many
of the exercise examples start in one direction and then switch theses with
contrast words like "but" or "however." Repetition will reinforce impor¬
tant ideas and encourage students to perform basic understanding tasks
(like looking for logical or argument-type indicators), even when not
specifically directed to do so.
One last item. Our expectations as teachers in using this or any other criti¬
cal thinking text must not be overblown. The development of skills in any
area—athletics, music, driving, cooking—often involves a long process. Only
by comparing the beginner with someone who has worked on the skills for a
long time is the difference observable. In fact, this contrast exists between the
instructor and the student—and often the gap is large. It is easy for us as pro¬
fessional instructors to forget where we once were and hence where many of
our students are struggling in their educational pilgrimage. (To get that feeling
again, sit in on a course in an area in which you have done no previous work.)
Hence, it is important not only to let students in on the model used but also to
assure them about the long-term possibilities and advantages of beginning to
learn the requisite skills now.
Critical thinking is a skill. So although students will expect immediate
results, progress at times in critical thinking, as with other skills, will be gla¬
cial. Progress will also plateau periodically. Consequently, students sometimes
will be frustrated that they do not get the material or master the skills the first,
second, or tenth time. Encourage realistic expectations; help them to under¬
stand and accept that their progress at times might be slow and that often they
will not attain instantaneous insight into what they read and hear. And as
often as possible, try to remove yourself from your own skill level to see how
students who are struggling with these skills approach the project of learning
them. If they can experience even a little progress through the stages, they can
be encouraged to continue.
xvi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks are due to people who read part or all of this text and gave me sugges¬
tions. These include Vicky Nelson, Tom Morgan, Cass Dalglish, Karen Mateer,
Sharon and Rachel Reichenbach, and reviewers for McGraw-Hill: Dr. Jim
Fulcher, Lincoln College, Perkin, IL; Dr. Arnold Johanson, Moorhead State
University, Moorhead, MN; Dr. Robert Mellert, Brookdale Community Col¬
lege, Lincroft, NJ; Dr. Jill Dieterle, Eastern Michigan State University, Ypsilanti,
MI. Many ideas were sharpened in frequent discussions with Milo Shield. The
text was class-tested over three years in Critical Thinking classes at Augsburg
College and elsewhere; appreciation is extended to the students who made
helpful comments and suggestions regarding how the text could flow more
smoothly and clearly.
Bruce R. Reichenbach
Augsburg College
CHAPTER 1
Critical Thinking in Real Life
You are about to embark on an adventure in critical thinking. "What is criti¬

cal thinking?" you may be asking. "How will I be adventuring, and what good
will it do me?" You will journey into the lands of questioning, analyzing, and
evaluating what you read and hear. You will be challenged to be curious about
your world and freed to query. You will be encouraged not to take what you
experience, read, or hear at face value, but to look behind the obvious for pre¬
suppositions, evidence, and arguments. Your goal will be to strengthen your
ability to read more knowledgeably, understand more clearly, analyze more
carefully, and assess more accurately.
And what will you gain when the journey is complete? You will have the
opportunity to defend your own views and work at solving problems. You
will have acquired the knowledge and developed the skills necessary to better
engage in the lifelong task of thinking critically so that at the end you will be
in a better position to intelligently ask and answer why.
But before we turn to the theory guiding the text and to the details of criti¬
cal thinking, it is worth the effort initially to sample the joys of critical think¬
ing. We do this by looking at two articles that indirectly pose some intriguing
questions.
CASE STUDY 1
Take a few minutes to read the following newspaper article.
1
2
CHAPTER 1 1 killed when truck hauling cattle trailer crashes
Critical Thinking
in Real Life into car
Buzz Magnuson/Pioneer Press
A collision Monday evening between a car and a pickup truck pulling a cattle trailer on
Interstate 694 east of Silver Lake Road in New Brighton led to one fatality.
One person was killed Monday evening Witnesses, who included Dan John¬
when a pickup truck that was pulling a cat¬ son of New Brighton, Gordon Raup of
tle trailer slammed into the rear of a car Arden Hills and Melanie Neil of Fridley,
and burst into flames on Interstate 694 just said the accident was touched off by a
east of Silver Lake Road in New Brighton. car that stopped or stalled in the middle
The truck driver escaped through the lane. “She (the driver of the stopped car)
window of his truck and, with his hair didn’t have her lights on, or flashers or
smoldering, freed nine steers that were blinkers, nothing,” Neil said at the acci¬
in the trailer. The impact flattened the dent scene.
roof of the car and compressed it into a The car was struck from the rear by
mass that appeared to be about half the a small pickup truck, which in turn was
vehicle’s normal length. struck by the truck towing the cattle
The accident, which occurred about trailer. The small truck was pushed aside,
7:15 p.m., closed east bound lanes of the and the truck towing the cattle trailer
freeway for several hours. The identities plowed into the rear of a maroon car, and
of the victim—a man—and the truck shoved it against the median. The truck
driver were not available Monday night. went onto the roof of the car and burst
The truck was owned by a Monticello into flames. Several other cars collided
man. as vehicles veered around the accident,
the witnesses said. The stopped car spun while wreckers were brought to block 3
around and ended up facing west in the the freeway and corral the animals. CHAPTER 1
eastbound lane. Raup said it appeared Charles Gillespie, a salesman from Critical Thinking
that the driver was having a seizure Minar Ford just north of the freeway, in Real Life
when she was helped from her car. was one of several men who helped
After being released from the trailer, watch the steers and then herd them
the steers went into the ditch on the into another trailer.
south side of the interstate and grazed Wayne Wangstad, St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 22,1995
We may ask some questions about this article. In each case, jot down your
answers before you proceed to the next question.
1. What is this article about? (We call this the topic of the article.)_
2. Using the topic from #1, compose the main question that you think the
author tries to answer in this article. (We call this the issue that the author
raises. The issue should be in the form of a question.)_
3. What answer does the author give to this question? (We call this the thesis.
The thesis is the main or primary assertion that the author of the article
makes.)_
4. What claims does the author provide to support, defend, or develop this
assertion?_
5. Are the thesis and its supporting evidence credible or believable? Why do
you think the thesis is or is not believable?_
Let us return to these questions.
1. Perhaps you said that the topic of this newspaper article is "an automobile
crash," but this would not be entirely correct since trucks also were
involved. One might more accurately say the topic is "a vehicle crash" or
"a fatal vehicle crash."
2. The issue is a bit more difficult to discover, for the newspaper account wan¬
ders. The author does not seem to have one question that he wants to
address but includes various interesting tidbits about the crash. One student
4 suggested that the issue is whether the cows were saved. It is true that at
CHAPTER 1
the end the article emphasizes rescuing the cows, but it is unlikely that the
Critical Thinking article focuses on this. A better possibility is "What caused a fatal crash on
in Real Life Interstate 694?" Support for the view that this is the issue can be found in
the title, which often clarifies what an article is about.
3. The answer to the third question depends on what we take as the issue. If
the issue is as we noted, then the thesis might be that "A stopped,
unlighted car caused the fatal crash on Interstate 694."
4. Now for the evidence. The author presents a number of lines of evidence.
First, a photo of crushed vehicles accompanies the newspaper account.
Second, since the author did not witness the accident, he relies on wit¬
nesses (for example, Ms. Neil) to establish that the darkened car was
stopped before it was involved in a chain of crashes, first being hit by a
small truck and then by a truck pulling a cattle trailer.
Mr. Raup reported that the female driver of the car appeared to be
having a seizure when helped from her car. Does that help us understand
the cause of what happened? Maybe, but maybe not. Was she having a
seizure (how does a person look when she has a seizure)? Was the seizure
the precipitating cause of the crash—was her car stopped because she had
a seizure—or did the seizure result from the accident? Sometimes it is dif¬
ficult to tell whether something is a cause or an effect.
5. Finally, do you believe this newspaper report? Whatever answer you give,
it would be appropriate to ask why you do or do not believe it. Adopt the
stance of a critical thinker, evaluating the thesis and the evidence to see
whether you are justified in thinking that the thesis is true or not.
The first piece of evidence is the photo. Photographs are often very com¬
pelling pieces of evidence. They indirectly allow us to be at the scene, to wit¬
ness the event. We sometimes say, "Seeing is believing," and photographs help
us to see. The photo shows several mangled vehicles.
Two questions can be raised about the photo. First, was the photo taken of
this accident or was it a file photo? (A file photo is a photograph taken at a
previous time, stored in a file, to be used in a relevant situation. Sometimes the
newsmedia use file photos to accompany a story when, for example, the per¬
son photographed is not accessible or when the event itself cannot be pho¬
tographed.) Would this be an appropriate situation in which to use a file
photo? Why or why not? Second, was the photograph doctored? You might
recall O. J. Simpson's famous trial when key photographic evidence showing
the accused wearing a certain rare brand of shoe was disputed by the defense
on the alleged grounds that someone had doctored the photos. Probably you
assumed that the photo in the newspaper crash account was not doctored, but
though this seems to be a reasonable view, what evidence would you suggest
to support your assumption?
The second piece of evidence involves the witness reports. Witnesses play an
important role in building a case when we have not experienced something our¬
selves. Since we have extremely limited experiences, we rely on witnesses for our
information. Two of the alleged witnesses reported how the accident occurred.
How reliable were the witnesses here? Did they actually see the crash, or
did they arrive after the crash occurred? Do they have very good visual skills?
Who are the witnesses? Do either the reporter or you know them? Are they reli-
able; are they persons who tell the truth or do they like to create dramatic sto¬ 5
ries? Note that you probably made a lot of assumptions about these witnesses— CHAPTER 1
whether they saw the event, their reliability—when you read the report. Critical Thinking
Perhaps you believe the article because crashes are the sort of thing that in Real Life
regularly happen and you have no reason not to believe it. It is true that thou¬
sands of people die in vehicle crashes every year in the United States, so the
burden of proof probably lies on those who would want to deny the account.
It was also reported in an apparently credible, large-city newspaper. But
one has to be careful. Merely because an article was printed in a newspaper
does not establish that the event occurred, or that it occurred as reported.
Newspaper reporters are human and make mistakes, as do the newspapers for
which they write, though at the same time publication in leading newspapers
tends to lend credibility to the account.
The major point here is that in reading this report, we have made very
subtle judgments about the reliability of the photo, witnesses, reporter, and
newspaper. We have made assumptions that we have not questioned. The
assumptions might be correct; we may be justified in holding them. But we
need to think about those assumptions.
There is one disquieting fact about the report. Maybe you caught it. If not,
read the article again. Who was it that was killed? Note your answer._
The article is unclear and somewhat confusing. To see this, first ask your¬
self, "What was the gender of the person pulled from the wrecked car?" Two
witnesses, Ms. Neil and Mr. Raup, reported that she was a female. Yet in the
third paragraph the reporter tells us that the fatality was a male. It seems that
the article contains a discrepancy.
Before you read on, try to solve the discrepancy for yourself. First, decide
how you are going to resolve it. What steps will you take? For example, what
do you need to know to resolve the question?_
Now try to solve the puzzle.
We may be able to account for the apparent discrepancy, but it will take
some careful reading and some guesswork. Oftentimes we solve problems by
elimination: from what we know we eliminate possible answers. Let us adopt
this tactic. The fatality does not seem to be the cattle truck driver. It might be
the person driving the first small pickup truck to hit the stopped car, but
nothing is reported about that vehicle. Maybe the fatality was a passenger in
one of the vehicles or in the associated crashes. On closer reading, it appears
that there were two cars involved in the main reported accident: the car that
6 was hit because it stopped in the roadway, and a second, maroon car that was
CHAPTER 1 shoved against the median. But now we meet another unclarity. The article
Critical Thinking reports that the trailer-pulling truck landed on the roof of "the car," flattening
in Real Life it. But which car? The words the car are ambiguous, for they do not tell us
whether they refer to the woman's car or the maroon car. If it is the maroon car,
the fatality might be a person from the maroon car shoved into the median.
With this careful reading one might be able to suggest a resolution about
what seems to be a discrepancy in the deceased's gender. But the article is con¬
fusing, and no clear answer emerges. The point here is that the critical thinker
wants to read carefully, to be aware of possible difficulties, to explore reason¬
able explanations, and when appropriate to think about the credibility of the
witnesses. Probably you believe the account is true, though you might be
skeptical. Either way, you should reflect on why you believe as you do.
CASE STUDY 2
Here is a second article for you to read carefully.
60-Foot Alligators Sighted in Florida Swamp!
"The teeth on these 60-foot-long monsters look like

cavalry sabers."
Mike Bangor spent four grueling hours

paddling his battered airboat back to the
launch ramp after it collided with a never-
before-seen monster of the Florida Ever¬
glades—a 60-foot-long alligator!
“I could have avoided hitting it if I
had not been so stunned by its size,”
the 29-year-old bass fisherman
declared. “But I have never seen a gator Reptile Expert Dr. Sidney
anywhere near that big in my life. Broadowski says these giant
“When I saw it, I flat couldn’t move gators may be survivors from the
a muscle. All I could see were its fiery dinosaur era.
eyes and its incredible teeth—rows and vivors from the dinosaur era that only 7
rows of 'em. They looked like cavalry recently hatched from eggs laid millions
CHAPTER 1
sabers. of years ago. Critical Thinking
“The next thing I knew, 60-footers “The eggs could have survived if in Real Life
were popping up all around me. Any one they had been buried in mud by some
of 'em could have chewed me up and disaster that occurred after they were
swallowed me in one gulp. They’re as laid,” Dr. Broadowski explained. “For
long as tractor trailers and the Ever¬ some reason they worked their way to
glades are full of 'em. the surface where the Florida sun
“Thank God I was able to keep my hatched them out.
boat running long enough to put a couple “The gators have been feeding on
of miles between me and them.” fish and the deer that inhabit the Ever¬
Mike, who lives in Homestead, said glades. What we have to do now is take
he believes at least two dozen of the giant them captive so they can be fed and
gators inhabit the swamp area just west cared for properly.
of the Miccosukee Indian reservation. “If not, they most certainly will die.
“I wasn’t about to stop and make Then the world will have lost a priceless
a head count,” Mike said. “As far as I’m relic dating back before the dawn of
concerned, just one of those brutes man. We simply cannot allow that to
on the loose is too many. But I could happen.”
see there was a hell of a lot more than one.” Tanya Broder, "60-Foot Alligators Sighted in Florida Swamp,"
Miami reptile expert Dr. Sidney Weekly World News. August 24,1999. p. 9. Reproduced with
the permission of Weekly World. News, Inc.
Broadowski said the giants may be sur¬
Apply the same questions to this report that you used to think about the
newspaper report describing the vehicle crash. Write out your answers before
you proceed to the next question.
1. What is this article about? Give the topic._

2. Using the topic identified in #1, compose the question that you think the
author tries to answer in this article. That is, give the issue in the form of a
question._
3. What answer does the author give to this question? That is, give the thesis
by identifying the position the author takes on the issue._
4. What evidence does the author give to support this position?

8 5. Are the thesis and its supporting evidence credible or believable? Why do
CHAPTER 1
you take the position you do?_
Critical Thinking
in Real Life
An answer to #1 is that the article is about alligators.
2. The issue the author raises is, "Were 60-foot alligators sighted in the
Florida Everglades?"
3. The author's thesis is that 60-foot alligators were sighted in the Florida
Everglades.
4. The article provides several pieces of evidence to support the thesis. First,
the article presents a photograph of a 60-foot alligator with sharp teeth.
From the caption, "The teeth on these 60-foot-long monsters look like cav¬
alry sabers," it would appear that the author intends her readers to take
this photograph as evidence for her thesis. The article also contains photo¬
graphs of the observer of the reptiles and a reptile expert.
Second, the author quotes a witness who claims to have seen these
gigantic monsters. Mike Bangor, a bass fisherman from Homestead, Florida,
recounts his narrow escape after being surrounded by the alligators.
The third piece of evidence is provided by an alleged reptile expert,
Dr. Sidney Broadowski, who, although he did not see the alligators, com¬
ments on their origin and feeding habits.
5. The final question is whether the thesis and its supporting evidence are
credible or believable. Would anyone be justified in believing that
60-foot-long alligators inhabit the Everglades? A critical thinker must
now look at the thesis and its supporting evidence and evaluate this
information.
The first pieces of evidence we identified were the photos of the alligator
and the witnesses. As we noted in discussing the case of the vehicle crash,
generally we believe that photographs provide good evidence. In a way, they
make us observers of the scene. In fact, in the case of the truck-auto crash, you
probably accepted the authenticity of the photo without any question. Do you
also think that the photograph of the alligator is authentic and provides good
evidence that 60-foot-long alligators exist in the Florida Everglades? Why do
you answer as you do?
Although it appears to be an authentic photo of an alligator, is it of the
60-foot-long monsters reported? Someone may claim that it is a file photo¬
graph of a normal alligator; after all, it is difficult to determine size from the
photo. Or someone may argue that Mike Bangor did not have time to take nor
did he report taking a photo of the alligators that surrounded him. On such
grounds, we may question the source and authenticity of the photo. However,
the article does not claim that this is the only sighting of monster alligators;
maybe other persons have captured their existence on film.
What conclusion can we draw from the photographs of Mike Bangor and 9
Dr. Broadowski? Are these actual photos of these men? You may claim that CHAPTER 1
you have no way to tell. But the same could have been said had photos of Ms. Critical Thinking
Neil or Mr. Raup been published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. in Real Life
The second piece of evidence is an eyewitness account of the alligators. In
the case of the truck-auto crash, you probably accepted the accounts of the
three witnesses, even though you knew nothing about the people. Would you
also accept the testimony of Mr. Bangor in the alligator case? Note how the
author appeals to ordinary people just as the author of the crash account did.
If you believe the first witnesses, will you also believe the witness in the sec¬
ond case? Why or why not?
The writer also appeals to an authority. Dr. Broadowski, to bolster her
case. Sometimes titles help lend credence to what people say. At other
times we accept testimony from people who lack special credentials while
rejecting testimony from people who allegedly have special academic
degrees or credentials earned through their experience. What is the signifi¬
cance of credentials like doctor, and in what circumstances are these cre¬
dentials significant?
If you were a prosecuting attorney, you would want your special wit¬
nesses to be authorities with recognizable credentials. Supposedly, such per¬
sons would be in a better position to provide credible, knowledgeable testi¬
mony. At the same time, the defense is looking for credentialed authorities to
give a different and conflicting account. Authorities are aligned on both sides.
So although we often listen to people with credentials, it does not follow that
they are always to be believed. They too are fallible, have biases, and can be
questioned. Critical thinkers think about how to evaluate witnesses, their cre¬
dentials, and their testimonies.
How could you find out about the reliability of Dr. Broadowski? One
action you could take would be to check the telephone books in the Miami
area to see whether he is listed, and if so identify the organization he is
associated with or even attempt to talk to him personally. Failure to dis¬
cover his telephone listing may occasion some doubt in your mind about
the reliability of the account, although unlisted phone numbers are not
uncommon.
Perhaps you rejected the monster alligator account because of its source,
Weekly World News, which is what is termed a tabloid or sensational newspa¬
per. Critical thinkers evaluate sources to determine their reliability. What expe¬
rience have you had with the two sources. The St. Paul Pioneer Press and Weekly
World News, so that you are justified in believing the accounts of one and not
that of the other? Have you read both, one, or neither? If you haven't read
either of them, on what basis can you trust or distrust an account printed in
them?
You may suggest that our culture clearly distinguishes the two kinds of
papers so that one can immediately determine which is reliable and which not.
In American society this may be true, where it is easier to distinguish tabloid
newspapers from standard newspapers. But in many other countries the line
between them is not so clearly drawn.
10 You may say that tabloids are not reliable because their purpose is to
CHAPTER 1 entertain, whereas this is not the purpose of daily newspapers. But surely
Critical Thinking there are entertainment aspects in the daily newspaper.
in Real Life You may reply that although daily papers entertain, their primary func¬
tion is to present information. A look at other articles in the two newspapers
helps confirm this judgment. But interestingly enough, in the same issue of the
Weekly World News, the paper reports that "In the past 12 months. Weekly World
News staffers have traveled a distance equal to more than five trips to the
moon to report the hottest and most fascinating stories from the four corners
of the globe. . . . [They] rang up a budget-busting $1.4 million in long¬
distance phone calls."
You might say that tabloids present opinion but newspapers give the facts.
But what is fact and what is opinion? Can you clearly draw this distinction in
practice and claim that standard newspapers and magazines give facts and not
opinions? Don't the respective story writers present their opinions and those
of any witnesses cited?
Are there any other clues to the reliability of the article?_
Perhaps you noted that the report is posted from Corkscrew Swamp,
Florida. You could research whether there is such a place. The article says that
the alligators were sighted just west of the Miccosukee Indian reservation. You
could check to see whether such a group of Indians exist and whether they
have a reservation in Florida. In addition, you could explore whether it is rea¬
sonable to claim that dinosaur eggs could be preserved for millions of years in
a state that would allow them to hatch, or whether by now they would have
been fossilized. In short, although you yourself cannot check about the alliga¬
tors (and given their reported size, perhaps you would not want to do so), the
article makes other factual claims that provide opportunity for you to assess
the accuracy of the account.
These two articles help raise some interesting and important questions
about what we are justified in believing and why. Critical thinkers pay atten¬
tion to what they read and hear and continually ask themselves whether they
are justified in believing what they read and hear. They look for evidence to
support what is said and for presuppositions that they or the authors bring to
the material. Ultimately, they evaluate the evidence to see whether it is strong
enough to warrant belief.
The purpose of this text is to help you become a more critical thinker. It
will do this by helping you develop certain skills needed to think critically.
The text will be successful if you read it, re-read it, and do all the exercises. By
the time you are finished with the text, you will see the world and think about
what you read and hear in a very different way than when you began.
Discussion Questions
1. What makes someone an authority on a particular subject or area? In what

circumstances can the ordinary person's testimony be more readily
accepted than that of an authority?
2. Are authorities who have not witnessed the event more reliable than wit¬ 11
nesses to the event? When and when not? CHAPTER 1
Critical Thinking
3. a. Should you automatically discount writings about things that are
in Real Life
extraordinary? Why?
b. What would be the consequences for science or exploration if you dis¬
counted the unusual or extraordinary? (Imagine Columbus talking to
Queen Isabella about his discoveries in the New World or Galileo to the
Jesuit scholars about the phases of Venus that he saw through his tele¬
scope.)
c. What criteria could we use to decide which accounts about the extraor¬
dinary we can or ought to believe?
4. a. What is evidence?
b. What makes evidence "good" or "credible"? What questions could you
ask yourself to try to determine whether alleged evidence is reliable?
c. Are there times people should ignore evidence in order to come to a
conclusion or resolve an issue? Give an example.
5. We greatly rely on vision to determine what we believe. How often have

you said, "I'll believe it when I see it?"
a. Can we believe without seeing? To what sorts of things would this
apply, and how else might one establish the credibility of such belief?
b. Can we see without believing? Give an example.
c. What is the role of photographs as compared with text in providing
evidence for the truth of a claim? Which is more believable, when and
why?
Collaborative Learning Exercise
Each student will have a partner with whom probably correct and the other not. Note especially
to work. With your partner, before class, either the role of authorities and your own experience in
(1) find a newspaper article, report, or editorial making your decision.
about whose truth you have some doubt and a Take your most controversial example to
tabloid article that you think contains substantial another group and see whether you can convince
truth, or (2) find two articles or editorials in maga¬ the group members of your opinion regarding the
zines, newspapers, or books that take two differ¬ reliability of this article. What types of reasons did
ent positions on a topic. they find most persuasive?
In class, compare these two articles/editorials,
giving three reasons why you think the one is
CHAPTER 2
Six Steps of Critical Thinking
Consider the following cartoon.
CITIZEN DOC BY MARK O'HARE
Source: Citizen Dog © 1997 by Mark O'Hare. Reprinted with permission of Universal Press Syndicate. All rights
reserved.
What is the point of the cartoon?
The cartoon has something to do with the saying "Getting up on the wrong
side of the bed."
• What does that saying mean to you?_
What does the saying mean to the author of the cartoon?.

• How does an understanding of the saying help us to account for the man's 13
CHAPTER 2
smile in the last box?_
Six Steps
of Critical Thinking
• Why is the man sitting on the floor? Does the saying help explain why he
is sitting on the floor?_
The author of the cartoon plays with language to get us to think about our
ideas. Sometimes we are to take language literally (at face value)—the man
actually climbs over the bed to get out on the other side; sometimes we are to
interpret language nonliterally (for example, metaphorically). Humor often
depends upon the juxtaposition of different uses of language, as in this cartoon.
By playing with language the cartoon moves beyond a simple understanding
of the common folk expression to poke fun at our language and ideas.
Critical thinking begins first with knowledge and then with comprehen¬
sion. These activities provide the foundation for all creative and critical
thought. Yet knowledge and comprehension form only part of the critical
thinking task. Though this book will begin with studying ways to foster
attaining knowledge and comprehension, it will go beyond these skills to
assist you to develop the intellectual tools needed to evaluate properly the
information you receive. It will push you to ask why some statement or claim
purportedly is true and then help you learn how to assess the reasons given.
For example, is the expression "So and so are miserable because they got up
on the wrong side of the bed" true in that it helps us explain why some people
are grouchy on a particular day?
Since this book proposes to help you become a better critical thinker, you
need to know from the outset what we will be doing. Critical thinking involves
using a cluster or group of interconnected skills to analyze, creatively work
with, and evaluate what you read and hear so that you can decide whether or
not to believe something or to take a specific action. To become a critical
thinker, you need to be able to figure out whether the speaker's or author's
opinions are true or false; whether the author has adequately defended those
ideas; whether certain recommendations are practical or useful, or impractical
and dead ends; and whether particular solutions are likely candidates for solv¬
ing a problem. This book focuses on helping you develop these skills.
Collaborative Learning Exercise 1
Bring to class a cartoon that pokes fun at a saying ner and then explain to the class how the cartoon-
or expression or that trades on different meanings ist played with language to create the humor,
of words (contains a pun). Discuss with your part-
With your partner, create a cartoon that pokes fun class how you played with language to create the
at a saying or expression or that trades on different humor. Here is an example to get you started.
meanings of words (contains a pun). Explain to the Bite off more than one can chew
CRITICAL THINKING DISPOSITIONS
Critical thinking involves certain dispositions. A disposition is a tendency to

act or think in a certain way. For example, as an American driver I have a dis¬
position, or tendency, when I drive around a corner to head to the right side of
the road. When I drive in Australia, I must resist that disposition, or tendency;
otherwise, I will soon be in a crash.
Dispositions may be thought of as a kind of habit, and habits are very
important for success. They enable you to interact with your environment
without taking the time to think about how you are going to act. Consider
how many accidents you would get into if you had to decide consciously each
step to take to stop the car you are driving. Walking, typing, and playing a
sport or a musical instrument would be all but impossible if you had to pon¬
der each move or bit of fingering. Habits, or dispositions, are essential to func¬
tioning adequately and smoothly in life.
Likewise, forming good critical thinking habits, or dispositions, can help
you better cope with your world. They make you a more interesting person,
more fulfilled, with richer experiences that take you far beyond what is merely
present or apparent to you at any moment. Here is a partial list of dispositions
characteristic of many critical thinkers. Critical thinkers
• are curious about the world; they try to be well informed.

• are creative questioners.
• frequently ask why, seeking reasons to defend a position.
• use credible sources and mention or refer to them.
• take into account the total situation or context when they interpret
something.
• keep their thinking relevant to the main point and avoid going off on
tangents.
• look for alternative explanations, positions, or arguments. 15
• are open-minded and seriously consider points of view other than their own. CHAPTER 2
• take or change a position when the evidence, grounds, or reasons are suffi¬ Six Steps
cient to do so. of Critical Thinking
• withhold judgment when the evidence, grounds, or reasons are insufficient.

• seek as much precision as the subject permits.
• realize the limits of knowing, and hence look for probabilities rather than
proofs.
• realize the role of personal judgments and biases in the knowing process.
• deal in an orderly manner with the parts of a complex whole; they antici¬
pate the next step in the process.
• are sensitive to the feelings, levels of knowledge, and degree of sophistica¬
tion of others when presenting their findings.
• apply their critical thinking abilities to a wide variety of subjects.1
You need not memorize this list, but you might go through it and check off
those dispositions that characterize you. Most likely you do not have them all;
few people, if any, do. But you already have some of these traits, though prob¬
ably you never thought much about them. We might say that you have laid
the groundwork for being a very good critical thinker. This text aims at help¬
ing you to improve. To focus on improving your critical thinking, mark those
dispositions that you want to work on during this term. You can turn these
characteristics into habits by repeated practice.
CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
Critical thinking also resembles activities that develop and use skills. Playing a
sport or a musical instrument, operating a car or a printing machine, laying
bricks or cooking a gourmet meal use a variety of interconnected skills. To play
basketball well, you must learn to do more than move your arms to shoot the
ball. You must learn to dribble, pass, execute plays, rebound, recognize the
opponent's moves, and the like. The good basketball player draws on all these
skills to succeed in a game.
Skills build on each other. To play a Mozart concerto, a pianist must have
mastered many elementary skills: using proper fingering, recognizing chords,
pedaling properly. After mastery, the pianist no longer thinks about or focuses
on the basic skills but uses them automatically when playing.
This means that in all skill areas, a person begins by concentrating on and
practicing the basic skills. Admittedly, working on basic skills often is not very
interesting or exciting. Spending hours dribbling a basketball and shooting
can be boring. When I coach youth soccer, the players dislike the repetitive
drills; they want to go immediately to scrimmaging. Music students spend
hours practicing chords, scales, and runs on the piano or arpeggios on the vio¬
lin before they ever get to play Mozart. Yet this constant practice of basics
eventually pays off when the time comes to play the more difficult pieces.
Careful attention to repeating and mastering the basic skills is necessary
because success in carrying out the task depends on them.
16 Skills also are goal oriented. You learn skills not for their own sake but as
chapter 2 means to some end. You learn to catch and throw a baseball not simply to per-
Six Steps feet the task of getting the ball into the leather glove but so that you can play
of Critical Thinking baseball for your own enjoyment, to win games, or to develop baseball into a
passionate hobby or career.
Learning to think critically is similar to learning other skills. First, it
involves interconnected skills, about which this book talks. Here is a sample list
that might not be entirely clear now but that will become clearer as you move
through the book.
• Clarification abilities include the ability to discern the thesis and main
points of what you read or hear. You demonstrate your comprehension of
the material by your ability to express the material in your own words.
• Inference-related abilities: You make an inference when you believe that some
true statements provide reasons to think that other statements are true. For
example, from noting that Congress has not passed a balanced budget in
twenty years despite the apparent demand from the public to control
spending, you might infer or conclude that Congress lacks the will to pass
a balanced budget.
Consider the following cartoon.
THE BUCKETS BY SCOTT STANTIS
Source: THE BUCKETS. Reprinted with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
What evidence does Mrs. Buckets have for her claim that her family had eaten
previously at the restaurant?_
Note that to get this evidence, Mrs. Buckets has to make an inference from the
behavior of the man in charge of restaurant seating.
Working with inferences requires you to be able to
♦ identify and distinguish the evidence (premises) from the conclu¬

sion of the reasoning or argument (the point to be proven).
♦ draw correct conclusions from the information given. 17
♦ assess the truth of the evidence. chapter 2
♦ dig out the presuppositions of the argument. Six Steps

♦ consider the relevance of the information to the conclusion. °f Critical Thinking
♦ evaluate whether the evidence is strong enough to support the
conclusion.
Task
Apply each of these abilities to "The Buckets" cartoon to get a preliminary evaluation of how good Mrs.
Buckets's argument is.
You also employ strategies to deal with situations in which you find your¬
self so that you can make wise and carefully reasoned decisions. For example,
you develop strategies to cope with too much homework, to work with your
teammates to score a goal, to get children to obey you, or to find a job. Some of
these strategies succeed, others are inadequate to resolve your problem, and so
you revise them. The abilities used to employ strategies enable you to
♦ decide what is at issue or what is the problem.

♦ create various options to deal with the problem.
♦ know where and how to get information.
♦ identify the criteria for evaluating the options.
♦ determine how to test various options for dealing with the problem.
♦ assess or weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the options or pro¬
posed solutions.
Strategies can also be used to solve fun puzzles.2
Use some of the abilities just listed to reverse the direction that the fish is swim-
ming by moving only three sticks.
/ \ /
\ / \
Whether the problem is serious, like solving a social ill, or frivolous, like mov¬
ing sticks to form a fish, critical thinkers develop strategies that enable them to
address the problem in systematic yet creative ways. We will say more about
creative problem solving in Chapter 9.
Critical thinking skills are often interrelated, so that you develop not only
individual reasoning and problem-solving skills but groups of skills that work
together to accomplish the task of thinking critically about some problem,
issue, or claim.
18 Second, the skills involved in critical thinking build on each other. They are
CHAPTER 2 not learned in isolation, and their exercise requires each other. We will say
Six Steps more about this shortly.
of Critical Thinking Third, critical thinking skills are not learned for their own sake. They are
goal oriented: to enable you to become a better critical thinker in everyday life.
They are means to the ends of enabling you to decide for whom to vote, what
product to buy, what position to take on a moral issue, what is wrong with
your plumbing, which vacation package gives you the best deal, how to
request a pay raise, and so on. Ultimately, your success in what you attempt in
life will be measured by how well you are able to creatively synthesize ideas
and critically evaluate the claims presented to you.
How do you build skills? The answer is quite simple: practice. Practice is
necessary to become good at anything. This text will emphasize practice—lots
of it so that you can develop the skills needed to become a critical thinker.
Since the number of exercises a book can contain is greatly limited and the
issues that interest the public change, look for examples from the newspapers,
books, and magazines you read. In this way you can improve your critical
thinking skills by thinking about topics tailored to your current interests.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CRITICAL THINKING
We have spoken about critical thinking in terms of dispositions and skills. Can
we give a fuller characterization of it? Two experts in the field of critical think¬
ing define critical thinking as "reasoned and reflective thinking that is focused
upon deciding what to believe or do."3 Critical thinking involves the use of a
kind of thinking called reasoning, in which we construct and/or evaluate rea¬
sons to support beliefs. Critical thinking also involves reflection, especially
when we examine and evaluate the reasonableness of our own and others'
thoughts and ideas. Although as critical thinkers we reflect on others' ideas,
we properly employ critical thinking not so much to challenge or correct oth¬
ers as to benefit ourselves: to become self-reflective. Finally, critical thinking is
practical: we use it both to form our beliefs and to act on them. Our actions will
be more rational if they are based on beliefs we take to be justified (having
good supporting evidence).
Perhaps this definition sounds too academic. Let's put it another way.
Consider this newspaper advertisement.
Of all the people in the world, if you don't deserve one, who does? You, of all
people. You've probably been told that to own a fur is to be pampered and
self-indulgent. And so stoic little you have resisted. But your time has come.
Because if you're seeking lots of attention in this world, you have to love
yourself first. And show it. And what better way than in fur? This winter get
all wrapped up in yourself. In fur. You deserve it. You'll love yourself in fur.
Should you purchase a fur coat, as the advertiser suggests? The advertiser
gives you several reasons; can you list two of them?
1. ___
2. _
19
Now think about those reasons. Does the advertisement give good enough CHAPTER 2
reasons to warrant you laying out big bucks for a fur coat? Fur manufacturers Six Steps
tell you to purchase a fur coat on the grounds that supposedly it will do some¬ of Critical Thinking
thing for your image and you deserve a fur coat. But does fur contribute to
your image? Is it an appropriate symbol in an era when people champion ani¬
mal rights and question needless killing of animals? Is this a good (moral,
practical) way to draw attention to yourself?
Consider a second, political advertisement.
For treasurer, Bednarczyk. Why Bill Bednarczyk? The present City Treasurer is
76 years old—eleven years past retirement age for most workers. He is draw¬
ing a full pension from the Fire Retirement Fund in addition to his salary as
Treasurer—a combined income of over $30,000 per year. Whatever his past
accomplishments for the city, most people feel he should retire.
Should you follow the advice of this political brochure and vote for Bill Bed¬
narczyk for city treasurer? What reasons does the brochure provide for voting
for him?
1. _
2. _
You probably noted the appeal to the opposing candidate's age and income. Is
a candidate's age or the drawing of additional income from a retirement fund
a relevant consideration in making a choice about how to cast your vote for a
candidate?
Critical thinking, then, is the careful, deliberate determination of whether we
should accept, reject, or suspend judgment about the truth of a claim or a recommen¬
dation to act in a certain way. It involves being a reflective, persistent ques¬
tioner, wanting to know why you should believe or do something and care¬
fully investigating and evaluating the reasons given. Why should I take
biology when I am not sure of my major? Should I marry Steve? Should I
invest my money in junk bonds? Should Congress and the individual states
pass a balanced budget amendment? Should assisted suicide be legal, and if
so, under what circumstances and with what controls? Should women with
silicone breast implants be allowed to bring a class action suit against Dow
Chemical Company?
Critical thinkers are curious about their world; they do not accept things at
face value. They explore the reasons why things are as they are or why people
think that things are a particular way. Because they have reasoned and
reflected carefully, critical thinkers ultimately have better grounds than most
people for deciding what to believe and how to act reasonably.
In a sense, critical thinkers are skeptics. They analyze and criticize; they
constantly question why, looking for grounds and evidence behind claims that
are made. They tend to doubt, question, and suspend judgment, to postpone
affirming statements to be true or taking action. But critical thinkers need not
become complete skeptics, that is, people who cannot believe anything. They
need not wait indefinitely to make a decision until all the information is in, for
they realize that we never have all the information. Indubitable certainty is
20 unattainable. Knowledge is limited and often at best probable, yet we must
CHAPTER 2 have beliefs and take action. So critical thinkers creatively put what they have
Six Steps considered and analyzed back together so that they can act.
of Critical Thinking As you can see, critical thinking has a practical end—to act reasonably.
The goal of this text is practical. By the time you have completed it, you
should be better able to understand, analyze, solve problems, and evaluate
than you did before. Maybe not a lot better at first, but better. It is best at the
outset to be realistic about your and the teacher's expectations. The develop¬
ment and mastery of skills require a long and at times slow and painful
process. Michael Jordan and Isaac Stern did not master their respective trades
of playing basketball and the violin overnight. So you should not be discour¬
aged if your papers do not move immediately from average to excellent qual¬
ity after you have read and employed the insights of Chapter 8. Again, skill
development and mastery take time. Don't get discouraged; be encouraged that
with practice you will improve. Eventually, many of the skills considered here
will become second nature to you; you will use them without thinking about
them. Most important, by developing the skills emphasized in this text you
have laid the foundation for a lifetime of intellectual growth and enjoyment.
THE GUIDING MODEL FOR THE TEXT
Good critical thinking does not just happen; carefully considered theory lies
behind acquisition of these abilities. This text will follow and adapt the work of
Benjamin Bloom, who developed and persuasively argued for a six-stage struc¬
ture of educational objectives.4 This text will argue that critical thinking skills
can be grouped around six educational objectives and their assorted tasks.
1. Acquiring knowledge or information

2. Comprehending or understanding what you read and hear
3. Applying what you understand to given situations
4. Analyzing the information that you understand
5. Synthesizing and creatively using what you understand and have analyzed
6. Critically evaluating what you understand and have analyzed or created
These objectives can be divided into two sets of three. The first three objec¬
tives form the foundation for the second three: analyzing, synthesizing, and
critically evaluating. The second three involve doing something with the mate¬
rial you have understood.
We will discuss this model in terms of steps or stages involved in critical
thinking. Each of the first four steps presupposes and builds upon the previous
step. Steps 5 and 6 build on the first four. (Step 6 can also build on step 5 when
you evaluate what you created.) Thus, the steps are sequentially ordered. For
each step specific task words help you identify the level being addressed.
Though you need not memorize these words, the more you are familiar with
the words and the level at which they function, the clearer you will be about
what is expected of you on tests, assignments, papers, and task assignments.
For example, by identifying key task words, you can anticipate the type of
answer the instructor wants on a test question. If the instructor asks you to
compare and contrast, you know that the instructor wants more than a demon-
stration of knowledge and comprehension of different views; the instructor 21
wants you to analyze what you know and to interrelate it. We will italicize chapter 2
these task words to help you identify them in our discussion of the six steps. Six Steps
Step 1: Knowledge
The first step in learning is acquiring facts or discovering information, whether
specific data, methods, patterns, or ideas. When you first learn material, you
are asked to store it in your mind. Later, you may be asked to recall, repeat, or
reproduce that material—for example, on a test, in a discussion, in a job inter¬
view, or in a sales pitch to a prospective customer. Sometimes we forget critical
information, as the following cartoon illustrates. But when we do, it reduces
our effectiveness.
The Duplex by Glenn McCoy

CAM I see. i gvkss T>u CoUU> low
W LiceNSe WAN WHV I lew. I T?ll MS?
AHt> ffipof OP ?ULl£t>loU0W. 7MW0. 1 foRthT
\NSAARMOC
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Source: THE DUPLEX. © 1997 Glenn McCoy. Reprinted with permission of Universal Press Syndicate. All rights
reserved.
This first step, then, involves acquiring knowledge: knowledge of what is

said, written, heard, or seen. This kind of knowledge is foundational to every¬
thing we do; it forms the data base from which we operate. The bigger our
base of information, the better we can function in society and the more valu¬
able an employee or successful an employer we will be. It also is essential to
further learning, for learning occurs when we relate new material to what we
already know. To learn, we make connections between the old and the new so
that the new can be integrated into the familiar.
Throughout your education you have been asked to demonstrate this kind
of knowledge by performing a variety of tasks.
• On multiple choice or matching tests you have been asked to identify and
match persons with dates, places, or events.
• You have also been asked to list things: the battles of the American Civil
War, the presidents of the United States, the rivers of Asia, the parts of a
plant, the Top Ten songs of the year, the specials of the day or types of
wine served in the restaurant where you work.
• You have been asked to define terms (which you usually accomplish by
looking up the terms in a dictionary) and record them or to find things like
the topic, thesis, or supporting evidence in material you read, hear, or see.
22 • Perhaps you were asked to sort or rearrange events by the year in which
CHAPTER 2 they took place.
Six Steps • In a class you may have been asked to repeat a poem or a speech, like a
of Critical Thinking Shakespearean sonnet or Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
Adequately performing these tasks requires developing certain relevant

skills. In terms of critical thinking, this basic level of knowledge involves the
skill of being able to identify what is being said: the topic, the issue, the thesis,
and the main points. Accurate identification of what is said or written is funda¬
mental to everything else you are going to do with what is spoken, written, or
shown in the media. Accordingly, we begin our study of critical thinking in the
next chapter by focusing on the skills needed to obtain accurate knowledge of
what is being communicated.
Step 2: Comprehension
The kind of knowledge described in step 1 is not the same as comprehension. A
person might be able to list the first five rights in the Bill of Rights without
understanding what they mean. Similarly, a person might be able to repeat Lin¬
coln's Gettysburg Address without comprehending what Lincoln was convey¬
ing in that important speech. Or a person might list the U.S. presidents without
understanding anything about the executive branch of our government.
So what is comprehension? Comprehension means understanding the
material read, heard, or seen. In comprehension you make the new information
your own by relating it to what you already know. There are degrees of com¬
prehension. The better you can relate the information to your other knowledge
and see its meaning, the better you comprehend it.
The primary test of comprehension is being able to put what you have
read or heard into your own words. By substituting your own language, struc¬
ture of ideas, or arrangement of evidence for that given by the author or
speaker, you gain control over the information. This is one reason why many
teachers discourage you from giving many quotations in what you write.
Being able to quote leaves you at the level of knowledge (in that you can rec¬
ognize what was valuable or important in what you read), but quoting does
not show that you comprehend what you read. The information remains in the
language and thought patterns of the author or speaker.
As I walk by the exercise room in the college gym, I see students with
books in hand, trying to mark them with a highlighter as they walk on tread¬
mills or climb the stairmaster. I admire their diligence but wonder about what
they retain and comprehend. What is wrong with simply underlining or
using a highlighter? There are three strikes against relying solely on this
method. First, students have a tendency to highlight most of the text, thus
saving little time during review. Second, this method does not identify levels
of importance. Some of what you read is more germane to the thesis; other
material relates to the subtheses rather than the main thesis; some is simply
expository or provides examples, while other material is extraneous or con¬
tains asides. Simply using a highlighter does not indicate these differences
unless you go to great lengths to color code. Third, and most important,
merely marking the material does not force you to put it in your own words.
Comprehension requires you to make the material your own. If you merely 23
mark or underline the text, the words remain the author's; you have not CHAPTER 2
processed what the author has written. Only when you translate the thesis Six Steps
and main points into your own words, either in the margin or in a separate of Critical Thinking
notebook, does the material become yours. And when it becomes yours, you
retain it longer.
We associate many tasks with comprehension. Key words help you iden¬
tify this stage of critical thinking.
• You may be asked to discuss, express, or explain what you have read, heard,
or seen. This task requires you to use your own language to communicate
what you know.
• Someone may ask you to restate, rearrange, summarize or interpret the
material.
• You may be requested to infer or draw a conclusion from what you have
read, seen or heard.
In each case, you are asked to go beyond mere reiteration of what was stated
to interpret the material and give it your own meaning. Note that none of this is
possible without your having a basic knowledge of the material. If you cannot
find the topic, issue, or thesis of the author, if you cannot identify the basic facts,
or if you confuse the main point the author makes with the evidence given to
support that point, you will not be able to accurately interpret or comprehend
what was communicated. Thus, knowledge rightly precedes comprehension.
Step 3: Application
You know that you know something when you are able to do something with
it—for example, to apply it to an actual situation. Several years ago I installed
a new garage door opener. The forty-page manual was very detailed, and I
carefully followed all the instructions—sometimes wondering whether I
understood them correctly. How, then, was I to know whether I really under¬
stood the manual? The answer is simple: did the garage door go up when I
pushed the button? If it did, I understood the manual; if it did not, I needed to
reread and reapply what was written.
Application of the material involves a number of tasks.
• Apply what you have learned to an actual situation.

• Illustrate or give an example of what was said.
• Prepare a dish to show you understood the recipe.
• Predict what will happen when the teacher mixes these two beakers of
chemicals.
• Demonstrate that the thesis is true, or develop a scenario that shows how
what you have read will work out.
• Dramatize the moral that you just discussed.
What ties these tasks together is that first, each requires you to know what
you have read, heard, or seen, and requires you to comprehend it. Second, each
requires you to carry out some task to apply what you comprehend to an actual
situation. This is the level at which your employers initially will evaluate
24 your performance. They will assess whether you can accurately carry out their
CHAPTER 2 instructions and perform the prescribed occupational tasks. If you cannot, no
Six Steps matter how much you protest that you understand your responsibilities, they
of Critical Thinking will not continue to employ you.
Throughout, this book asks you to use the skill of application. Hence, no
special chapter will be devoted to it. The text asks you to read and compre¬
hend what is written and then presents you with exercises that give you the
opportunity to demonstrate your comprehension. Successful completion of the
exercises, preferably without paging back to the section of the text you already
read dealing with that topic, shows that you know and comprehend what you
have read; failure to correctly complete the exercises often means that you
need to go back and reread the text to acquire the comprehension necessary to
successfully answer the exercises.
My students sometimes comment that it is unfair to expect them to do the
exercises before I discuss or explain in class the material they are to read. But
consider. The purpose of the exercises is to let you know for yourself whether
you understood what you read. Hence, you should complete the exercises to
the best of your ability before you get to class, so that you can spend the class
time asking questions about and discussing what you did not understand (as
revealed by your not being able to answer specific exercises). Indeed, in the
world outside of school, your employers do not explain everything you are to
do. Often they give you a project and then ask you to apply what you under¬
stand by carrying out tasks not demonstrated for you ahead of time. So that
you may check your work, the odd numbered exercise examples are answered
at the end of each chapter.
These first three ability levels—knowledge, comprehension, application—
prepare critical thinkers for the three higher stages. They are prerequisites to
being able to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate what you read or hear.
Step 4: Analysis
Analysis involves breaking what you read or hear into its component parts in
order to make clear how the ideas are ordered, related, or connected to other
ideas. By seeing the organization and structure of the communication, you can
discern the relationships between the ideas and perhaps the basis for the posi¬
tions taken.
Bloom notes that analysis deals both with form and with content. Analysis
of the form concerns the structure of what you read or hear.
• Critical thinkers look for organizational patterns or principles in what others

present to them.
• They observe the relationships between the ideas, noting their temporal rela¬
tion and their logical order.
• They are able to break down the material into its components.
Just as, if not more, important is the analysis of the content of the commu¬
nication. Critical thinkers develop the ability to
• order the material, to distinguish dominant from subordinate ideas or themes.

• distinguish statements of evidence from hypotheses.
• see what assumptions or presuppositions the author makes.
• find evidence of the author's purposes. 25
• note how one idea relates to another. CHAPTER 2
• categorize information received. Six Steps
• set up comparisons among things. of Critical Thinking
Since analysis can involve identifying the evidence for a thesis, it often
will involve working with arguments. Hence, critical thinkers
• accurately distinguish conclusions from the evidence that supports them.

• see how the premises connect and are relevant to the conclusion.
Developing your analytical skills allows you to assess the strength of argu¬
ments better than you were previously able.
Step 5: Synthesis
Synthesis involves the ability of putting together the parts you analyzed with
other information to create something original. You reach out for data or ideas
derived from a variety of sources to produce an object, paper, solution, pat¬
tern, or organization not evident in the beginning. Your creativity plays a key
role as you reconfigure the information and ideas.
Perhaps at some stage of your life you enjoyed working with Legos. Con¬
structing the object pictured on the box would be an example of step 3, appli¬
cation: taking the pieces and connecting them according to the instructions on
the box show you understand and can follow instructions. But at some point
you probably tired of building and rebuilding the same pictured object and
began to combine Legos from several boxes to make novel objects. At that
point you moved beyond application to the creativity of synthesis.
Similarly, at some point in your education you probably were asked to
write a paper telling what so-and-so said about some subject. You were asked
to apply your understanding of what you read. But perhaps your teacher went
beyond this to ask you to stake out your own position. Your challenge was to
integrate material from various sources to create or defend your view. At this
point you went beyond application to synthesis.
Synthesis task words clearly invoke creativity.
• Compose an essay that ties the ideas of several short stories together.
• Invent or imagine something new.
• Revise or transform something; modify a current plan to take account of
other requirements (redesign a kitchen).
• Show how you might solve the problem a different way than you or some¬
one else did.
Each of these activities involves the skill of synthesis applied to some area of
communication or learning. In particular, this book applies the relevant skills
of synthesis to help you write argumentative essays defending some point of
view and solve problems.
It is easy to see how synthesis involves the preceding four steps. To create,
you must know and comprehend what you work with, and you must be well
aware of the elements or parts that you synthesize—how they relate to each
other and how they function.
26 Step 6: Evaluation
CHAPTER 2
The final stage of critical thinking is evaluation. Once we have understood and
Six Steps
analyzed what is said or written and the reasons offered to support it, we can
proceed more effectively to evaluate the strength of the position. Many terms
indicate the evaluative task. Appraise, assess, evaluate, judge, weigh, rate, and
grade are just some of these terms. Each asks you to evaluate the information
presented so that you can decide whether you ought to give assent or with¬
hold belief, or whether you ought to take or refrain from taking action.
Critical thinkers especially look at connections between the evidence and
the conclusion the evidence allegedly supports. They ask, How strong is the
evidence? If the evidence is true, is it strong enough to warrant my belief? Is
there contrary evidence that is either presented or suppressed? What are the
presuppositions? Are the presuppositions defensible, or are they hidden
because they are indefensible?
Critical thinkers often delay judgment until they have time to evaluate the
reasons given by the author for his or her claim. However, judgment is not
always postponed until enough evidence is present. Sometimes the matter is
important enough to require action apart from sufficient evidence. If someone
yells for you to leave the building because a fire is burning in the basement,
carefully investigating the evidence might cost you your life. But critical
thinkers do not make it a general practice to act or believe without first consid¬
ering the relevant evidence.
It is important not to put evaluation ahead of the other critical thinking
steps and, in particular, not to put it first. Sometimes we tend to respond to
what we hear or read by first making an evaluative judgment, even before we
have attended to the reasons given to support the view. This response is called
"a rush to judgment." Instead of identifying and analyzing the reasons, we note
whether the view agrees or disagrees with what we already believe. If it agrees,
the view is true, right, or beautiful; if not, it is false, wrong, or ugly. Sometimes
our response invokes affective behaviors; the view is true, right, or beautiful if
we like or enjoy the ideas; it is false, wrong, or ugly if we dislike them. Because
we have not looked at the reasoning, we have no idea how the person actually
argued for his or her thesis and little awareness of other reasons that might be
presented to support the view. Our evaluation consists of saying, "I feel
that ..." Feelings substitute for reasons when evaluation precedes analysis.
Critical thinking does not dispense with feelings, but neither does it make
judgments solely or primarily upon such. Reliance upon the emotive or affec¬
tive aspect of our lives must be coupled with careful, rational evaluation of the
evidence or reasons that might be presented for the positions considered.
Exercise 1
For each of the following test questions, use our six-step model of critical think¬
ing to determine at what stage of critical thinking the question asks you to per¬
form. Some questions have several parts and use different critical thinking skills.
1. What is one example of a symbol in Hemingway's Hills Like White

Elephants?
2. The federal government recently started requiring that all colleges and 27
universities report key information like graduation rates. This is an exam¬ CHAPTER 2
ple of (a) a problem, (b) an opportunity, (c) a directive, (d) all of the above, Six Steps
(e) none of the above. of Critical Thinking
3. Based on our discussion of those factors that inhibit prosocial behavior,

explain what we as individuals might do to increase appropriate helping
behavior.
4. Define and place in context two of the following: Donatism, penance,

Luther's view of baptism.
5. Modify the computer program so that it prints the sequence of numbers

backwards rather than forwards.
6. Why do you think Mrs. May, in Flannery O'Connor's Greenleaf, wants to

kill the Greenleaf's bull?
7. Explain in your own words the two competing theories in urban sociol¬
ogy: "metropolitan division of labor/urban ecology" and the "new inter¬
national division of labor/political economy."
8. Sell me a can of any spray deodorant using "Monroe's motivated

sequence." (Label the five steps involved in correct order; then briefly
illustrate each.)
9. In a carefully reasoned essay, describe and explain the underlying and

immediate causes of the I and II Punic Wars, as described in the readings
and class lecture.
10. Considering what we have studied about scientific thought and the possi¬
ble flaws in nonscientific thinking, describe how some therapists and
clients may come to believe in repressed memories that are not in fact true. .
11. The author of the text observes that "millions of Americans voted with
their cars between 1950 and 1990, moving from the urban core to the sub¬
urbs." Discuss how this has affected the racial, ethnic, and social class
housing patterns typical of most U.S. cities and your own neighborhood.
12. Comedy and tragedy are often treated as generic opposites. What are com¬
edy and tragedy? Show how Shakespeare combined elements of both in
his plays.
13. Define "micro" and "macro" analysis. Then explain why both types of
analysis are necessary for an adequate understanding of the present condi¬
tion and future possibilities for your neighborhood.
14. The Legal Aid Society has filed a class-action lawsuit stating that it is
unconstitutional to limit the benefits allowed to newcomers to the level of
benefits they would have received in the state from which they are moving.
Which vestige of the Elizabethan Poor Laws and Settlement Act of 1662 is
this lawsuit attempting to override?
28 15. Most people listen with an efficiency rate of about 70 percent. True or false?
CHAPTER 2
Six Steps
16. Explain Weber's concept of ideal type and bureaucracy.

17. Compare the arguments that Fried and Sade give to show that we do or
do not have a right to adequate health care. Be sure to show why they dif¬
fer on this issue.
18. Devise a reasonable synthesis for 3-chlorobutylbenzene from benzene.
There will be more than one right answer.
19. How does the Muslim understanding of the Quran differ from the Christ¬
ian understanding of the Bible as an inspired text?
20. List five different things the Windows 95 operating system allows you to do.
21. Describe an ethical dilemma you have faced, a. Why is this an ethical
dilemma? b. Which values or duties or whose interests are in conflict?
c. Construct the arguments that a teleologist or utilitarian might use to
evaluate this situation, d. How would you resolve this dilemma using
Gewirth's Principles Hierarchy?
22. What two factors or variables are the basis of understanding environmen¬
tal uncertainty? Briefly explain.
23. Suppose you are a leader of a group that is making an important and urgent
decision. To avoid a groupthink bias, which of the following instructions to
the group might be best? a. Stick together to find the best decision, b. Be as
objective as possible, c. Consider the opposite point of view, d. Each of the
above would be equally effective.
24. a. What is a teleological (utilitarian) ethical theory? What is a deontologi-

cal ethical theory? b. How are these two theories similar and different?
c. Using the case study that follows, show how Mill and Kant, as represen¬
tatives of the respective theories, would go about resolving the moral
dilemma. (Make sure you show what the dilemma is and how they would
go about resolving it.) d. Develop one major criticism of each theory.
25. Design two good organizational questions that demonstrate what you
have learned so far but have not been asked in other questions in this test.
Bring to class two assignments or test instructions thinking you are asked to demonstrate in the
from other classes you are taking or have taken. assignments. Then discuss how understanding the
With your partner, analyze the words used in the critical thinking skill you are asked to demon¬
questions or instructions found in the assignment. strate might help you better answer the question
Use these words to identify the levels of critical or carry out the assignment.
LOOKING AHEAD 29
CHAPTER 2
The remainder of this book focuses on these six task-oriented skills. Six Steps
• Attaining knowledge
• Comprehending what is said or written
• Applying what is comprehended to some situation
• Analyzing the ideas and the reasons behind them
• Creatively synthesizing ideas
• Evaluating the ideas or claims made
With the exception of application, which is incorporated throughout in the
form of exercises, this book develops the six steps sequentially. Chapter 3 deals
with skills related to attaining knowledge. Chapters 4 and 5 address comprehen¬
sion by attending specifically to skills needed to work effectively with language.
Chapters 6 and 7 emphasize analysis by concentrating on the skills of recogniz¬
ing and constructing explanations and arguments. Chapter 8 addresses synthe¬
sis by helping you construct an argumentative paper in favor of some thesis,
while Chapter 9 works with your skills in creative problem solving. Chapters
10-12 focus on skills needed to evaluate the truth of claim or arguments.
Whether and to what extent you develop these skills will depend on how
much you practice using them. The more you work with this six-step structure
in all your reading and listening, the more you will become comfortable with
critical thinking. If you are careful in the earlier stages, your syntheses and eval¬
uations will be more fruitful and much better. You will be more creative because
you more clearly understand what you are working with. Your evaluations will
go beyond, "I feel that . . you will be able to give good reasons why a
claim is worthy or unworthy of belief or action.
So much for the introduction of our theoretical model. Now it is time to
get to work on developing the skills themselves.
You are already an expert in some area that inter¬ that person in your own words; then have
ests you. That is, there is something that you can that person tell you in his or her own words
do so well so that you can evaluate whether some¬ these ten basic items.
one else's performance is good, accurate, or cor¬ 4. Discuss some way you can determine
rectly done. Your task is to find a partner who whether your partner understands this basic
knows nothing about this area and to teach that information.
person some relevant basic information or ele¬ 5. Have your partner compare the skills needed
mentary skills. In doing so you will bring that per¬ to succeed in your area with those needed to
son through the six stages of critical thinking. succeed in the area of her or his expertise.
Here is a procedure to follow. 6. Work with your partner to sketch out a cre¬
ative project using the information and skills
1. Identify an area about which you have an inter¬ pertinent to your area. What might this proj¬
est and feel somewhat qualified to make evalu¬ ect look like, and how would you both go
ative judgments about another's performance. about carrying it out?
2. List ten basic items of knowledge that some¬ 7. Develop with your partner a list of criteria
one needs to know in order to perform well you would use to evaluate whether someone
in the area you identified. had performed well in the area on which you
3. Find a partner who does not know much chose to work.
about this area and explain these ten items to
30 Notes
CHAPTER 2
1 Adapted from Stephen P. Norris and Robert H. Ennis, Evaluating Critical Thinking
Six Steps
(Pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Publications, 1989), 12.
2 SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM: 1. The problem is how to accomplish the goal in
only three moves. 2. One might construct various ways to move the sticks. The
solution involves raising the fish's body line. 3. One tests the options by seeing
whether the picture of the reversed fish is created in only three moves.
/ \ / \
/ \ / / \ /
\ / \ /
3 Norris and Ennis, 3.

4 Benjamin Bloom et al. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (New York: Longmans,
Green and Co., 1956).
ANSWERS TO THE EXERCISES
Exercise 1.
1. Knowledge—a what question

3. Comprehension—explain
5. Application or Synthesis—modify
7. Comprehension—explain
9. Comprehension—describe and explain
11. Comprehension and Synthesis
13. Knowledge and Comprehension
15. Knowledge
17. Analysis—compare
19. Analysis—compare
21. Comprehension (a & b); analysis; synthesis
23. Knowledge or comprehension
25. Synthesis—design
CHAPTER 3
Knowledge
Acquiring Information
H^ave you ever left a lecture or talk, looked at your friend and said, "What
did that speaker say?" Perhaps your friend replied, "I don't know. I didn't
understand a thing." It is possible that the speaker did not really say much
and that the talk was a waste of time. Successful communication requires that
the speaker say something to listeners in a comprehensible way. But maybe
you found the talk difficult to follow for other reasons. Maybe you were puz¬
zled because you did not know what topic the speaker addressed. The topic
was strange, foreign, or something you never "got into." Or perhaps you got
the topic but had no idea of what the speaker was saying about that topic. You
could not repeat or apply what the speaker said. Neither could you critique it.
If so, you realized that you knew little more coming out of the talk than when
you entered. Probably from your perspective, attending the lecture was a
waste of time.
Without knowledge of what the speaker said, you cannot critically think
about what you heard. The same applies to your reading. Knowledge under¬
lies all critical thinking. Critical thinking without knowledge is like a carpenter
without any wood: you have nothing with which to work. To acquire knowl¬
edge of what is communicated, you must identify the topic the writer or
speaker is discussing, what the writer or speaker takes to be the issue or prob¬
lem with respect to that topic, what position the author or speaker takes on the
issue, and finally, where appropriate, the main points the author or speaker
Watch with your class a videotape of a television to develop or defend the thesis. Evaluate how suc¬
editorial, a short talk given on campus, or some cessfully the speaker communicated and note the
commercial lecture. With a partner decide the reasons why the speaker was or was not a suc¬
speaker's topic, thesis, and the main points given cessful communicator.
32 uses to support or develop the position he or she takes on the issue. Helping
CHAPTER 3 you recognize these four elements is this chapter's task.
Knowledge
THE TOPIC
We begin with the topic, which is what a sentence, paragraph, series of para¬
graphs, chapter, book, video, or speech is primarily about. In effect, it is the
main or central subject of the communication. The topic might be a thing,
event, person, or idea. Generally it is expressed by a word or two or three, at
most a phrase. You should not express it by a complete sentence, because by
then you are moving on to state some claim or thesis about the topic.
One way of thinking about the topic is that the topic provides the category
under which you or the writer would classify the paragraph or group of para¬
graphs. Think about how you research using the subject index of the library
computer. The computer asks you to type in a word or two that will identify
what you want to find information about. These words constitute the topic of
your research.
Consider the following example from the beginning of an editorial.
There are as many reasons to support the proposed balanced-budget amend¬

ment to the Constitution as there are families in the United States. The Ameri¬
can family will benefit the most if Congress passes the amendment and it is
ratified by the states. (John Kasich, "Do We Need a Balanced Budget Amend¬
ment?" Denver Post, February 9,1997)
What is this paragraph's topic? That is, what is the paragraph about?_
The topic here is easy to find, for it is mentioned in both sentences; it is "the
balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution."
Consider a second example, a letter to the editor.
In recent blizzards in Minnesota and the Dakotas, stranded motorists were

rescued through acts of providence and/or by heroes only after being lost
for frightening and threatening periods of time. Cellular phones and head¬
lights were undependable as means of locating them. A suggestion: Add
some Roman candles or a modern version of a Very pistol (used to fire
multi-colored flares high into the air at sea) to the usual "survival supplies."
The pistol has demonstrated its effectiveness in locating lost, inoperative
ships and/or survivors. Directions with the car kit could specify that
stranded motorists fire the Roman candles or the Very pistol every hour on
the hour until they were located. (John R. Thurston, letter, St. Paul Pioneer
Press, February 5,1997)
What is the topic of this letter?__

One possibility is "winter survival supplies." Another view is that the
topic is "Roman candles and the Very pistol." For some the first is too broad,
for others the second is too narrow a topic. In any case, note that people might
legitimately differ about their understanding of the topic.
Sometimes topics are more difficult to find, as in this third example. 33
CHAPTER 3
After winning his 400 semifinal last Monday, Michael Johnson threw his shoes
Knowledge
into the stands, then belatedly and sheepishly realized that the shoes had
spikes. Johnson's only real competition in the 400, world-record holder Butch
Reynolds, pulled a hamstring in his semifinal, so the thrill of the final lay in
the widening distance between Johnson and his rivals—it was like watching
Secretariat in the Belmont. Unpressed, he won his 55th straight 400 in 43.39,
an Olympic record just 0.2 sec. off Reynolds' world record. "I'll get that record
eventually," said Johnson. . . . (Steve Wulf, "Double Fast," Time, August 12,
1996, p.46)
What did you take to be this paragraph's topic?_
Perhaps you suggested that the topic of this report from the 1996 Summer
Olympic Games is a person, Michael Johnson. The paragraph is about him. At the
same time you could also say that it is about an Olympic race or world records.
Sometimes the topic is not mentioned directly. Consider this fourth example.
The ocean stubbornly held on to its mysteries for most of last week. It was
especially uncooperative on Thursday for the men and women investigating
the crash of TWA Flight 800. Rain and strong winds disrupted and eventually
interrupted search operations. But on Friday there was a breakthrough. Deep
Drone 7200, a remotely operated robot outfitted with cameras that can explore
ocean depths without divers, located part of the cockpit, "The nerve center of
the aircraft," as Robert Francis, vice chairman of the National Transportation
Safety Board described it. . . . (Christopher John Farley, "If It Was a Bomb,
Then Whodunit?" Time, August 12,1996, p. 26)
What do you think is the topic?_

Its topic is an event, namely, the search for the wreckage of TWA Flight 800.
Though the search is not mentioned directly, this is what the paragraph is about.
To find the topic, ask yourself, "What is the author or speaker talking
about?" Here are two clues.
• Sometimes communication comes with titles.
Titles often give the topic of the piece. This is particularly true of newspaper
and magazine articles or editorials.
Banned Freon Now Favorite of Smugglers

Freon, the now-banned refrigerant used in car air conditioners, has emerged
as the No. 2 smuggling problem, behind drugs, for U.S. customs agents along
the Mexican border. "If you look at contraband crossing the U.S.-Mexican bor¬
der, we're looking at cocaine, marijuana, heroin, prescription drugs, and then
Freon," agent Steve Hooper said. Scientists believe Freon, used in the air con¬
ditioners of most automobiles built before 1993, is eating away Earth's ozone
layer. The black market for the gas has flourished since Jan. 1, when it became
illegal to manufacture or import it in the United States. U.S. motorists can still
buy Freon made before 1996 or recycled Freon, but a dwindling supply and
excise taxes have sent the price soaring. (Charlotte Observer, August 13, 1996)
Here the topic is ____

34 Another way to find the topic in a paragraph is to
CHAPTER 3 • Locate the grammatical subject of either the first or last sentence in the
Knowledge
paragraph.
This strategy works provided these sentences contain the main thesis of the
piece you are reading. (We will say more about the thesis shortly.) This
approach provides no sure cure to the problem of identifying the topic, but it
sometimes provides a start. The previous example about the Olympics, in
which Michael Johnson is the subject of the topic or lead sentence (the first sen¬
tence in the paragraph), illustrates this approach.
To reiterate, different people may identify different topics for a paragraph,
article, chapter, or speech. You will discover this if you do Exercise 1 with a
group. Identification of different topics does not necessarily mean that some¬
one who disagrees is wrong; it shows that people can categorize or organize
material differently. What is important is that the topic you identify he contained in
the issue and thesis (about which we will speak shortly).
To summarize, the first thing to discover in written or oral communication
is its topic. The topic is what the communication is about, the subject or cate¬
gory under which you would place it.
Exercise 1
Give the topic for each of the following paragraphs. [In this and the other exer¬
cises in this chapter you might legitimately differ from others. However, since
not every answer proposed is equally satisfactory, be prepared to tell why you
differ.]
1. A charter school is a semi-public school funded by both state and educa¬
tional funds and private grants and contributions. Charter schools are free
to create their own curricular guidelines and school policies which may
differ from those set by the local school district. (School brochure)
2. Dr. Kevorkian has become a caricature of his own cause. He stokes the
fires of debate, generating heat but not light. (Akron Beacon Journal, August
21, 1996)
3. They guzzle water and nutrients while hastening wind erosion. But scien¬
tists at the Central Great Plains Research Station in Akron, Colo., found
that planting winter wheat where sunflowers had just bloomed can reap
12 bushel more per acre. Still, the best sunflower is a dead sunflower: The
stalks keep moisture and nutrients in the soil. (Charles Fenyvesi, "They're
Not All that Bad," U.S. News and World Report, January 27,1997)
4. You're born, you go to school, then one day things begin to get interesting.
NAVY: let the journey begin. (Advertisement)
5. It's no surprise that only the smartest, most aggressive Sport Utility Vehi¬
cles are able to climb their way to the top of the automotive food chain.
What's also no surprise, is that's where you find the new Toyota 4Runner.
To begin with, its more powerful 183-horsepower V6 engine declares this
is an off-road vehicle with some teeth to it. Yet no matter how far into
the wilderness these horses carry you, you're never far from civilization.
The new 4Runner has a more spacious interior. Leather-trimmed seats. 35
(Advertisement) CHAPTER 3
Knowledge
6. The Chinese Government is not creating unemployment in America; it is
the multinational corporations that are responsible for cutting jobs and
exporting them to China. When labor costs rise in China, these corpora¬
tions will maximize profits by moving their manufacturing operations
again to another country with even cheaper labor. (David Chiang, letter,
Time, August 12,1996, p. 8)
7. I wish to object to the manner in which the name of SGS Societe Generate
de Surveillance was mentioned in "The Last Mystery of World War II,"
leading your readers to suspect that SGS would retain assets of Holocaust
victims. The accounts mentioned in your article do not relate to hidden
Holocaust cash but to funds mostly arising from business transactions
which were kept by SGS during the war. These funds were returned to
their beneficial owners as far as we can ascertain from files still available
from that time. Indeed, these names were disclosed on a confidential basis
to U.S. authorities by the company itself in order to help them trace Nazi
assets in Switzerland in the context of "Operation Safehaven." The
OSS report dated July 1945 describes our company as being "very cooper¬
ative" in this context. The company at the time was run by my grand¬
father, Jacques Salmanowitz. Born in Latvia from a Jewish family, he gave
immense and continuous support and help to friends and business
acquaintances whose lives and assets were threatened by the Nazis in
occupied Europe. SGS therefore cannot be associated with the accusations
mentioned. (Elisabeth Salina Amorini, letter, U.S. News & World Report,
August 5,1996, p. 11) Reprinted by permission.
8. Judge Lawrence E. Kahn ruled that New York State can order auto manu¬
facturers to sell thousands of electrically powered vehicles in the state
beginning this fall [1997], But the real question is whether he can order
customers to buy the cars. I am old enough to recall the Ward Baking
Company electric vehicles delivering their products to grocers in the
1930's. It had nothing to do with environmentalism; it was simply more
economical for a truck that did short-haul, stop-and-go driving to be pow¬
ered by electricity. The effort should be made to electrify this class of
trucks. They contribute a disproportionate amount of pollution with their
mode of operation. Why California and New York try to promote the elec¬
tric vehicle for use by the average motorist defies all reason. (Morton
Sobell, letter. New York Times, August 10,1997).
9. Kids tend to fall into two groups: those who follow and those who rebel.
By rebel logic, when everyone else is using drugs and alcohol, the only
choice is to reject that form of indulgence. Meet the Straight Edgers, a her¬
metic movement of mostly white, male, suburban teenagers who swear to
forgo drugs, drink, and tobacco. Some are vegetarians. Some even practice
celibacy. Like many of their less disciplined brethren, they favor tattoos,
baggy pants, and body piercing. But the conformity stops there. . . . Dis¬
gusted by wasted friends, more and more kids are embracing the
36 movement. They get their buzz from their all-important music and from
CHAPTER 3
Straight Edge "beer"—Snapple. . . . (Excerpted from Brendan I. Koerner,
Knowledge "Walking on the Strait Edge/' U.S. News & World Report, February 10,
1997, p. 16. Copyright. 1997. U.S. News & World Report. Visit us at our
website at www.usnews.com for additional information.)
10. To appreciate how relatively well the immigration service's criminal

deportation program is working now is to appreciate how poorly it func¬
tioned before. In 1986 the agency was deporting 1,000 criminal aliens a
year. This year the number could be 50 times that. . . . The easiest place
to find criminal aliens is behind bars, and the most expedient way to
deport them is to bring them before an immigration judge so they can be
released from prison directly onto a plane or bus. (Deborah Sontag, "U.S.
Deports Felons but Can't Keep Them Out," New York Times, August 11,
1997, p. A8)
11. Sure, there's the U.S. Open. But the USTA Tennis Teacher's Conference is
where tennis professionals and enthusiasts meet to stay on top of their
game. There is no better place to make connections, trade tips and keep up
with cutting edge technology. And if you sign up by August 2nd, you have
an option to buy U.S. Open tickets. So don't miss out—you only get one
shot each year! (Advertisement)
12. For the first time there is a consensus of the world's scientists that the earth
is warming and this is caused by human activity. This warming will con¬
tinue at an accelerated pace in the 21st century and lead to substantial inter¬
ference with the earth's climate system. A major reduction in carbon-based
energy consumption, in excess of 50 percent, is needed to prevent this, as
well as to allow ecosystems to naturally adapt to the climate changes and to
protect world food production. These are the conclusions of over 1,500 of
the top scientists published in the 1996 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) report. (The North Star Journal, June/July 1997)
13. There are encouraging signs that soaring rates of juvenile crime may be
tapering off. Still "the number of teenagers in the United States [is
expected to] increase by about one percent a year for the next 15 years.
This means that even if the juvenile crime rate held steady, the total num¬
ber of crimes committed by young people would rise." That makes it
imperative to pursue more aggressive efforts to divert juveniles from a life
of crime. (Fox Butterfield, "After Decade, Juvenile Crime Begins to Drop,"
New York Times, August 9,1996, pp. Al, A25)
14. Porsche works hard to build the world's finest sports cars, and they want
people to keep them that way. So, every new Porsche now comes filled
with 12 quarts of Mobil 1. Porsche believes that no other oil performs bet¬
ter. They use it for developing new engines, too, and in all of their racing
cars. They also work with Mobil people . . . Mobil's name now appears
in a place of honor—on a plaque in Porsche engine compartments. It rec¬
ommends that you keep using Mobil 1 for as long as your Porsche exists.
(Advertisement)
15. Violent behavior has multiple—and interlocking—causes, of course. They 37
include poverty, hopelessness, abuse, poor parenting, illegal drugs, mental CHAPTER 3
illness, alcohol, racism, distorted values, gangs, the absence of fathers and Knowledge
the influence of violence in movies and TV. Of these, the easiest and quickest
to change may be television and movies. (Joan Beck, "A Call to Tone Down
Violence," Chicago Tribune, August 8,1996)
16. Yes, Major League Baseball is boring. . . . Two simple changes will return
action to major-league ball: (1) Move the pitcher's mound back 5 to 10 feet,
and (2) soften the baseball. Moving the mound means pitchers will have a
better position from which to play defense and pick off runners but will
have to work harder for strikes. Each pitch will take longer to get to the
catcher, encouraging the runners to take off. Every strike thrown will cross
the plate at a reduced speed, giving the batter more time to adjust his
swing, resulting in more hits. However, the softer ball will fly on a shorter
trajectory, falling sooner into the infield or outfield, resulting in more
defense. Net result: more action, restored balance between pitching and
hitting—and I won't fall asleep face down in my peanuts and Cracker
Jack. (Bill Sharp, letter, U.S. News & World Report, January 27, 1997, p. 7.)
17. I agree that umpires in both leagues need to apply the entire strike zone to
the game. In addition, allowing for a Bob Gibson-style brushback would
sure bring back pitching power. Let's not get into sudden death, clocks,
and all those things that would turn the sport into football or basketball. If
you want baseball excitement, spend your time teaching your kids the
nuances of the game and why it is important that it change little. Let base¬
ball remain consistent. It is meant to be this way, a modern-day religion
without a single God and no pretension of salvation for any of us. (Philip
Guercio, letter, U.S. News & World Report, January 27,1997, p. 7.)
18. When your dog bites someone, common sense tells you that there's a prob¬
lem to deal with. But if it bites again and again, common sense says the dog
is not working out and must be euthanized, rather than putting the problem
onto someone else's lap.
I work with animal control, but in reality the pet owner is supposed to
control the dog. Yet, I have witnessed pet owners throw themselves on the
mercy of judges, city attorneys and police departments, begging them to
spare the dog, which they'll send to live "in the country." . . .
Dog bites contribute to higher medical and homeowners' insurance,
loss of limb and/or life, and in children, on whom most bites are afflicted,
medical visits, nightmares and fear of dogs. . . . The basic responsibility is
up to the pet owner. All it takes is common sense. (Diane Ganzer, letter, St.
Paul Pioneer Press, August 13,1996)
19. Watching the Olympics, it was disconcerting to realize that the body I had
slouched across the couch contained the same basic parts as those of the
adolescent waifs hurtling through their gymnastic routines. I couldn't even
enjoy my ice cream until the coverage moved on to sumo wrestling. Then I
mused about there being no fat-lady venue in the village.
38 Even in obesity, the scales are weighted in favor of the men. Nobody
CHAPTER 3
would watch, or even tolerate, fat folds on the fairer sex. . . . From 20
Knowledge years of working with them, the clinical psychologist is convinced that
young women are products of a look-obsessed, media-saturated, girl¬
poisoning culture. (Rosemary Falls, "Look-Obsession Hurts Our Girls,"
Waco Tribune Herald, August 11,1996)
20. Kenya's Lake Nakuru used to turn pink every year, not from toxic chemi¬
cals or rogue algae but from a dazzling carpet of flamingos—up to 2 mil¬
lion of them, settling into the lake's shallow waters to feed on its rich sup¬
ply of small aquatic plants, mollusks and crustaceans. The dramatic
spectacle, and the abundance of rhinos, leopards and other animals
around the lake, prompted the Kenya government in 1968 to make Lake
Nakuru a national park. Tourists followed, as many as 200,000 a year,
boosting the nearby town of Nakuru's economy and its pride in the lake's
flamingo show.
Yet today. Lake Nakuru is mostly brown, the color the cracked mud
left behind by its slowly receding waters. Desultory groups of flamingos
break the monotony, but the mass migration has receded too. . . . Yet
despite the concerted efforts of an imposing international coalition, no one
knows for sure why the lake is drying up, why the flamingos are leav¬
ing—or what to do about it . . .
Explanatory theories—from global warming to flamingo fickleness—
abound. But the prime suspect in the avian drama is Nakuru's booming
growth. . . . Yet growth has brought troubling environmental side effects.
The town's already inadequate water supply is pumped mainly from
underground boreholes, which could be taxing groundwater supplies to
the lake. . . . (Excerpted from Tim Zimmermann, "The Mystery of Lake
Nakuru," U.S. News & World Report, August 5, 1996, pp. 46-7. Copyright,
1996, U.S. News & World Report. Visit us at our website at www.usnews.
com for additional information.)
THE ISSUE
Once you have found the topic, the next step is to identify the issue the author
or speaker raises. The issue is the main or primary question the author asks
and then goes on to answer. The question should contain the topic, preferably
(but not always) as the subject of the question.
Return to the first example under "The Topic" (on page 32). The topic is
the balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. The issue the author
raises is presented in the first sentence, where he promises reasons for his view
that Congress should pass the balanced budget amendment to the Constitu¬
tion. If we turn this statement into a question, we get the issue "Should the bal¬
anced budget amendment to the Constitution be passed?" The issue is not,
"Will the American family benefit if the amendment passes?" That the family
will benefit is given as a reason for adopting the amendment and is what we
later term a main point.
In the second example (page 32) under "The Topic/7 which dealt with win¬ 39
ter survival, the first sentence sets the stage for the author's suggestion in the CHAPTER 3
third sentence. If you turn this suggestion (which is his thesis) into a question, Knowledge
you get the issue: "Should Roman candles and the Very pistol be part of a
vehicle's winter survival supplies?" Note that the topic, winter survival sup¬
plies, is part of the question the letter writer raises and answers. The issue con¬
tains the topic.
The topic in the third example (page 33) was Michael Johnson. What
issue is raised?_
It is harder to get an issue out of this paragraph, for the paragraph lacks a
unifying or topic sentence. Neither the opening nor the closing sentence in the
paragraph provides the issue. The question the author seems to be raising is,
"Did Michael Johnson win the Olympic 400 meters impressively?" The first
sentence is tangential to his winning, while the last sentence quotes Johnson's
affirmation that he will break the world record. In this case you have to see
toward what point the middle part of the paragraph is directed.
The topic of the fourth example on page 33 was the search operations
for the wreckage of TWA Flight 800. What issue is raised?_
The issue can be derived from the first or topic sentence. Turn this into a
question: "Were the search operations for the wreckage of TWA Flight 800
successful?"
The topic the fifth example on page 33 is Freon, and the issue is_
To find the issue in this paragraph, turn the title into a question: "Why is
Freon being smuggled into the United States" or "Why are smugglers turning
to Freon?" Often by manipulating the title in this way, you can formulate the
issue the author raises.
Questions can be posed either directly or indirectly. To formulate the issue
directly, you can use words like do, can, how, should, or why. You can also intro¬
duce the issue as an indirect question by using the word "whether," for exam¬
ple, "Whether Michael Johnson won the Olympic 400 meters impressively" or
"Whether the search operations for Flight 800 were successful." The important
thing is that you correctly identify the issue. The issue
• must contain the topic.

• should be the main question that the author is trying to answer, the ques¬
tion that gives rise to what is written or said. Put another way, it should
capture why the person is writing or speaking on the topic.
• should be a question that can be given an answer, though not necessarily a
simple one.
• should be a question that can be answered in at least two different ways in
cases where the question occurs in the context of an argument. Otherwise
40 there is little sense in writing or talking about it. Simply put, the issue
CHAPTER 3 should be disputable.
Knowledge
Issues are the hardest element to find because often they are not stated
explicitly. You might first have to find the main conclusion and then turn it
into a direct or indirect question in order to find the issue. That is, sometimes
it is easier to find the thesis (the main point the author is making) and then
turn the thesis into the issue. At other times the issue is easier to identify than
the thesis, especially when the author directly introduces the question he or
she addresses. In either case, the main conclusion of the piece is the thesis (about
which we will talk in a moment), and this thesis or conclusion is the answer to the
question—the issue—the author or speaker poses.
Often by reading the first and last lines of a paragraph, or by reading the
first and last paragraphs of a longer piece, or by reading the title if there is one,
you can get an idea of what issue the author raises. But this is not always true;
there is no easy formula that governs how people write. The author might
start out with an interesting sidelight or an attention getter. But by reading the
beginning and the end, you at least have a fair shot at finding the issue.
One key for finding the issue is to look for the word should. If you find a
statement containing the word should, you can latch on to it as a candidate for
an issue because to say that something should be done is to answer the ques¬
tion, Should something be done? More than likely the author is taking a stand
in response to the should-question. Should indicates an obligation, and obliga¬
tions are often debatable. Since issues should be interesting and debatable,
allowing for different sides that might generate important points worthy of
discussion, should is an almost perfect identifier of an issue.
One final point. A good test for checking if you have correctly identified
the issue is whether you can find the answer to your question in the text you
are reading. If you cannot, use the topic to pose another issue and see whether
the author answers this question in the text. If the author does not directly answer
the question you have chosen as the issue, more than likely you have not correctly
identified the author's issue.
Exercise 2
Read the paragraphs in Exercise 1 and give the issue raised in each.
Exercise 3
Give the topic and issue of each of the following paragraphs.
1. Love began with motherhood. For mammalian young to survive, mothers

must invest considerable time and energy in them. Of course, the varying
growth rates of mammalian species require some mothers to invest more
time and energy than others. An elephant seal suckles her pup for only a
few weeks before abandoning it; other species, including elephants, some
primates, and especially people, lavish attention on their young for years.
(Shannon Brownlee, "Can't Do without Love," U.S. News & World Report,
February 17,1997, p. 58)
2. Buying a satellite dish to see the football you want can leave you just as
flat. With PRIMESTAR, you can get all the football you want without tak-
ing a hit for a ton of money. Because we don't make you buy the dish. 41
You'll see over 100 NFL games and more college football than you ever CHAPTER 3
dreamed. And since we've added more of the sports channels you want, Knowledge
you'll have more sports action than ever. But here's the best part. All the
sports channels are grouped together. So you can watch as many games as
you want, and you'll always know where they are. In fact, we've grouped
all 160 of our channels. Making Primestar as easy to watch as it is to get. No
wonder we're the best value in satellite TV. Call Primestar. (Advertisement)
3. I live in a senior high-rise where roughly a third of the tenants are emigres
from Russia. For the most part, we welcome these new arrivals. But there
is a growing resentment about the largess that our government bestows on
these people. Unlike our ancestors—who come here not expecting any
benefits or help and who either took any kind of work available until they
were on their feet or settled outside the cities to grub the land until they
could afford to buy their own,—this country has seen fit to heap benefits
immediately. Can you imagine the frustration some of us, who live on a
rigidly fixed Social Security check, feel when we see newcomers flock to
this country and receive immediate unrestricted benefits ... I can barely
hear my neighbors speak to me, but I cannot afford a twin hearing-aid set,
as the audiologist says I need, or purchase a new pair of eyeglasses, all
because my total income is $635 a month, which makes me ineligible for
medical assistance or any other kind of help. It is humiliating to watch
people who have never paid a dime in taxes line up to collect SSI benefits,
food stamps, free medical help, glasses, etc. Whatever happened to the
sponsors of these people who promised to keep them off the welfare rolls
for five years? It's not fair. (Mary Rogers, letter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Janu¬
ary 25,1997)
4. A primary reason why women fare so poorly in old age is because the pen¬
sion system, which rewards employment longevity and consistency, was
not designed with women's employment patterns in mind. Women spend
fewer years in the job market and less time at each job than men do. Not to
mention that they earn less while they are working and tend to cluster in
the kinds of employment—low-wage, part-time, and service-oriented—
with the fewest pension options. . . . (Celia Moore, "Pensions Made
Woman-Friendly," Ms., July/August, 1997, p. 34)
5. With all the talk about the Consumer Price Index (CPI) overstating infla¬
tion, and proposals to revise it to reduce governmental expenditures,
nobody points out the obvious: Inflation does not raise all prices equally.
The cost of living does not go up much for some people, but it goes up
more than the CPI indicates for other people, especially for aged retirees
who spend much more for medical expenses than the average person.
And as everyone knows, medical prices have risen far faster than the CPI
and will likely do so again. For us aged retirees, the CPI should be
increased so we can keep up to our rising cost of living. That means that
the Social Security cost of living increase should be bigger each year than
the present CPI indicates. (Plarlan Smith, economics professor emeritus,
University of Minnesota, letter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, January 25,1997.)
42 6. AT&T is not in league with porn providers. Nor does AT&T do business
CHAPTER 3
with information providers of adult content when it is not required to do so.
Knowledge A decade ago, AT&T adopted stringent guidelines for domestic calling that
establish standards for responsible use of premium-billed 900 pay-per-call
service. We did this voluntarily and were the first carrier to set such guide¬
lines. We specifically refuse to provide 900 premium billing for any pay-per-
call providers whose program contains explicit sexual content. (Robert
Aquilina, vice president, production management, AT&T, Bedminster, NJ,
letter, U.S. News & World Report, March 3,1997, p. 6)
7. Analysis of whale harvesting records suggests that there was a large and
rapid decrease in Antarctic summertime sea-ice between the 1950s and
1970s. Such a change in sea-ice extent would have global significance,
because ice cover of the polar oceans is an important component of the
Earth's climate system. It exerts strong controls on the exchanges of
energy between atmosphere and oceans at high latitudes. Sea ice has a
higher albedo than the open ocean and thus modifies the energy balance
of polar regions. It also acts as an insulating blanket, reducing the transfer
of heat from the underlying oceans to the cold polar atmosphere. These
processes introduce a positive feedback into the climate system, making
the climate naturally variable in polar regions and, potentially, making
them particularly sensitive to changes in forcing such as those caused by
increasing anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. . . . (Eugene
Murphy and John King, "Icy Message from the Antarctic," Nature, Sep¬
tember 4,1997, p. 20)
8. Apart from one or two lamentable lapses, the Clinton Administration has
been a more responsible steward of the American landscape than its Repub¬
lican predecessors. It has resisted Congressional efforts to enrich local and
commercial interests at the expense of America's national resources, and has
embarked on ambitious efforts, as in the Everglades, to correct misguided
policies of the past. Yet each day brings another test, and in some instances
the Administration can be found wanting.
That is certainly the case with its decision ... to approve exploratory
oil drilling on Federal land in the red-rock country of Utah,
where . . . President Clinton established a national monument to protect
up to 1.7 million acres from development. . . . Environmentalists believe
that if the well yields substantial amounts of oil, more wells are sure to fol¬
low, destroying the wilderness values that Mr. Clinton vowed to protect.
(Excerpted from "A Monument, or an Oilfield," New York Times, September
18,1997, p. A34)
9. In species where the only thing that a male contributes to his offspring is
his sperm, he is usually . . . more or less indiscriminate in his courting.
But a male stickleback invests more than just sperm in his progeny. He has
to build the nest in the first place, defend the eggs from predators, and
keep them oxygenated by fanning them with fresh water. He therefore has
something to lose if he spends his time looking after suboptimal eggs. He
also has something to trade, which should allow him to be choosy about
which females he allows to lay their eggs in his nest. And the more desir-
able (and therefore the more courted) a male is himself, the choosier he 43
can afford to be. CHAPTER 3
Sarah Kraak ... set out to prove this point experimentally. First, she Knowledge
showed that having extra eggs in a nest does indeed reduce hatching suc¬
cess. This means that a male has a real interest in limiting the size of his
clutch (which is normally contributed to by several females). She also
showed that the size of a female correlates with the weight of her eggs, and
that heavier eggs produce more successful fry. So, if males are being choosy
at all, they should probably choose large females. . . . ("Birds Do It, Bees
Do It," The Economist, August 30,1997, pp. 59-60)
10. Recapture the glorious days of "Camelot" with America's most beloved
first lady. The Jackie Doll. Young and beautiful, she was the closest thing
America ever had to a Queen. Yet her intelligence and vitality represented
every American woman. And her style and elegance inspired women the
world over. Now the Franklin Mint proudly joins forces with Jackie's own
designer, world-renowned Oleg Cassini, to present the Jackie Doll. Crafted
in poseable, lifelike vinyl. Dressed in the shimmering white double satin
gown she wore on her historic state visit. Completely accessorized with
famous faux pearl necklace, matching stole, gloves, shoes and clutch—all
authenticated by Cassini in every detail. Individually hand-numbered.
Just $90. (Advertisement)
11. Regarding Nicholas Lemann's suggestion that teaching eight one-

semester college courses per year would be "hardly oppressive" for
"Fantasy College" professors: Lemann is living in his own fantasy
world. ... If our hypothetical superprofessor teaches four three-credit
courses per semester, that's 12 contact hours per week. Doesn't sound
bad, right? What Lemann and many other critics of higher education
seem to overlook is the time required to adequately prepare for this
"light" teaching load. If a conservative figure of three hours' prepara¬
tion time per hour of classroom teaching is used, superprofessor is now
devoting 48 hours per week to teaching. Of course, since the professor is
teaching at a college that doesn't believe in research, he won't have any
graduate students to help with the time-consuming tasks of composing
and grading exams. Time for meeting with students? If he teaches four
courses per semester, he'll have more students lined up outside his
office than he knows how to handle. Throw in the requisite committee
responsibilities, and it's easy to see that superprof is going to be putting
in 60-plus hours per week. Of course, if Lemann has any interest in
research or writing, he graciously allows that these tasks can be per¬
formed on his own time. (Robert D. Garrison, letter, U.S. News & World
Report, January 27,1997, p. 7)
12. According to a report by the Human Rights Watch arms project, American
land mines were picked up in the field or stolen from stockpiles and used
against our troops in Korea and Vietnam. . . . They also killed American
soldiers returning through their own minefields. Therefore, the report
says, we should reduce the risk to our forces. The history is accurate, but
the conclusion is nonsense.
44 Mines used in Korea and Vietnam were laid by hand. They were
CHAPTER 3
armed by removing a pin and could be disarmed by replacing the pin.
Knowledge Most of today's United States mines are dropped by aircraft or otherwise
remotely delivered; they are sealed and cannot be disarmed once laid.
Enemy troops foolish enough to try to pick up an active mine for re-use
will be killed. Moreover, to let our soldiers move back through the areas
we have mined, our mines self-destruct at a preset time after being laid.
Thus the mines don't injure or kill civilians after the battle.
Yes, our mines could be stolen, as could any other weapon. Rifles, for
example, are easier to steal and to use than remotely delivered mines. Pre¬
sumably we will next be told that our troops will be safer if we take away
their rifles. (Enid McKitrick, letter. New York Times, August 5, 1997, p. A18.
Reprinted by permission.)
13. The Supreme Court's refusal to recognize physician-assisted suicide as a

constitutional right for all Americans obviously is a crucial decision that
will affect thousands of people in this country. But the court's decision
must be viewed separately from an equally important question: What will
we as a society demand as a standard for good care at the end of life?
Properly given, such care might substantially reduce the number of
patients considering physician-assisted suicide.
The overwhelming evidence from the largest clinical study ever con¬
ducted with dying people shows that Americans too often face death in
pain and attached to machines. That study, published in the Journal of the
American Medical Association in 1995, was a wake-up call to many who
are concerned about improving care at the end of life. This goal is attain¬
able and should be a much higher priority for medical schools, hospitals,
insurance companies, the clergy and other groups. And if these profes¬
sionals are to help us, as a society and as individuals, we must overcome
our fears about discussing death.
I helped care for my father and grandfather, who, like many people,
died from prolonged illnesses. My experiences taught me that the
unpleasant prospect of our deaths does not preclude meaningful experi¬
ences at the end of our lives. Although some people may be sad and phys¬
ically compromised during their last months and years, these days also
can be an opportunity to appreciate life's last chapter and to reach out
again to loved ones.
We must focus not on whether we have the right to ask a doctor to end
our lives prematurely, but on the changes that need to take place to ensure
that systems exist to help us die with dignity. (Rosalynn Carter, "All of Us
Must Face Hard Facts of Death," Atlanta Constitution, July 2,1997)
14. Our military has one central responsibility, and it performs that superbly:
to protect the security of the nation. In the bloodiest century ever, this
country hasn't engaged in a major war for over 20 years and appears safe
as far as the eye can see.
Far from a frolic in bed, life in the Army these days can be lonely and
tough. Since the end of the cold war, the Army has cut its forces by a third
while the White House has tripled the number of its overseas missions. As
a result, the average soldier now spends 180 days a year deployed away 45
from home, more than double the number of a decade ago. Late last CHAPTER 3
month [May 1997], the Army announced that American soldiers are serv¬ Knozvledge
ing in 100 countries, the largest number in its history.
... In the 19 months since deploying to Bosnia, U.S. forces haven't had
a single untoward incident with a civilian there, and not one American sol¬
dier has been killed in combat. Whatever else they have accomplished for the
long term, our troops have helped give people there a year and a half with¬
out slaughter and mass rapes.
Those who say that soldiers must also learn to behave themselves are
absolutely right. Throughout the services, the military should crack down
hard on cases of sexual harassment and abuses of power. Everyone must
be an officer and a gentleman.
But we should not expect our fighting forces to be warriors on the
field and saints off it. Rules of common sense should prevail. Just as the
military should apply the same rules to men and women, and to officers
and enlisted personnel, it should call off witch hunts looking into behavior
of 15 or 20 years ago. The issue shouldn't be whether a military person has
sex off base but whether he or she abuses a position of authority and
causes disorder in the ranks.
In the meantime, we should remember that thousands of fine men and
women are out there at this very moment, sentries standing watch around
the world. They don't do it for the money; most could earn significantly
more in the private sector. They do it because they find pride and satisfac¬
tion in preserving freedom. It's time their commanders rallied the troops
and told them during this period of stress that the nation salutes their
honor and service. . . . (Excepted from David Gergen, "Saluting Those
Who Serve," U.S. News & World Report, June 23, 1997, p. 64B. Copyright,
1997, U.S. News & World Report. Visit us at our website at www.usnews.
15. The author claimed that "quitting smoking isn't monstrously difficult;
deciding to quit is." It is true that some smokers quit easily, throw their
smokes into the toilet and never think about it again. However, research
verifies what most smokers have long known: Nicotine is powerfully
addictive.
Most smokers have unsuccessfully tried quitting a number of times. Then-
failure is not due to lack of character or willpower. Relapse rates for those
who try to stop using heroin, alcohol and tobacco are identical. Yes, some are
able to quit, but most relapse into life endangering use again and again.
Rules must be appropriate to the product or activity they regulate,
whether they be safety rules for motor vehicles or controls on the sale and
manufacture of prescription drugs. The FDA rules are appropriate. They
bring the method of sale and promotion under the control of someone
other than the industry which profits from the sale of an addictive drug.
And, they treat tobacco similarly to other products. (Jeanne Weigum, let¬
ter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, September 4,1996. Reprinted by permission.)
46 Changing the Topic or Issue
CHAPTER 3
Not every piece of writing has just one topic. A chapter in a book is often uni¬
Knowledge
fied around some broad topic that serves as the central topic. But within books
or chapters authors can have several topics that they wish to cover. In a book,
for example, each chapter might treat a different topic that relates to the over¬
all topic of the book. In good book writing, authors move from one topic to the
next in an orderly fashion. Critical readers pay attention to the structure of
what they are reading.
Similar things can be said about issues. Sometimes in the book, chapter, or
section the topic remains the same, but the author switches among different
issues related to that topic. The author may be taking a multifaceted look at
the topic. At other times, when the book contains different topics, the author
raises different issues. Critical readers note when an author raises a new issue.
A problem can occur when authors or speakers raise a new topic or issue
in a way that does not further the discussion but rather obscures the issue and
confuses the reader or listener by moving off in a new direction. This espe¬
cially characterizes speakers when they speak without the benefit of notes;
they tend to move by train of thought from one topic or issue to another until
what they consider at the end bears only a distant or little resemblance to the
issue with which they began. Perhaps they return to the original issue; some¬
times they do not.
You might compare this shift in issue to what happens when a group of
people get together to talk. Have you ever charted a party conversation?
Someone starts the conversation on one topic. Gradually it moves to a related
topic, then to another, and soon the conversation has moved a great distance
from the original topic. You might not even be able to recall what the original
topic was. This is acceptable in freely moving party conversation but not when
you are writing a paper or giving a speech.
Here is an example of getting off the issue in one paragraph. The author
begins by dealing with the idea of fate.
Mo Tzu's philosophy on fate is very different from Confucius's. He thought

men's action determines their fate, while Confucius thought one's fate is pre¬
determined so one can only accept it but not try to change it. This thought is
reflected deeply in his approach to one's social position. People should stay in
their position and not rebel. This is why Confucianism was accepted by
almost all the rulers in Chinese history. Confucius himself was born into a
noble family. So his philosophy represents the ruling class a lot. But Mo Tzu
had a very different point of view from Confucius. He thought people can
always change their fate by their action. For him, one's poverty or wealth is
not predetermined; it is decided by one's effort. So people should control their
fate themselves. Mo Tzu also might be the first philosopher in Chinese history
who argued the equality of human beings. In his view, a farmer could become
a ruler if he is wise enough and can do useful things. Not like Confucius, Mo
Tzu praises physical work. He thought everything that can produce wealth is
good and useful to society.
Though the author of this paragraph begins by considering two Chinese

thinkers' views of fate and whether one should accept or try to change one's
fate, at the end she has moved to the question of whether human beings are
equal and whether people's work benefits society. The author has moved by 47
train of thought from the notion of effort to be employed in changing one's CHAPTER 3
fate to the role of physical effort in producing wealth in society. Thus, the Knowledge
paragraph ends by considering an issue that was not raised at the outset.
Here is a longer and clearer example of the same problem.
After a Doleless week, a week dominated by Bill Clinton's almost ethereal

balm and fluidity, the Republican candidate reappeared on Labor Day before
an enormous crowd in St. Louis—and seemed, by contrast, harsh and con¬
stricted, an awkward figure, a retiree: an old man with a great tan. There isn't
much Dole can do about this; it is who he is. Yes, it's still early. A lot can hap¬
pen between now and November. The electorate is volatile. Bill Clinton is nei¬
ther loved nor admired. And . . . Bob Dole might just dominate in the
debates. You don't think so? Well, maybe Clinton will stumble. . . .
Anyway, back to awful. Good crowds, like St. Louis, mean nothing in a
fall campaign; bad crowds mean a lot. The crowds I saw were thin at best. The
Dole staff tried to combat their candidate's ancient, distant image by staging
"Listening to America" seances, in which the nominee fielded marshmallowy
encomiums from carefully selected audiences. . . . [A]n old Russell High
School classmate named Ray Leonard asked what he'd do about Social Secu¬
rity. Dole reminisced about the Social Security deal he made in 1983, said it
would keep the system solvent until 2012. . . .
Afterward Leonard wanted to give his old friend the benefit of the doubt.
"I felt he answered it," he said. Really? I asked. "Well, he didn't give any
specifics. I'm not worried about Social Security being there for me. I'm wor¬
ried about my son. But that's hard, I guess. No one's talking about that."
No one at all. . . . The press, which usually harps on the entitlement
monster, has pretty much given both candidates a pass—in part, no doubt,
because it's futile to ask. . . .
Both Clinton and Dole . . . have made value noises in support of
[a bipartisan commission]. But will it actually happen?
"Oh, it's got to happen," says Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, who cochaired
the last bipartisan entitlements commission. Kerrey makes a compelling case:
both the Clinton and Republican "balanced" budget schemes are phonies.
Both have $60 to $80 billion in unspecified discretionary spending cuts. . . .
Kerrey knows where the money is. He's been liberated by his commis¬
sion's report. He can say what his colleagues can't: that we won't be able to
run even the crudest, bare-bones government—and worse, we'll tax our chil¬
dren into poverty—unless we get control of Medicare and Social Security. . . .
(Joe Klein, "Pretty Close to Awful," Newsweek, September 16,1996, p. 51)
Can you spot the shift in topic and issues?_
The editorial begins with a discussion of Bob Dole's 1996 presidential cam¬
paign and whether his campaign was going well. Then it moves to a question
an old friend posed to Dole about Social Security, and finally proceeds to con¬
sider Social Security's role in balancing the budget and whether Congress will
pass Social Security and Medicare reform. One thing leads to another in this
editorial until before long the topic has shifted and the editorial ends up talk¬
ing about the chances of Social Security reform in Congress.
48 In short, you have to be aware when an author moves gradually by train
CHAPTER 3
of thought from one topic to another. Sometimes the shifts are subtle, as in the
Knowledge fate example, but eventually, with enough shifts, the author has moved to
address a different topic or issue. Critical readers and listeners are aware of
possible shifts, note the place where that shift occurs, and consider the impli¬
cations of these shifts for understanding the entire piece.
Watching for this problem is an important part of your writing. When you
write, it is good practice to jot down your topic and issue in some obvious
place in front of you. Then every so often pause in your writing, reread what
you have written, and ask yourself whether you still are addressing the origi¬
nal topic and issue. If so, fine. If not, find where your train of thought led you
astray and begin again from that point.
Exercise 4
In the following paragraphs first identify what you take to be the topic and
issue the author addresses. Then indicate where the author has gotten off the
topic or issue and note the new topic or issue.
1. Children who have been given no values will continue in destructive

behavior. Simplistic punishment does nothing to dissuade negative behav¬
ior. For example, Johnny breaks into the video store and is arrested.
Brought home, he is punished by taking away his car keys and telephone
for a week and canceling his weekend ski trip. Mom and Dad don't know
that Johnny's girlfriend has a car and a cell phone and is sneaking out for
the weekend. There is no real punishment or consequences for his actions.
The media has been charged with the duty of baby-sitting today's chil¬
dren. One cannot hold them responsible for the rise in crime when they
had no idea that they were babysitters.
2. One type of testing done on animals is for cosmetics. More people today
argue that this should be stopped and scientists should find alternative
ways to test cosmetics. The problem with testing cosmetics with animals is
always the issue that animals' skin types, etc., are not identical to human
skin types. With all cosmetic research we are not 100 percent sure that the
cosmetic will not affect us. You will find a lot of companies printing "not
tested on animals" because cosmetic industries realize that people are buy¬
ing those products. Most cosmetic industries are now doing dermatological
testing in place of animal testing. The European Union is waiting for a deci¬
sion to see if it will be illegal to sell cosmetics that are tested on animals. If
this does pass, it will take place in the beginning of the year 1998. With this
decision more people and companies will realize how pointless this type of
testing on animals is.
3. Many pro-choice people are for abortion simply because the constitution
guarantees everyone the freedom of choice. To deny women their right to
decide whether or not they want to abort will be denying them their Con¬
stitutional Right. Whether pro-choice people believe that abortion is
morally wrong or not, they believe that it would be unconstitutional not to
give a mother the right to choose to abort. Even convicted criminals sen¬
tenced to death have, to some extent, the freedom of choice. They are not
put to death before their numerous appeals run out. The purpose of these 49
appeals is to help preserve the life of the criminal for as long as possible. If CHAPTER 3
for some reason all of their appeals are denied, they were at least given the Knowledge
opportunity to go on living.
4. Since the large majority of the children enrolled in bilingual programs are
Spanish-speakers, most bilingual education programs are directed toward
this group. Promoters of bilingual education are just a small part of a
political movement supporting their favorite party candidate. They do not
support the movement for Latino equality, power, and influence in Ameri¬
can society.
5. If teens are worried about what their parents think about having sex, they
should at least try to talk to their parents about those subjects. Most teens
today are stubborn and refuse to talk to their parents, so they put them¬
selves through all the heartache and pain about their decision to have an
abortion. If they do decide to have an abortion, then the parents should be
notified. Parents are still responsible for their teen, so they should know if
their teen is thinking about an abortion. Teens need their parents' consent
if they wish to have an abortion anyway. Parents should always know
everything about their teen.
THE THESIS
The third element in obtaining knowledge of what is being communicated is

the discovery of the author's thesis. The thesis is the main point the author or
speaker wants to make. Each paragraph should have its thesis, as should the
entire piece. The thesis should be the author's response to the issue raised, expressed
in a complete sentence. If the author has asked whether something is the case,
the author should go on to say whether it is or is not the case. If the author
asked how something happens or what caused something to happen, the
author should go on to say how it happened or what caused it. In argumenta¬
tive writing, the thesis is the main conclusion.
Sometimes the thesis is a simple affirmation or denial in response to the
question posed in the issue. For example, if the author asks whether workers
should join a union, his or her thesis might be, "Yes, workers should join the
union," or "No, workers should not join the union." At other times the thesis
is more complex, with the emphasis on "maybe something is the case" or
"perhaps it ought to be done," or "it is the case in part." For example, the
author might reply to the issue about unions by saying that workers should
join a union only in particular circumstances or for particular reasons.
Finding the thesis should be easy once you have identified the topic and
issue. In a well-written paragraph, the thesis generally resides either at the
beginning as a topic sentence or at the end as a concluding sentence. That is,
the topic sentence tells what the author intends to establish, while the conclusion
asserts that the author established it. In longer articles, the thesis may be either
at the beginning or end of the article or in both places.
Though this is the common structure, it is not a set rule. You will find
many exceptions. Let me note two related kinds.
50 First, some authors use an opening paragraph as an attention getter before
CHAPTER3 they get down to the issue at hand. For example,
Knowledge
[Revoking] the driver's licenses of fathers who aren't paying child support
seems to have been working well—not only to reimburse the system for sup¬
porting so many children, but also to force a lot of fathers to take responsibil¬
ity for their children.
Now my question: what punishment goes to mothers who do everything
they can to prevent fathers to see—much less to have an active part in parent¬
ing—their children? Time and time again, despite these fathers' desire and
insistence to be as much a part of their children's life as the mother, the courts
favor the mothers, granting limited visitations. The visitations are then further
limited when Dad isn't allowed to call his child on the days he doesn't have
him/her. (Cathleen Jorissen, letter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 23,1996)
This letter starts off by addressing whether the program revoking the drivers'
licenses of fathers negligent of child support is successful. But the issue
changes in the second paragraph to whether mothers who prevent contact
between fathers and their children should be punished. It is easy for a casual
reader to be misled into thinking that the first thesis presented is the author's
main thesis.
A second kind of writing, similar to the first, can also be misleading. The
author begins with what seems to be the key thesis and perhaps even develops
or supports it. Then midstream the author switches to his or her real position,
which opposes the thesis or position with which he or she began. For example,
A press that went to war on [Right to Know] now censors itself on a false rape
allegation. Not the first time, either. We've been doing this number for years
and patting ourselves on the back for making our "conscience" run our news¬
rooms. But conscience has nothing to do with it. This is political correct¬
ness. . . . (Sidney Zion, "Should Media Start Reporting Names of Rape Vic¬
tims? Yes: Not All 'Victims' Are Telling the Truth," St. Paul Pioneer Press,
February 20,1997)
Here the original or beginning thesis sets up the author's thesis, which has to
do with political correctness.
Consider the following.
One of the most unkillable human instincts is the urge to learn, and C-SPAN is
the place to satisfy that itch. In some ways, C-SPAN is the fulfillment of an old
journalistic dream—great newspaper editors have always tried to get their
reporters to write stories that would let the reader see what happened.
C-SPAN DOES IT. This is the answer for those who believe the media are
biased. You don't have to take Dan Rather's word for what happened or what
was said—you can watch it for yourself. It's enough to make you wonder
whether journalism has any function left, except to synopsize for those who
haven't the time to spend hours listening. But "objective journalism," which
is, of course, never truly objective, is so unsatisfactory. To present facts with¬
out their context is to leave facts meaningless. Anyone can listen to a Congres¬
sional debate on C-SPAN, but it turns out only the knowledgeable can appre¬
ciate one. (Molly Ivins, "You Don't Have to Rely on the Brokaw/Jennings/
Rather Versions," TV Guide, December 3,1985)
The topic of this paragraph is "objective journalism," that is, allowing viewers 51
to witness the event for themselves. The issue is whether objective journalism CHAPTER 3
is desirable. The beginning of the paragraph seems to indicate that objective Knowledge
journalism is desirable, a modern journalistic advance. Viewers no longer need
reporters or commentators; they can witness and understand the event for
themselves.
However, notice the crucial word but about two-thirds of the way through
the paragraph. But here indicates a change in the thesis. The topic is the same, as
is the issue. But the author wants to take the position opposite to that with which
she started the paragraph. She argues that objective journalism is unsatisfactory.
Here is another example. Pick out the place where the thesis appears to
reverse.
The argument has been made that to cut down on teenage drunk driving we
should increase the federal excise tax on beer. Such a measure, however,
would almost certainly fail to achieve its intended result. Teenagers are notori¬
ously insensitive to cost. They gladly accept premium prices for the latest
style in clothes or the most popular record albums. And then, those who drink
and drive already risk arrest and loss of driving privileges. They would not
think twice about paying a little more for a six-pack. (Patrick Hurley, A Concise
Introduction to Logic, 6th ed., Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1996.)
Probably you picked up on however, which in this paragraph sets a reversal in

the thesis. Words like but, however, and nevertheless set contrasts between what
goes before and what comes after. They often indicate that the author wants to
make a switch in the ideas presented, that what the author started the para¬
graph or article with is not the point he or she wishes to make. Critical
thinkers watch for such signals of contrast.
One final point. It is important that the critical thinker not confuse the thesis
with the supporting evidence for the thesis. Consider the following from a
brochure.
By the time you add the costs all up, driving your car to work can be very
expensive. But if you want to cut that figure in half, all you have to do is con¬
tact Rideshare and add a passenger. You'll both save money and the more pas¬
sengers you add, the more money you save. To figure out your current com¬
muting costs and the potential savings, call Rideshare for an easy-to-use
worksheet.
What are the issue and the thesis?_
Someone might say that the issue is "Can we can save money driving to
work?" But the matter of saving money has to do with the reasons for some¬
thing else, namely, using Rideshare to commute to work. Note the concluding
sentence, which tells the reader to "call Rideshare." Turning this concluding
sentence into a question, you get the issue: "Should I contact Rideshare for
commuting?" The thesis is that you should, while the matter of saving money
52 comes in as the author's main reason for contacting Rideshare. In short, it is
CHAPTER 3 important not to confuse the point of the paragraph or paragraphs with the
Knozvledge supporting material, which we call main points.
Consider one more example.
Our college provides some excellent opportunities for students to enhance

their education and develop new skills outside the classroom. Involvement in
a student organization or activity can heighten your college experience in a
number of ways. Some of the benefits include social, educational, values, and
skills experience.
What are the issue and the thesis?_
Here you might have written that the issue is "Can extracurricular activities
benefit students?" But this example is similar to the previous example, except
that it does not overtly ask the reader to participate in the activities. The
request is implied in the paragraph so that we might say the thesis is that stu¬
dents should participate in extracurricular activities. That these activities are
beneficial is presented as the reason students should participate and hence
constitutes a main point. What can be learned from comparing these last two
examples is that sometimes authors actually present their issue and thesis, and
sometimes they do not. In the latter case, readers need to derive it from what
else is said.
We have spoken about distinguishing theses from main points. It is time to
move on to discuss main points.
Exercise 5
Find the thesis in the examples in Exercise 1.
Exercise 6
Find the thesis in the examples in Exercise 3.
Exercise 7
Find the thesis in the following examples.
1. For more than a century, the American Association of University Women

(AAUW) has promoted education and equity for women and girls. In
communities across the country, 135,000 AAUW members take the lead
today to ensure women a place among the leaders of tomorrow. Your
action today will make the difference. Join AAUW. (Brochure)
2. More than 90 percent of American women who want to avoid pregnancy

report using a birth control method. Still, the reality is that nearly 6 in 10
U.S. pregnancies are unplanned. As a result, a quarter of the 6 million
pregnancies in the United States each year are terminated.
The U.S. market for a new abortion method is huge, and one probably
will be available by year's end [1997], After years of controversy, the abor¬
tion pill RU-486 moved closer to final approval with the settlement last
month [February 1997] of a lawsuit involving its former distributor. . .
The drug is likely to make pregnancy termination more accessible in areas 53
lacking surgical-abortion providers. . . . (Excerpted from Rita Rubin, CHAPTER 3
"Birth Control Failure," U.S. News & World Report, March 3, 1997, p. 66. Knowledge
Copyright, 1997, U.S. News & World Report. Visit us at our web site at
www.usnews.com for additional information.)
3. I moved to this area years ago to raise my children in an environment with

strong family values, good work ethic, and a dedication to community.
The Aug. 4 article depicting Lawrence Coss as a rags-to-riches, solid Mid¬
west businessman just showed me how wrong I was.
How could so many pages be dedicated to a man who carries so little
family values that he allows his mother to live in a one-bedroom apart¬
ment? From the picture it looked as if the woman may not even be blessed
with a window to look out of. Couldn't he even spare a mobile home in
one of the parks he owns?
Why does this man leave in his path a trail of laid-off executives?
What has happened to all the top executives, many of whom gave years of
their lives to build Green Tree, who were handed their last paycheck long
before planned retirement? Are there not any successful people to write
about who have a reputation of honesty and integrity? . . .
I wonder if the reason Coss refuses interviews is because he feels great
guilt in looking back on what he has done. Or is he a man who lives with a
cold heart? I hope that in the future you could dedicate more space to peo¬
ple who have less in their back pockets and more in their hearts. (Kendra
Lear, letter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 11,1996)
4. A recent poll by the Public Agenda Foundation found that 80 percent of

all Americans believe young people today have little chance for success
without a college education. But while many recognize the value of a col¬
lege diploma, few know its cost.
For millions of families, college expenses are a growing cause of anxi¬
ety—an anxiety that is often fueled by media coverage. College costs have
become a regular feature in magazines and newspapers and on the nightly
news. Frequently these stories focus on the highest-priced colleges and
universities attended by fewer than 2 percent of the nation's students.
Unfortunately, this type of sensationalized, slanted coverage generates
more heat than light and only perpetuates the sense of unease that fami¬
lies feel regarding the affordability of a college education. The story that
needs to be told is that we have a strong and diverse system of higher
education in this country. And this diversity—from our community col¬
leges to our research universities—ensures that quality education abounds
in all price ranges. . . . (E. Gordon Gee, "Cost of College Education
Remains One of America's Great Bargains Despite Tuition Increases," The
Phoenix Gazette, August 19,1996)
5. Psychiatrists who defend the diagnosis of MPD [multiple personality dis¬

orders] say cases are now rising because, until recently, most MPD suffer¬
ers were misdiagnosed with illnesses like schizophrenia. But even propo¬
nents concede that it is overdiagnosed. National Institute of Mental Health
psychiatrist Frank Putnam, for example, a leading MPD researcher, has
found in studies that some 20 percent of MPD diagnoses are incorrect. He
54 blames criteria that are too vague, requiring little more than the appear¬
CHAPTER 3
ance of distinct personalities and extensive amnesia. "Sometimes thera¬
Knowledge pists fall in love with the diagnosis, " he warns. . . . (Excerpted from
Joannie M. Schrop, "Questioning Sybil," U.S. News & World Report, Janu¬
ary 27, 1997, p. 66. Copyright, 1997, U.S. News & World Report. Visit us at
our web site www.usnews.com for additional information.)
6. There are an estimated 3,200 children under 13 living with AIDS in the
United States, and thousands more are infected with the virus that causes
the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
in Atlanta. But these youngsters account for just 1 percent of the nation's
AIDs cases, and as a result they have long been an afterthought in the epi¬
demic. AZT, the first antiretroviral medication for AIDS, was approved by
the Food and Drug Administration in 1987 for adults; it was three years
before the drug was available for children. . . . The problem goes beyond
a simple lack of approved medications. Some adults have trouble with the
combination therapy, and the same is true of children. For some, the drugs
do not work at all, and for others they stop working after a time. And
although doctors are free to prescribe any adult-approved medication for
children, many are reluctant to do so with protease inhibitors because less is
known about the way children respond to them. . . . (Sheryl Gay Stolberg,
"A Revolution in AIDs Drugs Excludes the Tiniest Patients," New York Times,
September 8,1997, p. A14)
7. It is ironic that the possibility of life having once existed on Mars would
raise doubts about the existence of an omnipotent Creator. Christians have
always accepted that other sentient beings exist in the universe besides
humans. Angels are mentioned throughout the Bible.
Rather, it is the Darwinists who should be rethinking their theories.
Darwinian evolution and its successor theories hold that life evolved from
a series of random chance occurrences or mutations. The Earth, therefore,
is the one out of billions of possible planets where all of the elements nec¬
essary for life to occur came together at the exact right moment—under
the precisely correct conditions.
Life on Mars means that a random occurrence, the odds against which
are measured in the billions, happened not once, but twice, and in the same
solar system. Now, what are the odds of that happening? (Robert Bode, let¬
ter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 24,1996. Reprinted by permission.)
8. NASA's announcement that a team of scientists may have discovered evi¬

dence of previous life on Mars has aroused intense public interest. But
why so much hubbub about organic molecules and some bacteria-like
organisms that passed their prime millions of years ago? The answer lies
not in what was found, but in the chasm of knowledge the findings
uncovered.
Daniel Goldin, the administrator of the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, is correct in calling this a "startling discovery," and
it is impossible not to marvel at it. But what these scientists mainly have
proved is how little we know and how little effort we are putting into
solving one of mankind's greatest mysteries: Are we alone?
Humans have always suspected there was life on Mars because of its 55
distance from the sun and the ancient water channels visible through tele¬ CHAPTER 3
scopes on Earth. . . . When the Viking missions 20 years ago failed to find Knowledge
evidence of life there, that was generally assumed to be the end of the story.
But thanks to advanced space technology the story has a new exciting
chapter. We got lucky this time. Having stumbled upon a Martian mete¬
orite in the Antarctic, we used our best scientific equipment—and informa¬
tion we had about Martian conditions because of the earlier Viking
missions—to theorize that there once was life on Mars.
But we shouldn't have to wait for breathtaking scientific discoveries
just to drop into our lap—or at least onto our polar cap. Technology is at a
stage now where it's feasible to bring surface samples of Mars back to
Earth and prove conclusively whether at least rudimentary life ever devel¬
oped on the red planet.
No matter what the search of Mars reveals, though, it would be naive
of us to think that we are alone in the universe. With billions—trillions?—
of stars and planets out there, there is undoubtedly not only life but intelli¬
gent life. Discovering such life is simply a matter of priorities. ... If we
are willing to commit the necessary resources, we can look not just at Mars
but far beyond. NASA has made the search for other life in the universe
one of its key programs as we enter the next century. . . .
Who or what is out there? Millions of years ago, interplanetary explor¬
ers to Earth would have found large reptiles ruling our planet. We don't
know what we'll find out there; but there is no question that we must
look. (James A. Lovell and Brian Kyhos, "Continue Our Quest in Space,"
Denver Post, August 10,1996)
9. I believe there are some fundamental structural problems . . . with put¬

ting a balanced budget requirement in the Constitution. This addition
would change the balance of power among the three branches of govern¬
ment, and some of the proposals would even change the balance of power
within the legislative branch. On a more practical level, it would increase
the cost of government well above what is needed for a given level of ser¬
vice and have a potentially harmful effect on long term interest rates. . . .
I believe it will either prove to be an unenforceable promise, or its
enforcement will shift unprecedented budgetary powers to the courts and
the president. One concern is that a president could assert broad powers
to withhold spending or modify programs and benefits using the balanced
budget amendment as justification. This could occur even if Congress, act¬
ing in good faith, had passed a balanced budget but the president did not
believe it was balanced. This shift of power is in direct contradiction to the
basic plan of the Constitution, which assigns primary power over the
purse to the people's elected representatives in Congress.
Secondly, a balanced budget amendment would give rise to a flood of
litigation. And if the courts do have to enter this area, they could find
themselves embroiled in matters of spending and taxes that have always
been the province of elected branches of government. . . . (Martin Olav
Sabo, "Is Constitutional Change Needed to Slay Deficit Dragon?" St. Paul
Pioneer Press, February 5,1997)
56 10. Water vapour is scarce in planetary stratospheres because it freezes out at
CHAPTER 3
the cold tropopause, which marks the lower boundary of the stratosphere.
Knozvledge In spite of this, there have been some hints of water in the stratospheres of
Jupiter, Titan and Uranus, and we have direct measurements of its pres¬
ence on Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. . . . What might be supplying
water to these upper atmospheres? The three main possibilities are inter¬
planetary dust, large comet nuclei, and circumplanetary material such as
ring particles. . . .
The cometary source seems the least likely, however, because the
water vapour from each impact would disappear in a decade or so, and in
any case would probably be converted to CO by reacting with atmo¬
spheric methane in the high temperatures of a large impact. Influx from
rings is likely to be confined to low latitudes, and although the rate at
which material spreads to higher latitudes is poorly known, this character¬
istic could discriminate between rings and interplanetary dust. Unfortu¬
nately, the new ISO measurements are of too low resolution to tell us
whether the water vapour is uniformly distributed or confined to equato¬
rial regions.
The main conclusion to be drawn from these detections of water vapour
on the outer planets may be that our expectations of the flux of icy particles
in this part of the interplanetary medium were correct. (Donald M. Hunten,
"Pipelines to the Planets," Nature, September 11,1997, pp. 125-6)
THE MAIN POINTS
Once you have identified the topic, issue, and thesis, what remain to be dis¬
covered are the main points used to support or develop the thesis. These con¬
stitute the body of the communication. If you have only one paragraph, the
main points are found in its contents. If you are working with a longer piece,
you have to proceed paragraph by paragraph, hunting for the main points rel¬
evant to the thesis.
If the communication is argumentative, the main points provide the evidence
for the thesis. As you read material that you think argues for the truth of the the¬
sis, you should ask, "Why does the author think the thesis is true?" With this
question in the background, you then search for the answer to this question. You
are a detective, investigating for the author's clues or actual statements of evi¬
dence or support. As with the thesis, the main points should be expressed in
complete sentences, not with sentence fragments.
You can find an argument in the first example under "The Topic"
(page 32). We have noted that this example's thesis is that the proposed bal¬
anced budget amendment to the Constitution should be passed. The author
goes on to give a reason for his position: it will benefit the American family. Sim¬
ilarly in the second example about winter survival supplies on page 32, the the¬
sis that some Roman candles or a Very pistol should be part of a vehicle's winter
survival supplies is supported by appealing to past experience: the pistol has
been shown to be effective in locating lost inoperative ships and/or survivors.
Note that we are not evaluating the main points or reasons given. We are
not questioning whether it is true that the balanced budget amendment will
actually benefit the American family or that the Very pistol has been successful 57
in the past. At this point we merely want to know what the author is arguing; CHAPTER 3
we are after knowledge, not assessment. Knowledge
Sometimes the author presents the evidence in an obvious way; at other
times the evidence is hidden. And sometimes the evidence is misleading,
pointing in another direction. In the last type of case the author seems to pre¬
sent contrary evidence. Here the critical thinker looks to see whether the
author introduces an objection to the position and then responds to that objec¬
tion. We will say more about this type of writing shortly.
If the writing is informative or descriptive, the main points provide the
description that develops the thesis. Here the difficulty is to isolate the main
developing features from less significant features. Since not every feature is
equally important, you need to decide judiciously what you think the author
considers most important in the thesis development. This decision involves
making an informed judgment that you can support from the text.
Examples 2 and 3 under "The Topic" (pages 32 and 33) illustrate a descrip¬
tive approach. In Example 3, the author develops his thesis that Michael John¬
son won impressively by relating how Michael Johnson threw his spiked shoes
into the stands after his victory and presenting the time of his victory. Example
4 develops the thesis by describing how rain and wind disrupted the search
operations and how Deep Drone later located part of the cockpit.
If you are reading a simple paragraph, the main points are the reasons sup¬
porting or ideas developing the thesis in that paragraph. For example,
There is little reason to vote for Mary Smith for mayor. For one thing, she will be
66 next month, which means that she would be the oldest mayor we have ever
had. For another, she will be drawing retirement benefits from her teacher's
pension at the same time as she gets paid for being mayor; no one should get
two salaries for doing one job. Finally, she has lived in this community only four
years. She is not a native of our city and hence cannot understand how we think
about things. No, don't waste your vote in November on Ms. Smith.
In this paragraph, the topic is Mary Smith, the issue is "Should you vote
for her?" and the thesis is that you should not vote for Mary Smith. Immedi¬
ately, critical thinkers wonder why we should not vote for her. The author
helps us by providing reasons for not doing so. You should be able to pick out
the three reasons or main points.
1. _
2.
3.
If the piece is longer, the main points are spread throughout it, often in
separate paragraphs. This makes it harder to understand but richer in content
and development. Consider this example.
58 We have now recognized the necessity to the mental well-being of mankind of
freedom of opinion, and freedom of the expression of opinion, on four distinct
CHAPTER 3
Knowledge grounds. . . .
First, if any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught
we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility.
Secondly, though the silenced opinion be an error, it may and very com¬
monly does, contain a portion of truth; and since the general or prevailing
opinion on any subject is rarely or never the whole truth, it is only by the colli¬
sion of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of
being supplied.
Thirdly, even if the received opinion be not only true, but the whole truth;
unless it is suffered to be, and actually is, vigorously and earnestly contested,
it will, by most of those who receive it, be held in the manner of a prejudice,
with little comprehension or feeling of its rational grounds. And not only this,
but, fourthly, the meaning of the doctrine itself will be in danger of being lost
or enfeebled, and deprived of its vital effect on the character and conduct; the
dogma becoming a mere formal profession, ineffacious for good. (John S. Mill,
On Liberty)
Before you go on, identify Mill's topic, issue, thesis, and main points.
Topic:_
Issue:_
Thesis:_
Main points:_
Mill's topic is individual liberty, his issue is whether persons should be

given freedom of opinion, and his thesis is that they should. He then proceeds
to give four reasons for granting people freedom of their opinion. They are the
following:
1. The opinion expressed might be true.

2. It might contain some truth and help bring out the rest of the truth.
3. The truth needs to be challenged, lest we hold it merely because it was
passed down and not for a good reason.
4. Truth unchallenged loses its vitality for doing good.
To find the main points in a longer piece, carefully go through each para¬
graph, noting the main point of the paragraph and asking how each point
relates to the overall thesis. Some paragraphs might contain several arguments
or important descriptive elements relating to the main point. Also, some para¬
graphs might repeat main points already made.
This is the ideal: each paragraph's main point has some relation, direct or
indirect, to the main thesis. It may be a main point, a subpoint, or an illustra¬
tion or expansion of the thesis. In practice, however, this is not always the
case. So you must decide which of the paragraphs' main points are critical to
defending or developing the thesis and which are not. Making this call takes 59
sleuthing and selectivity. CHAPTER 3
As you can see, no easy formula exists for finding the main points. You are Knowledge
the detective and have to search them out. As you read,
• Read actively, with the question "Why is the thesis true?" or "How is it
developed?" in mind.
• Constantly ask how what you are reading is connected to the thesis of the
piece.
• Express the main points in complete sentences so that complete ideas are
presented.
• Look for apparent disparities between what you are reading and what you
take to be the author's thesis. Sometimes authors introduce an objection to
their position and then proceed to answer it. This can be misleading, for
you might take the objection as one of the author's main points, whereas
the author introduces the objection in order to answer it. The answer given
is a main point of the author.
Exercise 8
Identify the main points in the examples given in Exercise 1.
Exercise 9
Exercise 10
ACTIVE READING
By now you should have a good idea of what to look for when you read or lis¬
ten. Identifying these four elements provides the basis for everything else you
do as a critical thinker when you read or hear.
One final question remains: how do you implement this strategy in your
reading and listening? The answer is that you need to be an active questioner as
you read or listen. You should read or listen asking, "What are the topic, issue,
thesis, and main points?" writing each down as you proceed, either in the
book margins or on a separate piece of paper. Active readers and listeners not
only get more out of the material; they retain what they have learned for a
longer period of time than those who read passively.
When you pick up something to read, first skim through it to find the
topic. Look at the headings, if there are any. If there are no headings, read the
first and last paragraphs of the section to see what the topic is. Doing this
gives you some idea of what to look for as you read. If you are listening,
attempt to quickly identify the topic. Does the talk have a title? Is it part of a
larger program? Use any clues you can pick up to assist you.
The second task is to identify the question or issue that the author is
addressing. This helps identify why the author is writing or the speaker talk¬
ing. As we have noted, this is perhaps the hardest step. You need to turn the
60 topic into the question or questions about which the author or presenter is
CHAPTER 3
interested. In a good piece of writing or in a good presentation the issue should be
Knowledge presented early on.
Task three is to identify the author's thesis. What position is the author or
speaker taking on the issue? To be an active reader, you should note this thesis
and then continually relate whatever you read or hear to that thesis. The thesis
provides the unifying idea.
Task four is to identify the author's main points. As you read, write down
the main points, preferably in complete sentences using your own words.
These probably are located in one or two paragraphs in a shorter piece and in
separate paragraphs in longer pieces of writing. Eventually, as you write
down the thesis, main points, and their supporting subpoints, you create a
workable, detailed outline of the presentation that improves your knowledge
of what is communicated.
One method is to write these points in the margin of the text. The advan¬
tage of this is that the main points are directly connected with the textual
material; the disadvantage is that book margins are often too narrow to write a
sentence stating the main point of the paragraph. Another method is to write
the outline on a separate sheet of paper; this allows you to see more directly
the development of the author's main points. Whichever method you use,
active involvement with the ideas helps you retain what you have read
or heard.
A great practical advantage of outlining awaits you: if you follow this pat¬
tern, when you review for your tests you will not have to do much rereading.
A review of your marginal or notebook outline should reveal the main points
and the developing or supporting arguments for the thesis. By reviewing this
material, you will have a good idea of how the author developed the main
points to support the thesis without having to reread the text.
Task five involves review. Once you have read the material, do not simply
close the book and head off to do something else. Close the book and try to
recall the topic, issue, thesis, and main points. If you cannot do this immedi¬
ately after reading, you need to go back and reread sections of the material so
that you can. Thorough review requires you to engage the text more than
once. To further cement the material in your mind, go back the next day and
try to recall the elements we have stressed. Or before you read the next section
or chapter, review what you read the previous time or in the previous section.
Doing so substantially increases your retention and ultimate recall.
Task six goes beyond reading and writing to actually making use of the
material in some way. You may recall our stress on application in Chapter 2.
You retain things when you both make them your own and find a way to use
them. Think, for example, of the vocabulary lists you memorized in school. If
you simply memorized the word and its meaning or synonym, you may have
known it for the test, but probably you soon forgot it. However, if you find
ways to use these new words,—for example, by creating sentences for them—
you retain them longer. They can actually become part of your vocabulary.
So here is a suggested way to read carefully and critically. (Some of you
will recognize in this the basic elements of what is often referred to as the
SQR3 method.)
• Skim to find the topic. 61
• Question to find the issue(s). CHAPTER 3
• As you read, identify the thesis or theses. Knowledge
• Write down the main points.
• Review the thesis and main points.
• Use the material in some way.
As you perform these six tasks, your knowledge increases because you
put what you read and hear into your mind's memory bank. If you merely
read the material, you remember less than 10 percent the following day. If you
read actively and use what you read, the amount you can recall increases
dramatically.
Before you close the book on this chapter—and possibly forget what we
have talked about—recall that the development of skills takes great practice.
This chapter will stick with you only if you persist in reading in the fashion
indicated here. This should become your pattern of reading, not only in this
course but in all your courses.
Exercise 11
Identify the topic, issue, thesis, and main points in the following paragraphs.
1. Anybody can have a few flakes from time to time . . . happens to the best
of us. Fortunately, there is something you can do. It's called Head and Shoul¬
ders. Regular shampoos just rinse away flakes that you already have (so they
can come back). Head and Shoulders actually helps prevent flakes before
they even get started. The only thing that might give you away is that great
looking head of hair. (Advertisement)
2. A second distinction has been attempted in terms of experience. A being

who has had experience, has lived and suffered, who possesses memories,
is more human than one who has not. Humanity depends on formation by
experience. The fetus is thus "unformed" in the most basic human sense.
This distinction is not serviceable for the embryo which is already
experiencing and reacting. The embryo is responsive to touch after eight
weeks and at least at that point is experiencing. At an earlier stage the
zygote is certainly alive and responding to its environment. The distinction
may also be challenged by the rare case where aphasia has erased adult
memory: has it erased humanity? More fundamentally, this distinction
leaves even the older fetus or the younger child to be treated as an
unformed inhuman thing. Finally, it is not clear why experience as such con¬
fers humanity. (John T. Noonan, Jr., "An Almost Absolute Value in History,"
in Ronald Munson, Intervention and Reflection (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth,
Inc.)
3. Supply-side economics is just plain wrongheaded. Given great market

demand for goods and services, business will operate at high capacity lev¬
els, yielding significantly improved profits. That will stimulate new
investment from all over the world. Putting the money into the hands of
the poorest half of the population, who spend essentially all of their
income, will rapidly generate demand. Giving the bulk of the money to
62 the top 10 percent of earners, which is what the flat 15 percent tax cut and
CHAPTER 3
the reduction in capital-gains taxes will do, will merely stimulate stock-
Knowledge market speculation. This leads to a disorderly market, certainly not good
for the nation's economy. The Republican program is, as previously
reported, really misguided economics! (Martin H. Wohl, letter, U.S. News
& World Report, September 9,1996, p. 4. Reprinted by permission.)
4. The House National Security Committee confirmed the earlier reports that
the tragic deaths of the 19 American servicemen in Saudi Arabia were
caused by the fact that we "asked" the Saudis for additional security prior
to the incident, and they refused.
Common sense should tell you that you don't ask the Saudis for any¬
thing, where American lives are at stake. You tell them what to do. And
when they don't do it, you pull a gun on them.
Defense Secretary Perry should be fired forthwith. (Walter G. Perry,
letter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, September 4,1996, p. 4).
5. Those of us old enough to remember the civil rights revolution of the '60s
and the profound social transformations that preceded it may find it hard
to realize that most Americans today were not yet born when all this hap¬
pened. This lack of personal knowledge is, for the unscrupulous, a golden
opportunity to create a history that serves their own purposes. One of the
key self-serving myths to emerge is that blacks owe their economic and
social advancement to the civil rights victories of the '60s. Incessant repeti¬
tion of myths does not, of course, make them true . . . That does not
mean that the civil rights revolution was unnecessary. There were injustices
that needed to be redressed and resistance to doing so. . . . But it also
paints a vision of racial progress in America that we have seldom seen.
Blacks have not advanced by being passive recipients of government
largesse or by high-decibel rhetoric. Most have made money the old-
fashioned way: they have earned it. As of 1940, the average black adult
had only a grossly inferior elementary school education. But as more
blacks became better educated and left the South, incomes of black males
rose faster than incomes of white males—all well before the civil rights
revolution. More blacks rose into professional ranks in the years immedi¬
ately before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 than in the years immediately
afterward. Too many black "leaders" today have a vested interest in the
application of old myths. They are like Moses in reverse—leading their
people back into the welfare state, to a self-imposed isolation from the
growing opportunities all around them. (Thomas Sowell, "Yes, Blacks
Can Make It on Their Own," Time, September 8,1997, p. 62)
6. Congress can do the strapped National Park System and its 80 million
annual visitors a service. Lawmakers should pass pending legislation that
allows more corporate money to augment public money in the system,
while adequately ensuring that increased commercialism will not intrude
on the integrity of the 369 park sites.
Under the legislation the National Parks Foundation, the official not-
for-profit organization that supports the park system, would be allowed to
establish business relationships with a selective number of private part¬ 63
ners to raise revenue. CHAPTER 3
Except for the ideological opponents of public lands, this legislation Knowledge
should have no natural enemies. It is written carefully enough to avoid
conflicts of interest or commercial exploitation of parks or sites, while giv¬
ing potential private partners a value for their investment in a National
Park System sponsorship through advertising their good citizenship. . . .
If you have visited a park recently where the biffy wasn't spiffy, more
private revenue could help the park service do deferred work on plumb¬
ing and other critical infrastructure.
The National Park Foundation has kept in proportion the changes it
seeks as an agent for fund-raising. The potential from well-chosen corpo¬
rate sponsorships directed at the park system is pegged at a market of $50
million to $100 million a year. Under current operation, the foundation
raises only $3 million to $4 million a year for the parks. The increase
would be substantial but not overwhelming. The National Park System
runs on a $2 billion budget. More corporate revenue and in-kind contribu¬
tions are intended to augment—not buy out—the public nature of a park
system that has become a victim of its own popularity in lean times.
Of course, changes in the executive branch could result in an interior
secretary more like Jim Watt than Bruce Babbitt. In that case, the National
Park Foundation's role as a reliable steward to balance interests might
require Congress to keep an eye out as a safeguard against abuse.
But for now, and with obvious needs in the National Park System, leg¬
islation to increase public-private partnership for the parks is a good deal.
("Fet Private Partners Assist National Parks," St. Paul Pioneer Press,
August 20,1996)
7. . . . With Steve Spurrier and Peyton Manning on the same field, most
would think the best offense would win Saturday's matchup between No.
3 Florida and No. 4 Tennessee at Gainsville, Fla. Further proof of that
point: in the past four meetings between the Volunteers and Gators, the
winning team, in each case Florida, has scored at least 31 points.
But the majority of talk leading up to the highly anticipated game at
The Swamp is not of Manning's arm or Spurrier's strategy. Instead, both
sides believe the winning team must do a very simple thing: hold on to
the football. "The winner of this game the last four seasons has had the
least amount of turnovers," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. "They
have beaten us because we have not taken care of the football."
In the past four meetings, Tennessee has had 15 turnovers, Florida six.
Fast season, the Volunteers had five in the first half; two seasons ago, the
Gators had 20 points off turnovers. That is why Fulmer has called Ten¬
nessee's inability to hold on to the ball two games into this season (seven
fumbles, three interceptions) a "big concern." . . . (George Dohrmann,
"Turnovers Tell Tennessee's Tale," St. Paul Pioneer Press, September 18,1997)
8. Millions of Americans will honor the American worker this Tabor Day
weekend when they travel on one of his proudest achievements: the
nation's interstate highway system.
64 Begun nearly 40 years ago, the interstates now stretch more than
CHAPTER 3
45,000 miles, reaching every state and serving nearly every citizen and
Knowledge business. They represent one of the most successful federal programs ever.
They have helped make America the most mobile and prosperous civiliza¬
tion in history. Indeed, mobility and the personal freedom it provides are
important American values.
But as important as the interstates are, they're in trouble. They're in
growing disrepair and increasingly congested because we aren't maintain¬
ing, modernizing or extending them fast enough.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, only about 40 per¬
cent of our interstates are in good to very good condition. More than one-
third are in poor to mediocre shape. And about one quarter of the inter¬
state bridges are substandard. Nearly half of the interstates are congested.
Keeping 45,000 miles of highways, bridges and cloverleaves in top
condition is costly, but that's not the problem. The money's there.
Americans pay some $114 billion a year in taxes, tolls and fees related
to automobiles, fuels and roads—with the expectation that the money will
be used to build and maintain a first-class system of highways. The prob¬
lem is that only about two-thirds of this—some $76 billion—is spent on
roads. The government uses the rest to reduce the deficit, fund mass tran¬
sit and pay for other federal, state and local programs.
In at least one state, Maryland, the government spends more on mass
transit than on highways, despite the fact that highways meet 98 percent
of the state's transportation needs.
We're diverting money from highways when highways need it—and
the tradeoff is a bad one. The interstates move about 80 percent of all
freight and support a $350 billion a year tourist industry. Our economy—
and the jobs of millions of Americans—depend on them.
Reducing the deficit is important. Mass transit makes sense when it
moves people as economically as highways, which is rarely true. But we
can't afford to let the condition of our interstates worsen by the diversion
of taxpayer money collected for their maintenance.
Roads that are congested and in poor repair result in more accidents,
causing additional deaths and injuries and requiring expensive medical
services. They increase fuel consumption and produce more pollution.
They slow traffic and increase shipping costs. And they increase the cost of
vehicle maintenance. According to the American Highway Users Alliance,
the average motorist today is paying an extra $122 a year because of rough
pavement that increases vibration and damages tires.
Today, the interstates must accommodate the growth and problems of
the '90s—a quadrupling in road travel not anticipated at their birth, tighter
budgets, heavier trucks and higher speeds. And although Congress has com¬
mitted more money for highways in the next few years, we're not spending
at the rate necessary to solve today's future problems and meet the needs
necessary to solve today's problems and meet the needs of the future.
For example, in the Washington D.C. area where I live, official fore¬
casts show the region growing some 40 percent in population, 50 percent
in jobs, and 75 percent in highway travel by 2020. Yet current transporta¬
tion plans call for only 20 percent more highway capacity.
Highways help make America run. They make us richer and freer. 65
They expand economic and lifestyle choices. Moreover, the problems asso¬ CHAPTER 3
ciated with them are being solved: the highway death toll has generally Knowledge
been decreasing; and thanks to cleaner cars and fuels, pollution is steadily
declining even though we're driving more.
We need our highways, but they won't continue to serve us well if we
don't invest in them adequately. The fact that that's not happening isn't
fair to the American workers who built them—or to the millions of Ameri¬
cans who now depend on them and who pay taxes for their expansion and
maintenance. The Highway Trust Fund has the money to do a better job.
All that is needed is the government to meet its obligation to the taxpay¬
ers. (William F. O'Keefe, "Spend Road Taxes on America's Roads," Talla¬
hassee Democrat, September 2,1996)
9. Perhaps more than any other ecological no-no out there, dams enrage
environmental activists. Legend has it that John Muir, founder of the
Sierra Club, died of a broken heart after the O'Shaughnessy Dam in
Yosemite National Park was built despite his group's protests. These
activists argue that you can't redirect millions of gallons of water—even
for such worthy causes as flood control or renewable-energy projects—
without having at least some deleterious effect on the local environment.
But documenting long-term changes to ecosystems along rivers is com¬
plex, so such conclusions have been difficult to test.
A recent study of Swedish rivers . . . has succeeded in quantifying
the extent to which biodiversity can be choked off by dams. Researchers at
Umea University counted different species of trees, shrubs and herbs at
some 90 sites along rivers that had been dammed. Some of the Swedish
dams are nearly 70 years old, which enabled the team to examine how
ecosystems change over decades. In addition, the group surveyed species
along pristine rivers in Sweden. . . .
Christer Nilsson, who led the Umea team, . . . and his
colleagues . . . demonstrated that in some areas, certain types of trees
and shrubs did recover, especially along small, so-called run-of-river
impoundments. But in total, the number of plant species fell by 15 percent,
and the size of the habitat along the riverbank also decreased. Near larger
storage reservoirs, the researchers found that the number of species within
a given area dropped by about 50 percent.
More surprising to Nilsson were the long-term trends in these ecosys¬
tems. After a dam was built, the diversity of plant species rebounded only
during the first 20 or 30 years before tapering off. Nilsson attributes the
subsequent scarcity of new species to either a gradual depletion of seeds
over the decades or a slow deterioration of the habitat.
Studies such as this one should figure prominently in the ongoing
debate about whether and how to maintain aging networks of dams
throughout the world. One option being considered in the United States is
the periodic opening of certain dams. Last year's uncorking of the Glen
Canyon Dam and the resulting flood in the Grand Canyon, intended to revi¬
talize riverbanks and wildlife, were ecologically "trivial," according to Jack
Stanford of the University of Montana's Flathead Lake Biological Station.
66 "But from a sociological standpoint, it was huge," he says. That brief flood
CHAPTER 3
could be the first drop in a very large bucket to restore the ecology of
Knowledge dammed rivers, in which the primary concern is endangered animals, par¬
ticularly fish. . . .
The U.S. Army corps of Engineers is studying the possibility of
breaching four dams along the Snake River and lowering the reservoir
behind the John Day Dam on the Columbia River as part of a play to pro¬
tect salmon runs. . . .
Opponents of such plans protest that dams are vital to the livelihood
of the West. Lewiston, Idaho, for example, is an inland port along the
Snake River. Without the current system of dams, jobs in the area shipping
goods to market would dry up.
Dismantling dams would take years of construction work. And the
payoff could take decades or more, even with extension environmental
rehabilitation. Dutch Meier of the U.S. Army corps of Engineers points out
that the removal of the dams on the Snake River could very likely reveal
"scoured, denuded hillsides with entirely changed ecosystems." Meier
adds: "Just because you pull the plug on the tub and make the water go
away doesn't mean you won't leave a bathtub ring." (Sasha Nemecek,
"Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Want a Dam: How Dams Affect Biodiversity,"
Scientific American, August 1997, pp. 20, 22)
10. It was Friday afternoon and the traffic gods whizzing overhead in helicop¬
ters were warning of the bumper to bumper, creep and beep, weekend
exodus. I was crawling over the city line when a young man in an old Toy¬
ota cut in front of me and, in the style for which Boston drivers have
become famous, threw me the finger.
Thank you and have a nice day.
I was somewhere near the New Hampshire border doing penance for
my early escape from the office by listening to talk radio. John from Boise
was making his feelings about gay marriage as explicit as you can without
using expletives. Paul from Bismarck, or was it Carl from Potsdam?, was
talking about the president and first lady in ways that do not reflect well
on his upbringing.
So kind of you to call.
Halfway up the sea coast, my Thank God It's Friday Mood had dark¬
ened considerably. As I crossed the Maine border, I pushed Patti Smith
into my tape deck. But my internal track was playing a second tape enti¬
tled: What on Earth is Wrong With People?
I am no double for Miss Manners. More than one unkind phrase has
tripped off my tongue or fingertips. But if I was happy to be leaving civi¬
lization that late summer weekend, it may have been because civility had
already departed.
The previous night, exploring the vast mansion of the Internet, I wan¬
dered into several unfamiliar chat rooms. Some of the visitors were people
who change nicknames more often than they change socks. These are peo¬
ple who checked their courtesy along with their identity at the door. A
main method of communication in these chambers seems to be flaming.
What they have in common with the digit-wagging driver, with the 67
talk show-callers, is not just their aerobic exercise of the "freedom of CHAPTER 3
speech"—a freedom that leaves even this First Amendment junkie grimac¬ Knowledge
ing. They belong, rather, to the growing uncommunity of people who now
act with the protection of anonymity.
Would that driver have expressed his opinion if he thought I knew his
mother or his boss? Is the man from Bismarck equally nasty at his local
market? Have any of the flamethrowers singed someone under their own
name?
The rap on America is that we live today in a disunited state where, in
the near-cliche phrase of Robert Putnam, we even "bowl alone." There are
fewer communities to which we belong these days, fewer places where we
are known.
At the same time, there are far more opportunities for being anony¬
mous. We have become as unaccountable to each other, as unaccountable
for what we say, as unnamed sources. . . .
These thoughts follow me onto the ferry to one of the islands that dot
this Maine coast. This floating community hall, where islanders check on
the cork bulletin board and on each other's children, traverses the short
haul and long psychic distance to a place where people wave to each other
along the country roads. Not just because it is an island custom but
because we know each other.
If I have learned anything in my 15 years here as a summer person,
it's the delicate ecology of island life where people are both away and
together. It's the sense of community that comes from independence and
mutual dependence.
I have learned that civility—not always intimacy and rarely hostility—
sustains a community. That civility only rules when people understand
that they must abide each other and abide together. . . .
On a mainland of individualists it's no surprise that many value the
liberation that comes from being unknown. No surprise that many change
identities as if life were a masquerade ball, or as if there were an endless
supply of fresh starts.
But as a nation we suffer more from a lack of cohesion than a lack of
independence. If the center isn't holding, it's because there simply aren't
enough stakeholders.
So, on a later summer weekend, I look back at the coast of America.
From here, it seems as if the contentious, fractured story of this country is
now being written by American Anonymous. (Excerpted from Ellen
Goodman, "Anonymity Provides Cover for Mushrooming Incivility,"
Boston Globe, September 5, 1996. © 1996, The Boston Globe Newspaper
Co./Washington Post Writers Group. Reprinted with permission.)
Exercise 12
Cut out or copy articles, letters, or editorials from newspapers, magazines, or
sections of texts that you use for other courses. For each, write out the topic,
thesis, issue, and main points.
68 ANSWERS TO THE EXERCISES
CHAPTER 3
Knowledge Answers to Exercise 1
1. Charter schools
3. Sunflowers
5. Toyota 4Runner
7. SGS; assets withheld by SGS from Holocaust victims
9. Straight Edgers
11. USTA Tennis Teacher's Conference
13. Juvenile crime
15. Violent behavior
17. Improving major-league baseball
19. Thinness in young women; the media
Answers to Exercise 2
1. What are Charter schools?

3. Are sunflowers a beneficial crop?
5. Is the Toyota 4Runner a top Sport Utility Van?
7. Did SGS withhold funds from Holocaust victims?
9. Who is the new rebel group called Straight Edgers?
11. Should you attend the USTA Tennis Teacher's conference?
13. Should we take action to divert juveniles from committing crime?
15. Can we affect the causes of violent behavior?
17. Should we change the rules of baseball?
19. Are young women victims of a media that encourages them to be unnaturally thin?
1. Topic: motherhood
Issue: Does love begin with motherhood?
3. Topic: (Russian) emigres
Issue: Should recent emigres get social benefits without having paid prior taxes?
5. Topic: Social Security cost of living index
Issue: Should the Social Security cost of living index be tied directly to the Con¬
sumer Price Index?
7. Topic: Antarctic sea-ice
Issue: Would a large and rapid decrease in Antarctic summertime sea-ice have
global significance?
9. Topic: Male stickleback
Issue: Is the male stickleback choosy about the females he allows to lay eggs in his
nest?
11. Topic: Teaching loads; professors
Issue: Should college professors have a heavier teaching load?
13. Topic: Care for the dying
Issue: Should we provide a standard for good care at the end of life?
15. Topic: FDA rules
Issue: Are FDA rules appropriate?
1. Topic: destructive behavior. Are parents responsible for the rise in the destructive
behavior of youth? The author moves from the role of parents in failing to commu-
nicate values to their children to denying that the media is a cause of the rise in 69
destructive behavior.
CHAPTER 3
3. Topic: abortion. Do women have the right to choose to have an abortion? The author Knowledge
moves from a consideration of the right to choose an abortion to the right of crimi¬
nals to appeal their sentence. One might consider this an analogy; however, the
paragraph never comes back to the topic of abortion.
5. Topic: communication between parents and their teens. Issue: Should teens try to
communicate with their parents? The author moves from the view that teens
should talk to their parents about problems to find out the parents' perspective, to
the view that parents should know everything about their teens.
1. A charter school is a semipublic school funded by both state and private funds.
3. Sunflowers are a beneficial crop.
5. The Toyota 4Runner is a top Sport Utility Van.
7. SGS did not withhold funds from Holocaust victims.
9. The Straight Edgers are a counter-culture group that avoids alcohol, drugs and
often sex.
11. You should attend the USTA Tennis Teacher's Conference.
13. Flamingos have departed from Lake Nakuru because of the city's growth.
15. We can affect the causes of violent behavior.
17. Instead of changing the rules of baseball, we should spend our time teaching our
kids the nuances of the game and why it is important that baseball change little.
19. Young women are victims of a media that encourages them to be unnaturally thin.
1. Motherhood in mammals requires a significant investment in time and energy.

3. Recent emigres should not get social benefits without having paid prior taxes.
5. The Social Security cost of living index should not be tied directly to the Consumer
Price Index.
7. A large and rapid decrease in Antarctic summertime sea-ice would have global
significance.
9. The male stickleback is choosy about the females he allows to lay eggs in his nest.
11. College professors ought not to have a heavier teaching load.
13. We can provide care for dying people rather than use physician-assisted suicide.
15. The FDA rules are appropriate.
1. Topic: AAUW
Issue: Should a woman join AAUW?
Thesis: A woman should join AAUW.
3. Topic: Lawrence Coss
Issue: Does Lawrence Coss exemplify solid values in his rags-to-riches story?
Thesis: Lawrence Coss does not exemplify solid values in his rags-to-riches story.
5. Topic: Multipersonality disorders
Issue: Are multiple personality disorders really increasing?
Thesis: Some psychiatrists say multiple personality disorders are not really
increasing.
7. Topic: Life on Mars
Issue: Does the possibility of life on Mars pose a problem for the Darwinian theory
of evolution?
70 Thesis: The possibility of life on Mars poses such a problem. Note that rather in
paragraph 2 changes the paragraph's direction.
CHAPTER 3
Knowledge 9. Topic: Balanced budged amendment
Issue: Should Congress enact a balanced budget amendment to the
Constitution?
Thesis: Congress should not enact a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.
1. The paragraph gives two descriptive characteristics of charter schools: they are
funded by a mixture of public and private funds and they are free to create their
own curricular guidelines and school policies.
3. Sunflowers guzzle water and nutrients and hasten wind erosion. Yet they also
increase fertility for winter wheat and keep moisture and nutrients in the soil if not
removed.
5. It has a more powerful engine, a more spacious interior, and leather-trimmed seats.
7. The funds referred to did not belong to Holocaust victims and were returned to their
proper owners. The OSS report indicated that SGS was cooperative in this matter.
9. The author describes various characteristics of these individuals who conform and
do not conform with young drug and alcohol users.
11. By attending you can make connections with other tennis professionals and enthu¬
siasts, trade tips, keep up with cutting edge technology, and buy U.S. Open tickets.
13. Since the number of teenagers will increase 1 percent each year for the next fifteen
years, the number of crimes will increase.
15. We can change television and movies.
17. Baseball is meant to be played the way it is.
19. The Olympics are provided as evidence to support the thesis that young women
are victims of the media's concentration on thinness.
1. Mammalian mothers spend a lot of time nurturing their young.

3. Our ancestors worked when they emigrated. I cannot meet my medical needs on
my Social Security check. It is humiliating to watch these emigres collect.
5. Certain parts—medical care—of the CPI increase faster than others, and this par¬
ticularly affects older people living off of Social Security.
7. Sea-ice is an important component of the Earth's climate system. A number of sub-
points—that it exerts strong controls on the exchanges of energy between atmo¬
sphere and oceans at high latitudes, that it has a higher albedo than open ocean, and
that it acts as an insulating blanket—defends this.
9. A male has a real interest in limiting the size of his clutch. Heavier eggs laid by
larger females produced more successful fry.
11. Professors would not have adequate time to prepare, to conduct research, to meet
with students, or to do committee work.
13. The author identifies a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Associa¬
tion. She reports her own experience with her father and grandfather.
15. 1. Nicotine is addictive a. Many smokers tried to quit and failed. This was not due
to character faults or lack of willpower, b. The relapse of smokers is similar to that
found with other addictive drugs. It treats tobacco like other addictive drugs.
1. AAUW has promoted education and equity for women and girls. AAUW women
are leaders across the country.
3. He has few family values, as shown by allowing his mother to live in a one- 71
bedroom apartment. He left a trail of laid-off executives.
CHAPTER 3
5. Multiple personality disorders are overdiagnosed. The reason for this is that the Knowledge
criteria for diagnosing disorders are too vague.
7. Darwinists hold that life evolved from random chance occurrences. But if Mars has
life as well, this unlikely event occurred not once but twice in the same solar sys¬
tem, and that is very unlikely.
9. The amendment would change the balance of power among the three branches of
government and within the legislative branch. The amendment would increase the
cost of government. The amendment would either be unenforceable or shift budg¬
etary powers to the courts. It would give rise to a flood of litigation.
1. Topic: Head and Shoulders shampoo

Issue: Should you use Head and Shoulders shampoo?
Thesis: You should use Head and Shoulders shampoo.
Main points: Head and Shoulders helps prevent flakes before they get started.
3. Topic: Supply-side economics
Issue: Is supply-side economics wrongheaded?
Thesis: Supply-side economics is wrongheaded.
Main points: 1. Supply and demand business yields improved profits. These prof¬
its stimulate investment, which puts the poor to work. The poor spend their
income and stimulate the economy. 2. Tax cuts to stimulate the economy only stim¬
ulate stock market speculation. This leads to disorderly markets.
5. Topic: Progress of Blacks
Issue: Is the civil rights movement responsible for Black economic progress?
Thesis: Black economic progress is not due to the civil rights movement, but to
hard work.
Main points: 1. Incomes of Black males rose faster than those of white males
between 1940 and 1964. 2. More Blacks became professionals before than after the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. 3. Those who tell us otherwise have a vested interest in
maintaining the welfare state (special privileges for Blacks).
7. Topic: Football game between Tennessee and Florida
Issue: Will turnovers be the key to deciding the football game between Tennessee
and Florida?
Thesis: Turnovers will be the key to deciding the football game between Tennessee
and Florida
Main points: 1. The winner of this game the last four seasons has had the least
amount of turnovers. 2. Tennessee has a lot of turnovers already this season.
9. Topic: damns, ecosystems
Issue: Should we dismantle dams?
Thesis: The author does not give a clear response to the issue posed.
Main points: 1. A study is presented to show that ecosystems are seriously affected
in areas near dams. 2. Periodic opening of dams has a minor effect on ecology. 3.
Dismantling dams can affect shipping and port cities. 4. Dismantling dams might
not restore the ecosystem.
CHAPTER 4
Comprehension
Making Information Your Own
Undoubtedly you encountered several new words in Chapter 3. Perhaps

you noticed how not knowing these words affected your understanding of
the sentences or paragraphs where they occurred. Several years ago my crit¬
ical thinking class worked through one of the paragraphs in Exercise 1 in
Chapter 3: "Dr. Kevorkian has become a caricature of his own cause. He
stokes the fires of debate, generating heat but not light." One student was
able to pick out and repeat correctly the author's thesis in this brief para¬
graph. When I asked her to put the thesis in her own words, there was a
long pause. Finally she looked at me and asked, "What is caricature?"
Though this student was able to recognize the thesis in the example, she
could do nothing more with it because she did not comprehend what the
sentence said.
Comprehending what we read or hear means making the ideas our own.
To make it our own we need to be able to put what is written or said into our
own words. Understanding—the ability to make something our own—comes
in degrees. Sometimes we fully comprehend what we read and can clearly
explain it to someone else. Sometimes we have a partial idea of the material
and can explain only some of it to another person. At other times, when our
understanding is vague, we do not know how to explain the ideas expressed.
Yet in each case translating what is written or said from someone else's lan¬
guage into our own is the first step toward comprehension.
This and the following chapter attend to comprehension and language,
emphasizing not only our attempts to put others' ideas into our own lan¬
guage, but also noting various ways in which language can be confusing and
misleading. Because language is rich and complex, in using it we can go astray
in diverse ways. We examine ways language can be used and misused, with
the ultimate goal of helping you become aware of how you can employ lan¬
guage more effectively to express your ideas more clearly and be more fully
aware of how others use language.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE 73
CHAPTER 4
Language makes comprehension possible. We use language in speaking, writ¬ Making Information
ing, signing, and thinking. When we read what others have written or listen to Your Own
them speak, we actually are involved with two languages: the other person's
and our own.
We generally understand our own language. We have a pretty good idea of
what we mean when we say something. We put our meaning into language;
our language expresses what we mean. However, there are exceptions. Some¬
times we misspeak or say things that we think we understand, but when
pressed we are not so sure that what we said clearly expressed what we meant
to say. Several years ago someone questioned me about a paragraph in a book
I had written. When I reread the paragraph, I also could not make sense of
what I had written. Presumably when I wrote the paragraph I knew what I
was writing, but I did not communicate clearly enough for a reader, including
myself at a later time, to comprehend it.
Perhaps you have had a similar experience. You said something, but when
someone asked you what you meant, you were not so sure. It sounded good at
the time. The words were familiar. But you might not have paid sufficient
attention to what the words actually communicated. Maybe it was because
you used words that were familiar but which you never clearly defined. Or
perhaps what you said was so vague or the grammatical structure of the sen¬
tence was so unclear that your comments could be interpreted in different
ways.
In short, familiarity with our own language provides no guarantee that we
fully comprehend what we say or that we can communicate effectively. We
need to think carefully about our own language, in particular about what the
words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs mean.
At the same time, your inability to express what you think you under¬
stand is a sign that you really do not understand. Generally, the ability to put
the information into words is a sign of understanding. The clearer you can
express yourself, the more clearly you have understood.
When we consider the language of others, comprehension becomes more
difficult. Sometimes the other person's language is familiar, invoking ordi¬
nary words and sentence structures. At other times it appears to be a strange
language. In these cases we struggle to understand what someone else is
saying.
Failure to comprehend what others say or write can result from several
factors. Let us note five of them.
• The language of others contains the unfamiliar.
Others' language can be filled with words whose meanings are unknown to
the reader or listener, either because the words are novel or because they are
technical terms requiring specialized knowledge. My daughter's science
teacher once asked her to memorize a list of words related to chemistry: ions,
colloids, solvents, solutes. She memorized the list and their definitions so that
she could pass the matching test. But when I asked her what ions and colloids
74 were, she had no idea. Because she memorized the words in the language of
CHAPTER 4
the textbook author, which was not her own language, the words had little if
Making Information any meaning for her. The result was that she was unable to use them in mean¬
Your Own ingful sentences. Her case is not unique. The meaning of what others say or
write sometimes presents a mystery. If we want to understand it, we need to
penetrate their language.
Education often acquaints us with unfamiliar language. Think of your first
day in a class with a brand new subject matter, like biology, economics, or phi¬
losophy. Think how your head began to spin as new words were spoken
(enzyme, codons, vacuole, countervailing power, induced disinvestment, laissez faire,
metaphysics, epistemology), or words with which you were familiar (cell, market,
demand, competitor, person) were given new twists and connections. These
words function in specific ways in those disciplines; to understand these
words you have to think like a biologist, economist, or philosopher. Only after
you begin to think in these ways do you feel comfortable with the class and
comprehend the teacher and the text.
• The word order may be different or some of the sentences may be intolera¬
bly long.
Unfortunately, this is often a feature of academic writing. In some books a sin¬

gle sentence may encompass half a page.
• The communication is incomplete.
Often our communication is cryptic. [Do you know what I mean by this word?
To comprehend this sentence you need to understand the word cryptic. If you
are unfamiliar with the word, look it up and write its definition in your own
words in the margin of the text.] One day when my teenage daughter and I
drove onto the freeway after returning from a visit to the surgeon, she said
from the back seat, "Isn't it surprising that this one doesn't have a light thing."
I was quiet for a while as I attempted to decipher what she said. She wore a
heavy leg brace from her recent surgery, so my first thought was that “light
thing" stood in contrast to the "heavy thing" she was wearing. After that idea
led nowhere, I attempted to interpret "light" as in "light bulb." Where in this
car should there be a light bulb where there is none? That too led me nowhere.
She finally broke the silence, "You didn't understand what I said, did you?"
"No," I replied. "What I meant," she said, "was that this entrance ramp, unlike
others on the freeway, has no traffic light to control traffic getting onto the free¬
way." Now I understood. Her original statement was so incomplete that I had
no idea what she was talking about, though she knew what she was saying
because she could rephrase it.
Necessarily, all our descriptions are to some extent incomplete. For exam¬
ple, suppose I tell someone in a conversation about what happened when I
went cross-country skiing yesterday. When I describe my skiing, I leave out
most of the story. I cannot and do not want to provide every detail or say
everything that happened in the two hours of skiing—the condition of the
snow on all parts of the courses, the slope of each hill, the depth of the snow
on the hills, what happened and how I felt when my skis went out from under
me on the curve at the bottom of the first hill, the winter clothes I was wearing
at the time, my body temperature, the types and shapes of trees I saw. If I 75
reported every detail, the reporting would take longer than the actual skiing. CHAPTER 4
Conversation would cease because others would never get the chance to speak Making Information
in turn. So we speak cryptically to convey our message and to allow others to Your Own
respond with their story. We intentionally or unintentionally omit or ignore

most of the details and make assumptions about what the other person may
already know.
But now the mystery begins as the listener attempts to search out and fill
in what is missing from what we said. Some details the listener does not need
to fill in because they are unessential to the story. Other details, however, are
essential for the story to make sense. Consequently, when we listen we "read
into" what the other says. On one hand, if we can add what is missing or
assumed, our comprehension can be increased. On the other hand, if we con¬
tribute the wrong material, we run the danger of misunderstanding what is
said. Making up for incompleteness is both necessary and dangerous for our
mutual understanding.
• Our language has connotations.
Each person to some extent has his or her own language. Though we frequently
use words that have common meanings for both communicator and listener, we
also use words that for us have special connotations—that is, words with spe¬
cific associations, connections or emotional attachments that play a significant
role in our communication but with which others might be unfamiliar. A fuller
communication would let others in on how we use our language.
For example, consider how people use the words "conservative" and "lib¬
eral." One summer I was in Chile, listening to a professor describe former Pres¬
ident Ronald Reagan as a liberal. This description did not sit right with me, for
Reagan is known as a conservative. The use of the term so affected my under¬
standing that I could not follow her points. Finally, I found the opportunity to
question her about her use of the term "liberal," and she explained that she was
using it to refer specifically to Reagan's free trade policies. Reducing tariffs and
barriers to free trade between nations was a liberal position on trade. Only
when I understood how she was using the word liberal and the connotations
the word had for her could I begin to make sense of what she said.
• Language comes couched in a conceptual framework.
That framework we might call our worldview. It expresses our larger perspec¬
tive from which we interpret our experience. Our worldview includes our fun¬
damental conceptual categories, beliefs, the way we know things, and our out¬
look on the world. It arises from the influence of our parents, teachers, peers,
cultural and ethnic heritage, and community. Thus, to understand other per¬
sons, it is important to understand where they are coming from and their
biases, culture, emotional make-up, and beliefs. Comprehension takes account
of that larger framework.
Consider, for example, how different people use the word creation as
applied to nature. A person who believes that God brought everything into
existence means something very different by this word than someone who
does not believe in God at all. Both persons might use the terms creation and
76 creature, but each brings to it a different set of connotations that the hearer or
CHAPTER 4 reader must penetrate.
Making Information Our language is context sensitive. Its meaning relates to the situation in
Your Own which the discourse occurs. Suppose, for example, someone said, "He ran
home." What does this mean? Well, it depends on the context. If the person said
this at a baseball park, it would probably mean something very different than if
it were said in the street outside your house in the presence of some bullies.
As we already noted, one consequence of these differences between your
language and that of others is that once you translate what others have commu¬
nicated into your own language, you may have altered what they said. You may
have understood only part of their communication or, more seriously, have taken
them to mean something they really did not mean. You may have misinterpreted
the communication in terms of your own desires or conceptual categories.
A classic example is found in a story about Croesus, king of ancient Lydia.
The great Persian army of King Cyrus had Croesus's sizable army under siege.
Croesus was in a quandary about whether to concede to his enemy's demands
or resist. He sent his emissary to the oracle at Delphi in Greece to inquire
about what course of action would be most auspicious. On receiving the
inquiry, the oracle replied that if Croesus attacked the Persians, he would
destroy a mighty army. The king received the news with joy, thinking that the
oracle foresaw his destruction of the Persians, and set about attacking the
enemy. His forces soon were completely routed. His life spared, Croesus
inquired from Delphi—possibly to get his consulting fee returned—about how
his losses squared with the oracle's message, for he had attacked the Persians
but had not destroyed the mighty Persian army. The oracle replied that its pre¬
diction had been correct after all; Croesus had destroyed a mighty army—his
own. His misunderstanding cost him his throne.
There is no easy way to guard against miscommunication or misunder¬
standing, but some steps can be taken to help minimize the danger.
♦ Inquire how other people have understood the communication.
If what you think the person said agrees with what others understand, you
probably have heard or read the person correctly. Of course, everyone could
have missed the point, but that is a less likely outcome than that one person
missed the point. Consulting with groups helps us arrive at a common consen¬
sus of understanding.
♦ Try to explain back to the other person what he or she said. This is
one way to test whether both of you are operating on the "same
wavelength."
♦ Note what you think might be some important assumptions that
the speaker or author is making and inquire of the speaker, if possi¬
ble, about those assumptions.
♦ Always give the other person the benefit of the doubt if there are
problems like contradictions or inconsistencies in the communica¬
tion. Try to interpret the communication in ways that minimize
these difficulties.
In effect, we function in a world filled with different languages, our own

and that of others. Comprehension occurs when we are able to bring these lan-
guages closer together. The more they coincide, the better we comprehend 77
what is communicated. This chapter is dedicated to overcoming obstacles to CHAPTER 4
bringing the two languages closer together. Making Information
Your Own
1. Write a page describing in some detail a per¬ b. things your partner left out of the descrip¬
son, place, thing, or event that interests you. tion you would like to know.
2. Exchange paragraphs and read your part¬ c. language that you find unclear.
ner's paragraph. Write down 3. Share these observations and rewrite your
a. your partner's viewpoint (his or her in¬ page so that the description is clearer.
terests, relation to what he or she wrote
about, or assumptions).
Exercise 1
Readers often are invited to comment on articles published in magazines and
journals. A number of readers wrote letters responding to an article by David
Miller published in Science. A subsequent letter writer wrote concerning these
letters and Miller's response to them that "the writings of some scientists and
philosophers appear as overwhelming semantic gobbledygook." Two of those
letters are reprinted here. First give the topic, issue, thesis, and main points of
the letters. Then decide whether the charge leveled against these letters has
merit, telling why you decide as you do.
Letter A
Miller says, "Skepticism is correct." Does he detect no tingling sense of warning

that the mountain top on which he stands is slippery with oil and beginning to
shake? As he ably states it, skepticism denies that any opinion, even when
applied only to the level of common sense, is more likely than another, on the
basis of experience or evidence. I agree only insofar as Miller's position is
unsupported by evidence. Actually it is a self-nullifying paradox. His calling
Hume's opinion a 'discovery' is another. Philosophers are struggling to hold on
to science as simply one subdomain of their province of knowledge through
reason. Quite to the contrary, I have felt for some time now that science has left
philosophy behind, having found and held tightly the simple idea that one can
ask certain questions in ways that increase our ability to predict nature's behav¬
ior. It is no more or less than that, and so it has escaped from philosophy's
grasp. Science's core principle of falsification is a harsh master—one, in my
opinion, that philosophers prefer to evade. The postmodernist-deconstructionist
emperor had no clothes, only arcane verbosity signifying nothing. (Source: Paul
Odgren, letter. Science, July 9,1999, p. 199. Used by permission)
Letter B
Miller appears to confuse logic and intellectual authority and how Karl Popper
resolved the problem of scientific knowledge with the critical search for errors.
The assumption of philosophy is that, because the authority created by scientific
78 arguments depends on deduction, the authority created in turn by such argu¬
ments must arise also from a parallel kind of deduction. Philosophers call this
CHAPTER 4
Making Information justification. But Popper shows that this is a false parallelism because the
Your Own authority of scientific argument is created by logic in regard to our pursuit of
truth as a goal. Miller ignores this and so asserts rather than explains Popper's
key insight that the rational authority of science comes from its search for errors.
This point about rational authority coming from goals rather than justifica¬
tion may seem obtuse, but consider the case of aircraft safety. Here an intense
process of error detection occurs based on logical and empirical argument, yet
the authority created by such deductions about airworthiness does not link to
any ultimate justification, as it comes entirely from the pursuit of safety as a
goal. The same process in regard to truth backs the authority of science.
(Source: John R. Skoyles, letter, Science, July 9,1999, p. 200. Used by permission)
Exercise 2
Carefully read this editorial written during the 1996 presidential campaign.
For peddling his books, route might lead

to White House
Maureen Dowd
I was sitting in my office, feeling left out. demeaning for a man such as yourself to
Was I the only person in the country who bother with pig roasts, position papers
had not been slipped an advance copy of and small-time reporters. That is the
Colin Powell’s book? Then I heard a hum. beauty of our plan: You float above the
Mirabile faxu! Someone at Random fray, a generalizing general. Merchandis¬
House remembered me. And they were ing transcends politics. No, merchandis¬
leaking me something even more valu¬ ing is politics. With a first printing of
able than the book—a confidential memo 950,000, who needs a vision?
about the book, typed on the poohbah’s I’m pretty certain you can be bigger
stationery: than the pope. (He works with our peo¬
Date: Aug. 1,1995 ple, too. He’ll be here next month. Let’s
From: Harry Evans do lunch.) You can bypass New Hamp¬
To: Collin Powell shire and Iowa and go straight to the
Re: The campaign Kirkus primary. Don’t worry about those
Now that your presidential campaign books by Lamar Alexander and Ross
is about to go into hard covers, I would Perot. They’ll only get Sally Jessy.
like to review our strategy. Stay on message as you crisscross
If my orchestration of your book tour the country: “I’m not campaigning at the
goes as planned, in the course of a sin¬ moment,” “I don’t know if I’ll ever cam¬
gle breathless week you will be trans¬ paign” and “I’m not an expert on these
formed from a self-promoting bureaucrat matters yet.” Rehearse these lines as
who left Saddam in power to an over¬ often as you did that brilliant. “Cut it off
whelming favorite to win the White and kill it” line about the Iraqi army.
House. Remember, “Crusade in Europe” (Maybe you should have rehearsed the
helped get Eisenhower the Republican “kill it” a little more. Ha, ha!)
nomination, and that was back before You have a gift for elusiveness rare
Larry King invented the fawn-o-rama. in this confessional age. The book is a
I understand your distaste for the tra¬ slippery masterpiece, eliding your role in
ditional political process. It’s grubby and various world travesties. From My Lai to
continued
79
For peddling his books, route might lead CHAPTER 4
Making Information
to White House continued Your Own
Iran-contra to Desert Storm, you had a We’ll give an exclusive—I know you
bad feeling but by the time things blew up prefer to be inclusive, ha, ha!—on the
your had moved on, and it was not your “issues” to Barbara Walters. The papers
fault. Don’t mention your pals Woodward will have to run excerpts from an ABC
and Bradlee at the Wal-Marts. If people press release hyping the Walters inter¬
realize what a total Beltway animal you view because we’ll bar them from writing
are, we won’t be able to protect you from about the book for several more days!
pork rinds. And try not to sound so defen¬ This will be part of an elaborate series of
sive when you talk about Saddam. Re¬ cascading embargoes. If reporters whine
member, you were not the president or that they feel exploited, just murmur: “I’m
secretary of defense. It was not your fault. sorry, Random House has my hands
Our marketing strategy is a dynamic tied.” It isn’t your fault.
mix of access and the denial of access. Then you move on to Katie-Tom-
This will whip everyone into a frenzy. We Larry-David-Jay, never letting yourself be
kick off the campaign with a party at I pinned down. Say it would be easiest to
Trulli on the East Side. Tina and I will run as a Republican. Also say that the
round up the usual elites. Eat fruit tart time has arrived for a third party. Also
enigmatically and offer some Rea- say that you haven’t ruled out challeng¬
ganesque remarks about how there is no ing Bill Clinton. (Note: Don’t get the Lar-
limit to how far this country can go. Liz rys confused. Sanders is not a real talk
Smith will rave about the bound aspara¬ show host.)
gus. Wait until she sees the bound book! Don’t worry about a conflict of inter¬
We’ve also arranged a conglomerate est. I’ll be available for more image con¬
tease. We sell excerpts to Time, and then sulting once you’re in the Oval Office.
shriek when Newsweek purloins the What’s good for Random House is good
book, giving us double exposure. Time for the United States.
will be mad, but they’ll still pony up a Source: Maureen Dowd, "Candidate from Random House/'
New York Times, September 14,1995, p. A26. Copyright © 1995
party in Washington.
by The New York Times. Reprinted by permission.
1. What are the topic, issue, thesis, and main points of this editorial?
2. Do you think that the writer received this memo from Random House?
Why or why not?
3. How does your answer to question 2 affect the way you understand this
editorial?
FACT AND OPINION
Perhaps in your class discussion you debated the authenticity of the alleged
memo in Exercise 2. If your class is like the ones I teach, debate rages on both
sides. Some students say that the memo was genuine; otherwise the author
would not have cited the memo and it would not have been published in a rep¬
utable newspaper. Other students see the memo as a literary device. For evi¬
dence they point to the negative tone and the critical statements made about
Colin Powell in the alleged memo to him. Perhaps in the end you decided that
whether the memo was genuine or not was just a matter of opinion.
80 How often have you heard it said or said yourself, "That's just your opin¬
CHAPTER 4 ion"? Ffequently, the words "just an opinion" are used to dismiss another's
Making Information viewpoint quickly and easily. "Just opinions" allegedly are not worth much
Your Own because they are subjective: they simply reflect the view of the holder of the
opinion. They are also not worth much because in a culture that emphasizes
relativity, all "just opinions" are equal. You have a right to your opinions and I
to mine. Since we cannot judge among opinions, they have little market value.
What we really want are the facts, and by facts we usually mean the oppo¬
site of opinions. Facts report objective things that one can see, hear, smell, or
feel, the sorts of things about which everyone can agree. They are supported
by common experience.
The result is that in common discussion we presuppose a conflict between
fact and opinion. A person consults horoscopes for opinions, a doctor for facts.
The two are supposedly on opposite sides of the same coin; the one lacks
authority and possesses only personal value, the other has authority and
hence plays a legitimate role in forming beliefs.
Although this portrays the common view, I think it is mistaken in a way
that can have serious consequences. In particular, it tends to reinforce a com¬
mon attitude toward opinion, leading to failure to pay attention to and take
seriously people's opinions. We cease to be listeners, comprehenders, and criti¬
cal thinkers. Instead we become dismissers—that is "just their opinion." Per¬
haps you have seen it in your classes: when professors talk, students take
notes because they have the facts to make their opinion count (especially on
tests). But when students talk, it is merely their opinion and the pencils and
pens are silent.
People's opinions do matter. Your opinions matter. What we need to dis¬
cover is whether your and others' opinions are true and worthy of being
believed. Do they accord with the facts? Are they supported by evidence and
good reasoning, do they contradict established evidence, or is the matter cur¬
rently undecidable because reliable, relevant evidence is absent? Critical
thinkers undertake to answer these questions about opinions.
What is opinion and what is fact? Let me begin with facts. Facts are the
way things are, the way the world is. Thus, investigators like the TV detective
Colombo want to discover the facts. They want to know what really is the
case—"just the facts, ma'am; just the facts."
A fact makes a statement true. For example, the statement "The Earth is
the third planet from the sun" is true and the statement "The Earth is the fifth
planet from the sun" is false because of the fact that the Earth is the third
planet from the sun. What makes the first statement true is not that you
learned it, that some textbook says this is the case, or that somebody observed
it. These are ways by which people come to know the truth about how the Earth
relates to the sun, but this is not what makes the statement that the Earth is the
third planet from the sun true. That is, we should not confuse what makes a state¬
ment true with how we come to know its truth.
Indeed, whether something is a fact, and hence whether the statement that
reports or expresses it is true, is independent of anyone's knowledge of that
fact (except in cases where the facts have to do with your knowledge, as in "I
know she is at the dentist.") For example, does the statement "The Moche
were a Pre-Incan culture" express a fact? You probably don't know the answer 81
to this question. But whether you do or do not affects neither the facts in this CHAPTER 4
case nor the truth of the statement. If the Moche were a Pre-Incan culture (as Making Information
they were), then the statement is true regardless of your beliefs. Your Own
This understanding of facts has some interesting implications. For exam¬

ple, the statement "Dinosaurs existed" expresses a fact if dinosaurs existed.
What about the statement "God exists"? The normal reaction is that this
expresses not a fact but an opinion because people disagree about this claim.
But the claim that dinosaurs existed is also an opinion that people hold. That
dinosaurs existed is a fact if they did exist. Similarly with "God exists"; this
statement reports a fact if God exists. Thus, the issue of whether God (or
dinosaurs, elm trees, or your mother) exists has nothing to do with opinion
but everything to do with whether it is a fact that God (or dinosaurs, elm trees,
or your mother) really exists.
A fact, then, is what actually is the case, and the task of our investigative
skills is to discover the facts. The problem is that getting to the "way things really
are" is often very difficult. Part of the problem has to do with the world itself.
While some facts are easier to discern (that dinosaurs existed and that elm trees
and your mother exist), other facts are more difficult (such as whether or not God
exists or O. J. Simpson committed murder). In the cases of God, crimes, causes of
diseases, life elsewhere in the solar system, and the like, much investigation of
available evidence is needed to decide the case. Perhaps you encountered this
debate about opinion and evidence in the previous exercise when you tried to
decide whether the memo was actually from the editor of Random House or
whether it was a literary device employed by the author, Maureen Dowd.
The other part of the problem of getting to know the facts has to do with
us as knowers or discoverers. Each of us approaches the world with our own
sensory limitations. Some sensory limitations are common to us all. Some
sounds extend beyond our range of hearing; you can't hear the dog whistle
but Rover can. Ultraviolet colors extend beyond our range of sight, while
objects like atoms and electrons are too small or fast to be seen with the naked
eye. When we focus on something, we tend to miss other features that are
present. (Perhaps you have been in an auto accident where you were blind¬
sided at a traffic light because you focused on the traffic light or approaching
traffic and ignored the input of your peripheral vision). Some people possess
keener sight or hearing than others; some have sensory disorders (color blind¬
ness) or deficits (loss of hearing or blindness).
We also experience sensory distortions. Our minds compensate for what the
senses present us so that we see things the way they ought to be rather than as
exact sensory reports. For example, look at the door or window across the
room from you. If you are at an angle to it, your sensory data should present
you with a trapezoid. Yet if I ask you about the shape of the door or window
that you see, you would unhesitatingly say that it is rectangular. Our minds
adjust the trapezoidal sensory data based on what they "know" to be the case.
However, at times our senses fool us when they make adjustments. In the
photograph of people standing in a room, note how our senses present us
information that the mind adjusts, giving us a very distorted view of the real¬
ity of the room.
Ames Room: Sensory distortions. Changes in perspective and size give a distorted
view of reality.
In this example called the Ames Room, we are more willing to put up with
the anomaly of people being of different sizes than with certain facts about the
room: that the floor is radically sloped, that the doors and walls are trape¬
zoidal rather than square, that the floor tiles are not square but diamond¬
shaped. We perceive the room as a normal room when in fact it is not.
Perhaps more serious are our conceptual distortions. We view the world
from a particular cultural, social, historical, and value bias. This bias can effec¬
tively distort the way we perceive things, leading to false or mistaken judg¬
ments about the way things really are. In one intriguing experiment, people
from two social classes were asked to put their hand in a bag and report on the
size of the coins it contained. Those from a wealthy background said that the
coins were small; those from economically deprived backgrounds reported
they were large. More than likely, social conditioning helped influence their
tactile perceptions.
Not so long ago (and still somewhat today) this conceptual bias was mani¬
fested in how boys and girls were treated. Girls were weak and had to be pro¬
tected from overexertion. When they played basketball they were not allowed
to run up and down the court like the boys but could only dribble twice before
passing. Only when these conceptual biases were erased could girls' basket¬
ball be played with the same rules as governed boys' basketball.
What this means is that we all face a challenge in attempting to get to the
facts of the case, to discern the way things really are. When we do this, we
form opinions about the way things really are. Opinions are our own beliefs
about the world.
We all have opinions. In fact, every idea we express or judgment we make 83
communicates our opinion about the way things are. Even if we report some¬ CHAPTER 4
one else's opinion, it is our opinion that this is his or her opinion. What we Making Information
work with, then, are our opinions. Consequently, to dismiss an opinion as Your Own
"just opinion" leaves us empty, for all that each of us has to work with are
opinions.
Facts are not the opposite of opinions. Facts and opinions are not at two
ends of the same scale; rather, they are two very different things. Facts are the
ways things really are in the world; opinions are our beliefs about the facts.
Hence, there are no true or false facts; facts simply are. But there are true or
false opinions, depending on whether these opinions correspond with the facts.
So what might the phrase "just opinion" mean? Often it means that some¬
one holds an opinion without considering or having evidence or reasons for or
against it. It is belief without warrant or basis. This lack of basis does not make
"just opinions" false or unworthy of consideration; they could be true opin¬
ions. It merely means that those who hold such opinions have not considered
or lack the evidence needed to help them to determine whether their opinions
represent the facts and hence are true. Critical thinkers want to know what
reasons or grounds a person might give in support of an opinion. In effect,
they move from "just opinions" to substantiated or supported opinions, opin¬
ions they might be justified in holding.
Indeed, the point of critical thinking is to have true opinions—that is,
opinions that report or accord with the facts. We do this by investigating ours
and others' opinions to the best of our ability to see whether these opinions
can be justified. Philosophers appeal to a variety of criteria to establish opin¬
ions. Opinions are justified when they are reliable; my belief that this food is
not poisonous reports the facts if when I eat it I don't get sick. Opinions are
also justified when they are supported by evidence of various sorts: from
experience, reasoning, or authorities. My belief that the approaching clouds
will bring torrential rain is justified by my past experiences with similar look¬
ing clouds. The better and stronger the evidence, the more we are justified in
thinking that our opinions or beliefs are true.
In Chapters 10 through 12 we will consider the role evidence plays in justi¬
fying our own or others' opinions. We will study ways of evaluating that evi¬
dence to help us better determine when our or others' opinions are true and
when they are not. For now it is important to remember that facts are not the
opposite of opinions. The goal of critical thinkers is to identify which opinions
report the facts and which do not—which opinions are true and which are false.
STATEMENTS
We just argued that one of the goals of a critical thinker is to determine

whether opinions are true or false. We express our opinions in statements. For
example, scientists may express their opinion that life came to planet Earth
aboard icy asteroids by making a statement to that effect. So if we are going to
comprehend what other persons say, we have to understand the statements
they make.
84 Statements and Sentences
CHAPTER 4
Statements are assertions, expressed by complete or incomplete sentences, that
Making Information
Your Own
are either true or false. The following express statements because what they
express is either true or false.
1. Mary loves John.
2. John is loved by Mary.
3. While the teacher was peering over her shoulder, Susanne was trying to
figure out the answer to the geometry problem.
4. that the book was interesting to read
We might note some interesting features of these examples.
♦ While sentences 1 and 2 are different, they make the same statement
or assertion. Put another way, the two sentences make only one
statement.
♦ Sentence 3 contains only one sentence but makes two statements:
"the teacher was peering over her shoulder" and "Susanne was try¬
ing to figure out the answer to the geometry problem." We know
the sentence contains two statements because we can ask concern¬
ing each whether it is true or false. It is true or false that the teacher
was peering over her shoulder and true or false that Susanne was
trying to figure out the answer to the geometry problem.
♦ We could claim that sentence 3 contains only one statement, for the
claim that "Susanne was trying to figure out the answer to the
geometry problem while the teacher was peering over her shoul¬
der" is true or false. Hence, the division of sentences into statements
is somewhat (but not entirely) arbitrary, depending on how the
writer or reader wishes to structure the statements.
♦ Number 4, which is a sentence fragment and not a sentence,
expresses a statement—the book was interesting to read—that is
either true or false.
What these examples show is that it is important not to confuse sentences,
which are groups of words that make statements, questions, requests, com¬
mands, or exclamations, with statements. The sentence is the vehicle that con¬
veys the statement; the statement is what the sentence conveys. Since sen¬
tences often do not correlate one-to-one with statements, a sentence may
contain one or many statements. Often sentences have to be divided in order to
clarify further the respective statements the sentence makes.
So how do you know what the statements are in a sentence? One clue is to
• ask whether a group of words expressing a claim is true or false.
In the example "As he rode to the bank, his bicycle was struck by a speeding
car," you can ask whether "he rode to the bank" is true or false; likewise, you
can ask whether "his bicycle was struck by a speeding car" is true or false.
Both of these are claims and hence make statements.
A second clue is to
• look for the main verbs in the sentence and use these to construct your
statements.
For example, in the sentence "For two and a half hours the scientists collected 85
blood and fat samples, extracted a vestigial tooth to determine the bears' ages, CHAPTER 4
attached ear tags, and recorded the bears' temperature, length, girth, and Making Information
weight" (National Geographic, January 1998, p. 58), there are four main verbs: Your Own
collected, extracted, attached, and recorded. Though you may treat the entire
sentence as a statement, you may also treat it as making four statements: "for
two and a half hours the scientists collected blood and fat samples"; "the sci¬
entists extracted a vestigial tooth to determine the bears' ages"; "the scientists
attached ear tags"; "the scientists recorded the bears' temperature, length,
girth, and weight." Each main verb takes the scientists as the subject but
expresses a different claim that is either true or false.
Third,
• clauses either may or may not be treated as statements.
Whether one treats them as separate statements depends on the one who
analyzes the claim. It also depends on what else is said, especially if the
claim is part of an argument. For example, in the statement "As the helicop¬
ter swooped low and made several passes over the fleeing bears, a .32-gauge
rifle poked out and fired twice, sending a tranquilizer dart into each bear's
shoulder," you can treat this entire sentence as making one statement. But
you can also analyze the sentence into four statements: "the helicopter
swooped low over the fleeing bears"; "the helicopter made several passes
over the fleeing bears"; "a .32-gauge rifle poked out and fired twice"; "the
rifle sent a tranquilizer dart into each bear's shoulder." As we already noted,
how you divide the sentences can vary. Precisely how you divide the sen¬
tences matters less at this point than your seeing that statements are either
true or false. In working with deductive arguments, the division becomes
much more significant.
Consider the following paragraph, in which the various statements are
indicated by brackets.
[At 16 Walter attended St. Mark's Mission in Nenana,] [where his outdoor
skills and pleasant personality attracted the attention of the explorer. Episco¬
pal missionary and later Archdeacon of Alaska, Hudson Stuck,] [who adopted
him as his travel companion and camp assistant.] [In 1912, (Walter) accompa¬
nied Stuck on one of the explorer's greatest expeditions,] [during which Wal¬
ter became the first person to set foot on the summit of Mount McKinley.]
(Claire Rudolf Murphy and Jane G. Haigh, "Gold Rush Women," Alaska, Octo¬
ber 1997, p. 49)
This paragraph well illustrates how sentences can convey more than one state¬
ment, each of which can be true or false.
The important points are that sentences are not the same as statements,
statements are what interest us because we desire to discover the truth or fal¬
sity of claims, and only statements can be true or false.
Exercise 3
1. In the following paragraphs, identify statements by putting brackets around

each statement. Sometimes you may have to add words to help the state¬
ment make sense.
86 Unlike most hunters, I came to the sport relatively late in life. I first went
hunting in my late 20s. I got my chance courtesy of a new friend, a longtime
CHAPTER 4
Making Information
hunter who introduced me to the mysteries and rituals of the sport and drilled
Your Own into me his own highly evolved commitment to hunting ethics. Those were
singular gifts—both the hunting skills and the ethics—and ones that can be
repaid only by passing them on to another generation of hunters.
I've been hunting for about 20 years now, mostly for deer, but recently for
ducks. The land I hunt is private, and I hunt there by permission. Access and
competition are not problems, but poaching, trespassing, and road hunting
are highly visible to everyone who hunts in the region.
My views on hunting, my sense of ethics, my sense of hunter behavior
problems, and my expectations of myself and of those I hunt with are all
products of my experiences in the field—with a measure of reading, discus¬
sion, and fireside debate thrown in for seasoning. I was taught to hunt for the
joy of hunting and for the deep satisfaction of having hunted well, not for the
bag; to take pride in my outdoor skills more than in my kill; to savor wild
game; to know the land where I hunt; to study the critters, learn to read the
woods, and work with my hands to improve habitat; and to expect other
hunters to do pretty much the same. . . . (Maitland Sharpe, "Taking a Stand,"
Outdoor Ethics Newsletter, 12, no. 2 (Winter 1993), p. 7)
2. Find two paragraphs from a newspaper or magazine article and identify

the statements that are being made by putting brackets around each state¬
ment. Where necessary, add words to help the statements make sense.
Diverse Functions of Sentences

Our first point was that statements are assertions, expressed by complete or
incomplete sentences, that are either true or false. A second important point is
that not all sentences make statements or assertions; they do other things
instead. We communicate with each other for many reasons: for friendship, to
get basic necessities, to navigate from place to place, to find out what hap¬
pened, to understand the world better, to pass judgment in law courts, and so
on. To comprehend, we must note how the language is being used—that is, we
must discover its purpose or function. Here is a partial list of types of sen¬
tences that do not make statements because they are neither true nor false; yet
they serve other functions.
• Ordinary questions: What time is it? How do you get to the dining hall from
here?
Ordinary questions serve an interrogative function: because we want some

information, we ask a question.
What time are you coming to dinner?

How many people were at the ball game?
Why won't this wrench turn this nut?
• Commands: Don't block my driveway when you park!
When we want someone to do something, we may give a command. Com¬

mands have a directive function. Their point is to obtain a behavioral response
from someone.
Shut that window. 87
Chew with your mouth closed. CHAPTER 4
Making Information
• Requests: Will you marry me? Your Own
Sometimes we want people not to give us information but to perform a certain

action. But since it is inappropriate to issue a command to them in that con¬
text, we make a request. Such sentences have a request function.
Please pass the sugar?

Will you write a letter of recommendation to graduate school for me?
• Rhetorical questions: What would we do without good first grade teachers?
Sometimes we want someone to agree with us but we don't want to get that per¬
son's agreement by being blunt, so we ask a rhetorical question. When we ask
rhetorical questions, we do not expect people to disagree with us; we assume that
they will accept the position the question rhetorically asserts as true. For example,
Will Congress ever pass effective legislation to control the excesses of the IRS?
The person is probably not asking for information or making a request but
affirms his or her frustration and belief that Congress will not act to curb the
IRS. Whether this is actually a rhetorical question can be determined only by
looking at the context in which this sentence appears.
Note how the author effectively uses rhetorical questions in the next para¬
graph to get the readers to agree with him.
The proposed amendment is merely to initiate dialogue. Does the reader agree
that American children should be protected? Are these protections and entitle¬
ments generally palatable? If so, let the dialogue (on having a children's rights
amendment) begin. (Charles Gill, "Essay on the Status of the American Child,
2000 A.D.: Chattel or Constitutionally Protected Child-Citizen?" Ohio Northern
University Law Review, p. 17)
• Expressive utterances: Damn it!
Sometimes we use language to express our emotions or feelings. We are not

trying to convey information so much as to express our mood or pleasure/
displeasure at what is happening.
I love you very much.
This sentence might look like an assertion that could be either true or false.
But think how you would react if, when you told your friend that you loved
him or her, your friend responded, "True." This response would be inappro¬
priate because you are expressing how you feel—for example, in a way equiv¬
alent to giving that person a hug or kiss.
• Performative utterances: I nominate Janet for president.
Some of our language functions in place of an action. The words have a func¬
tion that could just as well be carried out by doing some prescribed action. The
umpire yells to the batter.
"You're out."
88 A hand and arm gesture can serve the same function as what he utters. Or
CHAPTER 4 again, you walk down the hall and see someone you know. You ask,
Making Information
"How are you?"
Your Own
The question. How are you? generally is posed not to acquire information
about another's health but is part of a ritual greeting. You could just as easily
have stuck out your hand or hugged the person. Note how surprised (and per¬
haps irritated) you are when someone responds by stopping and telling you
all about his or her physical ills that day; you probably think the person
missed the ritual nature of the greeting.
You may enter the theater.
The usher is not making a statement that is either true or false but rather is
granting you permission to act in a certain way.
One way to see that sentences performing the various functions we just
described do not make statements is to note that "true" or "false" would be an
inappropriate response to these sentences. If, when you give the command,
"Don't block my driveway," your neighbor looks at you and says, "False," his
response is inappropriate. You wanted him not to park where he did, not to give
a response of "True" or "False." Asking whether what is written or said can be
true or false is a good test to determine whether it makes a statement or not.
Although this distinction between sentences that make statements and those
that do not seems straightforward, matters are more complex than they seem at
first. Some sentences of the types we just described can convey statements.
Consider commands. Though commands are not statements, they can be
translated into statements. That is, underneath the command element of the
sentence lurks a statement. For example, the command "Don't block my drive¬
way," contains the statement, "You should not block my driveway," which can
be considered as true or false. Of course, the translation from the command
"Don't block my driveway" to the statement "You should not block my drive¬
way" loses something—namely, the command element that demands a behav¬
ioral response from your neighbor. But the command contains within it a
statement as an important element.
Similar things can be said about certain kinds of questions. Consider, for
example, the negative question, "Why didn't you tell me that you were out of
printer cartridges when I spoke to you on the phone?" This negative question
might be rephrased in terms of a statement, "You didn't tell me that you were
out of printer cartridges when I spoke to you on the phone," and a question,
"Why not?" Note that the first sentence conveys a statement that is either true
or false, while the second sentence utters a question that asks for a response.
Another kind of question is the rhetorical question. Rhetorical questions do
not look for answers; they are rather a cloaked way of making a statement.
Rhetorical questions are effective because the speaker does not appear to make
a claim but solicits the opinion of the listener; in fact, however, the speaker
does make a claim with which the listener is expected to agree. For example,
"Amelia Earhart was the real American girl, as modest as she was courageous.
What more could one want in a heroine?" The question posed in the second
sentence does not look for information but makes a statement that the author
takes as true. The statement is "Amelia Earhart was a true heroine."
Critical thinkers are aware of the diverse functions of language and are able 89
to discern when sentences make statements and when they do not. Thinkers CHAPTER 4
with more advanced skills can look at sentences and identify the different func¬ Making Information
tions they serve. Our interest is in sentences that make statements, for since Your Own
these are either true or false, they are appropriate objects of evaluation.
Exercise 4
Identify the functions of the following sentences. Where the sentences make
statements, put brackets around those statements.
1. Shut the door.
2. As Sheila entered the room, her mother said, "Shut the door."
3. Take your elbows off the table. It is impolite to eat with them on the table.
4. Why didn't the CEO just fire the incompetent accountant rather than try¬
ing to hide what he did?
5. The rain pelted the soccer players, turning the field into a quagmire.
6. I now pronounce you man and wife.
7. That was a dirty, lousy trick you played on your sister, hiding a mousetrap in
her bed.
8. The butler couldn't have stolen the bridal gown because he was out in the
kitchen cutting up the wedding cake at the time.
9. What do you get when you cross a goat with a sheep?
10. Well, don't you think that lawyers are like politicians, just out for the money?
11. The street was slippery because it had just rained and this was the first
rain of the season.
12. Won't you please contribute to the firefighter's unemployment fund this
year?
13. I believe that one ought to do what one is told.
14. One ought to do what one is told.
15. Welcome, guests.
Compound Statements
There is a kind of statement that can be confusing. These are called compound
statements because they are composed of simple statements, but they cannot
be treated as a mere conjunction of simple statements because their truth
depends on the relationship between the individual statements.
Consider the sentence, "If I leave the front door unlocked, a burglar can
enter." How many statements do we have here? You may have said, "Two": "I
leave the front door unlocked" is one; "A burglar can enter" is the other.
Although the sentence contains these component statements, this analysis
ignores the z/part of the sentence. This kind of statement is called a conditional.
It talks about neither leaving the front door unlocked nor burglars entering
90 but about the relationship between leaving the door unlocked and burglars
CHAPTER 4 entering. It says that if one thing happens, then the other will happen. Hence,
Making Information this sentence makes one compound statement, not two statements. In short,
Your Own if . . . then, or conditional, sentences make one statement, not two.
The same analysis applies to either/or statements (what we later term dis¬
junctive statements). "Either we get a new car or I am not going to work at that
new job across town" has two component statements. But the either/or state¬
ment is not a conjunction of these components; it is one statement that talks
about the relationship between the component statements. In effect, state¬
ments connected by either-or contain one compound statement, not two.
One more complication. Suppose that I replace the word z/with since: "Since
I left the front door unlocked, the burglar entered." Here we have a sentence
with two statements, for it claims both that I left the front door unlocked and
that the burglar entered. It also contains an implicit or hidden third statement,
namely, that the two events are connected: if I leave the front door unlocked, a
burglar can enter. In short, since . . . then sentences can be interpreted as containing
two explicit statements plus an implicit statement connecting the two.
What all this means is that we have to be careful with sentences and state¬
ments. Sentences are complex vehicles, doing many things. One thing they do
is convey statements. Critical thinkers seek within sentences the statements
that help them understand what is being communicated.
One last aside about our complex language. Sometimes the word proposi¬
tion is used in place of statement. Some people (mainly philosophers) make a
distinction between proposition and statement, but for our purposes we use
statement, proposition, assertion, and claim synonymously in this book.
Exercise 5
Identify the statements in each of the following sentences by putting brackets
around each one.
1. To decrease tension in the region, the Pentagon delayed its latest war games.
2. The fastest computer on the market is not an IBM or its clone, but an
Apple clone.
3. If computer prices drop much lower, the manufacturers will start losing
money on their product.
4. What would we do if we didn't have the convenience gas stations to get

snacks after midnight?
5. As Apple Computer attempts to turn the company around, it will be inter¬

esting to see what happens with the clone manufacturers licensed by Apple.
6. When the stock market is down, John is upbeat; when the market is up,
John is depressed.
7. He would be much happier if he did not play the stock market.
8. Please pass me the jelly doughnuts.
9. People are always ready to lend a helping hand when they see that the
need is genuine.
10. Sex is popular on the Web today, but its hot sales could be a fading 91
phenomenon. CHAPTER 4
Making Information
11. The microbiologists placed the clay mixture into a heavy acid concentrate
Your Own
so that they could test its reproductive capacity.
12. Can't the makers of computer software make it more user friendly?
13. Either Los Angeles will get a new football franchise or else the National
Football League will place a struggling, small market team there.
14. Other researchers have begun to doubt that earth's ancient atmosphere
looked like the mix of gases in Miller's flasks, and they are searching for evi¬
dence that amino acids and other organics, which litter the skies, were fer¬
ried to Earth by comets, meteorites and dust. (Shannon Brownlee, "A Cosmic
Imperative: Make Life," U.S. News & World Report, August 19,1996, p. 50)
15. At the height of summer, silence becomes relative. The background noise
is a ceaseless whine and whir of billions of flying insects, a mist of particu¬
late life rising from moss-level to the tops of the trees. Because the sound
is so steady, . . . the effect is like that which any "white noise" machine
creates. (Richard Leo, "Silence," Alaska, October 1997, p. 22)
16. It's always fun to find an interesting, little-known corner of the [stock]
market to write about. But occasionally something happens to make me
turn to a well-known . . . subject.
Recently, two co-workers confided that with the stock market so crazy,
. . . they had decided to switch money from growth . . . mutual funds
into an S&P 500 "index" fund. Since index funds aim only to match the
market rather than beat it, their managers can't make big mistakes; in fact,
they can't make any mistakes. Each day, they use investors' money to buy
or sell whatever stocks are in the index at the stocks' closing prices. So my.
co-workers figured that while the market keeps up its wild ways, their
money will be safer. . . . (Excerpted from Steven D. Kaye, "The S&P's
Surprising Fangs," U.S. News & World Report, August 5, 1996, p. 63. Copy¬
right, 1996, U.S. News & World Report. Visit us at our website at
www.usnews.com for additional information.)
17. $125 million dollars over six years just for one person to play basketball.
How does Glen Taylor justify this? What executive decisions does this
basketball person have to make? Does he decide how to defend our coun¬
try? Does he decide how to help survivors of war-torn countries? Does he
decide how to help the poor starving people in our own country? Does he
decide how to stretch the classroom budget to meet the needs of students?
Does he decide how to keep open clinics and hospitals throughout the
state, the country? Kevin Garnett, I hope you will decide to help not only
your family, but also your local, state and adopted community organiza¬
tions, schools and churches. (Gale Belk, letter to the editor, St. Paul Pioneer
Press, October 7,1997. Reprinted by permission.)
18. Unlike many other studies that use one-time snapshots of the poor, both
books rely on new research that tracks poor families over years, even
decades. Mayer calculates that even if policy makers miraculously managed
92 to double the income of the poorest 20 percent of families, the national
CHAPTER 4 teen-child-bearing rate would drop only from 20 percent to 18 percent, the
Making Information high school dropout rate would go from 17.3 percent to 16.1 percent, and
Your Own the mean number of years people were in school would rise from 12.80 to
12.83. She concludes, too, that doubling poor families' income would
hardly change the proportion of young women who become single moth¬
ers and might actually increase idleness among young men by reducing
their incentive to work. . . . (Excerpted from David Whitman, "Is Lack of
Money the Reason Kids Stay Poor?" U.S. News & World Report, June 2,
1997, p. 33. Copyright, 1997, U.S. News & World Report. Visit us at our web¬
site at www.usnews.com for additional information.)
OUR KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH AND FALSITY
We started this chapter by noting that we need to put others' communication

into our own language if we are to comprehend what they communicate. The
opinions or beliefs of others are expressed in statements. We have noted that
statements must be distinguished from sentences and that statements are asser¬
tions that are either true or false. It is time now to attend to the question of truth.
Consider the following claims:
1. J. F. Kennedy was the thirty-fourth president of the United States.

2. Abraham Lincoln was the fifteenth president of the United States.
3. Pachelbel wrote the Canon in D.
4. Pluto has a solid core.
5. The first person to walk on the moon was really a Russian cosmonaut, not
the American Neal Armstrong.
6. Michael Jordan has scored more than 15,000 points in his career with the
Chicago Bulls.
7. DNA is necessary to make proteins.
8. UFOs exist.
9. They believe that UFOs exist.
Next to each statement, write whether it is true or false.

What you wrote for each of these statements reflects your personal knowl¬
edge and beliefs. Certainly not everyone in your class gave the same response
to this list. Why is this so? Several important points arise from considering this
question.
First, what makes these statements true or false? Statements are actually
true when they correspond to reality (the facts) and false when they fail to cor¬
respond. For example, what makes number 6 true is the fact that Michael Jor¬
dan actually scored more than 15,000 points. If he did not score that many
points for the Bulls, number 6 is false. In our list, number 1 is true because of
the sequence of U.S. presidents; number 2 is false because of that same
sequence; number 3 is true because of Pachelbel. The truth of number 4
depends upon how Pluto is structured. It was true or false even before Pluto
was discovered or scientists had the equipment to ascertain its core.
You might wonder about numbers 8 and 9. They differ in an important
way. On one hand, you might think that the truth of number 8 depends on
who states number 8, but that is not so. Its truth or falsity does not depend on
anyone's belief but on whether or not UFOs actually exist. Number 9, on the 93
other hand, depends for its truth not upon the existence of UFOs but on what CHAPTER 4
the persons for whom they stands believe. If the persons to whom they refers Making Information
believe in UFOs, the statement is true regardless of whether UFOs exist; if the Your Ozvn
persons do not believe in UFOs, the statement is false. In short, whereas num¬
ber 8 is about UFOs, number 9 is about persons and those persons' beliefs.
This leads to the second point, namely, that with the exception of number
9, the truth of the statements in our list does not depend on anyone's beliefs
about their truth; their truth depends on the way the world is or was. Of
course, the truth of number 9 also depends on the way the world is. What
makes it unique from numbers 1-8 is that it is about persons and their beliefs
and hence is made true or false by whether the persons hold that belief.
The third point is that although the truth or falsity of a statement depends on
reality and not on the believer (unless the statement is about the believer), what
the statement means depends on persons—either the speaker or the
reader/hearer. Since different people may understand the terms in a statement in
different ways and hence take a statement to mean different things, what counts
as the reality that makes the statement true or false may differ from person to per¬
son. Flence, in effect, the truth of a statement depends both on the meaning of the
statement (in that this determines what counts to make the statement true) and
on the reality that will satisfy the truth demands of the statement.
Return to number 8. Whether number 8 is true depends on whether
there are UFOs. But the matter is not that simple, for it also depends on what
a person means by the word UFO. Different persons have different concep¬
tions of UFOs. Strictly speaking, number 8 means that some flying objects
have not been identified. Since even the hardiest skeptic will admit this,
number 8 understood in this sense is true. But some people have richer
notions of UFO, taking UFO to mean flying objects piloted by aliens. This
claim differs substantially from the claim about mere unidentified objects
and is much more disputable. So whether number 8 is true depends, on one
hand, on reality itself; but on the other hand, which reality is spoken about is
determined by how the language of number 8 is understood. This shows that
we must first determine the meaning of a statement before we can proceed to deter¬
mine its truth.
This important principle is often forgotten. We sometimes plunge into
evaluation without first understanding what the person says. We quickly
impose our meanings or understandings of terms on what the other person
has written or said and make an evaluative judgment about its truth. But we
must first understand what the other person says and means before making a
judgment of truth or falsity. Only then can we be sure that we are adequately
communicating and evaluating that person's idea and not our own.
Fourth, the truth of some statements is easier to discover than that of oth¬
ers. Though each statement is true or false because of some fact about the
world, how we know or determine whether the statement is true or false is
quite another matter. Each of us has limited knowledge; our backgrounds dif¬
fer, exposing us to diverse experiences and sources of knowledge. Though I
would be in a position to determine the truth of numbers 1 and 2, for me to
discover for myself the truth of numbers 4 and 7 would pose quite a challenge.
Given the secrecy of the former Soviet Union's space program in the 1960s, we
might have a hard time showing that number 5 is not true, though it seems
94 likely that it is not true. What this shows is that our knowledge of the truth of a
CHAPTER 4
statement is contextual, relative to such things as our experience, our back¬
Making Information ground knowledge, and what else we accept as true.
Your Own Consequently, it is important to distinguish between a statement as being
actually true and our knowing that it is true. Statements can be true quite apart
from our knowing them to be true. But we cannot escape our limited and fallible
apparatus for knowing. Hence, what we know of truth and what we claim for
the truth of statements admit of degrees. Sometimes we are certain or almost
certain that something is the case; other times we are less than certain or even dubi¬
ous about the claim. We can distinguish various strengths that we might assign to
beliefs or claims, using various qualifiers like possibly, probably, or certainly.
• Possibly true: A statement is possibly true when there is no reason to think

it necessarily false.
For example, it is possibly true that there is life in other galaxies, for there is no
reason to think that life on other galaxies is impossible.
This, however, is a very weak sense of true, for anything that is not logically
contradictory is possibly true. For example, an advertisement for bananas goes,
"Possibly the world's most perfect food." Since no reason is given to support
this claim, the claim is possibly true in that there is no reason to think the
claim is necessarily false. But this is a very weak sense of true, providing no
ground for purchasing and eating a banana rather than another food, since the
same might be said of other foods like grapefruit or potatoes.
Given this, we might suggest a little stronger version of true.
• Possibly truep A statement is possibly true when there is some evidence to

think it true, but not enough evidence to decide.
Continuing the previous example, we might say that it is possibly truei that
there is life in other galaxies because observations from the Hubble telescope
have given us reasons to think that other galaxies house planets circling suns
and that their distances from their own suns are compatible with the existence
of life forms. But we have no evidence one way or another sufficient to say
that these planets harbor life.
To take another example, the author of a recent book suggests that President
Kennedy actually was shot by the accidental discharge of a rifle used by one of
the Secret Service agents riding in his car. The author proceeds to present evi¬
dence for this. After reading the book, if one concludes that the evidence is weak
one might say that this is at best a possible truth. It is possible that the bullet that
entered JFK's head came from an agent's rifle, but the evidence is not strong
enough to persuade one to come to a decision that this hypothesis is probable.
To say that a statement is possibly true in either of the preceding ways is
to say that the truth of the statement is unknown. That is, there is not enough
evidence to decide one way or the other regarding its truth. We know it is not
necessarily true or necessarily false, and in the case of Possibly Truei there is
some evidence relevant to its truth, but not enough evidence exists for us to
think that the statement is probably true.
• Probably true: A statement is probably true when there is more reason to

think that it is true than false.
Even here we think of degrees of probability. Some statements or claims are 95
better supported than others so that their probability of being true is high, CHAPTER 4
whereas other claims have good reasons, but either the reasons are weak or Making Information
else contravening reasons leave significant doubt, in which case the probabil¬ Your Own
ity is lower. In the last case we might still think that the claim is probably true
(that is, more likely true than not) but would not bank very heavily on it.
For example, the statement that the moon plays a significant role in the
tidal action of the ocean has a very high degree of probability, whereas the
claim that life once existed on Mars is believed to be probably true by some
who think they have relevant evidence from Martian rocks found in
Antarctica, though it does not have anywhere near the probability that the
claim about the tides has.
Whether statements about the future are probably true depends not only on our
confidence in the information we have and on our belief that the future will be like
the past but also on our cultural world view. For example, in Hispanic or Islamic
cultures, statements about the future are qualified with the phrase, "If God wills"
("si Dios quiere" or "insha Allah"). In these cultures the confidence a person has
about the outcome of specific events may be proportional to the degree to which
that person thinks that God intervenes in earthly affairs.
When there is no doubt about the truth of a statement, we say that the
statement is certainly true.
• Certainly true: A statement is certainly true when there can be no doubt

about its truth.
There are few statements that satisfy this requirement in the strictest sense.
One kind of statement that does is a necessarily true statement.
• Necessarily True: A statement is necessarily true when to deny it would

yield some sort of contradiction.
For example, "A triangle has three angles," "A mule results from breeding a
horse with a donkey," and "the vice-president of the United States is the pre¬
siding officer of the Senate" are examples of necessary truths. We know they
are true because to deny them results in a contradiction.
While we might restrict certainty to such a high level, this view is not very
reasonable. There are many things I have no doubt about, though they are not
necessarily true. For example, I have no reasonable doubt that there is a tree
outside my window, even though the denial of this claim would not yield a
contradiction. Thus, one might modify the definition of Certainly true to read
reasonable doubt in place of doubt. Thus we have
• Certainly true\: A statement is certainly true when there is no reasonable

doubt about its truth.
Of course, what constitutes reasonable doubt is a matter of disagreement.

Philosophers have disputed this point for over two thousand years. Though
the dispute is interesting and important, for ordinary purposes we can rely on
an intuitive understanding of what constitutes reasonable doubt, noting that
people might legitimately differ over this.
96 Similar things can be said about falsity. A statement is false when it fails to
CHAPTER 4
correspond with reality. However, determining falsity can be as difficult as
Making Information determining truth. As with truth, there are degrees of falsity. We can make a
Your Own parallel listing for falsity.
• Possibly false: A statement is possibly false when there is no reason to think
it necessarily true.
• Possibly falsep A statement is possibly false when there is some evidence to
think it false, but not enough evidence to decide.
In both these cases, we can say that the truth or falsity of the statement is
unknown. We lack sufficient information to make a reasonable judgment about
truth and falsity.
• Probably false: A statement is probably false when there is more reason to
think that it is false than true.
• Certainly false: A statement is certainly false when there can be no doubt
about its falsity.
One way a statement can be certainly false is for it to be necessarily false.
• Necessarily false: A statement is necessarily false when it asserts some sort

of contradiction.
Finally, paralleling our discussion about certainty in truth, we can revise our
definition of certainly false statements to include the absence of reasonable
doubt about its falsity. Hence,
• Certainly falser A statement is certainly false when there is no reasonable
doubt about its falsity.
To summarize, statements are true or false insofar as they do or do not corre¬
spond with reality, with the facts. Our human difficulty lies in discerning
when statements correspond, and this correspondence in part depends upon
the meanings assigned to the statements. Finally, our knowledge of the truth
of statements comes in degrees, obliging us to qualify our statements, using
qualifiers such as possibly, probably, or certainly.
We can chart what we have said about our knowledge of truth coming in
degrees with the following.
A statement is TRUE when it A statement is FALSE when it fails to

corresponds with reality correspond with reality
UNKNOWN UNKNOWN
Possibly true: no reason to think it is Possibly false: no reason to think it is
necessarily false, or some evidence for nessarily true, or some evidence for
its truth exists, but not enough to decide its falsity exists, but not enough to decide
PROBABLE PROBABLE
Probably true: more reason to think it Probably false: more reason to think it
is true than false is false than true
CERTAIN CERTAIN
Certainly true\: no reasonable doubt Certainly falsey no reasonable doubt
about its truth about its falsity
Necessarily true: denial yields some Necessarily false: asserts some sort of
sort of contradiction contradiction
With your partner, determine whether the following statement is true or false.
The statement inside this box is false.
Explain why this statement presents a problem.
Exercise 6
Determine which of the following statements is certainly true or false, proba¬
bly true or false, or unknown (possibly true or false).
1. The moon is made of green cheese.
2. Carl was quite excited when he found a four leafed clover.
3. Sally found a picture of a four angled triangle in her geometry text.
4. Primitive bacteria inhabited Mars billions of years ago.
5. The next president of the United States will be a female.
6. The clarity of water depends upon the number of particles suspended in it.
7. The Titanic will never be raised from its grave in the North Atlantic.
8. Bach wrote the Moonlight Sonata for the prince of Brandenburg.
9. If the Palestinians and Israelis could solve the land problem, the violence
in their country would significantly decrease.
10. One specific gene is responsible for most cases of acute alcoholism.
QUALIFYING AND QUANTIFYING WHAT WE SAY
Since our knowledge of truth and falsity comes in degrees, we have seen that
it is often appropriate to qualify what we say. When we might not be certain
that our opinion is true, we reflect this hesitancy in our language. In fact, this
is what we have done in the previous section when we spoke about statements
being possibly, probably, or certainly true or false.
Qualifiers
Qualifiers are words that function to strengthen or weaken what is said. They
show the degree of certainty or confidence we have in what we assert. That is, quali¬
fiers are about us because they communicate how strongly or weakly we
believe a statement to be true or false. To express weak confidence in what we
say or to suggest some hesitancy on our part, we use words like seems, perhaps,
maybe, and possibly.
98 Maybe it will rain today.
CHAPTER 4 Perhaps the Democratic candidate will win the election this fall.
Making Information
Your Own It seems like the salesperson was telling the truth about the lawn mower.
Possibly the train left the tracks just after the highway crossing.
To strengthen what we want to say, we use words like is likely, probably, is

the case that, of course, in fact, surely, and certainly that express our confidence in
the truth of our assertion. The last five terms in this list are very strong
because they remove any hesitancy regarding the communication. Consider
the examples just given with a change in the qualifier and note the different
feeling you get about the assurance with which the statement is asserted.
Surely it will rain today.

The Democratic candidate certainly will win the election this fall.
Of course the salesperson was telling the truth about the lawn mower.
Probably the train left the tracks just after the highway crossing.
Not all strengthening words convey the same certainty. While the first
two—is likely and probably—leave room for doubt, the last five—is the case that,
of course, in fact, surely, and certainly—assert certitude.
These words, then, provide clues about the author's confidence in his or
her opinions. When you read, you need to look for these terms so that you can
distinguish what the author is confident about from what the author is less
confident about.
When you use weakening or strengthening terms, you should be aware of
how they affect the reader or listener. On one hand, the use of weaker terms
shows your humility about what you claim. It suggests that you are careful
not to claim more than is warranted. However, continued use of weakening
terms can lead the reader or listener to wonder why you are communicating
about the topic at all if you are so unsure of anything you say. Consider the
following letter.
From what I've read, it doesn't seem that our current leadership has expressed
indignation nor made contrition for leaving servicemen in Korea. But maybe
we can't expect much from those who would allow such a betrayal to take
place or go unpunished for these past four decades. Perhaps we must look to
ourselves and thank God for our abandoned comrades and for the lives they
gave for us. We might also ask our God to be just with those in our govern¬
ment responsible for this travesty—damn just. (Guy Glover, letter, St. Paul Pio¬
neer Press, October 1,1996)
Notice all the words of hesitancy: seem, maybe, perhaps, might. They weaken the
force of the author's argument. Informative or persuasive communication
works best in a context where a person has something worthwhile to say. Con¬
tinued hesitancy puts that worth in doubt.
On the other hand, continued use of strengthening words may lead your
reader or listener to begin to wonder whether things really are so certain as
you make out. Are you aware of your assumptions? Have you thought about
other options? Are there differing opinions you might attend to? These ques¬
tions suggest that terms of certainty work best when you have shown your
reader or listener that you have carefully considered other perspectives, opin-
ions, or options and that you have very good, if not decisive, reasons to think 99
that they are inadequate, reasons that you are willing to share. CHAPTER 4
One other thing to watch for is that qualifiers can be misleading. They can Making Information
lead you to think that there are more opportunities for you than actually exist. Your Own
For example, consider the following advertisement.
THANK YOU NUMBER ONE: A FULL RANGE BELL CORDLESS TELE¬

PHONE. If you are one of the fastest to reply to this survey by first class mail,
phone or fax, you could receive a FREE Cordless Phone.
The operative word here is could. The authors of the ad do not know and
hence cannot assert that you will receive a free phone; they only know that it
is possible. At the same time, the ad's bold print suggests that the advertiser
will give you a phone for replying to the survey. If you focus on the bold print,
you miss the uncertainty which, in effect, frees the company distributing this
advertisement from being obligated to do anything. By printing FREE in bold
letters, they have distracted from the could.
Quantifiers
Quantifiers are terms that function to indicate how many of the subject are being
talked or written about. If you have confidence that all of the group about
which you speak are the way you describe them, you can use words like all or
each. For example, "Each member of the team came prepared to play hard to
win the big soccer match." But if you think there might be exceptions, weaken¬
ing terms might be introduced: most, many, some, a few, several. "Some members
of the team came prepared to play hard to win the big soccer match." Events
might also be quantified in terms of times: strong words include always, every
time; weak terms are occasionally, and rarely. "It always rains on my vacation."
"It sometimes rains on my vacation." Words like all, every, and each in the sub¬
ject indicate statements that are called universal statements. Statements with
words in the subject like most, many, some, a few, and several, which indicate that
not everyone or everything was involved, are called particular statements.
• Universal: All (Every, Without exception) cars imported into the United
States are inspected for safety.
• Particular (Less than all): Some (Most, Several, Many, 100,000, Ten, One)
cars imported into the United States are inspected for safety.
We have a tendency to speak in universal terms, often without evidence

that our statement is true in every case. Have you ever heard someone say,
"That happens all the time," or "He is always doing that," or "Everybody else
wears jeans to concerts"? However, rarely (note the quantifier) can we speak
about all of something being the case or something happening all the time.
The world is very diverse. Consequently, it is often better to couch your lan¬
guage in terms that reveal some hesitancy about how many of something have
the features you are ascribing to them, unless you have good evidence to think
that your statement applies to all of those you are discussing.
Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether the statement is universal or partic¬
ular. This occurs when no quantifying term is provided. For example, in the
statement "Whales are mammals," our background knowledge tells us that
being a mammal applies to all whales, making the statement universal. How¬
ever, "Rose blossoms last for four days" is not a truth that would apply to all
100 rose blossoms but only to the average blossom. So we have two types of cases:
CHAPTER 4 one where each member of the class has the property (each whale is a mam¬
Making Information mal) and one where the property applies to the average thing (the average
Your Own rose blossom lasts for four days). When what is referred to is the case of the
average thing, the statement is best understood as particular, referring to most
blossoms or the average blossom. In each case, we have to look at the context
and introduce our background knowledge to determine whether the statement
is particular or universal.
This ambiguity is important for critical thinkers. Consider the following ad.
Patients who take our brand of capsule improve within twenty-four hours.
Is this statement universal or particular? If it is universal, it provides a good

guarantee that you will improve by using this product. But that would be a
very strong claim. If the claim is true at all, it is probably talking about the
average patient recovery time, in which case it may or may not apply to you.
But note that the company leaves the statement vague, perhaps intentionally.
You as the consumer need to determine whether it is a universal or a particu¬
lar statement, and if particular, to how many patients the statement applies.
Groups
There is another complexity about statements that we need to address. Con¬
sider two statements:
The cat finished all the milk in her bowl.

The Boy Scout troop ate all its food supplies on the canoe trip.
The subject of both of these statements begins with the word the. Does
the indicate that the word is particular or universal? It depends. In the
example of the cat, the indicates a particular cat and hence the statement is
particular. In the example of the troop, however, the refers not to an individ¬
ual but to a group of individuals. Statements about groups are to be treated
as universals.
Groups often are introduced by the word the (or some functionally equiv¬
alent term like our, as in our Girl Scout Troop) and have some sort of organiza¬
tion. The organization might be very organized or formal—the soccer team,
the climbing party, the executive committee, the Student Senate—or loose—
the crowd on the beach, the union, the voters in district eleven, the physician's
patients. When we speak about groups, we need to determine whether we are
speaking about the group as an entity or whole, or whether we are speaking
about the individual members of the group.
On one hand, sometimes the language refers to the group as a whole rather
than to its individual members. For example.
Our football team is the fastest in the league.
The predicate the fastest in the league applies to our team as a whole and not to
every member. Some of the team members may be slower than the fastest run¬
ners of other teams, but the claim is that our average team speed exceeds the
other team's average speed. Or again, a trucking firm might advertise.
Our trucks log millions of miles to deliver your goods on time.

Not every truck logs millions of miles; this characteristic applies to the group 101
of trucks (the trucking firm) rather than to each truck individually. CHAPTER 4
Making Information
The people voted for a Democratic President and a Republican Congress in 1996.
Your Own
Not every person in the country voted in the pattern indicated. Hence, this
statement is best understood as referring to the group of voters, not to the
individual voters.
On the other hand, there are times when the language refers to every mem¬
ber of the group.
The tour will stay in a 5-star hotel while the ship is docked.
In this case, each member of the tour will stay in the 5-star hotel. If you are a
tour group member and are refused such lodging on the grounds that it only
applies to the group, you would be outraged. Or again, think about the truck¬
ing firm's advertisement.
Our delivery trucks are inspected annually for safety.
The characteristic of being inspected annually would apply to every truck in

the firm.
Confusing characteristics of groups with those of the members of the
groups can be misleading and, at times, humorous. For example.
The freshmen class drank twenty cases of soft drinks at the Homecoming dance.
The subject—freshman class—refers to a group. When it says that the class

drank twenty cases of soft drinks, it does not refer to each group member—
otherwise all the freshman would be very sick—but to the group as a whole.
Or again.
The faculty is gradually aging.
Gradual aging characterizes each of my colleagues as we move through life.

But consider the claim.
The faculty is getting younger.
This claim specifies a property that applies to the group and not to the individu¬
als. The apparent paradox in this statement is explained by the fact that the aver¬
age age of the faculty is declining as younger people are hired to replace retirees.
To determine whether the characteristic spoken about applies to the group
or to the individual group members, you need to ask, first, whether each mem¬
ber could actually have the characteristic described. If each member could
have it, then the characteristic should be interpreted as applying to the indi¬
vidual group members; if each member cannot have it, then the characteristic
must be applied to the group as a whole. Second, you should inquire whether
every member of the group has the characteristic ascribed. If there is reason to
think this is not the case, give the benefit of the doubt to the author or speaker
by interpreting the statement as being about the whole group and not about
each and every group member.
We classify statements about groups as universal statements. Statements
about the individual members of the group are universal in that all the group
members have the characteristic in question. Statements about the group as a
102 whole are universal in that the group is treated as a single person or entity to
CHAPTER 4 which the characteristic applies, though the characteristic does not apply to
Making Information each group member.
Your Own
Exercise 7
Indicate whether the following statements are universal or particular.
1. Many senior citizens from the Frost Belt winter in the Sunshine States.
2. Cooked eel is quite tasty, once you get used to the idea.
3. Rarely does anyone break par on this course, with all its traps and
bunkers.
4. The whole family turned out for the reunion party at Grandpa's cabin.
5. The family ate five buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
6. College students head back to the books when Labor Day rolls around.
7. What goes around comes around.
8. The President's Cabinet differed with him over his foreign policy.
9. Geese fly south in the winter when the temperatures plummet.
10. The mountain climbers passed twenty-six herds of goats on their ascent to
the glacier.
11. Many are called, but few are chosen.
12. The executives of the company make twenty-six million dollars annually.
13. Twenty-six herds of goats were spotted by the mountain climbers on their
ascent to the glacier.
14. The union picketed the General Motors plant in Dearborn.
15. The union went on strike against General Motors in July.
Exercise 8
Indicate whether the statement is qualified, quantified, or both, and identify
the terms that accomplish this.
1. Surely most of the people enjoyed the concert.
2. If he only completed his homework, he would probably improve his grade

in the class.
3. More often than not your peers drag you down rather than inspire you to
greater heights of accomplishment.
4. She thought it was more likely that he was at the hospital visiting his ill
sister than that he was in a board meeting.
5. The whole class was acting disruptively when the three teachers walked in
the room.
6. One never knows when one's time is up; so one should always plan ahead
by drawing up a will.
7. Three of the candidates debated before the audience; when the entire audi¬ 103
ence was polled, 57 percent said they would vote for the most conserva¬ CHAPTER 4
tive candidate. Making Information
Your Own
8. Frequently he cannot find where he laid his tools, but he always knows
where he set down his last cup of coffee.
9. About 55 percent of students in the urban public school failed the eighth
grade competency test. Of course, one would expect this, given the fact that
many of these students come from homes where English is not spoken as
the primary language.
10. For two of the teams this was a successful year because they made it into
the finals for the first time.
Exercise 9
For the following, indicate whether the statements are universal or particular.
Then indicate the words that affect the quantity or quality of the claim.
1. Be among the fastest responses we receive for the survey and you could be
eligible to qualify for this superior example of communication, a cordless
telephone. (Advertisement)
2. All of the state's school districts offer voluntary early childhood programs
for their children.
3. Surely many of the accounts of what happened at the riot were greatly
exaggerated. Only five of the residents of the apartment were injured in
the melee, and all of these injuries resulted from their own acts. It seems
that the reporters were biased in their accounts.
4. A lot of the people who recently immigrated into our community remain
unemployed. Many of them are walking around the town during the day,
which demonstrates the problem. The city council should work with the
local industries to try to find meaningful jobs for these people.
5. Hunters want wildlife managers to "make more moose" by enhancing

habitat, but that's neither cheap nor easy. . . . "Moose habitat covers
more than 3 million acres in the Mat-Su Valley, . . . [b]ut only 15 percent
of the area [is] available for habitat enhancement." Of this 15 percent, most
is inaccessible, and some has little or no enhancement potential. . . .
About 17,000 moose live in the Mat-Su Valley. On average, one moose
needs 56 acres of browse to get through a winter. A 10 percent increase in
moose would cost between $2.6 and $26 million, depending on which
enhancement method is used. . . . (Les Palmer, "Expensive Meat," Alaska,
April 1997, p. 54)
CAN, OUGHT; AND IS
When we begin to pay attention to language, we discover important differ¬

ences between words that we often mistakenly use synonymously. Let us note
three of these words.
• Is
104 Is talks about what really happens and comes in three tenses. Was addresses
CHAPTER 4
what happened in the past; is addresses what is happening now: will be
Making Information addresses what will happen in the future. Is language is generally not prob¬
Your Own lematic, but sometimes it can be confused with
• Ought
Oughts do not tell us what is, has been, or will happen. Rather, oughts address
the ideal: what would be good if it happened.
The company ought to raise his salary above minimum wage.
Because oughts address the ideal rather than the real, it is generally a mistake
to move from ought to is or vice versa. What is the case cannot tell us what
ought to be the case; and the fact that something ought to be the case does not
inform us that it is the case.
A third word is
• Can
Can indicates what is possible.
She can swim twenty-five laps of the pool in under ten minutes.
This statement does not say that swimming these many laps is what she is
actually doing or even desirable (ought to be done), only that it is some¬
thing that she is able to perform. Swimming twenty-five laps is within her
ability.
It is important that these three different realms—the actual, the desirable,
and the possible—be carefully distinguished in discourse and that one not
confuse or move illicitly between them. Consider the following:
Everybody deserves a second chance in life. When someone murders another

person, instead of being sentenced to death, they can be sentenced to many
years of rehabilitation.
This paragraph from a student paper illustrates the confusion. The writer has
moved from considerations of oughts—"deserves a second chance"—to con¬
sideration of cans—"can be sentenced to a prison term where they will
undergo rehabilitation." That some action ought to be undertaken (for exam¬
ple, reforming Medicare) does not imply that it can be done (given certain
political realities). Similarly, that some action can be taken (polluting our
rivers) does not imply that it ought to be taken. Critical thinkers carefully
monitor their use of these three verbs.
Choosing the most appropriate verb depends on the context. When
deciding if I should run the Boston Marathon, I consider whether "I can com¬
plete the marathon in this heat." Once I am running, I show my determina¬
tion by affirming that "I will complete the marathon in this heat." But if I get
cramps along the way, I might wonder whether "I ought to complete the
marathon in this heat," for doing so might cause me serious physical damage.
Critical thinkers pay close attention to the context when they decide which of
these verbs is most appropriate, recognizing that each conveys a unique
meaning.
Exercise 10 105
For each of the following, indicate which is the most appropriate term: is (was, CHAPTER 4
will be), can (could), or ought (should). You may have to add helping words for Making Information
Your Own
the sentence to make sense. In some cases, different answers are possible, with
the result that you may disagree with other students about which words fit
best, depending on how you see the context.
1. When the couple went to the counselor, they discussed whether they
_have genetic testing done for Huntingdon's disease.
2. When the couple contacted their insurance agent, they asked whether they
_have genetic testing done for Huntingdon's disease.
3. When the sulfuric acid is added to the liquid, you_smell a distinct

odor.
4. My hands are tied; I have no choice; what else_I do?
5. I did not know that that is what_happen.
6. The opinion poll showed that 65 percent of the respondents were in favor
of modifying Social Security. Clearly this gives Congress a mandate: it
_change the Social Security system.
7. That politicians_serve the people who elect them does not mean
that they_.
8. That the Dodgers _win the World Series does not mean that
they_.
9. That gangs_in control of the drug traffic in the neighborhood does

not mean that they_.
10. I would if I_, but I_not, so I_not.
SUMMING-UP
This chapter has focused on the role language plays in our comprehension. It
has distinguished statements from sentences and has addressed some of the
complexity that we can find in statements. Complexity can result not merely
from the structure of the sentence or the addition of certain qualifying or
quantifying words but also from the very ambiguity of the language used. To
the matter of ambiguity we turn in the next chapter, where we continue our
discussion of comprehension.
[Unlike most hunters, I came to the sport relatively late in life.] [I first went hunting in
my late 20s.] [I got my chance courtesy of a new friend,] [(my friend is) a longtime
hunter who introduced me to the mysteries and rituals of the sport] and [(my friend)
drilled into me his own highly evolved commitment to hunting ethics. [Those were
106 singular gifts—both the hunting skills and the ethics]—and [one that can be repaid
CHAPTER 4
only by passing them on to another generation of hunters.]
Making Information [I've been hunting for about 20 years now, mostly for deer,] but [recently (I
Your Own hunt) for ducks.] [The land I hunt is private,] and [I hunt there by permission.]
[Access and competition are not problems,] but [poaching, trespassing, and road
hunting are highly visible to everyone who hunts in the region.]
[My views on hunting, my sense of ethics, my sense of hunter behavior problems,
and my expectations of myself and of those I hunt with are all products of my experi¬
ences in the field—with a measure of reading, discussion, and fireside debate thrown in
for seasoning.] [I was taught to hunt for the joy of hunting and for the deep satisfaction
of having hunted well, not for the bag;] [(I was taught) to take pride in my outdoor
skills more than in my kill;] [(I was taught) to savor wild game;] [(I was taught) to
know the land where I hunt;] [(I was taught) to study the critters,] [(I was taught) to
learn to read the woods, and [(I was taught) to work with my hands to improve habi¬
tat;] and [(I was taught) to expect other hunters to do pretty much the same.]
1. Command
3. Command and statement
5. One or two statements: The rain pelted the soccer players, turning the field into a
quagmire. Or, The rain pelted the soccer players. The rain turned the field into a
quagmire.
7. Expressive function. In this case, the writer is probably expressing his emotions
about what the person did to his or her sister.
9. Ordinary question. The answer is a geep.
11. Three statements: the street was slippery; it had just rained; this was the first rain
of the season.
13. Expressive function, here expressing a belief
15. Performative or expressive function
1. [To decrease tension in the region, the Pentagon delayed its latest war games.]
3. [If computer prices drop much lower, the manufacturers will start losing money on
their product.]
5. As [Apple Computer attempts to turn the company around,] [it will be interesting
to see what happens with the clone manufacturers licensed by Apple.]
7. [He would be much happier if he did not play the stock market.]
9. [People are always ready to lend a helping hand when they see that the need is
genuine].
11. [The microbiologists placed the clay mixture into a heavy acid concentrate] so that
[they could test its reproductive capacity.]
13. [Either Los Angeles will get a new football franchise or else the National Football
League will place a struggling, small market team there.]
15. [At the height of summer, silence becomes relative.] [The background noise is a
ceaseless whine and whir of billions of flying insects,] [(insects become) a mist of
particulate life rising from moss-level to the tops of the trees.] Because [the sound
is so steady,] [the effect is like that which any "white noise" machine creates.]
("Silence," Alaska, October 1997)
17. [$125 million dollars over six years just for one person to play basketball.] How
does Glen Taylor justify this? (question, possibly rhetorical) There follows a series
of rhetorical questions. [This basketball person does not have to make executive
decisions.] [He does not decide how to defend our country.] [He does not decide 107
how to help survivors of war-torn countries.] [He does not decide how to help the CHAPTER 4
poor starving people in our own country] [He does not decide how to stretch the Making Information
classroom budget to meet the needs of students.] [He does not decide how to keep Your Own
open clinics and hospitals throughout the state, the country.] Kevin Garnett, I hope
you will decide to help not only your family, but also your local, state and adopted
community organizations, schools and churches, (expressive utterance)
1. Certainly false, though not necessarily false

3. Certainly false because necessarily false
5. Possibly true
7. Probably true
9. Probably true
1. Particular
3. Particular
5. Universal, applying to the group
7. Universal
9. Universal
11. Two statements, each particular
13. Particular
15. Universal; unclear whether it applies to the entire group or to each individual
1. Qualifier: surely
Quantifier: most
3. Qualifier: More often than not
5. Quantifier: The whole
7. Quantifier: Three, the entire, 57 percent
9. Quantifier: about 55 percent, many
Qualifier: Of course
1. Universal. Qualifier: could

3. 4 statements:
Particular: Quantifier: many; qualifier: surely
Particular: Quantifier: Five
Universal: Quantifier: all
Universal: Qualifier: it seems
5. First three statements [Hunters want . . .; that's neither cheap nor easy; moose
habitat covers . . .] are universal; the rest are particular. Quantifiers: 15 percent,
most, some, about 17,000, one, 10 percent
CHAPTER 5
Comprehension
Clarifying Your Language
Wot everything we say or write is clear. We may believe it is clear because it

is clear to us, but others may not understand what we are saying or writing.
Sometimes our communication is ambiguous or vague, open to a variety of
interpretations. One newspaper columnist wrote that Joe Paterno gave "a $3.5
million gift, together with his wife Sue, to the school's library and scholarship
foundation." The reader may think that the library is grateful for the money
but may puzzle over what the library will do with Paterno's wife. Critical
thinkers know that language can be ambiguous and attempt to avoid ambigu¬
ity as much as possible in informative and argumentative discourse.
At the same time, however, ambiguity has its place. Poetry, for example,
reaches into human depths because the words used have different layers of
meanings. Using the treasure stored in words, poets give added dimension to
what they write. In the last stanza of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening," Robert Frost writes:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep.
From "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" from The Poetry of Robert Frost,
edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright 1951 by Robert Frost. Copyright
1923, © 1969 by Henry Holt and Company, LLC. Reprinted by permission of
Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
If we consider only the obvious words of the poem. Frost writes about a rider
pausing by some woods on a New England winter sleigh ride. On a deeper
level, however. Frost seems to be speaking about life in general, about the
attractiveness of death (sleep), and about the need to go on with life (promises
to keep) before yielding to death. Here words like sleep and promises to keep
hold a richer meaning than what might appear on the surface. So in some con¬
108 texts, like poetry, ambiguity is valued and encouraged.
But we focus not on poetry but on argumentative or persuasive discourse, 109
where we attempt to avoid ambiguous language. So this chapter continues our CHAPTER 5
discussion of comprehension and language. It aims to enable you to better Clarifying Your
understand the points others make and to present your points clearly. To Language
accomplish this, we focus on ambiguity arising from four circumstances: the
careless use of language, confusion between different meanings of terms,
grammatical misuse of words, and vague language. We end the chapter by
focusing on emotive language.
AMBIGUITY RESULTING FROM CARELESS USE

OF LANGUAGE
The first type of ambiguity stems from not saying what you really want to say.
It arises from sloppy or careless use of language. Consider the following
report of how two words got confused.
My friends and I went to the Festival of Nations. We were walking through
the Bazaar when my friend turned to the rest of us and asked, "Were you here
last year when they had the Confederate $20 bills going around?" We all just
kind of looked at each other, wondering how someone managed to get ahold
of Confederate money, and why they would spend it.
She went on, "Yeah, they even made an announcement saying that this
Confederate money had been found, and vendors shouldn't take bills with a
certain number."
I started laughing and said, "You mean counterfeit money." (St. Paul Pio¬
neer Press, May 23,1997)
One form of the careless use of words is called malapropism. This term is
applied particularly when words that sound alike are confused, as in the car¬
toon on page 110.
Careless use of language can lead to humorous results. Here is an example
constructed from various student papers.
Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies, and they all wrote in hydraulic.
They lived in the Sarah Dessert and traveled by Camelot. . . . Certain areas of
the dessert are cultivated by irritation. . . .
The Bible is full of interesting caricatures. In the first book of the Bible,
Guinesses, Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. One of their chil¬
dren, Cain, asked, "Am I my brother's son?" . . .
Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened
bread, which is bread made without any ingredients. Afterwards, Moses went
up on Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Amendments. . . . David was a Hebrew
king skilled at playing the liar. . . . Solomon, one of David's sons, had
300 wives and 700 porcupines.
The Greeks were a highly sculptured people, and without them we
wouldn't have history. . . . Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went
around giving people advice. They killed him. Socrates died from an overdose
of wedlock. After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline. [Richard
Lederer, Anguished English (New York: Bantam Doubleday, 1987) pp. 10-11.]
no
CHAPTER 5
Clarifying Your
Language
H/, mAEAprop I JUST H/AD /l N/STY ANP I'M HFOUT TO /?Ft,AP*F

mAnI /U-TF£/AT/On \a//TH WITH A CAMMING POTION.
owe OF MY WORST SO, POWN THE HATCHET/
wH/At'* up?
ANEMONES-
\
£.U,7VV u u .
^ <&&>WY c~ ,
(AkA- "THf Cftfpep CFUW&V
you enow-puke scyw aeyer, WELL-, I GOTTA RUN, SO "M/AY
/4HH/ VFPY GOOD/ rvOv*' I'M OFF TO 5tf GARTH UAPEr'.'THE UMPIRE THE FARCE EE iniTH YOu”/ i
my THPFf F/Avof/tf mov/fi "the STRIKES gACT’'ANP''RETURN DON'T WORRY- I TH/NK HE'S /
ST/A/J PJARi EFFIGY”! OF THE PEAPEYE-' fFFN w/TH MF TH/S FnT/PF
fe^THF X
Source: FRANK & ERNEST. Reprinted with permission of Newspaper Enterprise Association, Inc.
Words can be used carelessly in other ways as well. Consider these exam¬
ples allegedly from newspaper headlines. Can you identify the careless use of
language?
War dims hope for peace

If strike isn't settled quickly, it may last awhile
Cold wave linked to temperatures
Couple slain; police suspect homicide
Careless use of language becomes serious when it occurs in contexts that

create significant misunderstanding. Consider the following sentences that a
student presented as the basis for the paper he intended to write.
Issue: Do people agree that abortion should be done?

Thesis: Abortions should not be performed.
The student believed that these two sentences were related as issue and thesis.
But clearly they are not. The subject of the first is "people" and the verb is
"agree." It expresses a noncontroversial question about people's attitudes, eas¬
ily answered by finding people who agree and some who disagree that abor¬
tions should be performed. Since the question can be resolved quickly by
experience, it is not a worthy paper thesis. The second—that abortions should
not be performed—is very different. The subject is not people but abortions, and
the verb is should not be performed. This thesis cannot be established by empiri¬
cal research on people's attitudes about abortion but must be addressed by
careful arguments directed toward determining the morality of abortion.
Consider another example also from a student paper. Ill
CHAPTER 5
The smoking industry could agree not to target kids. That would include
Clarifying Your
taking signs down around public places and stopping with the free shirt
Language
promotions.
The writer here fails to understand the difference between "stopping" free
shirt promotions (not doing the promotions) and "stopping with" them
(which means they still can be employed, but nothing more will be done). Or
again, consider the following sentence from a book.
Experimental replications of these accounts have failed to produce unquali¬

fied, collaborative results.
What the author really meant was "corroborative." This is either a typographi¬
cal error (which can occur easily in printed materials) or else a confusion of
two different words by the author. The difference between "corroborative"
and "collaborative" radically alters the meaning of the sentence.
Or again:
Male mortality patterns are more variable than female patterns; that is, many
more men die in early and middle age than women, who tend to die in more
of a concentrated clump toward the end of life. (Malcolm Gladwell, "The
Sports Taboo," The New Yorker, May 19,1997, p. 52)
Whereas we would think that everybody dies at the end of life, the author has
women tending to die toward the end of life, leaving one bemused about a
possible gap between toward the end of life and at the end of life. Furthermore,
what does it mean to "die in a concentrated clump"? Do women get together
to die all at one time?
Our point is that critical thinkers pay close attention to the words and
phrases they use. As one cartoon character puts it, "You should mean what
you say and say what you mean."
AMBIGUITY RESULTING FROM CONFUSION

OF DIFFERENT MEANINGS
A second kind of ambiguity results from confusion about the meanings of

words. It is termed semantic ambiguity. A word has ambiguity of meaning or
semantic ambiguity when it could mean two different things and the context
fails to make clear which meaning is intended.
She put her glasses on the table.
Glasses here could refer to the objects you use to improve your vision or to an
object from which you drink. To clarify which kind of glasses is meant, the writer
might add the word reading or water to glasses (reading glasses or water glasses).
The soccer team was upset.
Upset could mean that the team was expected to win but was beaten, or it
could mean that the team members were extremely unhappy.
112 Speakers and writers sometimes intentionally employ this kind of ambigu¬
CHAPTER 5
ity in puns—humor that invokes a play on words. What makes puns possible,
Clarifying Your let alone interesting, is that they trade on ambiguities of language to create
Language their double meaning. For example:
When the head waiter at the restaurant asked whether she had reservations,
the lady said, "Yes, but I will eat here anyway."
The ambiguous word is reservation. Can you give its two meanings?_
Consider two other examples.
When the veterinarian pronounced the dog dead, the client asked for a second
opinion. The vet let a cat out of its cage; the cat promptly sniffed the dog from
head to foot and when there was no reaction, went back into its cage. The
client received a bill from the vet for his services and for a cat-scan.
Line in an old movie. "How dare you belch in front of my wife!" "Sorry, old
man. I didn't know it was her turn."
Can you identify the semantically ambiguous words in each?_
The suspect words respectively are cat-scan (taken literally or in terms of a

machine) and in front of (meaning actually in front of or before).
Puns or ambiguities of meaning not only play a role in a particular kind of
humor, they also are used to attract consumer attention in advertisements.
Consider an advertisement showing a cow standing over a Pepsi sign:
"Meet over a Pepsi."
The ambiguous word is meet. Written, it is not ambiguous; its ambiguity

appears when it is spoken, for meet can also be understood (as the picture sug¬
gests) as meat. (Meet and meat are homonyms, that is, words that have the
same pronunciation but have different meanings and spellings.)
Billboard, with a picture of a person driving a convertible: "Get the rays you
deserve."
Can you find the homonyms suggested by this advertisement and give the
meanings of the two words?____
Another advertisement
A better world. Only $9.95
seems to promise a cheap way to solve the world's problems, until you learn
that it is an advertisement for a world map.
Ambiguity of meaning (semantic ambiguity) becomes more serious when
people use ambiguous words in ways that create confusion and misunder¬
standing in serious arguments. We will say more about this when we discuss
equivocation in Chapter 11.
AMBIGUITY RESULTING FROM UNCLARITY 113
OF USE CHAPTER 5
Clarifying Your
A third kind of ambiguity has to do with the grammar or syntax of the sentence. Language
When for one reason or another the grammatical structure is unclear so that
what is communicated is ambiguous, the result is syntactic ambiguity. Let us
look at a variety of ways grammar can create ambiguity.
Ambiguous Referent
Pronouns like he, she, or it are used frequently in speech and writing. When
you use pronouns, you should make very clear exactly to whom or to what
they refer. That is, you should always be able to point to the exact word or words to
which these pronouns refer. If you cannot do so, your pronouns have an ambigu¬
ous referent. Failure to be clear about referents can lead to confusion and mis¬
understanding. For example,
Susan read the letter Yvonne wrote while she was on the bus.
What is unclear here is to whom the pronoun she refers. Does it refer to Susan
(in which case Susan was on the bus), or does it refer to Yvonne (in which case
Yvonne was on the bus)? This type of ambiguity occurs frequently in student
writing. Here is one such example.
When I see the cartoon camel smoking it is no big deal.
To what does it refer: smoking (in general) or the cartoon camel smoking?
To reiterate, it is essential that when you write or speak, you make clear to
what other word or words the pronouns you use refer. If you cannot do this,
you cannot expect your reader or listener to be able to do it.
Ambiguous Modifier
Sometimes we use modifiers without giving a clear indication of what word or
words they modify. For example.
Sign in a hotel: NO SMOKING ROOMS AVAILABLE
What does the word no modify? Does it modify smoking, so that you could get
a room specifically set aside for nonsmokers, or does it modify smoking rooms,
so that there are no rooms available where you can smoke?
Another way modifiers can be ambiguous is when the dependent clause
with which the sentence opens fails to properly modify the subject of the sen¬
tence. For example.
Covered with a cloth, the kids won't see the cookies on the counter.
The dependent clause covered with a cloth is meant to modify cookies, whereas
the writer has mispositioned it to refer grammatically to kids. To eliminate the
ambiguity, the sentence should be rewritten to say, "Because cookies on the
counter are covered with a cloth, the kids won't see them."
114 Problems with modifiers can occur in other ways as well. Consider:
CHAPTER 5
Elizabeth had a big piece of cake and dish of ice cream at her birthday party.
Clarifying Your
Language Does big modify dish as well as piece, so that she had a big piece of cake and a
big dish of ice cream, or does it only modify piece, so that she had a big piece
of cake and a regular sized dish of ice cream? When you use adjectives to
modify one noun in a series, you should make it clear whether the adjectives
modify only one noun or all the nouns in the series. If the dish of ice cream
was of normal size, you might write, "Elizabeth had a big piece of cake and a
dish with one scoop of ice cream at her birthday party."
In short, it is essential that when you write or speak, you make clear the
relation between modifiers and the words that they modify. This can be
accomplished by proper positioning of the words or by using various gram¬
matical constructions like clauses or prepositional phrases.
Ambiguous Grammar
Instances of ambiguous grammar occur when one or several words in a sen¬
tence can function grammatically as more than one part of speech. Consider
the alleged newspaper headline.
Eye drops off shelf
If drops is a noun, we are told that a certain kind of medicine was removed
from the store shelves. If, however, drops is a verb, then we are told that an eye
fell off a shelf. The meaning shifts, depending on the grammatical function of
the words eye and drops.
Bumper sticker: Did you wake up grouchy this morning, or did you let him
sleep?
Grouchy here could be an adverb, modifying wake up, or it could be a noun,

referring to a particular person. The second part of the sentence interprets
grouchy the second way. When words can function in different grammatical
ways in a sentence, it is important to rewrite the sentence so that it is clear pre¬
cisely how each word functions.
It should be noted that oftentimes ambiguity in grammatical function is
accompanied by semantic ambiguity. For example, in the previous example,
drops is semantically ambiguous: eye drops refer to a liquid; eye drops means
that the eye fell.
Ambiguous Comparison
Ambiguous comparison occurs when it is unclear precisely what is being
compared. For example,
Susan enjoys playing with her dolls more than Mary.
It is unclear whether Susan enjoys playing with her dolls more than Mary
enjoys playing with her dolls, or whether Susan enjoys playing with dolls
more than playing with Mary.
Mike wants to see the Grand Canyon more than Tom.

Can you explain the unclear comparison here? 115
CHAPTER 5
Clarifying Your
__ Language
One way of addressing ambiguity of comparison is to add more words to

the comparison. For example, Susan enjoys playing with dolls more than Mary
does. [You might note that the sentence does not say her dolls; the word her is
omitted. If the word her were left in, the sentence—Susan enjoys playing with
her dolls more than Mary does—would still be ambiguous, for it would be
unclear whether Mary enjoys playing with Susan's dolls or with Mary's dolls.]
You might wonder why we have given so much attention to ambiguities
of use. One reason is that they are prevalent in student writing: sometimes
because the writing has not been proof read, other times because writers have
not paid careful attention to their grammar. Yet grammar is very important,
for unclear grammar affects meaning, making it more difficult to understand
what is written or said.
Exercise 1
Here are some alleged newspaper headlines. Determine whether the headline
is ambiguous because of the meanings of the terms (semantic ambiguity),
because of how the terms are used (syntactic ambiguity), or both. Then iden¬
tify the terms that create the ambiguity.
1. Include your children when baking cookies
2. Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers
3. Safety experts say school bus passengers should be belted
4. Pope's guard, wife shot
5. Survivor of Siamese twins joins parents
6. Farmer bill dies in house
7. Teacher strikes idle kids
8. Prostitutes appeal to Pope
9. British left waffles on Falkland Islands
10. Lung cancer in women mushrooms
11. Drunk gets nine months in violin case
12. Iraqi head seeks arms
13. Reagan wins on budget, but more lies ahead
14. Squad helps dog bite victim
15. Shot off woman's leg helps Nicklaus to 66
16. Enraged cow injures farmer with ax
17. Miners refuse to work after death

116 18. Juvenile court to try shooting defendant
CHAPTER 5 29 Stolen painting found by tree
Clarifying Your
Language 20. Two Soviet ships collide; one dies
21. Killer sentenced to die for second time in 10 years

22. Drunken drivers paid $1000 in '84
23. Red tape holds up new bridge
24. Deer kill 17,000
25. New study of obesity looks for larger test group
26. Chef throws his heart into helping feed needy
27. Ban on soliciting dead in Trotwood
28. Lansing residents can drop off trees
29. Local high school dropouts cut in half
30. New vaccine may contain rabies
31. Air head fired
32. Old school pillars are replaced by alumni
33. Bank drive-in window blocked by board
34. Hospitals are sued by 7 foot doctors
35. Some pieces of Rock Hudson sold at auction
AMBIGUITY RESULTING FROM VAGUE LANGUAGE
The fourth kind of ambiguity to watch for is vague language. A term is vague
when it is imprecise. The imprecision generally stems from the fact that the
term or phrase admits of degrees and the context is not clear enough to enable
the reader to determine those degrees. For example:
My mother is old.
The vague term is old; at what age does one become old?
The commencement speaker's talk was long.
The vague term is long; for how much time must something take for it to take
a long time?
They sell big ice cream cones at the dairy down the street.
Big here is vague; what might be big for a 5-year-old might not be big for a
teenager.
The stewardess makes over $30,000 a year.
Here we are given the base figure, but we have no idea how much the salary
exceeds the base figure.
117
The skies are not cloudy all day.
CHAPTER 5
Clarifying Your
The vague terms are not . . . all. Does it mean that the skies are never cloudy,
Language
or that there is at least some sunshine during each day?
Vagueness is not always bad or to be avoided. Sometimes we just do not
know how many people were at the park, how much money we spent, how
cold it was, or how far we traveled. In cases where we do not know or the pre¬
cise figure does not matter, we can still convey some idea of the range of
options by using vague terms like about 50 people, several dollars, colder than yes¬
terday, and over 30 miles.
At the same time, critical thinkers are not misled by vague terms, particu¬
larly when they are asked to take some specific action based on the vagueness.
This means that you must read carefully and ask what is really being said.
Here are some examples where you are asked to make some purchases based
on vagueness.
Everyone runs the risk of being a flood victim. In fact, between 25 percent and
30 percent of flood insurance claims come from "low risk" areas. It could hap¬
pen to you.
The term risk here is vague. Does it mean that it is possible (which is true) or
that it is probable (which is not true) that everyone (note the universal) will
experience a flood? Further, note that the first use of risk differs from the sec¬
ond use, where the term stands in contrast to high-risk or flood prone areas
(note the quotation marks around low risk). The fact that between 25 percent
and 30 percent of flood insurance claims come from low-risk areas does not
show that everyone runs a risk of being flooded.
Call today and save up to 45 percent on Northwest Airlines.
Up to can mean anything from 0 to 45 percent. Since that is a large spread, it is

difficult to know precisely how much you will save on any given flight, if you
save anything. In fact, if you pay attention to airline fares, you know that since
airlines put severe restrictions on which tickets they discount and the condi¬
tions under which they are discounted, it is very possible that the flight you
want may not qualify for any savings.
We have made our chocolate 25 percent richer than before.
This advertisement contains two vague terms. First, 25 percent of what? You
have no idea how rich the chocolate was before. If it was only 2 percent rich to
begin with, it is still less than 3 percent rich with the improvement and maybe
not worth purchasing. Second, what is it for chocolate to be richer? The ad is
vague on this critical point, for it gives no definition of richness nor any way to
determine richness.
Vagueness both cannot and should not be avoided entirely. Critical thinkers
look to see if they have enough information to make the appropriate decision.
• Is information missing that is essential to determining the truth of the claim?

• If a comparison is being made, do you know the terms of the comparison.
Twenty-five percent greater than what?
• If a range of figures is supplied, is the range narrow enough to allow you
to know the best course of action? "Up to 40 percent off regular price"
might be too large a range.
118 • If a comparison is being made, are the same things being compared, or is
CHAPTER 5 the author comparing apples and oranges? For example, "The federal
Clarifying Your deficit is less than it was during WW II." Maybe so, but the fact that we
Language were at war then and not now and that inflation has altered standards of
comparison might be important factors in deciding whether the two fig¬
ures are comparable.
In effect, how vague an author should be in any given piece of writing

depends on a variety of things: the type of writing, the purpose for writing,
how much the author knows, and how essential the exact information is to the
presentation. At the same time, readers want to be aware lest vagueness leads
them to take unreasonable actions.
Exercise 2
Determine whether the following are ambiguous because of careless use of
words, unclear meaning (semantic), unclear use (syntactic), or vagueness. If
ambiguous because of careless use of specific words, note the words. If ambigu¬
ous because of unclear meaning, note what term is ambiguous and give the
two meanings of the term. If ambiguous because of unclear use, note what it is
about the grammar that makes it ambiguous. If vague, note which terms are
vague and tell why they are vague.
1. The wind-up, the pitch, you're outta here. (Advertisement for Northwest
Airlines showing a grandmother batting a baseball)
2. 1996 Luxury Car savings rebates up to $3,600. Interest rates from 2.9 per¬
cent. Total savings up to $10,000.
3. Adam
Source: ADAM © 1995 Universal Press Syndicate. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
4. Rush (Limbaugh) is right. (Bumper sticker) 119
CHAPTER 5
5. Turn down your radio. It is too loud.
Clarifying Your
6. She told us about going to see her grandmother yesterday. Language
7. Advertisement showing a shiny car in the driveway. "It should look beau
tiful. Our engineers have spent the last 28 years polishing it."
8. Mothers very rarely need abortions to save their lives. Many women are
diagnosed with mental or physical altercations, but nothing that will hin¬
der their lives in any way after having a baby. (Student paper)
9. Frank and Ernest
HEY, L.OOK AT Yye/W HE'S GOT THE SALARY Aft

-3 i itZNItl IT THE TURKEY, POTATOES,
y LOOM Lift HE A gfitAP, OLlVtS, OOpN,
,( / COfNtt£l> the pom, FfOlT, nvTi ANV
i vJHOLt P/M/vEp THE PUPP/NG /1/vP
Source: FRANK & ERNEST. Reprinted by permission of Newspaper Enterprise Association, Inc.
10. Anthropology: the science of man embracing women (College catalog)
11. We're going to look at lots during the Parade of Homes.
12. Mid-America Dairymen buys Borden cheese units.
13. The two United States Senators from our state are conservative.
14. A Fair of the heart (Sign at the food building of a State Fair)
15. "It's wonderful that we have eight-year-old boys filling sandbags with old
women." (Tarry King on the sandbagging efforts to prevent flooding on
the Mississippi River)
16. Cadillac Catera: Born to zig. (Advertisement)
17. She was heading downtown to her office but got held up.
18. With Tide, my kids have a very bright future. (Advertisement showing a
mom next to her daughter, who is wearing a graduation hat)
120 19. Even though numerous studies have shown the benefits of small school
CHAPTER 5 systems, they do not always do so. (Student paper)
Clarifying Your
20. It would be extremely difficult because a woman would be carrying her
Language
baby for nine months and then give it up after they conceive birth. (Stu¬
dent paper)
21. In cases of incest and rape, sympathizers are often quick to suggest abor¬
tion to end an unfortunate pregnancy. I propose that those abortions will
create more destruction, whether the mother had a normal conception or
was a victim of rape or incest. (Student paper)
22. Although some studies show the percentage of violence on the television
today, there are other studies that have shown the opposite. (Student paper)
23. People who go shopping often spend a lot of money.
24. All snakes are not poisonous.
25. America's biggest doughnut company (Advertisement)
26. Chemists have solutions (Bumper sticker)
27. Notice on office wall: All employees who are not fired with enthusiasm
soon will be.
28. Not allowing women who have been raped to have an abortion is the best
example of a waist of tax payers' money. (Student paper)
29. John plays with toys more than Linda.
30. He said that he was a thief.
31. Tammy can't come to the phone. She's out.
32. Because of capital punishment, some criminals will kill less innocent people.
33. Three times more fudge (Advertisement)
34. Lee's answer to dress codes: Jeans you can check at the door. (Advertisement)
35. Every one needs a little comfort. (Advertisement for Comfort Liquor show¬
ing a man in a reclining chair on a beach, accompanied by a pretty woman
in a bathing suit)
36. Receive the lowest prices than ever before on our biggest and best selec¬
tion of magazines read by educators—up to 87 percent off. (Magazine
order advertisement)
37. With the Capitol in the background, Sandra Stasenke of Fairfield, CA,
holds a photo of her son Alex, who died of gunshot wounds, during a
gun-control rally Monday. (Associated Press, October 1,1996)
38. Let us offer this book to God triune, the effort of many hands, the fruit of
artists' work, a product of ink and paper. (A church litany)
39. The IRS is correct: filing a federal income tax return does not violate your
rights. However, being forced to file does. Since taxes are revolting, why
aren't you? (Letter, Minnesota Daily)
40. If out too long, my son won't eat the cold chicken. 121
CHAPTER 5
Clarifying Your
Language
LAYERS OF MEANING
When attending to language, it is important to realize that language has multi¬

layered meanings. That is, words or phrases might have meaning in different
ways. Note the different senses of the word mean in the following:
Having to get up early for my class tomorrow means (implies) that I can¬
not stay up late tonight partying.
A red sky in the morning means (is a sign) that we will have bad weather
today.
She did not mean (intend) to pull the chair out from under you when you
sat down.
Rachel means (has the etymology of, its original meaning was) ewe.
Although each of these is an important meaning of mean, here we focus on

three other senses: designation, denotation, and connotation. Because a word
may have meaning in all three senses and because each is different, being able
to distinguish and recognize which kind of meaning is intended is important
1. Meaning as denotation. What a word denotes is the thing, person, charac¬

teristic, or action to which the word points or refers. The denotation of
proper names is clear: it is the particular object that is named. The denota¬
tion of thirty-fifth president of the United States is the person John F.
Kennedy. The denotation of Sears Tower is the tallest building in down¬
town Chicago. The denotation of general terms is broader; it includes all
the objects or events to which the word properly applies. Whereas the
denotation of thirty-fifth president of the United States is one person, the
denotation of president of the United States includes all the presidents up
through the most recent. Ball denotes many round things; blue denotes a
particular color had by many objects. Mowing refers to the action of reduc¬
ing the length of grass in a lawn or field. Perhaps the simplest and easiest
way to understand denotation is to think about pointing. Words under¬
stood denotatively point to things, characteristics, or actions. That to
which they point is their referent. Proper names, like Statue of Liberty, point
or refer to specific objects; general nouns like tree can denote many objects;
verbs like running, thinking, and building denote actions.
2. Meaning as the designation of the word. Designation is the sort of mean¬

ing you find in the dictionary. It is the definition of the word in terms of its
essential characteristics—that is, the characteristics that something must
have to be properly denoted by a specific word. For example, a brougham
has the essential characteristics of being a closed, four-wheeled carriage
with the driver's seat outside. This is the designation of brougham. If an
object were not a carriage or were not enclosed, it could not be a
brougham. The word brougham, therefore, designates those characteristics
that an object must have to belong to the class of things called broughams.
122 The designation of a word does not refer to all the characteristics of a
CHAPTER 5
thing, only to those that are essential. For example, broughams have many
Clarifying Your characteristics: a particular color, a particular state of cleanliness, having a
Language driver today, or a construction of wood or metal. These are interesting and
perhaps important features of the one you may consider purchasing or
riding in, but they are not relevant to the designation of the word
brougham, for they are not essential to the object being a brougham. Hence,
they do not function as part of the designation or definition of brougham.
3. Meaning as connotation. The third layer of meaning concerns the emo¬

tional content we as individuals or a community associate with the word
or phrase. The connotation of a word is the characteristics that are not part
of the designation but that come along with or are associated with the
word. For example, what characteristics do you associate with the word
rat? If this question were posed to a group of people, most would proba¬
bly think of words like dirty, found in garbage, carries rabies, and the like.
But suppose you had a rat for a pet. The connotations of the word rat
would be very different: perhaps inquisitive, has soft fur, tickler, and so on.
None of these characteristics is part of the designation of rat, for they are
not essential for something being a rat. But they may be among the charac¬
teristics emotionally conjured up by the word. Often the connotations
depend upon the experiences we have had with an object.
The role of experiences becomes interesting when we encounter words
that might be unfamiliar. Think of the connotations of brougham. Perhaps
the word is unfamiliar to you and has no connotations. Several years ago
the Chrysler Corporation bet that the word had good connotations when
they named one of their car models "Chrysler Brougham." They hoped it
would connote class and style and entice a certain kind of customer to
purchase the car. You might think of other car and truck names—
Mustang, Pinto, Seville, Sierra, Ranger, Ram, Taurus, Spirit, Breeze—and
ponder what connotations these words have that would cause automo¬
bile manufacturers to give these names to vehicles to increase their
marketability. Or consider the names given to fragrances—Avatar ("fra¬
grance of possibilities"), Safari, Gravity ("the force that pulls you closer"),
XS ("sensation to excess"), Curve ("see where it takes you"). Tabu, Obses¬
sion, and Vanilla Musk ("what innocence does for sensuality"). These
names tell you nothing about the product but make various implicit
promises for its performance.
Connotations are important because they add richness to our language.
But they are also problematic because the connotations I give to a word
may differ from those you give. For me, a word may have negative conno¬
tations, while for you it may have positive connotations. So when we
share words, we need to be aware of their connotations. We say more
about this in the next section.
Exercise 3
Note whether each of the following statements expresses the designation,
denotation, or connotation. (You may also note instances when mean has other
meanings.)
1. planet: Mars 123
CHAPTER 5
2. planet: a heavenly object that shines by reflected light and orbits around a
Clarifying Your
sun
Language
3. dictator: Joseph Stalin
4. dictator: a ruler possessing absolute power and authority
5. dictator: a very disagreeable and egocentric person
6. A free country is a place like the United States, Canada, Japan, or France.
7. A widow is a woman whose husband has died.
8. What I mean by setting a good example is not putting your feet on the fur¬
niture.
9. Watch her run. Then you'll know what I mean by fast.
10. To honor someone is to hold her or him in high regard.
11. The color red is the sexy color.
12. Caviar is a very disagreeable dish.
13. A government worker is a bureaucrat.
14. An educator is someone who preserves and transmits knowledge and cul¬
ture to succeeding generations.
15. By a civil rights activist I mean someone like Martin Luther King, Jr.
16. By toothpick I mean a slender piece of wood that is used to remove food
from between the teeth.
17. Happiness means having your own car.
18. A phrase is a sequence of a few words that, though not a sentence, con¬
veys a single thought or idea.
19. Towering clouds means that it is going to rain.
20. Cumulus clouds are thick, towering clouds with a flat base.
21. By cumulus clouds I mean those to the south, over Johansen's farm.
22. A roommate is someone who is always sticking her or his nose into your
affairs.
23. A hunter is someone who murders animals.
24. I mean what I say and I say what I mean.
25. An immoral act is torturing puppies for amusement.
EMOTIVE LANGUAGE
Though the designation and denotation of words are important, it is the con¬
notations that often play a special role in communication. They can influence
124 readers and listeners in nonrational ways, appealing to their emotions in place
CHAPTER 5
of reason. This special role frequently goes unnoticed, for while we concen¬
Clarifying Your trate on the first two senses of meaning, we miss the connotations because they
Language are more subtle. Consequently, connotations deserve special attention by the
critical thinker.
Consider the word mistress. A mistress is a woman who has power,
authority, or ownership; traditionally, the mistress was the head of a house.
The abbreviation Mrs. stands for mistress and connotes respect for a married
woman. The word mistress, however, has a second meaning or designation; it
can also designate a woman who is maintained by a man primarily for sexual
purposes. But note the change in the connotations of mistress, from positive
respect to looking askance at the woman's sexual role. Interestingly enough,
the word mister does not have such dual connotations.
This illustrates how connotations can be affected by gender. A tramp is
someone who is homeless; but when applied to a woman, tramp connotes a
woman of loose morals. Loose applied to a man is positive—he hangs loose, is
easy going, casual; but applied to a woman the term loose connotes the unde¬
sirable characteristic of having low sexual morals. "If a man is untrustworthy
and adventurous, or if he takes sexual advantage of a woman, he is a dog; a
woman who is a dog is sexually unattractive, unsuitable for dating."1 In effect,
the connotations of some words reflect a gender bias that can underlie our dis¬
course without our being overtly aware of it.
Connotations can reflect other biases as well. Note the various terms that
have been applied to and by African Americans: Negroes, Colored people,
Blacks, African Americans, persons of color. Some of these convey positive
connotations; others neutral or negative connotations. And many connotations
are culturally based. For example, whereas for many African Americans, Blacks
is an acceptable term, Africans would consider such a term derogatory.
Or again, note the emotive content of bastard. To see its emotive value,
consider how different it would be to yell an epithet like "born out of wed¬
lock" at someone rather than calling her or him a bastard; all the emotive
punch is gone.
Consider the following groups of words. Note next to each word whether
it has a positive, negative, or neutral connotation for you. You might think of a
sentence for each row and then substitute in turn each of the words to see
whether the sentence changes emotional content when you substitute different
words.
smart nerd intelligent

woman lady dame girl
adolescent young adult teen minor
teacher professor instructor co-learner
child kid youth juvenile
borrow without asking steal shoplift loot
denomination sect cult
senator politician public servant
nude naked pornographic
patriot nationalist rebel
cop policeman peace officer
Although the words in the rows are not synonymous, they can at times be sub¬ 125
stituted for each other. Why, then, use one word rather than another? We often CHAPTER 5
choose the word based on the emotional content we wish to convey. In doing Clarifying Your
so we recognize that language is not emotively neutral and that emotive lan¬ Language
guage is a powerful communication tool.
Sometimes the appeal to emotionally laden connotations can be quite bla¬
tant. Consider the words used in this perfume advertisement.
There is an air of insatiable desire about Shalimar. . . . Shalimar, the most

exquisitely voluptuous perfume on Earth.
The words insatiable desire and most exquisitely voluptuous are used to convey
emotion rather than any specific content about the perfume. Note how you
would feel about purchasing the perfume if the advertisement read
There is a funny odor about Pungent. . . . Pungent, the cheapest scent you can
get in your local discount store.
The following letter to the editor dates from the Vietnam War era, but
emotive language still rings throughout.
I heard on the radio that a poll had been taken at the University of Minnesota,
and that most of the votes had been given to George McGovern. It doesn't
take a smart person to figure that out. A pretty good percentage at the univer¬
sity at both Minneapolis and Duluth are dirty-looking, long-haired kids who
speak of policemen as pigs, while they themselves fit the description better.
McGovern wants to grant amnesty to the slackers who turned their backs on
their country, and that is why these kooks are for him.
In this letter the author uses emotive language in place of reason to explain why
most university students were pro-McGovern in the 1972 presidential election.
Task
Underline the words in the previous letter that are words. How does supplying more neutral lan¬
chosen for their emotive content rather than for guage change the letter? Does the letter still have
their strict designation. Then see if you can supply any "bite"?
more neutral language for those underlined
Though some authors do not hide their emotive language, other authors
and speakers use emotive language very subtly. Skilled authors can use it to
convey their message without the reader really being aware of it. Consider the
following effective piece.
Five crows appeared on the lawn this morning just at the first daylight hour.
Swaggering, broad shouldered fellows they were—glossy, vain, independent.
I went out to fetch the paper from the walk. With an indignant croak, the
crows levitated onto a branch of the neighbor's maple tree, waited until the
nuisance of me had disappeared, then flapped down to continue their
prospecting. . . .
126 Why those five would stop off to spend most of an hour in a city yard I
can't guess. But there they strutted, and sometimes spoke. And the coarseness
CHAPTER 5
Clarifying Your
of their voices alarmed the tuxedo cat who, when I came back with the paper,
Language was waiting nervously, to be let inside . . .
Common they may be. But they are intelligent, as birds go. Handsome
and able in flight, even on the ground they have a kind of sleek elegance
about them.
I can never see crows near at hand without feeling a little twinge of
sorrow—regret about something remembered, something that happened more
than 30 years ago. Only once in a lifetime of hunting have I even aimed a gun
at something I did not intend to eat.
It happened one frigid twilight during a winter I was spending alone in a
woodland cabin. I'd tromped a cold hour or two looking for a squirrel for sup¬
per, but squirrels were scarce that year and I was coming back with nothing
for the pan. A solitary crow, no doubt a laggard from his group, came over the
trees ahead of me, black against the last lemon light. For no reason I could
afterward explain, even to myself—simply with that carelessness of someone
who hadn't yet had enough losses to know the value of anything—I swung
the gun and fired.
It was a random, utterly purposeless thing. And I was startled when
the bird spun awkwardly down almost at my feet. I remember the guilt I
felt in that moment, and in the day afterward as I tried, without success, to
splint and heal the broken wing and thereby earn some kind of absolution.
The crow would have none of my clumsy penitence. He fixed me furiously
with his amber eye. And each night, while I slept, he tore the bandage off
again.
It ended badly, as such things generally do. Some wrongs are without
remedy, some cruelties past mending. I buried the poor feathered thing at
the edge of the cabin clearing. Even now, half a life later, I know the exact
place. And while there's no redeeming so sad and pointless an affair,
I believe I learned from it a young man's first lesson in the certainty of
consequences.
The crows that came to my lawn this morning do not know, of course,
what happened at that woods edge on an evening 30-some years ago. But I
know. The past never can be entirely put behind. What we have done is
part of what we are, and will be with us always—as this memory has
stayed with me.
How much accumulated weight of deliberate or careless wrong is one
prepared to carry? In the end, that calculation governs the decisions of life.
(Charles W. Gusewelle, "The Weight of Remembrance Extends the Half-Life of
a Life of Regret," The Kansas City Star, August 24,1996)
What is the topic of this piece?
What issue does it raise?
What is its thesis?
What are the main points?

As a reader, I would suggest that the topic is not crows, since the author 127
goes beyond discoursing about crows to make a larger point. Drawing from CHAPTER 5
the piece's final paragraph, the topic seems to be careless wrongs. The issue Clarifying Your
likewise is not about crows. Rather, the author generalizes from an incident Language
that he had with a crow. The issue thus is "Do careless wrongs stay with and
affect us?" Evidence that this is the issue comes from both the title and the
final two paragraphs. The thesis is that careless wrongs remain with us. The
author makes one main supporting point, which is to be found in the story of
the senseless shooting of the crow and the regret the author feels about it.
From this incident he infers a general conclusion about careless wrongs.
But where is the emotive language? It is present, but very subtly. First,
consider how you feel about crows. What words do you associate with crows?
You might think about ugly black birds, scavengers that live off road kills,
make raucous calls, dive bomb you, and raid other bird nests. Surely these are
negative connotations.
But note the description of crows given by the author. Write down the
words the author uses._
Soon you see that the author uses words that convey only positive con¬
notations. He writes about the crows' strength, handsomeness, elegance,
and independence. This subtle shift in language helps the author convey
his message of regret over killing something that we might normally dis¬
miss as being of little worth but which the author now treats as of great
value. He accomplishes this change through his use of emotive, descriptive
language.
Critical thinkers also realize that the emotional content attached to any
particular word might not be the same for the speaker or writer as for the
hearer or reader. For example, for many Germans in the 1930s, the name
Hitler evoked the rise of German nationalism from the ignominious defeat of
World War I; for others it brought terror and loathing. Or again, East Africans
do not like the term Black applied to them, yet it is an appropriate and
desired term for African Americans in the United States. It also can matter
who uses the term. Baby used by a coach can have different connotations than
when used by a boyfriend. Hence, you need to be sensitive not only to what
you want to convey but also to how the hearer or reader will take what you
said. It is often difficult to determine ahead of time what impact your words
will have on your readers or listeners. It takes extreme sensitivity and the
ability to put yourself in another's shoes. And even then, unless you receive
some kind of direct and immediate feedback, the influence of your words can
remain unclear.
Exercise 4
Edit the following advertisement for hair color by single underlining the word
or phrase in the brackets that provides the best positive connotations and by
128 double underlining the word or phrase in the brackets that provides the worst
CHAPTER 5 negative connotations.
Clarifying Your [The absolute end of flat colors; The chance to change your hair color;
Language Do your hair again]. Introducing the new hair color [Color-Wash; Vibrant
Colors; Down-Home Color; Reuben's Colora]. Color so [multifaceted it
shimmers; usual no one will notice; different it will stand out]. Crystal pure
colorants. [Dark in the bottle; Undiluted and clean; Coloring that requires
gloves to apply.] [Has flecks of other colors; Slightly streaked; Filled with
double highlights.] For shimmering highs and lows. [Doesn't wreck or
ravage hair; Easy on dried out hair; Takes your hair to the max.] For first-
timers or nth timers. [Lots of different colors to choose from; A different
color every week; Brilliant diversity.] The new [language; rumor; discus¬
sion] of color.
SIX WAYS TO MISUSE EMOTIVE LANGUAGE
Emotive language can be misused in a variety of ways to affect the reader or

listener. We focus on six ways.
Stereotyping
To stereotype is to treat a person as if he or she comes out of a mold. Stereo¬
types are frequently used to get the reader or listener to believe that someone
has a particular characteristic because he or she belongs to a particular group
that allegedly has this characteristic. For example, Robinson Jefferson must be
rich: after all he plays professional baseball. In this example, baseball players
are assigned the characteristic of being rich, perhaps on the basis that some
have very lucrative contracts, and then this characteristic is transferred to one
or a specific baseball player. Or again, Sheila is just another of those crooked
politicians. Here the stereotype is that politicians are crooked, and since Sheila
participates in that group, the author has applied to her the same characteris¬
tic. We have a tendency to stereotype people—nerds, saggers, jocks, long hairs,
teenagers. Ivy Leaguers, Italians, Mexicans, Japanese, Midwesterners, Califor¬
nians, salespersons, CEOs, secretaries—and thereby fail to treat them as indi¬
viduals unique in their own right.
Note that stereotypes rely upon the connotations of terms like baseball
player, student, and politician. Only some members of the group might have the
designated feature, making it grossly inaccurate to apply this feature either to
the majority of people in the group or to any one person without more evi¬
dence that it is appropriate or applicable. Put another way, stereotyping
involves making hasty generalizations about entire groups from small sam¬
ples. This generalization is then applied to particular individuals.
Euphemism
Euphemism is the substitution of a word that has positive connotations for a
word with neutral or negative connotations. Euphemisms can be used for
several purposes. First, we try to avoid offending people by using words with
a positive ring. For example, we euphemize bathroom functions. When a 129
child has to defecate, we say that it has to go potty; for adults, we say that they CHAPTER 5
have to go to the bathroom, restroom, lavatory, powder room, little girls' room, or Clarifying Your
John. (Interestingly enough, we have no neutral word for the "toilet room" Language
where we go not to bathe, rest, wash, or powder. Even water closet is a euphe¬
mism). Or again, it is not polite to say that people are fat; we say they are
stout, hefty or husky (if male). Clothes for big women come in women's sizes (as
opposed to misses or junior sizes) or half-sizes. More humorously, we might
say that people are not stupid; rather, they are a few fries short of a Happy Meal,
have too much yardage between the goal posts, or forgot to pay their brain bill.
Second, we also use euphemisms when we talk about bad situations or
when we want our audience to think positively about a situation that is neu¬
tral or bad. Instead of saying a person died, we say the person passed away,
passed on to his eternal rest, went to the other side, or kicked the bucket. When some¬
one dies we lose our friend. Persons are laid up when they are sick. Instead of
saying that a person did something morally wrong, we say that the person
made a mistake (thereby removing the moral dimension of the action). Instead
of saying they swore, we note they used selected choice words. We speak about
armed conflict rather than war, liberation rather than invasion, police action rather
than military deployment, engage the enemy rather than fight and kill, casualties
rather than killed and wounded.
In each case, the situation is "bettered" by providing a word or phrase
with positive connotations. At times by using euphemisms we avoid saying
what some may consider as offensive; at other times, as in war, it hides the
grim realities and horror of the situation.
Dysphemism
In contrast with euphemisms are dysphemisms, which are the substitution of
a word that has negative connotations for a word with neutral or positive con¬
notations. For example, one wastes rather than kills. A political candidate or
religious evangelist peddles his beliefs. A person born with a disformity is
called a freak rather than disfigured. Dysphemisms are used to influence peo¬
ple to think negatively about a person, situation, or event.
Note the dysphemisms in the following paragraph on Indian casinos.
That green-eyed monster known as jealousy and greed sat back on its
haunches on the banks of the Potomac, surveyed what it perceives as its king¬
dom, rested those beady eyes on the Indian nations of this land, thought they
would be easy pickins, and started to introduce legislation to divest these
nations of their gambling dollars by adding a big (34 percent) federal tax on
them. . . . (Tim Giago, "Congress Should View Indian Nations as Sovereign
Peers," St. Paul Pioneer Press, June 23,1997)
The author uses "green-eyed monster . . . sitting on the Potomac" in place of

"Congress"; he uses "fixed its beady eyes" in place of "took note of."
Innuendo
With innuendo, a person makes a veiled assertion (usually negative) without
directly saying what is meant. In fact, an innuendo might literally express the
130 opposite of what is meant. The way it is said suggests that the meaning is other
CHAPTER 5
than what is stated—though the negative is not necessarily present at all. It
Clarifying Your provides the speaker with a kind of self-protection even when the meaning is
Language clear. For example:
It was announced recently that federal grants would help hire 14 new police
officers for our city. A batch were approved for the suburban communities
where I live. I'm so relieved that my garage will be less likely to get burgled if
I'm stupid enough to leave it open.
The second statement is an innuendo, suggesting exactly the opposite of what

it says. The author uses this language to indicate she does not feel that adding
new police officers in the suburbs is a good deployment of them. We discover
this fact by reading further in the editorial. "Although their needs pale in com¬
parison to those in Detroit or St. Paul, suburban police departments have
fallen all over each other to dip into the presidential pork barrel. Federal
money, which might be expected to be targeted to problems too big they can't
be handled with local or state dollars, is being passed out to the relatively
trouble-free 'burbs.' "... (Debra O'Connor, "Sending More Cops to the Sub¬
urbs May Be Misguided," St. Paul Pioneer Press, February 19,1995)
Here is a second example.
[R. J. Reynolds says] it doesn't want kids to smoke. "If we believed for a
minute that the camel ad induces children to smoke," a spokesperson said,
"we wouldn't wait for the FTC or anyone else to act. We would immediately
change the campaign."
Sure.
. . . The messages are not merely subliminal, they are overt. Smoking
will make you all the things you want to be. But the companies say this is only
to promote brand loyalty among people who already smoke.
Right. . . .
(Martin Dyckman, "Breaking the Camel's Back," St. Petersburg Times,
August 15,1993)
The words Sure and Right are innuendoes. Though it sounds as if the author is
agreeing with the cigarette company spokespersons, in fact the author is very
skeptical of what they are saying. The author's skepticism emerges when we
recognize that he means the opposite of what he says.
Hyperbole
A hyperbole is a statement exaggerated to create a good or bad connotation.
Though the truth is stretched beyond what the evidence might allow, the
statement leads the reader to the emotional conclusion that the author desires.
Perhaps you have heard an ad claiming "the lowest prices ever." If you think
about such a claim, you immediately recognize that it is an exaggeration; infla¬
tion alone over the last forty years would make such a claim untrue.
Can you find the hyperbole in this example?
The little kid was screaming at the top of his lungs. The checkout lines at the
supermarket were backed up. Every human being in the greater Philadelphia
area in need of 10, 15 or 20 items was standing with or next to me in the opti-
mistically named "express" lanes. (Arthur Caplan, "Research Review Finds 131
Spanking Does More Harm than Good," St. Paul Pioneer Press, October 30,1996.
CHAPTER 5
Reprinted by permission of the author.) Clarifying Your
Language
Persuasive Comparison
Persuasive comparisons compare a person, place, or thing to something else
in order to persuade us that the person, place or thing has a certain character¬
istic. The comparison is simply assumed and given emotive content, rather
than argued for. Through such comparison, negative or positive traits are thus
transferred from the one thing to another without the use of rational grounds.
The author in effect begs the question by assuming that the comparison is cor¬
rect and banks on the emotive content in the comparison to get away with it.
For example:
Who does Ford think it's fooling? . . . Whoever came up with the idea for
that itty-bitty spoiler on the Taurus' trunk should be fired! It's like an over¬
weight woman trying to wear a thong. (Excerpted from Darrell Caraway, let¬
ter, Motor Trend, January 1997, p. 12. Reprinted by permission.)
Instead of arguing for his view about the spoiler, the author uses an emotion¬
ally laden comparison to make his point.
Speakers and writers use devices other than these six to convey their mes¬
sage emotively. There is nothing wrong with conveying a message with emo¬
tions; communication would be dull indeed if we dropped its emotive content.
If "I love you" were said in a dry, matter-of-fact way, what response would it
get? Furthermore, cultures differ in the amount of and manner in which emo¬
tion is embodied in communication. Nevertheless, critical thinkers watch
especially for times when emotive language substitutes for good reasons. At such
times it functions illicitly and must be carefully recognized.
Exercise 5
In the following, identify the stereotypes, euphemisms, dysphemisms, innuen¬
does, hyperboles, and persuasive comparisons. Note what words are responsi¬
ble for these.
1. It is in the manner of football coaches that they have colorful language and
mannerisms. It is also in the nature of football coaches that they have
voices that can carry over the width of a football field. A soft-spoken coach
would be fairly ineffective in all the noise of a football game. (The Star
News, October 15,1997)
2. Your weekly guide to carrion in the Cities. Vultures are birds of prey. Cul¬
ture vultures are birds of art . . . long creatures hunting for something
that feeds the soul. Remember, vultures eat anything, but sometimes
there's some indigestion. (A restaurant review. Pulse, October 1,1997)
3. A can't miss movie.
4. The latest news from Wall Street is that your stocks went south.
132 5. The IRS's abuse of taxpayers is not a phenomenon of recent years. It was ini¬
CHAPTER 5
tiated in the 1950s, when Harry Truman sicced the IRS on practically every
Clarifying Your small-business man in the United States of America. Now as then, Congress
Language will huff and puff, but it will not blow the house down. IRS abuses have
survived and grown regardless of the party in power in Washington. It is
still the only agency besides the Environmental Protection Agency and
Occupational Safety and Health Administration in which the burden of
proof lies with the accused. To eliminate this Frankenstein monster the cre¬
ators must be removed. They are members of Congress. (Roy Thatcher, let¬
ter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, October 16,1997. Reprinted by permission.)
6. Hefferren says she was nauseated, dehydrated, "shaking uncontrollably"

and in shock after being knocked down by a boy and his bicycle. She
acknowledges that "her story will strike some readers as very mild"; in
fact, it is ludicrous, almost a parody of an effete woman's introduction to
reality. This hothouse flower suggests that the criminal justice system's rel¬
ative unconcern with her case demonstrates society's deranged priorities.
The prosecutor who declined to issue a warrant for the 12-year-old's arrest
was right to ignore her posturing. (Michael Sloan MacLeod, letter,
Newsweek, January 28,1991, p. 8)
7. I can't believe Jack Keebler thinks this car is gonna draw a "horse laugh"
from the public. That's one of the silliest things I've ever read, because that
car is without a doubt one of the finest looking pieces of automotive
equipment I've seen. I think Keebler's been playing with the rest of the
elves for way too long. (John Carter, letter. Motor Trend, July, 1997, p. 12)
8. Remember growing up in your house back home? Remember walking

down the stairs in your pajamas, dragging your blanket behind you.
Memories are our common bond, and many of them have to do with
growing up at home. Our homes are important to us; they reflect our per¬
sonalities and outlooks on life. House and home go hand in hand. Yet
when referred to as a living environment, a house becomes four walls
with a roof on top. In an effort to remove memories, and thus prevent an
emotional outburst, the administration uses neutral words like environ¬
ment or residential space to distance us from the truth. At our college,
houses are working environments and offices. The houses become distant
and cold—eventually to the point of simply being assets on a bank state¬
ment. Since we have been conditioned to see houses as simply buildings
that take up space and do not efficiently meet the needs of the college, we
no longer care when houses are torn down and demolished. (Stephanie
Palmquist, "Home, Shmome," Echo, October 10,1997)
9. Outside of literary circles and academia, I have met no one who reads
Pynchon. His notoriety must be the result of the same pretense to artistic
sensibility that lets art galleries get away with selling rubbish for $25,000
simply because it's signed by an alleged artist. (Warren T. Taylor, letter.
National Review, July 28,1997, p. 2)
10. Norwest's Unbelievable Free Checking. Everyone's Gawking About It.

You can see it on their faces. People everywhere are amazed by our brand
new Unbelievable Free Checking. (Advertisement)
11. Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. I am 133
I, and you are you: whatever we were to each other, that we are still. Call CHAPTER 5
me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way which you Clarifying Your
always used. Put no difference into your tone: wear no forced air of solem¬ Language
nity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed

together. Henry Scott Holland. To place an obituary ad, please call. (Min¬
neapolis Star-Tribune, October 24,1997)
12. Pulse wanted to find out for its readers how El Nino might influence the
weather this winter, so we approached several well-known TV meteorolo¬
gists to ask if they would care to explain it in this space. Unfortunately, they
scoffed at being limited to 800 words and not having any color weather
maps. Plus, they wanted money. So, instead, we were able to get a recent
graduate of an influential meteorology college who was willing to talk to us.
Meteorologist: El Nino will provide recent graduates of meteorology

colleges across the country with a great opportunity to find work. Person¬
ally, I expect to have an on-camera position by December, and my hair, as
nice as it is, will have nothing to do with that. It will simply be because I
know how to tell people about the weather. It's a gift. All my teachers told
me so. (Pulse, October 15,1997)
13. After a closed door meeting with 20 Black community leaders, the mayor
came up with yet another ludicrous and ridiculous idea. The mayor
decided to throw yet another bone to the Black community by promising
to boost efforts to provide more recreational opportunities for Black
youths. (James Krisimini, letter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, February 21,1991)
14. A spine-squeezing mystery. Ashley Judd is irresistible. (Movie advertisement)
15. Young girls and old women, innocent and worldly, virginal and fecund.
Within the walls of the kingdom on the flat plains of Texas, David
Koresh knew them all—in the Biblical sense. . . . He began a decade
ago with Lois Roden. She was 67 and the widowed leader of the Branch
Davidians when the 23-year-old Koresh . . . arrived at the Mount
Carmel compound. He confessed to the group that he worried about his
excessive masturbation. . . . His next lover was at least a little bit closer
to his own age. In 1984, he married Rachel Jones, the 14-year-old daugh¬
ter of two followers; . . . Koresh claimed to be monogamous for two
entire years. But then, followers say, God told him to build a new House
of David, one with many wives, just as King David had. ... As the
years passed, the "wives" got younger and younger. Michelle Jones, 12,
was his wife Rachel's little sister and, an ex-follower says, Koresh's spe¬
cial favorite. At least a dozen other nubile members of the flock suc¬
cumbed. . . . Former followers say Koresh claimed to pick his wives for
their spirituality; it was probably just a coincidence that they were all
good-looking. . . . (Barbara Kantrowitz, "The Messiah of Waco,"
Newsweek, March 15,1993, p. 56).
16. I want to begin to evaluate students at our college by comparing stereo¬

typical examples from other small colleges. Please don't feel offended if you
have a friend who attends one of these colleges. They are generalizations and
134 every generalization has exceptions. Chances are, though, that if they don't
CHAPTER 5 fit the description now, they soon will. We will begin our assessment with the
Clarifying Your neighboring College A. A student must get dressed up to attend class and
Language must bring out the name brands of Tommy Hilfiger and Polo in order not to
be shunned by classmates. A student there must drive a nice car which he or
she did not pay for, but a car for which daddy paid handsomely. Most
importantly, they all must adhere to the same standards and therefore act the
same, talk the same and wear the same gel to slick their hair.
College B also has distinct qualities. Although not as fashion oriented,
they also have an image to uphold. Their image is an "outdoor" look. Any
article of clothing that screams nature is accepted. As a student at college
B, you also must travel to a foreign country at least twice during your edu¬
cation, which of course daddy pays for also.
To define the attitude of students at our college, many people would
use the term apathetic. Honestly, I agree. Most students have little school
spirit, involvement and some even bad-mouth the college's name. I
believe that this same apathy makes our students special. Students don't
care if you don't wear the correct brand or trend of clothing. Clothing in
classes can range from nice to dress pants to sweat pants. Students don't
think twice about seeing someone still in their pajamas and unshowered
in their morning class. Students also don't care if you drive a 1985 Mer¬
cury Topaz or a 1997 Honda Civic. Wheels are wheels at our college, even
if they are on your roller-blades. (Tracey Glumich, "In Search for Identity,"
Echo, September 26, 1997).
17. Generations of Americans have been brainwashed with psychological and

psychiatric theories that identify the individual as the source of many
problems that are basically social in origin. (Harry Specht and Mark E.
Courtney, Unfaithful Angels (New York: Free Press, 1994))
18. I'm as puzzled as everyone else over here about the American habit of
seeking advice on every aspect of one's private life. In England, we
thrive on our own inhibitions; they're all we can truly call our own.
Among the English, it's considered self-pitying to air difficulties, but
Americans are unembarrassable. They tell their whole life story on the
air. They'll invite a camera crew into their toilet out of a general feeling
of openness. ("Unembarrassable," an interview with Martin Amis, in
"How the World Sees Us," New York Times Magazine, June 8, 1997,
pp. 44-5)
19. The MX-3. Suspension lets it change direction quicker than a politic¬
ian in an election year. Plus a fold-down rear seat that is widely ru¬
mored to be more spacious than some Manhattan studio apartments.
(Advertisement)
20. The renovation of University Village is another stop in the Disneyfication

of Seattle, where real-life merchants are eliminated to make way for stores
that cater to a fantasy life that is enjoyed by only those in a certain eco¬
nomic sector. Just last month I had occasion to visit University Village. It
was not a success. I needed a book, socks, a small kitchen knife and a bit
of hardware. The only bookstore to be found is a behemoth that drives 135
locally owned independent stores out of business. I found the clothing CHAPTER 5
stores boutiques lacking the basics. The kitchen store is equipped with Clarifying Your
expensive gourmet items, and the only hardware store still standing is a Language
bric-a-brac filled Coppery. Real life doesn't resemble this place, indeed.
Seattle doesn't need more playpens like University Village for the yuppies
and Microsoft millionaires. Seattle needs real-life merchants who are
struggling to save for a down-payment on a house, education for their
children and maybe (if they are successful) even their retirement. (Name
withheld by request, letter. The Seattle Times, October 24, 1997. Reprinted
by permission.)
Exercise 6
Here are two editorials that exemplify emotive uses of language. First deter¬
mine the topic, issue, thesis, and main points of the following editorials. Then
underline the words chosen specifically because of their emotive content and
identify them according to the six types that were explained on pages 128-131.
Finally, replace the words with other words that have a more neutral meaning
and note what happens to the editorials.
A. Tonya Harding competed to represent the United States in the Olympics as
an ice skater. Her husband and bodyguard were convicted of attacking and
injuring one of Tonya's competitors; Tonya denied involvement and was not
tried. This editorial appeared after Tonya's ex-husband circulated a picture of
Tonya, topless in a wedding dress, to the media.
Tonya Flashes Her Fascinating Facets to Media

First of all, it was a pleasure to see the Brat with her clothes on. In fact, I
almost didn't recognize Tonya Harding when she appeared fully attired in front
of the media Friday. The topless wedding dress must have been at the cleaners.
Her days as the Trailer Park Temptress from Hell apparently behind her,
however, the Brat is attempting to undergo a metamorphosis. Or perhaps she
simply is molting. In any event, just when we thought we had seen it all, so to
speak, Harding is trying to come across as:
A) Tonya the devout Christian;
B) Tonya the devout patriot;
C) Tonya the devout humanitarian. . . .
"I am very upset and I am ashamed," she said of the infamous home video
that supposedly was sold to the show by her ex-husband. "I'm embarrassed. If
everyone could put themselves in my position, how would you feel?"
Not so good. Especially if I picked up a London Sun and saw naked pho¬
tos of myself while I was trying to eat eggs in the morning. The British tabloid
did not bother to "digitalize" Tonya the way the TV show did. It simply
showed her in all her glory. . . .
Tacky, isn't it. Admit it, folks. You can't get enough of the Brat. You know
it's true. People are fascinated by the hard-as-nails little ice queen, who now is
doing her best Shirley Temple.
The Brat sat in front of the world Friday flanked by her Kewpie doll
coach, Diane Rawlinson, and two members of the United States Olympic
Committee. Rawlinson was amazing, grinning like an idiot even through the
most tragic inquiries.
136 Asked about the death threats Harding has received, the ever-smiling
Rawlinson said, "We really can't worry about death threats. The Lord has a
CHAPTER 5
Clarifying Your master plan. If it is meant to be, it is meant to be." . . .

Language "God has helped me take care of half of my problems," Tonya said.
It's a miracle!
One minute she is hanging out with thugs and screwballs, the next she is
having out-of-body religious experiences. Amen, sister. You are saved. Go and
club no more.
Then there was Tonya the devout patriot, who talked lovingly of all her
American Olympic teammates in Lillehammer. "And I'd like to say congratu¬
lations to Dan Jensen," she announced, cheerfully.
I'm sure Dan was thrilled. Just a scant two hours after finally shedding
his loser image, it seemed unlikely he would want to be associated with the
Harding brood. Nothing to be gained there. It would be like winning the top
prize and then looking into the TV camera and shouting: "I'm going to Three
Mile Island!"
The Brat also let it be known that she agreed to stay away from the open¬
ing ceremonies at the request of team officials. Anything for the good of the
team. . . .
Well, when an athlete is suspected of plotting to injure her rival, shows
up naked on television, fires off pistols in a parking lot and hangs around with
all manner of human debris, the media does tend to overreact.
And finally there was Tonya the humanitarian. After mentioning how she
has sold her story to another TV tabloid show, . . . the Brat said she really
wasn't going to profit from it. After paying legal fees and such, she was going
to use the money to do good. . . .
So there you have it. Just another all-American girl getting ready to com¬
pete in the Olympics. What's all the fuss about?
"I have a great deal of respect for Nancy (Kerrigan)," Tonya added. "We
met briefly and had a positive conversation. It's private."
That nasty little maiming incident seems nearly smoothed over.
"A lot of Americans have their own opinions," the Brat said. "I feel like
I'm lucky to be here and I thank God. I just want to be treated fairly. I need to
be strong and follow my Olympic dream and win the gold. "When it is over, I
can sit down and cry."
It's all so . . . morbidly fascinating. (Tom Powers, "Tonya Flashes Her
Fascinating Facets to Media," St. Paul Pioneer Press, February 19,1994)
B. This editorial comes from a college newspaper.
Political Correctness Hindrance to Liberal Arts

Two New York University freshmen from two different small towns in
Nebraska experience the huge metropolis for the first time:
Student #1: Hey dude! Look over there by the fountain.
Student #2: Oh sick! Two guys kissing in public! Why I never . . .
Student #1: Know what we call those types back in my town? We call
them heaters.
Student #2: Well I just think they are a couple of faggots myself.
A Stranger: Hey, that's rude! Those people are not faggots, nor are they
heaters. The term is homosexual, you homophobic jerks. Besides, they are
human beings anyway.
Does this situation sound familiar? Who is wrong in this situation, the 137
students or the stranger? For the politically correct pity-providers, the "homo-
CHAPTER 5
phobic" attitudes of the students are at fault. They will tell you that for a long Clarifying Your
time homosexuals have been oppressed by the "evil" heterosexual commu¬ Language
nity. Such use of derogatory terms like "faggot," "dyke," "homo" and "queer"
are the signs of an ignorant and hateful society.
So if words like "faggot" are derogatory, what category do the labels
"homophobic" or "bigot" fall under? The pity-providers will tell you that
these terms represent the truth of people like the two students. These same
people must subscribe to the theory of "two wrongs make a right," so the lat¬
ter two terms are not considered derogatory . . .
In an article on political correctness in the March 18, 1991, issue of
"National Review," University of Chicago professor of sociology James S.
Coleman states: "Academics are dedicated to pursuing truth. But not all truths
are politically correct." Believe it or not the same type of thinking has infil¬
trated our college campuses. Is it not the mission of a liberal arts college to
give an individual a well-rounded education so they may become well-
rounded students? If we are to pursue what we believe to be true, should we
do so without reservation or coercion from the new oppressive governing
authorities of academia? Do individuals have the right to question professors'
views that differ from their own? . . .
A few weeks ago a professor told the class that the term papers should
contain inclusive (politically correct) language. For example, the term "man"
should not be used when we refer to humanity. I told him that "man" is a gen¬
eral term for referring to human beings and he should not require the class to
do this because it would affect our academic freedom and our pursuit of truth.
The professor along with a few Lola Granola feminists then tell me that I am
not living in the 20th century and that I should wake up and smell the coffee.
After using selected colorful metaphors to get my opinion across, I am
disappointed that the rest of the students in the class did not speak out
because they are fed with types of milk-fed liberal, narrow minded, idealistic
rhetoric. . . .
We should express our beliefs and debate with our professors without
fear if we are to pursue what we believe to be true. This is what a liberal arts
education is all about. If it is not, the mission we are pursuing will have been
in vain. (Matt Mirmak, "Political Correctness Hindrance to Liberal Arts," Echo,
April 26,1991)
BIAS-FREE LANGUAGE
We have suggested that language can convey a great deal more than what
appears on the surface. Sometimes what it conveys is what is intended, as in
the editorials in Exercise 5. The authors there used language to shock, perhaps
even to offend. But other language conveys things that we often do not even
recognize. In fact, authors might not think that it conveys or connotes any¬
thing in particular, while for readers it might signal a great deal. Consider the
following letter.
The Aug. 9 paper reported a crime that had taken place. A man had cut
through the screen door of a woman's apartment in an apparent attempted
138 burglary. The man stabbed and raped the woman who lived there. The story
was tragic enough, but listen to how the investigating sergeant told it: "He
CHAPTER 5
Clarifying Your
confronted her and she was sexually assaulted. She was stabbed and there
Language was some choking."
Why not say, "He confronted her, he sexually assaulted her, he stabbed
her and he choked her." That wording has an entirely different sound to it
now, doesn't it? It sounds like a man committed a heinous crime against a
woman, rather than the weak description that used the passive voice,
allowing the subject of the verbs, 'raping and stabbing and choking,' to escape
responsibility.
I hope and pray that we catch this man and bring him to trial. And when
we try him for this crime, that we will place the responsibility and the
spotlight where it belongs, on the subject of the verb, not on the person to
whom these horrible things were done. It's bad enough being the victim of a
crime without having our language work against us in our call for justice.
(Anne Dimock, letter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 20, 1996. Reprinted by
permission.)
From the point of view of the latter writer, the investigating sergeant
focused on the woman rather than on the criminal. The letter writer took the
sergeant's passive language as subtly suggesting that possibly the woman was
at fault, or if not at fault, at least was at a place where she should not have
been. To the letter writer, the language spoke volumes, volumes that were
probably not intended by the sergeant.
Bias, also often unintentional, can likewise appear in the use of gender-
based language. Though traditionally it has been grammatically proper to use
man in the generic sense to refer to humanity and he as a pronoun referring to
all persons (whether male or both male and female), in the last two decades
women have pointed out that male gender language conveys a subtle bias
against women. They have suggested several remedies, all of which are geared
to avoiding obvious gender-biased language.
Undoubtedly the best remedy for gender-biased language is to avoid it
altogether. Here are several suggestions.
• In place of man, use terms like human, humanity, or people.

• In place of he or she to refer to all people, put the pronoun and what it
modifies in the plural. That is, talk about they or them.
• If you must use the singular, one or person often works. If you are really
stuck, use he or she. Using she generically can be as offensive (and mislead¬
ing) as using he generically.
In using the plural you must be careful, for a plural pronoun must refer to
a plural noun. So it is not proper to write, "The college student is in a awk¬
ward position with their new-found freedom," "If someone is sick, don't
bother them," or "Each person has the right to say what they want." The pro¬
nouns their, them, and they have no referent. We could supply his, him, or he
respectively in the sentences, but that introduces gender-biased language. The
best way to rewrite these sentences is to use the plural: "College students are
in an awkward position with their new-found freedom," "Don't bother people
who are sick," or "People have the right to say what they want."
• Use gender-neutral terms when speaking about occupations or positions

that could be staffed by members of both genders and whose gender at
the time you are speaking is unknown. Chairman-»chairperson or chair; 139
fireman—^firefighter; policeman^police officer CHAPTER 5
• Avoid stereotyping your characters, giving men masculine roles and Clarifying Your
women feminine roles or characteristics. Women can play excellent hockey Language
and men can make good homemakers.
The point is not to introduce new rules and prohibitions, but to be aware of
the subtleties of language and its effects on the listener. Though using male or
female terms generically may not bother you, it may offend another. Avoiding
gender language is, at the very least, a matter of politeness. But more than
that, it expresses sensitivity to the changing gender roles in our society.
The following letter suggests that language can con¬ In speaking to science students, I often pose
vey subtle biases. How does the author suggest that the following experiment. Listen carefully as
language can convey a bias? Defend whether or not you say, "There is no science problem that has
she is correct. Can you think of a similar example? been solved by a man that could not be solved
by a woman." Then say, "There is no science
Does sex matter? In science, as perhaps in sex, problem that has been solved by a woman
it is the questions that matter. Thus the ques¬ that could not be solved by a man." Do they
tion "What contributions have women made mean the same thing? And the students often
in science that a man could not have made?" answer, "No"; the first seems to say that a
may be the wrong question. Why not ask, woman scientist can be as good as a man. In
"What contributions have men made in sci¬ contrast, the second seems to say that women
ence that a woman could not have made?" It solve only simple problems, which of course a
is, of course, the male culture of science that man could solve.
conditioned [the author of the article] to ask [Source: Vera C. Rubin, letter. Science (August 13,1999), p. 1013.
the question he did. Used by permission.]
SUMMING-UP
In these last two chapters we pointed out that comprehension—making the

material your own—involves paying close attention to language, which is the
foundation for our communication. We have focused on basic constituents of
comprehension—statements—and discussed ambiguity and the sensitive use
of language. Critical thinkers realize the importance of language and attend
closely to it. We now move on to the fourth step of critical thinking, analysis.
Notes
1. Elaine Chaika, Language: The Social Mirror (Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 1994), 367.
1. Syntactically ambiguous on include: does it modify baking or cookies?

140 3. Semantically ambiguous on belted: put in seat belts or beat with a strap
5. Semantically ambiguous on joins: goes to live with parents or puts the parents
CHAPTER 5
Clarifying Your together in Siamese fashion

Language 7. Syntactically and semantically ambiguous on strikes: noun (an action of labor
union) or verb (hitting)
9. Syntactically and semantically ambiguous on left: verb (to leave something) or noun
(political position); and waffles: noun (a food) or verb (is uncertain in its position)
11. Semantically ambiguous on case: where you keep a violin or a legal proceeding
13. Syntactically and semantically ambiguous on lies: verb or noun (untruths)
15. Syntactically and semantically ambiguous on shot off: noun with preposition (the
ball bounced off her leg) or adjective (her leg was shot off her body)
17. Syntactically ambiguous on after death: is it their own death or the death of a co¬
worker?
19. Semantically ambiguous on by: an action taken by the tree or indicating a location
21. Syntactically ambiguous on for second time: does it modify sentenced or die?
23. Semantically ambiguous on holds up: delays or supports
25. Syntactically ambiguous on larger: does larger refer to the size of persons studied
or size of group?
27. Syntactically ambiguous on dead: noun (dead persons) or verb (failed legislatively)
29. Syntactically ambiguous on dropouts: refers to individuals or the rate of departure
from school
31. Semantically ambiguous on Air head: head of aviation sector or someone who sim¬
ply does not have it all together
33. Semantically ambiguous on blocked by board: the executive board refused to allow
the window or wood was put there to restrict access
35. Semantically ambiguous on of: parts of the person or belonging to the person
1. Semantically ambiguous: the pitch could be as in baseball or as in an advertise¬

ment pitch. You're outta here can mean that you struck out or that you are flying
away (preferably on Northwest).
3. Syntactically ambiguous: The boys misunderstood what it referred to: the furni¬
ture rather than the game.
5. Vague: How loud is too loud?
7. Semantically ambiguous: Polishing can mean improving it or making it shiny.
9. Semantically ambiguous: Alone can mean by itself or by yourself.
11. Semantically ambiguous: Lots can mean much or pieces of real estate.
13. Vague: What is it to be conservative?
15. Semantically ambiguous: With can mean along side of or using.
17. Semantically ambiguous: Held up means delayed or robbed.
19. Syntactically ambiguous: to what does they refer?
21. Syntactically ambiguous: does conception refer to the mother's conception or that of
the fetus?
23. Syntactically ambiguous: often can modify shopping or spend.
25. Syntactically ambiguous: Does biggest modify doughnut or company?
27. Semantically ambiguous: fired with enthusiasm can mean excited or relieved of their
job enthusiastically.
29. Syntactically ambiguous: the comparison is unclear—comparing his playing with
toys rather than playing with Linda, or his playing toys with Linda's playing toys.
31. Semantically ambiguous: out can mean asleep or out of the house.
33. Vague on three-times. You do not know what is being compared.
35. Semantically ambiguous: Comfort can mean ease or a particular brand of liquor. 141
37. Syntactically ambiguous: during a rally could modify holds or died. chapter 5
39. Semantically ambiguous: revolting can mean disagreeable or rebelling against Clarifying Your
authority. Language
1. Denotation
3. Denotation
5. Connotation
7. Designation
9. Denotation
11. Connotation
13. Connotation
15. Denotation
17. Denotation
19. Meaning here is understood in the sense that one thing is a sign for something else
(called signification): the clouds are a sign of rain.
21. Denotation
23. Connotation
25. Denotation
1. Stereotype of football coaches

3. Hyperbole (can't miss)
5. Dysphemism (sicced); persuasive comparison (Congress with the Big Bad Wolf; the
IRS with Frankenstein)
7. Either dysphemism or persuasive comparison—living with the elves too long
9. Persuasive comparison (artistic sensibility of those who appreciate Pynchon with
art galleries that sell trash)
11. Euphemism (slipped away into the next room)
13. Dysphemism (throw another bone)
15. Dysphemism (nubile, succumbed); innuendo (knew them all, worried about his excessive
masturbation, a little bit closer to his age, claimed to be monogamous, just a coincidence
they were good-looking)
17. Dysphemism (brainwashed)
19. Persuasive comparison (politician). Hyperbole (more spacious than some Manhattan
studio apartments)
A. Topic: Tonya Harding

Issue: Is Tonya Harding a sincerely good person?
Thesis: No, she is a hypocrite.
Main points:
1. She claims to be a devout Christian.
a. She invokes the name of God.
b. She says God helps her with her problems.
c. Then she hangs out with criminals.
2. She's acting like a devout patriot.
a. She commends Dan Jensen.
b. She stays away from the opening ceremony for the good of the team.
c. Yet she has character flaws.
142 3. She's acting like a humanitarian.
CHAPTER 5
a. She uses her money to do good,
Clarifying Your b. yet she smoothes over the clubbing incident.
Language
Innuendo: It was a pleasure to see the Brat with her clothes on; I almost didn't rec¬
ognize Tonya Harding when she appeared fully attired; The topless dress must
have been at the cleaners; metamorphosis (insect); molting (snake). Anything for
the good of the team; Just another all-American girl; it's a miracle.
Dysphemism: Brat; Temptress from Hell; Harding brood; grinning coach; human
debris; morbidly fascinating
Hyperbole: ever-smiling.
Euphemism: fascinating facets; in all her glory
Persuasive comparison: hard-as-nails little ice queen; Shirley Temple; Kewpie doll;
like an idiot; Tonya the devout patriot; nothing like winning the top prize and
going to Three Mile Island
Stereotypes: thugs and screwballs; devout Christian; devout patriot; devout

humanitarian
CHAPTER 6
Analysis
Distinguishing Types of Discourse
Whatever you read—a paragraph, an editorial, an article, a chapter in a

book, or a book—has been written for a specific purpose. The purpose may be
to inform the reader about persons, places, things, or events; or it may be to
persuade the reader or hearer of the truth of a thesis. To fully understand what
is written or said, you need to identify that purpose. Once the purpose is iden¬
tified, you can proceed to better analyze what the author has written.
Consider the following editorial, whose use of innuendoes we sampled in
Chapter 5.
That green-eyed monster known as jealousy and greed sat back on its
haunches on the banks of the Potomac, surveyed what it perceives as its king¬
dom, rested those beady eyes on the Indian nations of this land, thought they
would be easy pickins, and started to introduce legislation to divest these
nations of their gambling dollars by adding a big (34 percent) federal tax on
them. The federal government (the House of Representatives and the Senate),
in its infinite stupidity, often tries to find easy solutions to difficult problems
by placing unfair burdens upon those least able to defend themselves.
Yes, there are several tribes making huge profits from their casinos, but
these tribes make up only 5 percent of the total and this 5 percent takes in
80 percent of all casino dollars. Most tribes use the profits from their casinos to
fund social programs on their reservations. They use the money to build
homes, schools, businesses, hospitals, provide retirement benefits and scholar¬
ships and more.
Does the federal government levy a 34 percent tax upon the casinos in
Las Vegas or New Jersey? These casinos are for-profit enterprises that turn most
of their profits over to stockholders and individual owners. Their profits are not
used to fund social programs that would benefit their state governments.
Is the federal government considering levying a 34 percent tax on the
state lotteries? Most of the answers are "no," because the government consid¬
ers state governments to be sovereign. If the lawmakers would read the Con¬
stitution, they would find that the men who drafted that document considered
the Indian nations to be sovereign as well.
143
144 Congress cannot continue to stomp upon the rights of the sqvereign
Indian nations of this continent with impunity. The National Indian Gaming
CHAPTER 6
Regulatory Act was a congressional mess from the word "go" and continues
Distinguishing Types
of Discourse to be the fly in the ointment of the Indian nations. It was passed without the
full approval of the Indian nations and was thrown together without a lot of
input from the very people who would most be affected by it. But then, that's
the way Congress has always acted and reacted to the problems and solutions
of the Indian nations. I would venture to say that no more than 15 percent of
the Congress have even a smidgen of knowledge as regards the Indian people.
They learned about the Indians from the non-history books written by non-
Indians using their own image as a guideline. As the old saying goes, history
is written by the victors. . . .
It is high time every member of Congress took out a copy of the Constitu¬
tion and read Article I, Section 8. It reads, "Congress shall have the power to
regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states, and
with the Indian tribes," which points out that Indian tribes enjoy the same
rights and protection of foreign nations and state governments. When Con¬
gress decides to enact laws affecting Indian nations, it should do so with full
cooperation and input of the tribal presidents, councils, governors and chair¬
persons. Indian nations should be accorded the respect and consideration
offered to state governments.
With this tool in hand, it is time for the leaders of the Indian nations to
challenge the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, an act passed without full con¬
sideration and input of the Indian nations, and have it rewritten with their full
cooperation. Congress must stop looking at Indian nations as helpless wards
and victims, and consider them equal partners as sovereign nations. (Tim
Giago, "Congress Should View Indian Nations as Sovereign Peers," St. Paul
Pioneer Press, June 23,1997)
What is Giago's
Topic?_
Issue?_
Thesis?_
Main Points?_
Giago wrote this editorial for a particular purpose. Is that purpose to
inform or to persuade?_
His article contains a carefully crafted argument to persuade the reader to
accept his thesis. Thus, to understand what he is saying, you need to see that
he is writing an extended argument and find that argument.
In this chapter we look at different ways authors attempt to inform or to
persuade. Our emphasis is on persuasion and the arguments constructed for
that purpose. We focus on arguments because since critical thinkers want to
discover whether what is said is true, they need to identify the evidence or
grounds someone has for thinking it is true. This evidence allegedly supports
the conclusion, and, as we shall see in Chapters 10 through 12, is what we 145
attend to when we evaluate the claims people make. CHAPTER 6
of Discourse
THREE TYPES OF INFORMATIVE DISCOURSE
Sometimes the author or speaker intends to inform the readers or listeners

about something. In the following sections we look at three types of informa¬
tive discourse: description, comparison, and explanation.
Description
Often the informative purpose is realized by giving a description. For example,
The band of Hutu rebels stormed into a Tutsi refugee camp, chased down
screaming women and children and butchered more than 300 of them with
guns, machetes, spears and clubs. Their work done, the marauders set fire to
the camp. Last week, stunned survivors rummaged through the ruins in a
miserable attempt to recover charred remains of still-smoldering bodies. . . .
(Excerpted from Stefan Lovgren, "Burundi's Trail of Fear," U.S. News & World
Report, August 5, 1996, p. 44B. Copyright, 1996, U.S. News & World Report.
Visit us at our web site at www.usnews.com for additional information.)
Descriptions tell us what things are like around us. In one sense, they
reside at Bloom's first step, knowledge, because they provide basic informa¬
tion to the reader or listener. Flowever, more sophisticated descriptions can
push us to the higher step of analysis, where authors or speakers analyze
something with the intent to inform. For example, they might break down a
scene or situation into its component parts, classifying the parts in a way that
fits the point they are making or that leads the reader or listener to observe the
scene or situation in a specific way. Since descriptions are always selective,
focusing on some items while ignoring others, they can reflect some conscious
or unconscious communicative purpose or view of things that critical thinkers
want to discern.
Descriptions, however, do not present reasons in favor of the truth of the
statements made; rather, what they describe is presented as a given—something
for the reader or hearer to accept that does not need defense.
Raskolnikov did not sit down, but he felt unwilling to leave her, and stood
facing her in perplexity. This boulevard was never much frequented; and now,
at two o'clock, in the stifling heat, it was quite deserted. And yet on the fur¬
ther side of the boulevard, about fifteen paces away, a gentleman was stand¬
ing on the edge of the pavement; he too would apparently have liked to
approach the girl with some object of his own. (Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime
and Punishment)
In this passage Dostoyevsky describes a scene in which the novel's hero fig¬
ures. Though the statements in the paragraph relate to each other, none of them
depends on another for its truth. Each stands on its own merits.
146 Descriptions play an important role in our lives. Specifically, they provide
CHAPTER 6
background data that critical thinkers can use in evaluation. There is one fea¬
Distinguishing Types ture of descriptions, however, that merits attention, and that is the use of emo¬
of Discourse tive language to get the reader or listener to go beyond comprehension to
make a value judgment about what is described. We looked at emotive lan¬
guage at the end of Chapter 5, but its importance in affecting readers is worth
reemphasizing.
Note the words used in the Hutu example: screaming women, butchered,
marauders, charred remains, still-smoldering bodies. The writer of this description
has not only analyzed the scene for readers but has carefully chosen language
that leads readers to evaluate the alleged actions of the Hutu and perhaps the
character of the Hutu themselves.
Here is a second example of the way emotive language functions in a
description.
Readers inclined to take [Eric von Daniken's] gospel with a grain of salt as
large as Lot's wife will fly in the face of some 14 million other readers who
have harkened to the intriguing theories of a 38-year-old Swiss hotelier, icono¬
clast, school dropout and ex-convict named Eric von Daniken. . . . Von
Daniken, whose style and method combine elements of Carlos Castaneda,
Ripley's "Believe It or Not" and "Star Trek," followed up with "Gods From
Outer Space" and is ringing up more sales on another mind-boggling book,
"The Gold of the Gods." . . . (S.K. Oberbeck, "Deus ex Machina," Newsweek,
October 8,1973, p. 104).
In this review of von Daniken's books, what seems like a mere description
is heavily loaded with emotive language. Note the persuasive comparison—
grain of salt as large as—and the emotive language used in the description of
the author—hotelier, iconoclast, school dropout, ex-convict. Note also the persua¬
sive comparisons with Carlos Castaneda (who wrote books dealing with drug
induced experience), Ripley (who wrote Believe It or Not), and the space fan¬
tasy Star Trek. The language of the description is designed to bring the reader
to a negative evaluation of von Daniken's books without providing a reason
for this evaluation. Thus, to repeat a theme from Chapter 5, critical thinkers
should be aware of the emotive content of what they read and hear, even
when it appears to be only a description, so that they are not misled into giv¬
ing evaluations where the author has strictly given only descriptions and no
arguments.
Comparison
A second kind of informative discourse that more directly involves Bloom's
step of analysis is comparison. How was President Lyndon Johnson similar to
President Franklin Roosevelt? Compare the situation of African Americans in
the South before the Civil War with that of Africans in South Africa before the
end of apartheid. Note the similarities and differences between union and
nonunion shops. Contrast RNA with DNA. Show why Willie Mays was a bet¬
ter center fielder than Mickey Mantle. In responding to these instructions, you
are asked to conduct a careful analysis of two or more things, noting the ways 147
in which they are similar and different. CHAPTER 6
Perhaps from tests you have taken or papers you have written you are Distinguishing Types
familiar with questions asking you to compare. Directives to compare require of Discourse
you to go beyond mere knowledge, which identifies what you have learned.
They ask you to go beyond comprehension, where you put things in your
own words. They push you into analysis, asking you to take what you com¬
prehend and rework it to show the relationships that hold between the items
being compared. Some might argue that comparison can even push you on to
synthesis, where you are forced to see new and creative relationships that
were not evident when you learned the information you are now asked to
integrate.
How should you go about responding to a question or directive that
asks you to compare things? Since comparison requires you to go beyond
simple comprehension, you need to do more than merely present a para¬
graph on topic X (President Lyndon Johnson) and another paragraph on
topic Y (President Franklin Roosevelt). Giving separate paragraphs on each
topic shows that you have some comprehension of X and Y. But as yet you
have not done what was asked: to compare. You left that task for your
reader.
The important thing to note about comparing X and Y is that your topic is
less about X and Y directly than about the characteristics of X and Y. That is, X
and Y are being compared in terms of their features, not simply in and of them¬
selves. This is another reason why writing separate paragraphs about X and
about Y is a mistake.
You can do a comparison in several ways. One way is to write one para¬
graph on the similarities between X and Y and another on their differences.
This process allows you to integrate X and Y, but it is rather uninteresting. It
simply lumps together all the similar characteristics in one paragraph and all
the different characteristics in another, much like pouring salad ingredients
into a bowl and mixing them.
A more interesting and effective way of writing a comparison is first to list
the characteristics that X or Y possesses and then to note whether both X and Y
have these characteristics and whether they have them in similar or different
ways. To carry this out,
• Make a chart with the persons, things, or events to be compared in a row

across the top.
• Down the left column list the characteristics of these persons, things, or
events you might want to consider.
• Group the characteristics according to the features they have in common.
This will make your subsequent writing task easier, for you can then write
separate paragraphs on each of these groups.
• Note how the items compare with respect to these characteristics. Do they
have them, not have them, have them somewhat, or have them in different
ways?
Here is an example comparing two sports.

148 Baseball
Characteristics Football
CHAPTER 6
Distinguishing Types The equipment:

of Discourse ball: oblong round
uniforms: helmet, pads, cleats batting helmet, cleats, gloves
other: goal posts bases
The field:
size: 100 x 300 ft. about 350 x 350 ft.
shape: rectangle fan-shaped with an inner
diamond
Rules for play:

for scoring: 1, 2, 3, 6 points individual runs
moving the ball: thrown, carried, kicked thrown, batted
player motion: after ball is snapped after ball is batted
Undoubtedly you can think of many other similarities and differences

between football and baseball. No matter how many you identify, the first task
is to list the characteristics and note their presence, absence, or adaptations in
the various sports. After this is accomplished, you can write several para¬
graphs, organizing each paragraph around one of the groups of characteristics
you identified: a paragraph on equipment, one on the fields, and a third on the
rules. You as the author of the comparison can now note what is significantly
similar or different about the two sports; you do not leave the task for your
reader. Actually doing the comparison demonstrates that you know more than
each sport individually; you actually see relationships between the sports, rela¬
tionships that were probably not spelled out originally but that you have now
made explicit through your comparative analysis.
Indeed, to turn implicit relationships into explicit relationships is the very
function of comparisons. To make the relationships explicit, you need to analyze
the things being compared so that you can choose those items or characteristics
worthy of comparison. Again, however, comparison does not involve arguing;
you present or describe the items but do not contend for the truth of the com¬
parisons. To contend for the truth, you would have to construct an argument.
Exercise 1
1. Compare two things, persons, or events. Begin by constructing a list of

their relevant characteristics. Then write a page noting how these charac¬
teristics are similar or different in the two things you are comparing.
2. The following exercise presents the nutritional value of various fast food
meals. First note what meals you want to write about and construct a list
of their relevant characteristics. You have to be selective in the information
you use. Then write a two-page paper as a report for this magazine, pre¬
senting an informative comparison of fast food meals. ("Fast Food: Eating
Fast, Eating Healthy." Copyright, 1997, by Consumers Union of U.S., Inc.,
Yonkers, NY 10703-1057. Reprinted with permission from Consumer
Reports, December, 1997, p. 14.)
149
Eating fast, eating healthy CHAPTER 6
Lessons to help you choose a lean meal of Discourse
Below are pairs of meal options—what Go grilled (McDonald’s)

we call a “lean” meal and a “large” Simply by avoiding the fried items in the
meal—from Burger King, McDonald’s, large meal here, you can get about the
Wendy’s, and KFC. Each pair contains a same amount of food but less than half
mini-lesson in nutrition. To put the num¬ the calories and one-fifth the fat. You can
bers of calories, fat, saturated fat, and shave 12 grams of fat and 240 calories off
sodium in perspective, keep in mind the large meal choosing a small order of
these government recommendations: A fries. But be aware that you can also add
person who eats 2000 calories a day up to 21 grams of fat and 180 calories to
should aim to limit total fat intake to about the lean meal by substituting a packet of
65 grams, saturated fat to 20 grams, and regular salad dressing for the fat-free one.
sodium to 2400 milligrams. In parenthe¬ The two sandwiches were served with the
ses below, we’ve included the percentage same condiments and roll, but the fried
each meal contributes to the daily value coating on the Crispy Chicken Deluxe
(DV), to show you how close each meal provided an interesting texture to the
gets to that daily target quota. sandwich—when it was, indeed, crisp.
(Half the time, our expert found it soggy).
Less is less (Burger King) Of course, frying adds fat.
No burger is truly lean, but the Whopper
Jr. is a good compromise for portion con¬ Grilled Chicken Deluxe; salad, fat-free
trol: It’s more of a mouthful than a regular dressing; lowfat milk
hamburger or cheeseburger, but not as 515 calories
big as Burger King’s flagship sandwich. 9 g. fat (14% DV)
And it even tastes just as good as the 3 g. saturated fat (15% DV)
Double Cheeseburger with Bacon, which 1435 mg. sodium (60% DV)
has an extra 15 grams of fat. Ask for no
Crispy Chicken Deluxe; large french fries;
mayo and you’ll save 9 grams more,
large Coke.
reducing the Whopper Jr.’s total fat to 15
1290 calories
grams. Choosing a salad as a side dish
48 g. fat (74% DV)
is a good policy, but only if you watch
8 g. saturated fat (40% DV)
how you dress it. The reduced-calorie
1460 mg. sodium (61% DV)
Italian is also fairly low in fat; a packet of
ranch or blue cheese dressing, on the Watch the toppings (Wendy’s)
other hand, has more fat than an order of With this lean option, you can spoon
onion rings (though fewer calories). some of the chili onto the baked potato
instead of piling on butter or margarine
Whopper Jr.: salad, reduced-calorie
(7 grams of fat per packet) or sour cream
dressing; orange juice
(6 grams of fat per packet). Just how
635 calories
important are the toppings you choose?
28 g. fat (43% DV)
Consider that a Bacon & Cheese Baked
10 g. saturated fat (50% DV)
Potato has nearly as many calories as
the Big Bacon Classic burger—though
Whopper with Cheese; onion rings; the latter has 12 grams more fat. The chili
medium vanilla shake (which isn’t included in our Ratings and
1340 calories costs $1 a serving) tasted pleasant,
66 g. fat (102% DV) though not terribly special, with a moder¬
22 g. saturated fat (110% DV) ately strong tomato flavor and typical chili
2390 mg. sodium (100% DV) spices. The beef was dry and without
continued
150
CHAPTER 6 Eating fast, eating healthy
of Discourse Lessons to help you choose a lean meal continued
much flavor; the vegetables were almost thing with a mayonnaise-based dressing—
minced rather than chopped. for example, cole slaw or potato salad—
will add heavily to the fat total. KFC offers
Small chili; plain baked potato; iced tea a number of low-fat choices, including col-
520 calories lard greens (or “Mean Greens,” as the
7 g. fat (11% DV) colonel calls them) and Red Beans and
3 g. saturated fat (15% DV) Rice.
Tender Roast breast without skin; Mean
Big Bacon Classic; large frosty Greens; Red Beans and Rice; medium
1150 calories Diet Pepsi
47 g. fat (72% DV) 369 calories
21 g. saturated fat (105% DV) 10 g. fat (15% DV)
1790 mg. sodium (75% DV) 3 g. saturated fat (15% DV)
Choose light, make it lighter (KFC)
You’re already ahead of the game if you Original Recipe breast; cole slaw; potato
start with roasted rather than fried salad; medium Pepsi
chicken. Strip off the skin, and you’ll just 1010 calories
about cut the fat in half again. Note also 47 g. fat (72% DV)
that light meat is somewhat less fatty 10 g. saturated fat (50% DV)
than dark. Happily, Tender Roast is not 1983 mg. sodium (83% DV)
only more healthful—it tasted better than
(Although this material originally appeared in Consumer
Original Recipe, which had a flavorful but Reports, the selective adaptation and resulting conclusions
presented are those of the author and are not sanctioned
oily coating. (We didn’t try Tender Roast or endorsed in any way by Consumers Union, the
without the skin.) As for side dishes, any¬ publisher of Consumer Reports.)
Explanation
A third kind of informative discourse, which also can involve analysis, is
explanation. Consider the following cartoon.
For Better or For Worse® by Lynn Johnston
✓
AfcttK "THffl-s I Pont UNDERSTAND WHY cant i lose weight
IT, ConNie. |'M IT. I Run twice a OFF TFiE bottom , INSTEAD
WAlkiMG The Rest week WITH yoo, AND OFTHEloP? AND UJHy
OP THE WAy! I STILL HW/&THE
SAME euLfleS-RIGHT]? ARe some People Tbf-Hmy7
rfret — FAT ACCUMULATES in Ttte
STRANGEST Places
AND NeVeR
Where We
WANT ins/
Source: FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE. Reprinted by permission of United Features Syndicate, Inc.
In this cartoon El wants an explanation for why she still has the same 151
bulges in her hips despite all the exercise she gets. Connie's explanation for CHAPTER 6
this involves a pun (ambiguity of meaning) on "lard" (Lord): "The lard works Distinguishing Types
in mysterious ways." of Discourse
Explanations are informative discourse in that they tell us why something
happened. They provide an account for what happened in term of the alleged
causes of the effect. As with the previous forms of informative discourse, the
author analyzes the situation (here in terms of cause and effect) but does not
argue for the truth of the claim about the causal relationship. The author
merely asserts that something is the cause of some effect.
Here are some other examples of explanations.
• She sued for divorce yesterday because her husband ran off with another
woman and the car.
• Skim milk has less fat than whole milk because the fat has been processed
out of it.
• Simon got an A on the test because he stayed up all night studying.
• The Yankees will win the World Series because they have so much money
from their television market to purchase premium free agents.
• She swerved across the road and ran into the tree because she had a severe
heart attack.
• The reason why potato chips aren't good for you is that they have so
much fat.
• She explained why she opened the door to the burglar by telling the police
that the man showed her what looked like a police badge.
In each of these examples, circle what is given (what is known, namely, the
effect) and underline the explanation presented to account for the given (the
suggested cause).
There are different kinds of explanations; let us look at two that are worth
mentioning and distinguishing. First, physical explanations appeal to some
natural cause to account for the event.
• Heat causes the mercury in a thermometer to rise.

• She has difficulty breathing because she has asthma.
• A rock cut a slice in the sidewall, making my front tire go flat.
• His tent collapsed when the bear tripped over the cord and pulled out the
stakes.
• After the tornado went through his farm, he no longer had a barn.
• The reason my tomatoes are not growing is that it is so dry.
• The heavy snow pulled down the electrical wires, shutting down my
computer.
These examples invoke various physical conditions as causes of the effects:

features of the weather like snow and wind, physical objects like rocks, and
health conditions like asthma. We frequently look for explanations of this type
in areas where we employ the tools of the natural sciences—physics, chem¬
istry, biology—and technology.
A second kind of explanation—psychological explanation—appeals to
mental causes such as purposes, desires, beliefs, intentions, reasons, or
motives to explain why we do something.
152 • In order to attract the attention of the referee who didn't see she was hit in
CHAPTER 6 the face by the soccer ball, she fell to the ground.
Distinguishing Types • Like President Truman, the President campaigned from the back of a train
of Discourse because he wanted to identify with the common people.
• Lacking the motivation to read the material and study, he failed the test.
Psychological explanations address the question of what causes us to behave in a

specific way. We frequently ask for this type of explanation when we want to
understand why someone did something. For example, the City Council voted to
install new sewers because it believed that leaks in the old system were polluting
the lake. Its belief about the old system caused the Council to vote as it did.
As you might expect, physical explanations are more amenable to scien¬
tific exploration than psychological explanations. Although they are not
always successful, scientists attempt to formulate laws that govern natural
events. Often the goal is to quantify the causal relationship by expressing it in
a complex mathematical formula. Even if we cannot formulate any physical
law to cover the relation between cause and effect, in our daily life we rely on
the physical regularity between the cause and effect to act. You might not be
able to formulate mathematical laws governing the flow of water and water
pressure, but you rely on the causal relationships that hold between opening
the spigot and filling your sink with water.
Psychological and sociological explanations are more difficult to formulate
in precise laws because human behavior so greatly varies. Hence, social scien¬
tists who deal with psychological explanations resort to more general state¬
ments of the relation of psychological causes and behavioral effects, using statis¬
tical analyses to present laws covering these relationships. Although often these
relations cannot be quantified as precisely or easily as physical relations, social
science analyses are no less important than physical science analyses for under¬
standing our world. Indeed, since we spend so much of our time, energy, and
attention interacting with people, psychological and sociological explanations
are critical to our own personal development and our involvement in society.
Exercise 2
In the following statements, first identify what is being explained (the given,
which is the effect) and the proposed explanation (the cause). Then note
whether the explanation is physical or psychological.
1. The Federal Reserve Board has not reduced interest rates because it does
not want to fuel inflation in the economy.
2. Why are there no fish in Lake Wabasso? It is a shallow lake that com¬
pletely freezes in winter.
3. The Russian teacher explained to the Academic Dean that the reason the
number of students taking Introductory Russian declined was that the
class was scheduled at the same time as a very popular soap opera.
4. Dustin uses a weight belt when he lifts weights so that he does not get a
hernia.
5. After a long investigation into the operations of the Burton Frozen Food
Company, it was determined that the two deaths were caused by tainted
containers of ice cream. Investigators also determined that the ice cream 153
was tainted when the milk used to produce it was delivered by trucks that CHAPTER 6
had been used to transport eggs and that had not been properly sanitized. Distinguishing Types
of Discourse
6. [The Dead Sea Scrolls contain a] provocative rewrite of the story of Abra¬
ham's near sacrifice of his son Isaac. In the traditional Bible, God com¬
mands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. At the last second, an angel stays Abra¬
ham's knife and points to a ram trapped in a thicket as a substitute
sacrifice. The biblical tale . . . has always posed a difficult theological
question: How could God tempt Abraham to slay his son? The Qumran
text . . . attempts to "soften the blow of God's action" by introducing a
Satan figure, called Mastemah or "prince of malevolence," who goads God
into the test. God thus does not originate the evil but merely countenances
it and permits Abraham to prove his faithfulness. . . . (Jeffery L. Scheler,
"The Reason God Tested Abraham," U.S. News & World Report, July 7,
1997, p. 71. Copyright, 1997, U.S. News & World Report. Visit us at our
website www.usnews.com for additional information)
7. Recently small explosions hurled hot "rock bombs" a kilometer or more

into a nearby settlement. This energetic behavior is consistent with the sci¬
entists' conclusion that the rising magma [in the volcano] is now moving
upward more rapidly. . . . (David Schneider, "Awaiting the Big Bang?"
Scientific American, January 1997, p. 31)
8. It's a scientific fact. A child naturally learns a language far more easily
than an adult does. In Europe, kids commonly learn a second language at
the same time as their first—in early childhood. Why? Because it will
never be as easy again. (Advertisement)
9. Wizard of Id
Source: By permission of Johnny Hart and Creators Syndicate, Inc.

154 10. Shoe
CHAPTER 6
of Discourse
Source: SHOE © Tribune Media Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
11. Marmaduke
Source: MARMADUKE. Reprinted by Permission of United Features Syndicate, Inc.
12. After examining 81 fossils of trilobites that had obviously been bitten,
Loren Abcock and Richard Robison of the University of Kansas found that
73 percent of the animals had been attacked on their right flank. . . .
Some suggest that the trilobites caused the bias by habitually curling up in
a way that exposed their right flanks. Others argue that the finding simply
means that trilobites had fewer vulnerable organs on the right and, so,
were more likely to survive an attack from that side. (28th International
Geological Congress, "Right Bite on Trilobites," Science Digest, April/May
1990, p.51)
13. I take it that you are in love, or have been, or think you might be in
time. . . . And since you go to the trouble to seek an expert opinion, you
must value the investment of emotion and the creative effort you have put
into your relationship. Intimacy matters to you. (Peter Kramer, "Should
You Leave?" Psychology Today, September/October 1997, p. 40)
14. NGC 891 [a spiral galaxy in Andromeda] has astronomers scratching their
heads. ... [A photo] shows so many [dust] streamers above and below
the [galaxy] plane that researchers were surprised at their find. They con¬
clude it is unlikely that supernovae alone could have propelled the galaxy's CHAPTER 6
tremendous network of murky clouds into place. . . . They hypothesize Distinguishing Types
that perhaps some gentler processes, such as the pressure of starlight, have of Discourse
"polluted" NGC 891's inner halo with dust. . . . ("A Dust-Choked Spiral,"
Sky and Telescope, November 1997, p. 57)
15. All 70 of the gender disturbed boys were found to be normal physically and
the more completely evaluated boys were found to be normal physically
with the single exception of one boy with one undescended testicle. No
evidence was found for maternal hormone treatment during pregnancy
nor were there any histories of hormonal imbalance in the mothers. In
these cases, therefore, the social environment of child-rearing is primarily
implicated in the psychosexual disturbance. (George Rekers, "Gender
Identity Disorder," The Journal of Human Sexuality, 1996)
PERSUASIVE DISCOURSE: ARGUMENTS
A second purpose of communication is to persuade. Authors want to persuade

their readers about the truth of particular ideas. Advertisers attempt to per¬
suade consumers to purchase their products. Prosecutors argue to persuade
the jury that the accused is guilty, while on the other side the defense attor¬
neys counter to convince the same jury that the accused is innocent. Politicians
desire to persuade the electorate to vote for them while perspective employees
strive to persuade employers to hire them. The kind of discourse more fre¬
quently used to persuade is the argument.
Often we use the word argument with negative connotations. For example,
"Scott had an argument with his girl friend." Here argument refers to a kind of
verbal battle between two persons. Used in this sense, argument has negative
connotations. These kinds of arguments often are to be avoided because they
fail to provide effective communication; rarely are they persuasive enough to
resolve the problems among people.
We use argument in another, more neutral, way. An argument is a form of
reasoning in which one draws a conclusion based upon particular pieces of
evidence. Arguments involve making an inference from one set of claims (the
premises) to another (the conclusion). The premises are believed to provide
evidence for or some reason to believe the concluding claim. For example:
Vitamin E can lower heart-disease and cancer rates—and works even better, new
findings suggest, when taken with vitamin C. A nine-year study . . . polled
more than 11,000 people age 67 and over about vitamin use. Those who took
vitamin E supplements—separately, not in a multivitamin—had 34 percent
fewer deaths from any cause than those who took none. Vitamin C alone had no
effect on mortality. But subjects who took both vitamins had 42 percent fewer
deaths. Researchers didn't track doses, but vitamin E capsules typically contain
at least 100 IUs, and daily doses of up to 800 IUs are not toxic. (Excerpted from
"Newswatch: C Plus E Equals Longer Life," U.S. News & World Report, August
19, 1996, p. 62. Copyright, 1996, U.S. News & World Report. Visit us at our web
site at www.usnews.com for additional information.)
156 In this example, the author claims that when taken with vitamin C, vitamin E
CHAPTER 6
can lower risk of heart-disease and cancer. The evidence for the truth of this
Distinguishing Types claim is found in the study the author reports.
of Discourse Arguments consist of statements. We noted in Chapter 4 that statements
are assertions that are either true or false; they are expressed by complete sen¬
tences or sentence fragments. Arguments serve to rationally support or provide
evidence for some opinion or belief. To support a claim is to give reasons for think¬
ing that a claim is true. People may argue for their own benefit, either to con¬
firm what they already believe or to find out the truth about something. Peo¬
ple may also argue to rationally persuade another to their opinion.
The evidence that we use to support the thesis is called the premise. The
premise is what the author of the argument already accepts as true or less in
dispute. Someone else might not agree with this evidence, but at this stage of
our analysis whether or not someone else agrees is beside the point. We are
not evaluating the argument, only trying to recognize and analyze it.
The statement that is drawn or inferred from the evidence is called the
conclusion. The author of the argument believes that the conclusion is more in
doubt than the premises and hence uses the premises to support or provide
evidence for the conclusion. Put another way, the author believes that the con¬
clusion follows from the premises.
Here are two examples of simple arguments.
If there are cookie crumbs all over the floor, Molly must have eaten a cookie
while I was out. There are cookie crumbs all over the floor. So Molly must
have eaten a cookie while I was out.
The truth of the claim that Molly must have eaten a cookie is supported by the
evidence of the cookie crumbs on the floor.
All Scandinavians are blonde. Ingmar is a Scandinavian, so he must be

blonde.
Here the truth of the claim that Ingmar is a blonde is inferred from the claims
that he is Scandinavian and that all Scandinavians are blonde. Again, our con¬
cern is not about the truth of the universal statement that all Scandinavians are
blonde, which is not true, but about the connection between this universal
statement and what is believed to follow from it if it were true.
There are several important things to note in constructing a good argument.
• In a good argument, the premises must be different from the conclusion.
Probably you have been in an argument where someone tried to support or

defend his or her conclusion by sneaking the conclusion into the premises. A
person may do this blatantly by simply repeating the conclusion or else by
saying the conclusion in different words so that it is not so obvious what the
arguer is doing. In Chapter 11 we will see that this is an example of a bad
argument (a fallacy called Begging the Question).
You might note how the following advertisement for a passion fruit juice
aptly illustrates the failure to differentiate the conclusion from the premise.
The advertisement shows two women sitting after sunset at a table drinking
margaritas while in the background a man in an office works at his com¬
puter. "Cathy and Rita could have stayed late at work and looked really ded-
icated, but that would have entailed staying late at work and looking really 157
dedicated." CHAPTER 6
• The arguer must consider the premises to be more obvious than the con¬
of Discourse
clusion. We reason from the more to the less obvious, from the more
known to the less known.
• The premises must be relevant to the conclusion and provide enough evi¬
dence for us to infer the conclusion from them.
Consider this example of an advertisement that uses both relevant and irrele¬
vant reasons for purchasing an automobile.
The Rabbits of Lahaska, Pennsylvania. It's true. Meet Peter Rabbit. His wife.
Bunny Rabbit. Their son. Jay Rabbit. And their brand-new Volkswagen Rabbit.
Now when we read about them in the newspaper, we couldn't wait to ask the
big question: "What was it that got you to add another Rabbit to the family?
The 38 miles to the gallon? The incredible acceleration? The handling ease?
The head and leg room inside of some mid-size cars? "It was all those things"
answered Peter Rabbit. "Plus something I've been fond of for 14 years,"
added Bunny. "What's that?" we asked. "My last name," she smiled.
In this example Peter's response—"all these things"—is appropriate, for

many miles per gallon, acceleration, and handling ease are relevant considera¬
tions in purchasing a car. But Bunny's (humorous) response would indicate a
bad argument, for the name of the car would normally not be a relevant rea¬
son for purchasing a car.
Or consider a shoe ad, in which a woman dressed in a white sun suit sits
on a dock and holds a shoe to her ear. The ad simply says:
If you listen very carefully, you can hear the ocean. Bass shoes.
If one considers this an argument for purchasing a specific brand of shoes, it

appears to be a very poor argument, for the reason given (you can hear the
ocean if you hold the shoe to your ear) is quite irrelevant to the purchase of a
particular brand of shoe (or perhaps to the purchase of any shoe). Arguments
where the premises are irrelevant to the conclusion are bad arguments; they
commit what is called the Fallacy of Irrelevance.
We will look at other features of good arguments in Chapters 10 through
12, features that are necessary to avoid bad reasoning. But for starters, remem¬
ber that the premise must be different from, yet relevant to and more obvious
or more known than the conclusion, when you construct arguments in favor of
a position.
Locating Arguments
To evaluate an argument, you must first find it. The best way to find the argu¬
ment is first to identify the conclusion and then search out the reasons or evi¬
dence given for it. People sometimes have difficulty distinguishing the prem¬
ises from the conclusion. They tend to confuse the two, treating the conclusion
as the premise and the premise as the conclusion. Unless you can distinguish
the conclusion from the premise, you will miss the point of what is written or
said, for the conclusion of the argument is often the thesis of the paragraph or article.
158 Since the thesis is what the author wants to say, it is the most important fea¬
CHAPTER 6
ture and hence worthy of support or defense.
Distinguishing Types How do you find the conclusion? Here are several suggestions.
of Discourse
• Location
As we have noted, the thesis of the paragraph, section, or article often is the
conclusion. In a well-written paragraph, the thesis generally is either at the
beginning or at the end or both. For example:
When the city reconstructs our street next fall, it should not widen it. I live on
a hill and my current driveway is very steep where it connects with the street.
If the city widens the street, my driveway will be so steep that I will scrape
my tailpipe and bumper on the asphalt, ruining my car and gouging the new
street. Keep the street that same width!
The thesis in this paragraph is "The city should not widen the street when it
rebuilds it." This is expressed in both the first sentence (the topic sentence) and
in the final sentence. You might wonder about the final sentence, since it
expresses a command. As we noted in Chapter 4, a command often can be
translated into a statement; here: "You should keep the street the same width."
Though what is lost is the emotional content (note the exclamation point), the
assertion underlying the command is retained.
• Logical indicator words.
While many of our words have meaning, other words have a function. Some
words have functions that help us identify premises and conclusions; we call
them logical indicators. They are like road signs through the material you are
reading or writing. Imagine that you have to get from your town to a town in
another state to which you have never traveled. Suppose there are no road
signs between your town and that town—no route signs, no direction signs,
just roads. You can imagine how difficult it would be to get to that town; you
would have to be stopping continually to ask directions.
Signs are important in communication as well. They help the reader
through what you write and the listener through what you say. They indicate
what you treat as premises and as conclusions in your reasoning. The more
you use these road signs, the clearer your communication is. At the same time,
however, overuse of logical indicators makes for very boring writing. So you
have to find a middle ground in using them: enough to give clarity to what
you write; few enough to avoid repetition and make what you say interesting.
Some words are called premise indicators; the statement that conies after
these words is a reason for a conclusion. For example, "You should vote for
the current office holder because he has been in Congress for many years and
holds a high office on the Appropriations Committee." The premise indicator
here is the word because. What comes after the word because is the premise,
which is why because is called a premise indicator.
No standard order exists to determine the relation between premise and
conclusion. In our example the conclusion precedes the premise; because in this
sentence is like glue holding the conclusion together with the premise. But other
orders are equally possible. Consider this example: "Because the current office
holder has been in Congress for many years and holds a high office on the 159
Appropriations Committee, you should vote for him." Because still functions as CHAPTER 6
a premise indicator because the premise for the conclusion still follows it. Distinguishing Types
Here, however, the conclusion follows the premise. To repeat, there is no set of Discourse
order for relating the premise and conclusion; in one context the premise
comes before the conclusion; in another context it comes after the conclusion.
But in either case, what comes immediately after the premise indicator (with
no punctuation in between) is the premise.
Here are some other examples of premise indicators.
"Since Freon damages the ozone layer, it should be banned."

"Freon should be banned, for it damages the ozone layer."
Since and for function as premise indicators because the premise that provides
evidence for the conclusion follows each of them. The following list of premise
indicators is not meant to be complete. You should add to it as you find other
examples in your reading.
PREMISE INDICATORS
because for since
as given that assuming that
for the reason that
Other words function as conclusion indicators. What directly (with no

punctuation in between) comes after conclusion indicators is the conclusion.
For example, "The current office holder has been in Congress for many years
and holds a high office on the Appropriations Committee; therefore you
should vote for her." What comes after the word therefore is the conclusion.
Here is an incomplete list of conclusion indicators to which you can add.
CONCLUSION INDICATORS
therefore so hence
thus entails that implies that
follows that consequently whence
it must be that for this reason that is why
whv ? (in a question form)
You already use premise and conclusion indicators without thinking about
them. For example, perhaps your mother asked you why you were out so late,
and you said "Because." You didn't want to give the reason, so all you gave was
the indicator. Of course, if your mother was wise, she said that because is not a
reason and pressed you for a reason. But although people use indicator words
without much thought about their function, critical thinkers are very much
aware of them and use them to organize their presentations for the sake of clarity.
160 Indicator words are so useful that sometimes without even knowing the
CHAPTER 6
content of the statements we can discern the pattern of the argument just by
Distinguishing Types looking at the indicator words. For example,
of Discourse
♦ "Because x, y; therefore z." Here x is a reason for y, and y is a reason
for z.
Or again,
♦ "Since w and x, y. So z." Here w and x are reasons for y, which in

turn supports (provides evidence for) z.
Sometimes, however, the structure is vague, and we definitely need content.

For example,
♦ "Because of w and x, y since z." What is unclear is whether w and x

support (provide evidence for) z, which in turn supports y, or
whether w, x, and z all are used to support (provide evidence for) y.
Since our language contains an indefinite number of structures, it is

impossible to list them all. The important thing is to look for these indicator
words and to note how they function. They will guide you through even the
most difficult arguments.
You should not be misled by the mere presence of words like for, because,
and since. They do not always function as logical indicators. Two caveats must
be noted. First, people can misuse indicator words. For example, an acquain¬
tance of mine has the habit of describing some event over the phone, like run¬
ning into a deer with his car, and then saying, "So, that's the story from here. "
The word so here does not indicate a conclusion but simply links ideas or puts
an end to the story. In sum, though the presence of an indicator word provides
good reason to think that the person is presenting an argument, it is not con¬
clusive evidence.
Second, because our language is complex and varied, the same words may
have different meanings or functions in different contexts. In the case of logical
indicators, you need to carefully distinguish among their respective functions.
Consider the word since. Since is a premise indicator when what follows
since supports or gives evidence for a thesis. "Since he is seven feet tall, we
have to heighten the doorways in his house." But since also can be a time
word. "I have been here since 5 o'clock this morning." Five o'clock this morn¬
ing is not the reason I am here; the statement merely notes the time I arrived.
Similarly, for can be a premise indicator: "Lions should not be made into
household pets, for when they become adults they are temperamental and
dangerous animals." But for can also function as a preposition: "She has been
here for three hours." Or again, "He bought the tool chest for thirty dollars."
Neither "three hours" nor "thirty dollars" provides a reason for anything else
in these examples.
The word because is also tricky. At times it can function to indicate a rea¬
son; "You should go to the store because we are out of milk." At other times—
as we already noted in this chapter—it functions in an explanation to indicate
the cause of an event. "Our basement was flooded because the copper pipe
had a hole in it." In this example the speaker is not arguing the truth of the
claim that the basement was flooded and giving the hole as evidence for it, but 161
rather is attempting to explain the cause of the disaster. CHAPTER 6
In short, just as the same symbol can have different meanings—lead can Distinguishing Types
mean a metal, to conduct, what you put in a mechanical pencil—so the same of Discourse
symbol can have different functions. Critical thinkers pay attention to the con¬
text to determine whether the word is functioning as a logical indicator or is
serving a different function.
Here is a third way of locating the conclusion
• Analyze the content of the paragraphs
Throughout this book we have stressed how to find the content: find the topic,
the issue, and then the thesis. The thesis should be the main conclusion, while
the main points provide the evidence for the conclusion. The main points
themselves are often conclusions of the paragraphs in which they are found.
Careful reading helps you find these components of the argument.
You might have noted in this suggestion a bit of circularity. How do we
find the thesis? It is the conclusion of the argument. How do we find the con¬
clusion? Look for the thesis. The circularity is there because the thesis and the
conclusion are often the same statement. Knowing this fact helps you identify
the conclusion, thesis, or main point of the paragraph or section. Once you dis¬
cover this relationship, you can work backward to find the evidence given in support of
the thesis or conclusion.
Testing for Premises and Conclusions

Since not all passages contain logical indicators, once you find what you think
are the conclusion and the premise(s), you can temporarily put a logical con¬
nector between them to see whether the connection makes sense. Although this
procedure provides no guarantee that you have correctly identified the prem¬
ise and conclusion, it helps you not to reverse or confuse the two. Your com¬
mon sense often tells you which statement is most obvious (the premise) and
which statement needs argumentative support (the conclusion). For example,
• The prison guards lined up the prisoners, handcuffed and beat them; the
guards responsible should not only be relieved of their duty but prose¬
cuted for their crime.
Since this sentence lacks logical indicators, we can supply them to see what
makes better sense.
• The guards responsible should not only be relieved of their duty but pros¬
ecuted for their crime [because] the prison guards lined up the prisoners,
handcuffed and beat them.
• The prison guards lined up the prisoners, handcuffed and beat them
[ because] the guards responsible should not only be relieved of their duty
but prosecuted for their crime.
The first sentence makes sense; the second one does not. Once we supply the
indicator it often becomes obvious which statement is the premise and which
is the conclusion.
162 Exercise 3
CHAPTER 6 For each argument, (1) circle any logical indicators and tell whether they are
Distinguishing Types premise or conclusion indicators. (2) Underline the conclusion; double under¬
of Discourse
line each premise. (3) Where there are no logical indicators, supply them to
test your belief about which statements are premises and which are conclu¬
sions. Note that not every statement functions as a premise or conclusion. You
need to separate out descriptive material from argumentative material. Some
paragraphs may not express an argument.
1. The university should be able to beat its rivals because it offers more foot¬
ball scholarships than they offer to attract better players.
2. Seventeen people have showed up for our Green River raft trip, so we
have to find a third raft.
3. I hope I'm not doing the wrong thing in throwing out all these old school
papers. The kids just might need them next year to review.
4. The fact that people have depended on their future Social Security benefits
to carry them through retirement is a good reason for Congress not to alter
the current Social Security system in a way that would reduce benefits.
5. Either the campus police do not detect parking violations, in which case
they are incompetent, or they do but don't ticket them, in which case they
are corrupt. Not much of a choice.
6. Reduced to unemotional basics, when a person decides to purposefully

murder another, that is a choice he or she has made. So, understanding
that a death penalty exists for such an act, those who commit it con¬
sciously choose death for themselves. This is not a profound or compli¬
cated idea. But it makes it clear that we each have to take responsibility for
our own actions. (Darrell Hare, letter, U.S. News & World Report, July 7,
1997, p. 4. Reprinted by permission.)
7. Instead of piling overkill upon overkill, why not start now with a
[nuclear] freeze? ... A nuclear freeze can give the two great powers
breathing room before they rush into a nuclear future that may threaten
the future itself. It can halt new technologies that will be dangerous and
destabilizing. (Edward Kennedy, Congressional Record, 98th Congress)
8. Since no man has any natural authority over his fellow men, and since
force is not the source of right, conventions remain as the basis of all law¬
ful authority among men. (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract)
9. Some species of trees have been 'read out of the party' by economics-
minded foresters because they grow too slowly, or have too low a sale
value to pay as timber crops: white cedar, tamarack, cypress, beech, and
hemlock are examples. In Europe, where forestry is ecologically more
advanced, the non-commercial tree species are recognized as members of
the native forest community, to be preserved as such, within reason. (Aldo
Leopold, "The Land Ethic," A Sand County Almanac)
10. "This earthquake is not a new thing," replied Pangloss. "The town of Lima 163
suffered the same shocks in America last year; same causes, same effects; CHAPTER 6
there is certainly a vein of sulfur underground from Lima to Lisbon." Distinguishing Types
(Voltaire, Candide) of Discourse
11. We consider that the whole universe is animated, and that all the globes,
all the stars, and also the noble earth have been governed since the begin¬
ning by their own appointed souls. (William Gilbert, On the Magnet)
12. Do not the wicked do some harm to those who are ever closest to them,
whereas good people benefit them? And does the man exist who would
rather be harmed than benefited by his associates? Then do you accuse me
here of corrupting the young and making them worse deliberately? (Plato,
Apology)
13. Rationality is a fine and useful tool, but it is just that—a tool, one way of
analyzing matters. Equally valid, perhaps more so, is intuitive, instinctive
awareness. We can become more cognizant of ultimate truths by sitting
quietly in the wild than by studying in a library. Reading books, engaging
in logical discourse, and compiling facts and figures are necessary in the
modern context, but they are not the only ways to comprehend the world
and our lives. Often our gut instincts enable us to act more effectively in a
crisis than does careful rational analysis. (Dave Foreman, Confessions of an
Eco-Warrior)
14. I do not think that, practically or morally, we can defend a policy of saving
every distinct local population of organisms. I can cite a good rationale for
the preservation of species—for each species is a unique and separate nat¬
ural object that, once lost, can never be reconstituted. But subspecies are
distinct local populations of species with broader geographical ranges.
(Stephen Jay Gould, "The Golden Rule—A Proper Scale for Our Environ¬
mental Crisis," Natural History, September 1990, p. 26)
15. Depending on one's point of view, [Peter] Larson is either the worst cul¬
prit or the most egregious victim in these bone wars. "Public lands belong
to us all, and fossils tell our prehistoric past," argues Richard Stucky, chief
curator at the Denver Museum of Natural History. "We have a responsibil¬
ity to be good stewards of this national heritage, and the primary concern
should be science and education, not dollar values." . . .
Michael Triebold, a respected dealer who sells specimens to museums
and private collectors, says more fossils are destroyed by erosion than are
ever recovered. He insists most for-profit dealers have strong science back¬
grounds, do good fieldwork, and provide a valuable service. "Fossils are
not going to wait for the politically correct person to find them," he
says. . . . (Excerpted from Michael Satchell, "Dinosaur Bone Wars:
Should Dealers Be Allowed to Sell Fossils They Have Found on Public
Lands?" U.S. News & World Report, August 26, 1996, pp. 43-4. Copyright
1996, U.S. News & World Report. Visit us at our web site at www.usnews.
164 DIAGRAMMING ARGUMENTS
CHAPTER 6
Distinguishing Types We now come to the hardest part of recognizing arguments, namely, identify-
of Discourse ing the structure of the argument in the context of ordinary discourse. Critical
thinkers need to understand how arguments are constructed so they can better
evaluate them.
One way of identifying an argument's structure is to construct a flow chart
of the argument. This is a fancy way of saying that we can discern the argu¬
ment structure by diagramming the argument. Diagramming provides a way
to see how the argument is assembled. To accomplish this, we use the basic
format where
P stands for the premise,

C stands for the conclusion, and
the —> shows the direction of the reasoning from
premise to conclusion.
So, for example, in the argument "We should not throw rocks over the cliff
because hikers may be below us," "hikers may be below us" is the premise (P),
and "We should not throw rocks over the cliff" (C) is the conclusion. We dia¬
gram the argument:
P^C
Since what is written may contain many statements, first number the
statements presented. Then use these numbers to construct the diagram. In
our example, we label "We should not throw rocks" as 1 and "hikers may be
below us" as 2. Thus, we visually represent the reasoning as follows:
2 —> 1
To make it easier, let us begin with the steps to successful diagramming.
1. Number the statements (not the sentences).

2. Circle the logical indicators. These guide you through what you are
analyzing.
3. Find the main conclusion. If the piece is well written, the main conclusion
is at or near the beginning and/or at the end. It may also be preceded by a
conclusion indicator.
4. Using the logical indicators you have identified, work backwards from the
conclusion to the first premise. Where no indicators are given, supply your
own to make sure that the connections you suggested make sense.
We can note four important things about diagramming paragraphs.
• Number the statements, not the sentences.
We noted earlier in this book that the sentence is the vehicle that communi¬
cates statements. One sentence can contain several statements, and it is state¬
ments that play the crucial role in arguments. Hence, since arguments are
composed of statements, each statement should have its own number.
• Number the statements consecutively from the beginning of the piece to 165
the end. CHAPTER 6
This does not mean that your diagram will be numbered sequentially, with the of Discourse
lower numbers always leading to the higher numbers. It would be nice if the
numbers proceeded sequentially from low to high because this would make
the argument easier to follow. But since not everyone argues in an orderly
fashion, you cannot predict whether the diagrammed argument will follow a
pattern of consecutive reasoning.
• You might not use every number in your diagram.
If you numbered every statement, your numbering probably includes state¬

ments that are informative and hence not part of the argument. Also watch for
initial statements in paragraphs that introduce a topic, issue, or thesis but then
are followed with contrast words like but, indicating that the author takes a
different direction than initially employed in the paragraph. (We spoke about
such structures in Chapter 3.) Since these statements are not part of the
author's own argument but are those of another or express common opinion,
they can be ignored.
• Sometimes the same statement appears more than once.
For example, the same statement (though put in different words) may appear
both in the topic sentence and in the concluding sentence of a paragraph. You
may either assign the two statements different numbers (and note in the dia¬
gram that they are the same) or assign the statements the same number.
Four Types of Argument Structures

There are many variations of argument structures, but let me note four basic
types. Learning the names might help you recognize these fundamental argu¬
ment structures.
The first type is a conjoint argument. In this type of argument, the author
gives one or more premises to support or provide evidence for the conclusion.
Where more than one premise is presented, these premises work in conjunc¬
tion with each other to yield the conclusion.
For example, "Since (1) today is Tuesday, (2) it is almost noon, and (3) on
Tuesdays I play racquetball at noon, (4) I should be heading toward the gym."
In this argument, all three premises work conjointly to support the conclusion.
One can see that they work conjointly because if one of the premises is false, the
argument fails. We diagram conjoint arguments as
1 +2+3
1
4
This is a good time to point out the function of connector words like and,
moreover, and also. These words are not logical indicators, but they usually indi¬
cate that the statements they connect function on the same level. If one state¬
ment is a premise, the statement connected to it by words like and is probably
166 also a premise. If one statement is a conclusion, often so is the other. The word
CHAPTER 6
but can also function in this way, although more often it is a contrasting word,
Distinguishing Types separating what follows from what comes before.
of Discourse Here is a second example of a conjoint argument. "(I) You should not vote
for Martha because (2) she is over 60." Here 2 —> 1. This is a conjoint argument
because the argument contains an assumed premise: (3) you should not vote
for people over 60. If we add this assumed premise to our diagram, putting it
in parentheses since it is assumed, we get
2 +(3)
1
A second kind of argument structure is the converging argument. In argu¬
ments of this type, two or more premises are given as evidence for the truth of the
conclusion, but the premises function independently of each other. If one premise is
false, tine other can continue to provide evidence for the truth of the conclusion. In
effect, the author provides two separate arguments for the same conclusion. You
can observe this effect by noting that the two premises address different topics.
For example,
(1) Capital punishment is appropriate in cases of first degree murder, for

(2) the killer has deprived an innocent victim of his or her life. (3) It also serves
as a deterrent to society, warning others what will happen if they commit simi¬
lar acts. Finally, (4) capital punishment gives relatives of the victim a real sense
of justice in that the murderer has paid with his or her own life for the life taken.
In this argument premises 2, 3 and 4 support 1, but each premise addresses a

different topic. Premise 2 deals with retribution for murder; premise 3 indi¬
cates that punishment serves as a deterrent, and premise 4 identifies the con¬
cern about justice for the victim. If 2 were false, 3 and 4 would be unaffected
and could still provide separate arguments for the conclusion. Likewise if
3 were false, 2 and 4 could be used to construct an argument for 1. We diagram
converging arguments as follows:
2 3 4
\ i i
1
This kind of argument differs from the conjoint argument in that there are
three separate arguments for the same conclusion. Each arrow symbolizes a sepa¬
rate argument.
A third kind of argument structure is the diverging argument. In this
argument one premise leads to two conclusions. You might wonder how this
could be, and the visualized structure is a bit misleading. But what happens is
that the given premise works with two different, assumed premises to yield
the two conclusions. For example,
(1) The first sergeant has been found guilty of stealing from the unit's payroll.
(2) He should be required to repay what he has stolen and (3) given a dishon¬
orable discharge.
Our diagram for this argument looks like this: 167
CHAPTER 6
1
1 \ of Discourse
2 3
The assumed premise that leads from 1 to 2 is that (4) people found guilty of
stealing from their unit's payroll should be required to repay what they have
stolen. The assumed premise leading from 1 to 3 is that (5) people found guilty
of stealing from their unit's payroll should be given a dishonorable discharge.
Two different arguments are given for two different conclusions; it is just that
they share one premise. Thus, a fuller diagram, using the assumed premises
4 and 5, would look like this:
l + (4) 1 + (5)
1 1
2 3
You can see that since 4 and 5 are different premises, although they share
premise 1, they produce different conclusions.
A fourth argument structure is the serial argument. In this argument the
conclusion of one argument becomes the premise for a subsequent argument.
Thus, a chain of arguments unfolds. For example:
(1) Jeff lost his job last week, so (2) he should not be required to make the pay¬
ments on his new truck. Consequently, (3) you can repossess his truck if you
don't penalize him.
The ultimate conclusion is that (3) you can repossess his truck if you don't
penalize him. The premise supporting it is (2) he should not be required to
make payments on his new truck, and the reason for this is that (1) he lost his
job last week. We can diagram the argument as follows:
1
1
2
i
3
This serial argument contains two separate arguments: 1 —> 2, and 2 —> 3.
But they share statement (2). In the first argument, 2 functions as a conclusion.
In the second argument, 2 functions as a premise. This shows that the same
statement can function in different ways in different arguments. The conclu¬
sion of one argument can in turn be used as a premise in another argument.
Combining Argument Structures

These four basic argument structures can now be combined to represent
more complex arguments. Think of the Legos pieces that come in four basic
shapes: squares, double-rowed rectangles, single-rowed rectangles, and
168 round pieces. By combining these four basic designs, you can create greatly
CHAPTER 6 varying objects.
Distinguishing Types Here are two examples of more difficult arguments.
of Discourse
(1) Consider the case of a sealed-bid auction, in which no one knows how
much to pay for a prize. (2) The collected bids do not reveal much about the
true value of the prize, because (3) the bidders may be looking for bargains.
(4) The odds are that the winner will end up paying too much (because (5) she
valued the prize significantly more than her competitors) or (6) too little
(because (7) everyone bid low). (8) Either result harms economic efficiency
because (9) the price paid does not reflect real worth. . . . (William Vickrey
and James A. Mirrlees, "Making Honesty Pay," Scientific American, January,
1997, p. 18. Statement numbers added.)
We may diagram this argument as

5 7
I I (3)
4+6
I
9(2)
8
This paragraph has numerous indicators to help us through it. The first because
indicates that 3 is a reason for 2. Because similarly connects 5 with 4, 7 with 6,
and 9 with 8. The author connects the argument 9-^8 with 4 and 6 (which is a
compound statement because 4 and 6 are connected by or) by use of the word
either. The more difficult part is to see how the argument 3 —> 2 fits in. State¬
ment 2 makes approximately the same statement as 9 (which we indicate by
the use of the parenthesis around 2), whereas 3 might be interpreted as a gen¬
eral statement that is unpacked by the arguments 5 —> 4 and 7 —> 6. Statement
1 is description and hence does not play a role in the argument itself.
Here's a second example.
(1) A mandatory notification program seems the ideal way to protect the wel¬
fare of a sex or drug partner of someone who tests HIV positive. One might
reason that (2) violating the confidentiality of the HIV-positive person is war¬
ranted by his or her partners' need to know. (3) Although this may be so,
(4) an additional consequence of such a policy is that it discourages those who
are at highest risk for AIDS from seeking testing. (5) Few people would be
willing to risk such serious consequences as losing their jobs, not being able to
find a place to live, or not being able to get insurance if information about
their being HIV positive was deliberately or even accidentally made public.
(Ronald Munson, Intervention and Reflection)
This example illustrates a point we made earlier in the book, namely, that
authors sometimes begin their discussion with a point contrary to the point
they are making. Note the function of statement 3 and its although. Thus, in
this paragraph, statements 1, 2, and 3 do not contribute to the author's argu-
merit. Further, the conclusion, which is not stated, is the opposite of the initial 169
thesis (1). We might diagram the argument as follows. CHAPTER 6
5
of Discourse
I
[There should not be mandatory testing for HIV.]
Statement 5 might also be another way of saying 4, in which case the argu¬
ment would be
4(5)
[There should not be mandatory testing for HIV.]
Diagramming arguments serves several important functions.
1. Diagramming visually reveals the structure of the paragraph(s), allowing

you to see more easily how the extended argument is put together.
2. You can determine how many topics are included in the paragraph. Has
the author addressed one topic or mixed topics?
3. It helps you determine how well something is written. Determining this
is particularly important in assessing one's own writing. If the num¬
bered statements have a sequential order, going from low to high, that
order provides a clue that the paragraph is reasonably well organized.
Conversely, if the numbers have little or no sequence, the author proba¬
bly has jumped around in the paragraph, making it difficult to under¬
stand. The more sequential the numbers, the easier it is to understand
the paragraph.
Exercise 4
For each of the following paragraphs, (1) number the statements, (2) state the
topic, (3) identify the thesis or conclusion, (4) circle the logical indicators and
label them P(remise) or C(onclusion) indicators, (5) diagram the paragraphs,
using the numbers you assigned to the statements.
1. Augustine advises the Christian who goes to war to repent in advance,

because the ambiguities of the situation confuse moral issues and because
passions confuse the moral intention. (Robert Clouse, ed.. War)
2. Truckers who use double and triple trailers have the best safety record.
That's because it is a highly controlled operation, using the best drivers,
operating under permit only. It is a privilege to operate a triple. (Bernard
Gavzer, "Should the Big Trucks Get Bigger?" Parade, July 20,1997)
3. Many people expect me to support the prison smoking ban. These are
prisoners. They shouldn't have any rights. ("Cruel and Unusual: Prison
Smoking Ban," St. Paul Pioneer Press, July 30,1997)
170 4. Reptiles make unusual pets, but tending for them is no easy matter. Green
CHAPTER 6
iguanas need a special diet of one third chopped leafy greens, one third
Distinguishing Types chopped other vegetables, and one third fruit. They also grow fast, reach¬
of Discourse ing four to six feet. So think twice before taking on a scaly pet.
5. If Bryan Cox of the Chicago Bears was a decent football player, we fans might
offer him a little more slack, but all we see is a mediocre player making a
scene—and a fool of himself—and then missing the tackle. Cox should stop
telling us how misunderstood he is and how great a competitor he is and start
performing. (Brian Axtman, letter. Sports Illustrated, October 20,199/)
6. It's great to see such enthusiasm, and I wish more players were like Cox.
Gone is the day of Dick Butkus and Jack Lambert, so let's enjoy this wild
man while we can. (John Manley, letter. Sports Illustrated, October 20,199,)
7. Marilyn Monroe believed her fame would be brief, but she was wrong. We
are still on a first-name basis with the sex symbol. . . . She was on the
cover of Playboy in January [1997] and appeared in the Sports Illustrated
winter swimsuit issue. Every week at least one new Marilyn Monroe
product is licensed, from Christmas ornaments to debit cards. A Marilyn
Monroe Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Barbie doll costs about $70. . . .
(Excerpted from Lee Neville, "Database: Icon," U.S. News & World Report,
July 28,1997, p. 15. Copyright, 1997, U.S. News & World Report. Visit us at
our web site www.usnews.com for additional information.
8. She ate Maple Leaf Farms' chicken cordon bleu and contracted salmonella
poisoning when she was seven weeks pregnant. . . . Her suit blamed the
company for carelessly causing the miscarriage of her fetus. . . . Maple
Leaf's lawyers requested a dismissal for two reasons: First, a nonviable
fetus is not "an unborn child." Second, to allow a suit for the wrongful
death of a seven-week-old fetus would conflict with a state law allowing
an abortion up to the 24th week of pregnancy. (Aaron Epstein, "Recent
Fetal Protection Efforts Cloud Abortion Issue," St. Paul Pioneer Press,
August 5,1996. Reprinted by permission.)
9. Rape is a unique crime in our society because of the stigma attached to

it and the extreme psychological and physical harm caused by it. Good
public policy recognizes this and gives the victim, not the media, the
choice of revealing her identity. To establish such a public policy and
ensure that it will withstand a constitutional challenge, one must also
review the legal issues involved and determine the proper balance a pol¬
icy must maintain to protect the victim's right of privacy without unduly
interfering with the media's first amendment rights. (Paul Marcus and
Tara L. McMahon, "Limiting Disclosure of Rape Victim's Identities,"
Southern California Law Review, 1991)
10. The orderly process of sedimentation may be modified by currents and bot¬
tom conditions that control wave action or interfere with the movement of the
water shifting the sediment. Hence the different types of sediment are rarely
pure, for the gravels generally contain sand, the sands generally contain mud
or clay, the muds contain fine sand or some calcareous matter, and the calcare¬
ous rocks may contain both clay and sand. (William Emmons et al.. Geology)
11. The first hominids were faced with a new, complex, and highly unpre¬ 171
dictable world. Yet they had the brains, the freedom from dependence on CHAPTER 6
only one type of food, and the freedom that bipedalism gave them to use Distinguishing Types
their hands in ways that would promote their survival. Thus their emer¬ of Discourse
gence during the course of evolution was a modification of patterns
observed among other primates; it was based on the primate heritage.
(Cecie Starr and Ralph Taggart, Biology)
12. Because the Christian church viewed care of the soul as far more impor¬
tant than care of the body, medical treatment and even physical cleanliness
were little valued, and mortification of the flesh was seen as a sign of
saintliness. In time, nearly all Europeans came to look upon illness as a
condition caused by supernatural forces, which might take the form of
diabolical possession. Hence, cures could only be effected by religious
means. (David W. Tschanz, "The Arab Roots of European Medicine,"
Aramco World, May/June, 1997, p. 23).
13. Like us, animals have certain basic moral rights, including in particular the
fundamental right to be treated with the respect they are due as a matter of
justice. Like us, therefore, they must never be treated as mere receptacles of
intrinsic values, and any harm that is done to them must be consistent with
the recognition of their equal inherent value and their equal prima facie
right not to be harmed. (Tom Regan, The Case for Animal Rights)
14. What about those experiments which carry no appreciable risk—the

"wrongful touchings" sort? In an adult, it would seem, the right to auton¬
omy is sufficient basis for the action of wrongful touching. But the child
does not have a right to autonomy, except insofar as some measure of
autonomy is necessary to promote the child's development and well¬
being. Harmless experiments on children, therefore, which satisfy the
other canons of medical ethics—could be performed. Parents would not be
derelict in their duty should they consent, on behalf of their child, to
experiments of this sort. (Benjamin Freedman, "A Moral Theory of Con¬
sent," in Ronald Munson, Intervention and Reflection)
15. The refusal of James Grant George's biological mother to provide informa¬
tion that would enable him to obtain a lifesaving bone-marrow transplant
is shockingly inhumane. Only in the worst soap opera would one expect
to find a woman who valued her reputation more than the life of her child.
No person's privacy outweighs the value of a life. (Catlin Smith, letter,
Newsweek, August 31,1981, p. 8)
16. Global warming is a serious issue. By switching to clean, renewable

energy and making our cars and trucks go farther on a gallon of gas, we
can curb global warming and create jobs. We don't need to bum coal and
guzzle gasoline in order for our economy to grow. A change that moves
America toward a cleaner, more-sustainable future is a change for the bet¬
ter. The President should take strong steps now to curb greenhouse-gas
emissions. (Bret Coleman, letter, Seattle Times, October 24,1997)
17. Forty-seven years after becoming a UN member, Israel is still not eligi¬
ble to sit on the Security Council and other key UN bodies. Sponsors of
172 terrorism—including Iran, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria are
among the 184 member countries that are eligible. Ted Turner ought to
Distinguishing Types reconsider his billion dollar gift to a body operating in an openly anti-
of Discourse Semitic fashion. (Erna Martino, letter, Atlanta Constitution, October 14,1997)
18. During the past 2,000 years, Jewish people have been oppressed, tortured
and killed for the glory of a Christian God. The soil of Europe is drenched
with Jewish blood. The majority of Europeans still hate Jews senselessly. Is
it proper, therefore, in describing Jews, to use a word denoting delusions
of persecution? The sad fact is that Germany today is still sick with blind
anti-Semitism, and many of its people want only to forget what it did to
the Jews. [Forgiving the Germans] cannot be allowed to happen. (Saul
Schoenfeld, letter, Newsweek, June 8,1981, p. 13)
19. Visiting small groups after you've set them a task can seem like a form of
assessment—a way of checking up to see whether they're doing what you
told them to do. This can be insulting to students since it implies that you
don't trust them enough to do what you've asked. Students might change
their behavior during your visit to their group as a way of impressing you
with the kinds of behaviors they think you want to see. Their overwhelm¬
ing concern is showing you what good, efficient, task-oriented learners
they are rather than thoughtfully analyzing and critiquing the task at
hand. (Stephen D. Brookfield, Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher
(Jossey-Bass, 1995))
20. The commission concluded that at this time it is morally unacceptable for
anyone in the public or private sector to attempt to create a child using
somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning. We reached a consensus on this point
because current scientific information indicates that this technique is not
safe to use in humans at this time. Indeed, we believe that it would violate
important ethical obligations were clinicians or researchers to attempt to
create a child using these particular technologies. . . . Moreover, in addi¬
tion to safety concerns, many other serious ethical concerns have been
identified that require much more widespread and careful public delibera¬
tion before this technology may be used. The commission therefore recom¬
mended ... [a] continuation of the current moratorium on the use of
federal funding to support any attempt to create a child by somatic cell
nuclear transfer. . . . (Excerpted with permission from Elarold T. Shapiro,
"Ethical and Policy Issues of Human Cloning," Science, July 11, 1997,
pp. 195-6. Copyright, 1997, American Association for the Advancement
of Science.)
Cooperative Learning Exercise
Take a paper you have written and diagram three your diagram with your partner's and resolve
paragraphs to see how well the paper is written. where you disagree, giving reasons for preferring
Bring this paper to class and have your partner one diagram over the other.
diagram the same three paragraphs. Compare
LOOKING AHEAD 173
CHAPTER 6
This chapter presented various types of discourse, with an emphasis on argu¬ Distinguishing Types
ments. It developed the structure of arguments and helped you understand of Discourse
them by means of diagrams. There is much more to learn about arguments; in

particular, you need to distinguish among different kinds of arguments. To
this task we turn in the next chapter.
1. Effect: The Federal Reserve Board has not reduced interest rates.
Cause: They do not want to fuel inflation in the economy.
Psychological explanation
3. Effect: The number of students in Introductory Russian declined.
Cause: It was scheduled at the same time as the most popular soap opera.
5. Effect: Two people died.
Cause: The containers of ice cream were tainted.
Effect: The containers of ice cream were tainted.
Cause: The milk delivery truck has been used to transport eggs and had not been
properly cleaned.
Physical explanation
7. Effect: Small explosions hurled hot "rock bombs" a kilometer or more into a
nearby settlement.
Cause: The rising magma in the volcano is now moving upward more slowly
Physical explanation
9. Effect: The thief let him go
Cause: The thief saw that the IRS agent was also a thief.
11. Effect: Marmaduke fawns over Linda.
Cause: Linda's husband is a butcher.
13. Effect: A person went to the trouble to seek expert opinion about a marriage.
Cause: The person values the investment of emotions and creative effort the per¬
son put into the relationship.
15. Effect: Boys with gender disturbance
Cause: The social environment of child-rearing
Answers to Exercise 3. Added indicators are in brackets.
1. (C) The University should be able to beat its rivals because (P) it offers more foot¬
ball scholarships than they offer to attract better players.
3. (C) I hope that I'm not doing the wrong thing in throwing out all these old school
papers [because] (P) The kids just might need them next year to review.
5. (P) Either the campus police do not detect parking violations, in which case they
are incompetent, or they do but don't ticket them, in which case they are corrupt.
[Therefore] (C) Not much of a choice.
7. why not (C) start now with a [nuclear] freeze? . . . (P) A nuclear freeze can give
the two great powers breathing room before they rush into a nuclear future that
174 may threaten the future itself. (P) It can halt new technologies that will be danger¬
ous and destabilizing.
CHAPTER 6
Distinguishing Types 9. (C) Some species of trees have been 'read out of the party' by economics-minded
of Discourse foresters because (P) they grow too slowly, or have too low a sale value to pay as
timber crops.
11. No argument. Since is a time indicator.
13. (C) Equally valid, perhaps more so, is intuitive, instinctive awareness. (P) We can
become more cognizant of ultimate truths by sitting quietly in the wild than by
studying in a library. (P) Often our gut instincts enable us to act more effectively in
a crisis than does careful rational analysis.
15. (P) "Public lands belong to us all, and fossils tell our prehistoric past." [Therefore]
"We have a responsibility to be good stewards of this national heritage, and the
primary concern should be science and education, not dollar values. . . .
(P) more fossils are destroyed by erosion than are ever recovered. (P) Most for-
profit dealers have strong science backgrounds, do good field work , and provide a
valuable service. (P) "Fossils are not going to wait for the politically correct person
to find them." [Therefore, (C) dealers should be allowed to sell fossils they have
found on public lands].
1. Augustine advises (1) the Christian who goes to war to repent in advance, because
(2) the ambiguities of the situation confuse moral issues and because (3) passions
confuse the moral intention.
2. Topic: Christian fighters
3. The Christian who goes to war should repent in advance.
4. Because: premise indicator
5. 2 3
V i
1
6. Both arguments are deductive.
3. Many people expect me to (1) support the prison smoking ban. (2) These are pris¬
oners. (3) They shouldn't have any rights.
2. Topic: smoking for prisoners
3. Thesis: Prisons should ban smoking for prisoners.
5. 2 + 3 2
i or i
1 I don't support... 3
4
1
6. Deductive
5. (1) If Bryan Cox of the Chicago Bears was a decent football player, we fans might
offer him a little more slack, but (2) all we see is a mediocre player making a
scene—and a fool of himself—and then (3) missing the tackle. (4) Cox should stop
telling us how misunderstood he is and how great a competitor he is and (5) start
performing.
2. Topic: Bryan Cox
3. Thesis: Cox should stop telling us how misunderstood he is and how great a
competitor he is and start performing.
5. 2 + 3
l \
4 5
6. Deductive argument
7. (1) Marilyn Monroe believed her fame would be brief, but (2) she was wrong. 175
(3) We are still on a first-name basis with the sex symbol. (4) She was on the cover
CHAPTER 6
of Playboy in January and (5) appeared in the Sports Illustrated winter swimsuit Distinguishing Types
issue. (6) Every week at least one new Marilyn Monroe product is licensed, from of Discourse
Christmas ornaments to debit cards. (7) A Marilyn Monroe Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Barbie doll costs about $70.
2. Topic: Marilyn Monroe's fame
3. Thesis: Marilyn Monroe was wrong that her fame would not last.
5. 4 5 6 7
V i l i
3
1
2
6. All are probably deductive
9. (1) Rape is a unique crime in our society because of the stigma attached to it and
the extreme psychological and physical harm caused by it. (2) Good public policy
recognizes this and gives the victim, not the media, the choice of revealing her
identity. (3) To establish such a public policy and ensure that it will withstand a
constitutional challenge, one must also review the legal issues involved and deter¬
mine the proper balance a policy must maintain to protect the victim's right of pri¬
vacy without unduly interfering with the media's first amendment rights.
2. Topic: naming rape victims
3. Thesis: To establish such a public policy and ensure that it will withstand a con¬
stitutional challenge, one must also review the legal issues involved and deter¬
mine the proper balance a policy must maintain to protect the victim's right of
privacy without unduly interfering with the media's first amendment rights.
4. Because: explanation indicator
5. 1
1
2
I
3
6. Both arguments are deductive.
11. (1) The first hominids were faced with a new, complex, and highly unpredictable
world. Yet (2) they had the brains, the freedom from dependence on only one type
of food, and the freedom that bipedalism gave them to use their hands in ways
that would promote their survival. Thus (3) their emergence during the course of
evolution was a modification of patterns observed among other primates; (4) it
was based on the primate heritage.
2. Topic: first hominids
3. Thesis: Their emergence during the course of evolution was a modification of
patterns observed among other primates.
4. Thus: conclusion indicator
5. 2
i
4
i
3
6. Inductive (causal hypothesis); Deductive
13. (1) Like us, animals have certain basic moral rights, including in particular the fun¬
damental right to be treated with the respect they are due as a matter of justice.
176 (2) Like us, therefore, they must never be treated as mere receptacles of intrinsic
values, and (3) any harm that is done to them must be consistent with the recogni¬
CHAPTER 6
tion of their equal inherent value and their equal prima facie right not to be
of Discourse harmed.
2. Topic: Treatment of animals
3. Thesis: They must never be treated as mere receptacles of intrinsic values and
any harm that is done to them must be consistent with the recognition of their
equal inherent value and their equal prima facie right not to be harmed.
4. Therefore: conclusion indicator
5. 1
1 \
2 3
6. Both are deductive.
15. (1) The refusal of James Grant George's biological mother to provide information
that would enable him to obtain a lifesaving bone-marrow transplant is shockingly
inhumane. (2) Only in the worst soap opera would one expect to find a woman
who valued her reputation more than the life of her child. (3) No person's privacy
outweighs the value of a life.
2. Topic: a lifesaving transplant
3. Thesis: The refusal of James Grant George's biological mother to provide infor¬
mation that would enable him to obtain a lifesaving bone-marrow transplant is
shockingly inhumane.
4. None
5. 3 2
V l
1
6. 3 —> 1: Deductive; 2 —> 1: inductive (persuasive comparison)
17. (1) Forty-seven years after becoming a UN member, Israel is still not eligible to sit
on the Security Council and other key UN bodies. (2) Sponsors of terrorism—
including Iran, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria—are among the
184 member countries that are eligible. (3) Ted Turner ought to reconsider his bil¬
lion dollar gift to a body operating in an openly anti-Semitic fashion.
2. Topic: Ted Turner
3. Thesis: Ted Turner ought to reconsider his billion dollar gift to a body operat¬
ing in an openly anti-Semitic fashion.
5. 1 + 2
i
3
6. Deductive argument
19. (1) Visiting small groups after you've set them a task can seem like a form of
assessment—a way of checking up to see whether they're doing what you told
them to do. (2) This can be insulting to students since (3) it implies that you don't
trust them enough to do what you've asked. (4) Students might change their
behavior during your visit to their group as a way of impressing you with the
kinds of behaviors they think you want to see. (5) Their overwhelming concern is
showing you what good, efficient, task-oriented learners they are rather than
thoughtfully analyzing and critiquing the task at hand.
2. Topic: visiting small groups in class
3. Thesis: Teachers should not visit small groups in their classes.
4. Since: Premise indicator
5. 1 + 3 177
1 CHAPTER 6
2 4+5 Distinguishing Types
of Discourse
[Teachers should not visit small groups in their classes.]

6. Deductive
CHAPTER 7
Analysis
Discovering How Arguments Work
The darker it got the worse my nerves became. I screamed at the slightest
noise, left my kerosene lamp lit all night, stayed awake with my head under
the covers—and nothing happened. So much for ghosts . . . When the sun
appeared and bathed the barn in light, I returned to my spinning loft. I sat
down at my loom and picked up my shuttle only to drop it again. Two uneven
rows straggled across the face of my rug below the knots I had tied the night
before. Unlike the tabby pattern I had used, the yarn dipped under two warp
strings and over two warp strings instead of one. I sat there for a long time
trying to explain away what I was seeing with my own eyes. There was no
explanation. In the space of a second I became a believer. Someone had come
back, through those swinging doors and said hello. (Cora Holmes, "Another
Ghost at Chemofski," Alaska, October 1997)
What is the topic of this paragraph?_
Its issue?_
Its thesis?_
Its main point?_
By providing evidence from her experience, Cora Holmes creates an argu¬

ment for her thesis that a ghost haunted her Aleutian ranch. Do you agree that
she has good reason to believe in ghosts? To answer this question, you have to
look at her argument and the evidence she advances. But how do you evaluate
her argument? To accomplish this accurately, you must first understand the
kind of argument she presents. Since not all arguments have the same struc¬
ture, individual arguments may require different methods of evaluation.
Application of the wrong methods of evaluation leads to an inaccurate assess¬
ment of an argument's strength. To prepare you for the later steps of evalua¬
tion, this chapter details different argument structures.
178
DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS 179
CHAPTER 7
Arguments generally are divided into two types, deductive and inductive. In Discovering How
deductive arguments the premises claim to support or provide evidence for Arguments Work
the conclusion in such a way that, if the premises are true and the argument
breaks no rules (is valid), the conclusion must be true. The truth of the conclu¬
sion follows necessarily from the premises in that you cannot deny the conclu¬
sion without denying the truth of one of the premises. Note that we are not
claiming that the premises of deductive arguments are true. Rather, we are
looking at the relation between the premises and the conclusion. We are saying
that if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true. We term a deductive
argument that breaks no rules and has true premises sound. We will say more
about these rules in Chapter 12.
Here are some deductive arguments.
1. All the rooms in this house reek of onions. If all the rooms reek of onions,
my wife must have been cooking soup. Therefore, my wife was cooking soup.
If it is true that all the rooms reek of onions and that if so, my wife was cook¬
ing soup, then there is no escaping the fact that she was cooking soup.
2. The entire soccer team must purchase red jerseys before the first game.
Rachel is on the soccer team, so she must purchase a red jersey before the first
game.
Again, if the premises are true, the conclusion that Rachel must purchase a red
jersey before the first game must also be true.
3. The Sears Tower is taller than the Empire State Building, and the Empire
State Building is taller than our nation's Capitol Building. So it follows that
the Sears Tower is taller than our nation's Capitol Building.
As before, the truth of the premises and the structure of the argument establish
the conclusion about the Sears Tower as true. You can recognize that this is a
deductive argument by noting that if you deny the conclusion, you must also
believe that one of the premises is false.
In inductive arguments, even though the premises are true and the argu¬
ment is strong, the conclusion is at best probable. That is to say, you can deny
the conclusion without denying the truth of any of the premises. An inductive
argument is strong when the premises provide good reason for thinking that
the conclusion is true. The stronger the argument, the more likely it is that the
conclusion is true. But the conclusion never follows with certainty from the
premises. It is appropriate to say that inductive arguments are strong or weak.
An inductive argument is cogent when the premises are true and the argu¬
ment is strong. The term cogent applies to inductive arguments parallel to the
way sound applies to deductive arguments.
Here, then, is an important difference between deductive and inductive
reasoning. Assuming that the premises are true in both cases, deductive reason¬
ing yields conclusions that are surer or more certain than inductive arguments.
Put another way, inductive arguments are weaker than deductive arguments.
180 This is not necessarily bad, for often the best argument we can raise is an
CHAPTER 7
inductive one. But critical thinkers are aware of what the argument can and
Discovering How cannot establish and of how much confidence they can place in the conclusion
Arguments Work given the truth of the premises. In this way they are not misled by claims that
are stronger than warranted.
Here are examples of four types of inductive arguments. We introduce
these inductive arguments types here and explore the first three in greater
detail in the following sections.
1. Bobbie, Jean, and Randy are siblings and have blue eyes. So it is likely that
all their brothers and sisters have blue eyes.
In this generalization, an arguer concludes something about all or most of a

group based on the evidence provided by a sample of three cases. The conclu¬
sion is at best probable, since if one of the parents has brown eyes, it is possi¬
ble that at least one of the children has brown eyes.
2. The government is like a ship. When the captain becomes incompetent for
some reason, it is necessary to replace that person with someone who is quali¬
fied to safely pilot the ship.
This argument from analogy compares two things and draws a conclusion
from that comparison. The arguer infers that since two things—ships and
governments—are relevantly similar, other aspects about them are relevantly
similar.
ships replace the captain when incompetent
governments therefore, replace the captain when incompetent
You can readily see that the conclusion is at best likely, depending on how
closely governments are like ships.
3. Jack has won more than twenty games each of the last three seasons, yet he
is thirty pounds overweight. It must be what the Tigers feed him that makes
him a winning pitcher.
Causal arguments infer a cause or causal hypothesis from an analysis of specific

effects. In this argument, the arguer suggests a causal explanation or hypothe¬
sis for the fact that Jack has such a good winning record. The argument is
inductive, for other causes might be presented to explain Jack's record (Jack
has unusual control; he has a good split-finger fastball; the team has quite an
array of 300 + hitters).
4. An appeal to authority draws a conclusion based upon the recommendation

of some alleged authority or person with prestige or popular appeal.
In our example on the next page the advertiser concludes that you should
drink milk because Michael Johnson, who is a track superstar, recommends it.
We will examine the role of authorities more closely in Chapter 10. Here we
merely note that any conclusion that follows from the testimony of an authority
is at best probable.
The examples we used are simple arguments, easy to recognize. Argu¬
ments in real life are often much harder to differentiate in terms of being
181
CHAPTER 7
Discovering How
Arguments Work
fir* the time it takes to read this, l became the

world's fastest man. Was it my unique posture and upper
body strength? Or did the skim milk in my healthy diet
help? After all, that's what mar. r s recommend.
Appeal to authority
deductive or inductive. One way to distinguish the two is to ask how much
confidence you would have in the conclusion if the premise(s) were true. If
you cannot see any way of denying the conclusion in such a case, the argu¬
ment is deductive.
A second way is to look for argument-type indicators like must or likely.
Must and its synonyms (certainly or necessarily) usually indicate a deductive
argument, while likely and its synonyms (probable, good reason to believe that)
indicate an inductive argument. These signposts are at best indicators and not
sure guarantees of argument types, for we sometimes misuse these words. In
particular, it is not unusual for someone to use the word must in reference to
the conclusion of an inductive argument. Note Example 3 about the Tiger
baseball player Jack. The arguer misused must in what is an inductive argu¬
ment. Here is another example:
The back door is locked. No windows are broken. So the burglar must have
left through a window.
182 The arguer would better have said, "Probably the burglar left through a win¬
CHAPTER 7 dow." Other options might explain the locked door. For example, the burglar
Discovering How might have found a house key inside the home and locked the door on the
Arguments Work way out to fool the police. Given the truth of the premises, the conclusion is
probable, not certain. These examples show that you should look for argument-
type indicators to help you identify the type of argument given, but at the
same time you must test any indicators that are given to see whether they
truly fit the kind of argument the author has suggested.
One note of caution. Don't confuse argument-type indicators with logical indi¬
cators. The first indicate the type of argument being given, whether deductive
or inductive; the second indicate premise and conclusion. However, some
words, like must, can serve both functions. For example.
He must have had an accident; his right front fender is crumpled and the
headlight is dangling.
Must indicates both the conclusion and that probably we have a deductive
argument. The missing premise to the deductive argument is "If his right front
fender is crumpled and headlight is dangling, he must have had an accident."
You might protest that there is another way to interpret this argument
about the crumpled fender. You might claim, correctly, that his crumpled
fender is only a sign that he might have had an accident. The crumpled fender
could have been caused by other events (his girlfriend got mad and hit his car
with a sledge hammer). The conclusion that he had an accident is only proba¬
ble. This argument, then, also might be interpreted as an inductive argument
and hence provides another illustration of a misuse of must. Which way the
argument goes often depends on the context or on what is assumed in the
argument. We will say more about assumptions later.
Try your hand at the following exercises. If you have difficulty distin¬
guishing deductive from inductive arguments, ask yourself two questions.
(1) How certain would the conclusion be if the given premise(s) were true?
(2) If the argument were an inductive argument, which of the preceding four
types of inductive arguments would it exemplify?
Exercise 1
In the following arguments, (1) bracket and number the statements; (2) circle
the logical indicators and underline the argument-type indicators; (3) diagram
the argument; (4) decide whether the argument is deductive or inductive.
1. Since taking some vitamin C daily is good for your health, I take several
thousand milligrams daily to really protect my health.
2. The nutritionist said that taking vitamin C daily is good for your health.
So I never miss a day without taking my vitamin C.
3. Although my street is normally quiet, today cars from all around the
neighborhood are driving past my house. The city must have one of the
nearby roads blocked.
4. Because the number of personal bankruptcies in our county has doubled

in the past year, we must vote to close down the riverboat casino.
5. U.S. News tallied 76 deaths [in day-care facilities] in 1996. The causes 183
included drowning, falls, being struck by autos, and sudden infant death CHAPTER 7
syndrome—but the data are sketchy, since many states do not report the Discovering How
causes of these deaths. (Victoria Pope, "Day Care Dangers," U.S. News & Arguments Work
World Report, August 4,1997, p. 34)
6. This is doubtless not the full total, since seven states as well as the District
[of Columbia] did not respond to repeated requests for information—and
16 others, including California and Ohio, said they do not track deaths in
day care. (Victoria Pope, "Day Care Dangers," U.S. News & World Report,
August 4,1997, p. 34)
7. Zebra mussels have been found above the dam separating the lower from
the upper St. Croix River. Boaters have not been careful to scrape off all the
mussels attached to their boat when they transported them around the dam.
8. Troopers staffing special overtime enforcement patrols . . . issued

50 percent more tickets than normal through June 30; they have tagged
42 percent more speeders than [last year]. Based on results to date, speed¬
ing tickets issued by the patrol will likely exceed 17,000 this month, com¬
pared with the 12,000-plus issued last July. (Gary Dawson, "New Speed
Limits Being Enforced," St. Paul Pioneer Press, July 30,1997)
9. Yes, it was settled; his career was determined. He would run away from
home and enter upon it. He would start the very next morning. Therefore,
he must now begin to get ready. (Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer)
10. In the time of peace in December, 1932, at one time 265 condemned prison¬
ers were awaiting execution in Leningrad's Kresty Prison alone. And dur¬
ing the whole year, it would certainly seem that more than a thousand
were shot in Kresty alone. (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago)
11. As the fire which is kindled makes its fuel into ashes, so the fire of knowl¬
edge makes all actions into ashes. (Bhagavad Gita, IV)
12. Since I transcend the perishable and am higher even than the imperish¬
able, I am renowned in the world and in the Vedas as the highest Spirit.
(.Bhagavad Gita, XV)
13. I say we shall always have native crime to fear until the native people of this
country have worthy purposes to inspire them and worthy goals to work
for. For it is only because they see neither purpose nor goal that they turn to
drink and crime and prostitution. (Alan Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country)
14. Even so, these children seldom abandoned fairness entirely. They may
have switched from one idea of justice to another—say, from merit to
equality—but they did not resort to egoistic justifications. . . . Older chil¬
dren were more likely to believe in fairness and to act accordingly, even
when such actions favored others. This finding was evidence for the reas¬
suring proposition that ideals can have an increasing influence on conduct
as a child matures. (William Damon, "The Moral Development of Chil¬
dren," Scientific American, August 1999, p. 75)
184 15. You must strive to guide policy indirectly, so that you make the best of
CHAPTER 7 things, and what you cannot turn to good, you can at least make less bad.
Discovering How For it is impossible to do all things well unless all men are good, and this I
Arguments Work do not expect to see for a long time. (Thomas More, Utopia)
INDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS
We have observed that there are various kinds of inductive arguments. Let us
look in more detail at three common ones in order to understand their struc¬
ture. The ability to recognize the structure of these arguments enables you to
better identify inductive arguments.
Generalizations
One kind of inductive argument is a generalization. Generalizations argue from a
limited sample to a statement about all, most, or a certain percentage of the whole. Sup¬
pose I buy a crate of oranges at the supermarket. When I get it home and exam¬
ine it, I find that all the oranges on the top layer are rotten. Rather than sorting
through the entire crate, I take it back, telling the manager that from looking at
this top layer I concluded that all (or most) of the oranges are rotten, and I want
my money back. Here the sample is the oranges on the top layer, and what I gen¬
eralize about are all, most, or a certain percentage of the oranges in the crate.
What I generalize about must be of the same type or category as the items
in the sample. In the example, I generalize about the crate of oranges. The rele¬
vant category is oranges. If I also bought a crate of apples from the supermarket,
whether or not I can argue to return the apples as well depends on what I take
as the relevant category about which to generalize. If the category is oranges, I
cannot argue from the sample of rotten oranges that I should be able to return
the apples as well, since the new relevant category covering both oranges and
apples (fruit) is of a different type than the sample (oranges). If, however, I
broaden the sample category to fruit, I can make the generalization from the
rotten fruit to cover both crates—the oranges and the apples. The point here is
that generalizations are strictly controlled in the sense that ivhat you generalize
about must be of the same type as the sample from which you generalize.
You can readily see that generalizations are forms of inductive, not deduc¬
tive, reasoning. If I do not examine all the oranges, then although the premise
(the oranges in the top layer are rotten) is true, the conclusion (all the oranges in
the crate are rotten) may still be false, for there may be one or many good ones in
the layer below which I looked. Only if I had examined every orange would I be
entitled to say with certainty that all the oranges in the crate are rotten. But then I
am no longer giving an inductive argument. In fact, I would be making not an
inference but an assertion based on the observation that all the oranges are rotten.
Generalizations may lead to conclusions of varying strengths. Based on the
sample, I may make a universal claim that all the oranges are rotten. This is a
very strong claim. A weaker claim would be that most or a certain percentage—
say 75 percent, based on the fact that three-fourths of those I sampled are rot¬
ten—of the oranges are rotten.
Generalizations play an important role in our lives. We have neither the
time nor the resources to investigate every event, yet we want to make claims
that go beyond our limited experience. Generalizations do this for us. One 185
important use is in polling. In the lead-up to the 1996 presidential election, CHAPTER 7
poll takers were at work every week. Discovering How

Arguments Work
A new Newsweek poll shows Clinton's lead plunging to two points, 44-42.
With a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, the race is a sta¬
tistical dead heat, according to the poll of 933 registered voters taken on
Thursday and Friday. (Stephen Thomma, "Clinton, Dole in Dead Heat, Spar
on Taxes," St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 18,1996)
The pollsters generalize from a sample of 933 persons to the entire electorate.
Newsweek could not sample the entire electorate, but a good sample should get
close to the results relevant at the time the poll was taken. Note that in this example
the pollsters were aware that generalizations are forms of inductive reasoning,
for they included a margin of error in their results; note the words plus or minus
4 percentage points. In this case the margin of error means that on the day the
poll was conducted Clinton could have gotten anywhere between 40 and
48 percent of the votes, while Dole could have received between 38 and 46 per¬
cent—each having a range of eight percentage points.
The margin of error in polling depends on a number of things, including
the sample size. The chart shows the margin of error that correlates with a ran¬
dom sample of persons.
Persons Margin of Error Range

100 +/-11 percentage points 22 points
200 +/- 8 points 16 points
1,500 +/- 3 points 6 points
4,000 +/- 2 points 4 points
As you can see, the margin of error diminishes as you get a larger and larger
sample, so that at some point it becomes economically unfeasible and statisti¬
cally insignificant to extend the size of the sample.
The critical thinker, while accepting the importance of generalizations, is
aware of the shortcomings of polling. In Chapter 10 we pay attention to
these shortcomings and note how they might be rectified when we consider
how to evaluate generalizations; for now the goal is to help you recognize
generalizations.
Analogies
A second type of inductive argument involves arguing from analogy. An anal¬
ogy says that two things are like each other in some respect. Love is like a rose,
defensive football lines are like bulldogs, the tired rock climber's legs are like
jelly, and so on. One of my favorite lines about my father was that his teeth
were like stars: they came out at night.
Analogies play an important role in our understanding. When we cannot
clearly grasp what something is like, it helps to compare what is unclear to
something that is clearer or better understood. Thus, one use of analogy is as an
186 example or illustration, whose purpose is clarification. For example, one author
CHAPTER 7 uses analogy to help his readers understand one stage of mitosis (cell division).
Discovering How
Around the same time, the cell begins to erect a spectacular system of protein
Arguments Work
wires around the chromosomes that will alternatively serve to guide and pro¬
pel them along a genetically plotted pathway to two separate destinations.
Called the spindle apparatus, this system of slender cables is spun by two sets
of freshly duplicated organelles called centrioles. . . . Together, the two sets of
centrioles spin a silken bridge of spindle fibers between the two poles of the
cell, eventually surrounding the troupe of chromosomes in a cocoon of micro¬
scopic parallel fibers. (David Suzuki and Peter Knudtson, Genethics)
Suzuki employs several analogies: wires formed into cables that guide an
object from one location to another; a bridge of fibers; a cocoon that surrounds
the chromosomes. Perhaps there are too many different illustrative analogies
in this passage so that it confuses as much as it helps the reader understand
the process. Nevertheless, the author intends the analogies to assist the
reader's understanding of reproduction.
But some people go beyond using analogy as an illustration to actually
construct arguments based on an analogy. The argument from analogy has
three parts.
1. The analogy assumes that two things (called analogues) are basically like
each other. To make the analogy stronger, the arguer might list the ways
these things are alike.
2. The analogy notes that one of the things or analogues has a certain property.
3. The analogy concludes that the other thing or analogue has that property
as well.
On the next page is an advertisement that argues from analogy.

The advertiser compares vaccinating an animal to house painting. The prop¬
erty the arguer focuses on is that you would not vaccinate your own dog. So,
the argument concludes, you would not paint your own house.
vaccinating an animal you don't do it yourself
painting therefore, don't do it yourself
As you can readily see, arguments from analogy are inductive arguments.
Even if the premises are true, the conclusion does not follow with certainty.
Even though two things are similar, their similarities might not extend to the
property in question. We will learn how to evaluate analogies in Chapter 10.
Exercise 2
For each of the following, (1) bracket and number the statements, identify the
conclusion, and diagram the argument. Then (2) determine whether it is a gen¬
eralization or an analogy. (3) If it is a generalization, what is the sample from
which the arguer generalizes? If it is an analogy, note what two things are
being compared.
1. Introducing thick, fuzzy wool mittens for your immune system. Shield
yourself . . . during the cold season and throughout the year. (Advertise¬
ment for throat lozenges)
187
You'D HIRE A PRO TO CHAPTER 7

Discovering How
Arguments Work
VACCINATE YOUR DOG;
THE NEXT TIME YOU PAINT OR

DECORATE, FOLLOW YOUR OWN
ADVICE —r-*-. Th» hevilf i,t, yev'H
P«y for «o •ppre-.f
trained painter or
dacoraior it Ini
than you'll pay
tor jutt about any
other service you buy.
OF YOU,
Minnesota Painting £ Decorating Public Relations

and Apprenticeship Training Bureau
Source: Minnesota Painting & Decorating Public Relations and Apprenticeship Bureau
2. What other name conjures up so many memories? So many smiles?

Remarkable how frequently life's special moments happen in Bass shoes.
Call it coincidence, but that Bass coincidence just keeps happening over
and over again. For many women, a closet filled with Bass shoes is like a
diary. (Advertisement)
3. Although there are signs that the wall of ageism is beginning to crumble—
welcome back the craggy, world-weary faces of Mick Jagger (51), Keith
Richards (51), Eric Clapton (50), Robert Plant (46), Don Henley (47), and,
yes, Tom Jones (54)—with the exception of Tina Turner, ... it seems only
males are granted special dispensation to pass through [to musical star¬
dom at an older age]. (Charles Gandee, "Triumph of the will," Vogue,
April, 1995, p. 191)
4. The Hispanic population's share is much larger in many of the smaller

Texas metropolitan areas and cities, especially those along the Mexican bor¬
der. The 1990 census showed Hispanics made up 48 percent of the residents
188 of San Antonio, 70 percent of El Paso, and more than 80 percent in the bor¬
CHAPTER 7 der cities of Brownsville, Laredo, and McAllen. (Jorge del Pinal and
Discovering How Audrey Singer, "Generations of Diversity: Latinos in the United States,"
Arguments Work Population Bulletin, October, 1997, p. 12)
5. In the fullest definition, harmony is an experience that engages any or all

of the five senses in addition to delighting the mind. Harmony can stir the
spirit as well as soothe the soul. Consider the harmonious interplay of
petals with the rose. Or the full chorus soaring to the last movement of
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Can there be beauty without harmony? Not
if one agrees that beauty arises from the perceived harmony of an object.
An object, often made up of divergent parts that come together in an aes¬
thetic whole. Thus, the highest praise one can bestow on an intricate time¬
piece is "created in harmony." (Advertisement for Concord watches show¬
ing a rose and a watch)
6. In 1957 . . . geologist [William] Stokes discovered a trackway in a 145-

million-year-old sandstone bed in Arizona. The tracks showed that the
animal had a wide reach, and when it walked its front feet landed behind
its rear ones. . . . Stokes declared them to be pterosaur tracks. [More
recently, Kevin Padian argued that the] tracks belonged to a crocodile. To
prove it, he and his colleague Paul Olsen took a small crocodile called a
caiman, ran it across a patch of mud, and came up with tracks similar in
many ways to the ones Stokes had found. The experiment convinced most
paleontologists that Stokes's tracks should be reclassified as crocodilian, or
at least as "origin unknown." (Mary K. Miller, "Tracking Pterosaurs,"
Earth, October 1997, p. 20)
7. I switched from European cars to American cars in 1991, buying one by

Chrysler and one by Lord, and I wound up with two limes—not quite
lemons, but nothing to write home about either. Next time. I'll give a
Japanese car a try. (Alan Meisel, letter. Business Week, December 22, 1997,
p. 16. Reprinted by permission.)
8. The real story is that nothing has changed in Detroit: The old arrogance is
alive, well—and in complete control. My Mercury Sable was delivered
with defective motor mounts; it is now on its fourth set at more than
$250 per set. Further, after two tries and $200, I have given up on having
my local dealer replace a $12 interior trim piece. (David W. Harlowe, let¬
ter, Business Week, December 22,1997, p. 16. Reprinted by permission.)
9. At the time of the birth of Christ, Rome was a prosperous, thriving empire
with a standard of living significantly higher than that of any other city in
the Western world, if not on the entire planet. . . . [Rome] thrived as a
government center living largely off the tribute (taxes) of the provinces
and conquered lands. . . . The parasitic nature of Rome's opulent exis¬
tence contributed to its eventual downfall. Is a similar redistribution of
income and wealth taking place in America? Resources are being extracted
from the general tax-paying public to feed the bureaucrats and govern¬
ment officials who tend ... to concentrate themselves in state or
national capitals . . . America's government centers have become para¬
site economies . . . The affluence of government centers is making the
rest of America poorer. "Capital crimes" gradually are sapping the nation 189
of needed economic vitality. (Richard Vedder, "Capital Crimes: Political CHAPTER 7
Centers as Parasite Economies," USA Today, September 1997, pp. 20, 22) Discovering How
Arguments Work
10. [Spanish] scientists dubbed the 780,000-year-old fossil Homo antecessor. The
partial skull has the cheekbones and nose of modern humans but the sloped
brow of our extinct cousins, the Neandertals. The Spanish team argues that
the species established this branch of our family tree, giving rise to one twig
that flourished—us—and another that led to the Neandertals and has since
gone extinct. ("Neandertal Origins," Earth, October 1997, p. 11)
Causal Arguments
A third kind of inductive argument involves causal reasoning. We might dis¬
tinguish two types. One argues from known causes or something related to a
common cause to projected effects (a prediction); the other infers a cause from
given effects (causal explanation).
Arguing from causes to projected effects involves making a causal pre¬
diction. In predictions we say that a statement about the future is true based
on what we know about the past and present (The boat will sink because it
has a hole in the bottom) or about other truths causally related to what is pre¬
dicted (It will rain tomorrow because there is a ring around the moon). Put
another way, in a prediction we infer from what we think is a cause to a pos¬
sible effect of that cause. The cause (which is given) is known; the possible
effect we infer to is less known or unknown. Since many things can affect the
future, the conclusion of a prediction is at best probable. The stronger the
causal link between what we know and what we predict, the better grounded
is the prediction.
The strength of our confidence in the causal link is often determined by
our past experience of how similar causes have been related to what is pro¬
jected as the effect. For example:
Frankie will probably pass the test tomorrow because she studied regularly
since the last test and really seems to understand the material.
We might say that prediction about Frankie here is strong because we have
often noted for other students that studying regularly and understanding the
material seem causally related to their doing well on tests.
Here is a second example where the causal connection is more indirect.
It will probably rain tomorrow since the wind has shifted to the south.
A change in today's weather is the basis for making a prediction about tomor¬
row's weather. Though the shift in the wind might not be a cause of tomor¬
row's rain, both are causally related to something broader, namely, a change in
the weather pattern that probably will cause it to rain.
The White Sox have won the first three games of the series; they will probably
finish off the Brewers in the final game tomorrow.
Past experience about the success of the White Sox provides grounds for mak¬
ing a prediction about the future. The relation between the White Sox winning
the first three games and the fourth is not directly causal; that is, winning the
190 first three games does not cause the team to win the fourth. As in the previous
CHAPTER 7
example, however, both stem from an alleged similar cause: the superiority of
Discovering How the White Sox, which enabled the team to win the first three games.
Arguments Work We can use this last example to show that predictive reasoning can be
interpreted not only in terms of causal reasoning, but also as analogies or
generalizations.
The argument about the White Sox can be analyzed as an analogy.
The first three games the White Sox won
The fourth series game therefore, the White Sox will win
The fourth game resembles the first three games. The first three games had the
property of the White Sox winning, so the fourth game will have that same
property. What this analysis loses, however, is the notion that there is a causal
connection, either direct or indirect via unstated or common causes (for exam¬
ple, the White Sox's superior ability), between the White Sox winning the first
three games and winning the fourth.
A second way of understanding predictions appeals to a generalization.
Here the extended argument would look like this.
1. The White Sox won games 1, 2, and 3.

2. Therefore the team will win every game with the Brewers. (The argument
from 1 to 2 is a generalization.)
3. Tomorrow the White Sox play the Brewers.
4. Therefore, the White Sox will win tomorrow. (The argument from 2 and 3
to 4 is deductive.)
This formulation is more dubious, since it makes a very broad generaliza¬

tion (from premise 1 to 2) based on what appears to be insufficient evi¬
dence. In Chapter 10 we note that this formulation is guilty of the Fallacy of
Hasty Generalization: generalizing from a too small or an unrepresentative
example. Furthermore, again the causal connection is suppressed. However,
it is a possible way of understanding predictions. The point here is that pre¬
dictions can be argued for in diverse ways, involving causal reasoning, analogy,
and generalization.
A second kind of causal reasoning proceeds from effects to infer some¬
thing about their cause. This kind of inductive argument is called a causal
inference. In a causal inference, from the effects we infer something about
their cause. What we know (the given) are the effects; the inferred is the cause,
which is uncertain.
This kind of reasoning occurs in detective stories and is the backbone of
science. For example,
The door of my canary's cage is open; the carpet has a red stain; my cat on the
couch is smiling; my canary is missing. The cat probably ate my canary.
The word probably indicates that this argument makes an inductive inference.
Since the red stain might be from my son's spilling catsup on my carpet as he
traipsed through the living room to feed my cat, and since the living room
window is open, it is possible that my canary flew out the window when I for¬
got to shut the cage door properly.
Consider another example. 191
CHAPTER 7
Whereas malaria can strike any individual in the region, those with a particu¬
Discovering How
larly strangely shaped red blood cell appear resistant to it. Hence, having
Arguments Work
sickle-shaped red blood cells helps provide an immunity to malaria.
Here a hypothesis, which is a supposition that is tentatively accepted to

explain certain facts or to provide the basis for further investigation, is pre¬
sented. The hypothesis (having sickle-shaped red blood cells helps provide an
immunity to malaria) accounts for the effect (people with a particularly
strangely shaped red blood cell appear resistant to malaria) and can be used to
generate other facts that can be investigated and tested. The reasoning is from
effect to cause and is at best probable.
To distinguish causal prediction from causal inference, you should look
for two things.
1. Causal prediction goes from causes, what signifies causes, or is related to

causes, to an effect that has not occurred or, if it has, is unknown to us.
Causal inference goes from effect to cause.
2. The causal prediction does not explain the data from which one predicted,
whereas the causal hypothesis can be used to explain the effect or data
from which the inference was made. For example, the hypothesis that my
cat ate the canary explains the data that the canary is missing, that there is
a red stain on the carpet, and that the cat seems pleased. But the prediction
that the White Sox will win the fourth game of the series does not explain
why the team won the first three.
As critical thinkers, we need to pay attention to what we are given, deter¬

mining whether it is the cause or the effect. If it is the former, we might then
look for what predictive conclusion is derived from that cause. If it is the latter,
we might look for a cause or hypothesis that best explains the effect we are
given initially. In each case, the direction of the causal inference brings the
structure of the argument into focus.
Exercise 3
For each of the following, (1) bracket and number the statements; (2) circle
the logical indicators; (3) diagram the arguments; and (4) indicate whether
the conclusion inferred from the evidence is a causal prediction or a causal
inference.
1. There have been a number of earthquakes in and around Los Angeles in

recent years. They appear to be increasing in intensity. In the next few
years we will see a really big one hit this area.
2. I checked out the air pressure in the tires and even had the tires balanced
and aligned. Yet the front end shimmy remains. One of my tires must be
out of round.
3. They must have forgotten my birthday this year. I looked in the closet,
under the bed, even downstairs under the Ping-Pong table, and haven't
found anything even resembling a wrapped present.
192 4. The polls put the challenger far ahead of the incumbent. In this district the
CHAPTER 7 incumbent has never won when he or she was behind in the polls. So it is
Discovering How easy to see that the challenger will win the congressional race this year.
Arguments Work
5. The victim's blood was on the front seat of the car, and there were bloody
tracks leading to the front door of the house. The victim's blood was also
on the accused's socks. He also could not explain where he was during that
crucial half hour before he was taken to the airport. There is little doubt
that he is guilty of the murder.
6. On Monday I had a pizza and a tequila and woke up with a terrific

headache; on Tuesday pizza and rum and woke up with a terrific
headache; on Wednesday pizza and bourbon and woke up with a terrific
headache; on Thursday I ate a pizza with two beers and got a headache. I
think I should give up eating pizza.
7. When the shortstop played the ball, it took a wicked hop. It must have hit
a small stone on the edge of the infield grass.
8. People who fished the lakes in New England began to notice a common
feature in the lakes—namely, that the fish were much fewer and smaller.
When they analyzed the water, they noticed a high acidic content. The
sulfur from the coal burning plants in the Midwest must be precipitating
into the lakes and killing the fish.
9. Before mid-century, there were no significant holes in the ozone layer over
Antarctica, but the size of the holes has increased dramatically since then.
During that same period we have also seen a dramatic rise in the number of
air conditioners and refrigerators. Perhaps the CFC emissions from these
appliances affect the ozone layer.
10. The team compared the Neandertal sequence with 986 distinct sequences
from living humans. They found, on average, three times more differences
between the Neandertal and modern human sequences than between
pairs of modern humans. Specifically, pairs of modern human sequences
differed at an average of only eight positions, while human-Neandertal
pairs differed at an average of 25.6 positions. . . . These data . . . make
it "highly unlikely that Neandertals contributed to the human mtDNA
pool." (Patrick Kahn and Ann Gibbons, "DNA from an Extinct Human,"
Science, July 11,1997, p. 177.)
Exercise 4
For each of the following, circle any logical indicators and indicate whether they
are premise or conclusion indicators. Then determine whether the argument is a
generalization, analogy, or causal argument. Some paragraphs might present
more than one argument.
1. The Boundary Waters has been referred to as the "crown jewel" of the
wilderness system. Picture a man five generations ago. He looks and looks
and finally finds the most beautiful diamond to give his wife. She loves,
cherishes and cares for this precious jewel until she grows old. The dia-
mond is passed along to her daughter. As her grandchildren grow, they 193
admire the stone. . . . This diamond is passed down from generation to CHAPTER 7
generation, until today, in 1996, when it is in the hands of the fifth genera¬ Discovering How
tion. This great-great granddaughter loves, cherishes and cares for this Arguments Work
precious jewel. The Boundary Waters is that "precious jewel" to many

who live nearby. Anyone who thinks we locals are going to hurt our
beloved inheritance is dead wrong. Please, let us have the three motorized
portages back. (Dea Whitten, letter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 22,1996)
2. How typical of Americans! They cannot appreciate any exquisite foreign

food without vulgarizing and prostituting it. Just look what has happened
to pizza, to crepes and to Chinese and Japanese food—and now it is the
turn of that French delight, le croissant. How sad that instead of elevating
their taste to the food, Americans always insist on debasing the food to
their taste. (Alain Dubois, letter, Newsweek, May 25,1981)
3. As far as we can tell, [the Greenlanders] starved to death. . . . Excava¬

tions have turned up many expensive portable items, like crucifixes, that
would probably have been removed by the settlers in an evacuation. And
had the colony's population gradually diminished, . . . the wood in
many of the farms—a valuable commodity in a place with few trees—
would have been scavenged by the remaining settlers. Such was not the
case. . . . Cut marks on [dog] bones suggest the dogs were butchered;
even the cow hooves were eaten. (Kathy A. Svitil, "The Greenland Viking
Mystery," Discover, July, 1997, p. 30)
4. Curiously, the giant white clams, long thought to have been a dominant
and characteristic vent species, have not yet appeared. These must be a
late-stage colonizer, indicative of an old hydrothermal field. Lutz expects
the clams will have arrived by his next visit this fall. (Shanti Menon, "Deep
Sea Rebirth," Discover, July 1997, p. 34)
5. Diadoras: They're like Ferraris for your feet. Like the famous racing car,
Diadora shoes are very quick, precisely engineered, responsive and—
I think—good to look at. . . . Seek out the Diadora tennis shoe. Inspect it.
Try it on. If you are as serious about winning as I am, to take a lesser
shoe on the court would be like driving the family sedan at LeMans.
(Advertisement)
6. I read with dismay your article about the use of pesticides in Third World
countries. This is another example that makes plain the need to monitor
and, if necessary, regulate the activities of the business community, which
has shown once again that profits have a higher priority than the well¬
being of the planet and its inhabitants. (Gaye Clemmer, letter, Newsweek,
August 31,1981, p. 8)
7. How to judge a Kentucky champion. Pedigree. Performance. Physical

appearance. Sure. But there is a quality that sets champions apart from
other thoroughbreds. Maybe it's heart. Something you can't define. But
you know it's there. How to judge fine Kentucky whiskey. Taste. Aroma.
194 Smoothness. Qualities that are hard to define. But one taste of Burke &
CHAPTER 7 Barry [whiskey] and you know they're there. (Advertisement)
Discovering How
8. I was a patient in Deaconess Hospital in August. One evening while look¬
Arguments Work
ing out the window overlooking the main entrance parking lot, I observed
a young man tampering with the wheels of a car. I noted down the license
number of the car he was in and turned it over to the security guard. It
turned out he had let the air out of two of the tires. The car belonged to a
woman employee of the hospital. She did not even say thank you or
acknowledge me for relaying this information. I learned a lesson. Don't
get involved. People really don't care. (Beatrice Finn, letter, Minneapolis
Tribune)
9. [The survey] comprised 17,077 girls aged 3 to 12; 9.6 percent of them
were African American, the rest white. Although textbooks say it is
abnormal for girls to show signs of sexual maturation under the age of 8,
the researchers found that 1 percent of whites and 3 percent of blacks
already showed signs of pubic hair or breast development by age 3. By
age 8, those figures had jumped to 14.7 percent and 48.3 percent, respec¬
tively. The racial differences are in line with other evidence that blacks
develop more quickly than whites do. . . . [To] some people, the across-
the-board earlier development suggests that hormone-like chemicals—
so-called endocrine disrupters, such as certain pesticides—are at
work. . . . (Excerpted with permission from "Early Puberty Getting
More Common," Science, April 25, 1997, p. 537. Copyright, 1997, Ameri¬
can Association for the Advancement of Science.)
10. David Hoppe notes that in the course of handling thousands of frogs
between 1975 and 1995, he saw only two with visible limb defects; in 1996
alone he saw more than 200. He speculates that an environmental agent in
the water where the creatures breed could be the cause. (Sasha Nemecek,
"Amphibians On-line," Scientific American, March, 1997, p. 18)
11. Case for Abortion. A counselor, following the philosophy of a recent U.S.
Supreme Court decision, would have decided their case in short order.
The father had syphilis; the mother, tuberculosis. They had had four chil¬
dren already. One was blind; another had been born dead; the third was a
deaf-mute; the fourth, tubercular. Now the mother was pregnant again.
The U.S. Supreme Court would have counseled an abortion. But the
mother had her baby. And that baby turned out to be Ludwig van
Beethoven. (Source unknown)
12. What a poor example our government is showing us with its attacks on
Iraq—especially to our youth. Its actions say that it is perfectly fine to
retaliate against violence with more violence, not so much for attaining
concrete goals such as saving lives or self-defense, but for something as
obscure as maintaining "credibility." Insightfully, the same concern for
credibility is at the heart of our urban gang wars. In light of these consid¬
erations, we should rightfully fear for the future of our country under the
leadership of people with no more restraint than a 5-year-old. (Dan
Pinotti, letter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, September 8,1996)
13. Despite their surprising similarity to terrestrial rocks in silicate content. 195
Barnacle Bill, Yogi, and the soil exhibit other chemical signatures . . . that CHAPTER 7
losely match the 12 Martian meteorites. This indicates that these mete¬ Discovering How
orites . . . did in fact come from Mars. (Robert Naeye, "Mars Pathfinder Arguments Work
Update," Astronomy, November, 1997, p. 30)
14. Your article describing juvenile delinquency among orphaned elephants in

South Africa carried important information about all social mammals,
humans included. You quoted a zoologist as saying that normally "a dom¬
inant older male elephant is around to keep young bulls in line." Without
this control, young males become killers. We see the same phenomenon in
the United States in the human species when government replaces the
father. Statist contempt for the family flys in the face of biology. (Robert
Koch, letter. Time, November 3,1997, p. 31. Reprinted by permission.)
15. To refute some of the criticisms made of our food service (such as: "dinner
rolls could be used as basketballs," "biscuits remain very resilient and of
remarkable density") I will present some of my own evaluations from my
experiences. In evaluation, I looked for tastiness, appearance, and cost of the
food, cleanliness, and the politeness and friendliness of the kitchen staff. I
found that the food tasted very good and appeared very attractive. The
cooks are so concerned about the attractiveness of their food that they wipe
off any soup that drips down the side of each cup before presenting it to
someone. As far as cleanliness is concerned, I have not once found a dirty
fork, plate, or glass nor has any food been less than wholesome. Another
outstanding facet is the politeness and friendliness of each person on the
staff. All in all, the college has a quality food service that is deserving
of praise from our newspaper rather than scorn. [Neil Pauluk, letter. Echo,
February 22,1974]
Exercise 5
In the following article, (1) identify the data the researchers gathered. (2) What
hypothesis does the author give to explain this data? (3) Note and develop any
analogies or generalizations that you might find.
Anti Gravity
Space Invaders
Discretion, rumor has it, is the better part glove across his face. One can achieve
of valor. When it comes to driving, how¬ the same result today by cutting off
ever, discretion often goes out the win¬ another driver on the highway. A recent
dow, usually the driver’s. Normally mild- study shows, however, that even in sta¬
mannered, deferential individuals tionary cars drivers cannot resist the
metamorphose into zealous defenders of urge to mark their territory.
territorial rights when behind the wheel. The research took place at the epicen¬
Two centuries ago one sure way to get a ter of late 20th-century social interaction—
rise out of a guy was to backhand your the shopping mall. As any Saturday
continued
196
CHAPTER 7 Anti Gravity
Discovering How
Arguments Work Space Invaders continued
shopper can attest, nowhere are cars Part of that difference may result
more stationary than at a mall parking from performance anxiety, a common
lot. The inevitable game of musical chairs problem in tasks involving the insertion or
that occurs over parking spaces leads to removal of objects into and out of tight
what exosociologists might call close spaces. Ruback believes, however, that
encounters of the third kind. “Primary ter¬ an additional response accounts for at
ritories are those that are central to our least some of the extra time. A second
lives—our home or office,” explains Penn¬ part of the study bears him out. He and
sylvania State University researcher his students fixed the game by con¬
R. Barry Ruback, whose study appeared fronting those about to pull out with a
in the Journal of Applied Social Psychol¬ shill vehicle that either waited patiently
ogy. “Secondary territories are those that or—and here’s where things really get
we occupy on a regular basis; Norm’s bar ugly—honked. The result: blow your horn,
stool at Cheers would be one. It’s sort of pal, and you can sit there for another
generally acknowledged that when you’re 12 seconds. “Somebody infringes on
there, it’s your place. The third are public your freedom,” Ruback says, “and the
territories, the things that we own tem¬ first thing you do is react against it.” Or,
porarily.” Such as mall parking spaces. as high-strung taxi driver Travis Bickle
Ruback decided to examine the might put it after returning to his cab after
speed with which the possessors of park¬ a hard afternoon accessorizing at
ing spaces accomplished spot removals, Weapons ’R’ Us, “You honkin’ at me?’
thereby relinquishing their temporary own¬ For better, or more likely for worse,
ership. The question is intriguing because we all have at least a bit of Bickle in us
once the bargain hunting is done, a mall and are quite willing to squander time
parking space is perhaps the area least and energy in senseless posturing when
worth defending on the face of the earth. strangers attempt to horn in on our
Defense is actually counterproductive spaces. What we think of as civilization,
because the intention once a driver has then, may be less a wholesale move
returned to the car is to leave the scene of away from primitive reactions than a
the carnage and bring home the kill. substitution for them—a trade of head
Nature, however, has been described as busting for 12 seconds of chop busting.
“red in tooth and claw,” and vestiges of And if that is true, the old notion of
ancient behaviors survive the millions of counting to 10 to diffuse an emotionally
years between maul and mall. The aver¬ charged situation is probably a good
age driver spent 32 seconds leaving his or idea, although counting to 12 is most
her spot when no one else was jockeying likely even better.
for it, but an additional seven seconds [Reprinted by permission of the author from Steve Mirsky,
maintaining possession when another car "Space Invaders," Scientific American, August, 1997, p. 24. Steve
Mirsky is a contributing editor at Scientific American magazine.
appeared eager to enter.
EXPLANATION AND ARGUMENT
Often it is difficult to distinguish causal reasoning (which is inferential) from

causal explanation (which is merely informative). The reason is that causal
explanations often look like arguments. Indeed, both explanations and argu¬ 197
ments can use the same indicator words, such as because. CHAPTER 7
The main difference between causal explanations and causal arguments Discovering How
is that explanations do not involve inferences, whereas arguments do. That Arguments Work
is, causal explanations do not intend to establish the truth of a claim but
rather suggest or indicate a cause for the known effect. But establishing the
truth of a claim or giving reasons for a conclusion is the function of an
argument.
We might put this distinction another way. Arguments give us a reason for
thinking that some claim is true; explanations tell us what brought something about.
For example,
You should vote Republican because Republicans offer the best chance of bal¬
ancing the budget and addressing the deficit.
Here we have an argument providing a reason for voting Republican. But con¬
sider this:
She will vote Democratic because that is how her parents voted.
Here we probably have an explanation, telling us that the cause of how she
votes is her heritage.
We say probably because this example might also function as an argument
for the truth of the claim that she will vote Democratic. That is, we might
interpret this sentence to say that it presents a reasoned prediction, based on
the evidence about how her parents voted. This example shows that some¬
times it is difficult to tell the difference between an explanation and an argu¬
ment. At times they look alike, and we need more of the context to tell what
the author had in mind.
Consider this example:
Women are less susceptible to heart attacks because of the estrogen in their body.
On one hand, this could be an explanation. The given or the effect is that women
are less susceptible to heart attacks; the cause is the presence of estrogen. On the
other hand, it could be seen as an argument. We know the truth of the premise
that women have estrogen in their bodies. This fact provides a basis for the
truth of the claim that they are less susceptible to heart attacks. If it is an argu¬
ment, it assumes the missing premise that "All people who have estrogen in
their bodies are less susceptible to heart attacks."
Or consider a modification of the example we gave earlier in the chapter
about skim milk.
Skim milk has less fat than whole milk because the fat has been processed out
of it.
This might be an explanation. But suppose we replace has with must have. Now
we have an argument trying to establish the truth of the claim that skim milk
has less fat. If we know that the fat has been processed out of the milk, we can
conclude that skim milk has less fat than whole milk. The tipoff that we have
an argument in the revised statement is the word must, which often functions
as a conclusion indicator.
198 Consider this cartoon.
CHAPTER 7
Discovering How
Arguments Work
Source: ONE BIG HAPPY by Rick Detorie. By permission of Rick Detorie and Creators Syndicate.
Does this cartoon contain an argument, trying to establish that the bad
things the boy has done are not his fault, or is he presenting an explanation
for his conduct? It is not very clear; we could make a case for either of these
possibilities.
There are several reasons that arguments and causal explanations are not
easily distinguished. One is that the same words, including words like why,
because, and the reason that are used in both. This means that we cannot rely
simply on language to differentiate arguments and explanations. Second,
whether the statements constitute an argument or an explanation often
depends upon the context, and in particular, on the intent of the author. But it
is often difficult to determine whether the author intends a description or a
causal inference. Indeed, the author may not be clear about whether he or she
is offering an argument or an explanation. Consequently, not only it is often
difficult to distinguish between arguments and explanations, but sometimes it
is not very profitable to attempt to do so.
Is there a way to tell causal explanations and causal arguments apart? One
stategy is to ask what is in doubt.
• If neither the cause nor the effect is in doubt, or if both are on the same level
of surety, then it is a causal explanation, not an argument.
The reason is that if the author has the same confidence in both, then the
author is not making any inferences from one to the other but is merely
describing a causal relationship. Arguments involve inferences that move from
the more known to the less known. For example, "The toaster is not getting
hot because I unplugged it to move the table." This is a causal description if I
know both that the toaster is not getting hot and that I unplugged it. I am
merely reporting a causal connection and not making any inferences.
• If we know the effect but are in doubt about the cause, then the affirma¬
tion that something is the cause is the result of an inference. An inductive
causal argument is presented that infers a cause or hypothesis that
explains what is given (the effect).
For example, "The furnace won't start again; Kathy must have blown a fuse." 199
In this case I know the effect: that the furnace won't start. From this effect I CHAPTER 7
infer that Kathy must have blown a fuse. And Kathy's blowing the fuse Discovering How
explains why the furnace won't start. Arguments Work
We might summarize as follows:
♦ Causal Explanation: The cause and effect have the same surety; the
causal relation is described.
♦ Causal Argument:
Effect (treated as a fact or given that is more known)
I
Cause or hypothesis (treated as somewhat in doubt)
Looking for what, if anything, is in doubt should help you be more suc¬
cessful at distinguishing explanations from arguments, causal or not. To
resolve the puzzle about the cartoon where the boy says his prayers, we have
to ask first whether the boy thinks that anything is in doubt. On one hand, if
nothing is in doubt, we have a causal explanation functioning as a description;
the boy merely presents a cause for his behavior. On the other hand, if what is
in doubt is whether the boy is to be blamed for his bad behavior, we have a
causal argument in which the boy argues that his environment caused his bad
behavior. As already mentioned, sometimes it is not clear which is intended;
you can only do your best to penetrate the author's intent.
Exercise 6
(1) Determine which of the following are explanations, which are arguments,
and which have other functions. (2) Where there is an explanation, identify the
effect and the cause (explanation). (3) For each explanation, tell whether it
invokes a physical or a psychological explanation.
1. The price of crude oil must have declined last week because the govern¬
ment decided to again restock its reserves with large purchases.
2. The price of crude oil declined last week because the border dispute
between two oil producing countries was settled.
3. He quickly ran from the house because he could smell smoke in the
hallway.
4. He wrecked his car coming home from work today. I saw his broken head¬
light and damaged bumper.
5. He wrecked his car coming home from work today because an inconsider¬
ate driver cut him off on the freeway and he hit an embankment.
6. If your stove is not working, make sure the fuse is off before you open the
rear cover over the electrical terminals.
7. Men are less likely to develop osteoporosis until later in life than women
and seldom suffer as severely because they have 30 percent more bone
mass on the average and don't undergo the sudden drop in estrogen that
occurs with menopause. . . . (Matt Clark, "The Calcium Craze,"
Newsweek, January 27,1986, p. 50)
200 8. A prisoner stood at a checkpoint, a bruise on his head and neck. He must
CHAPTER 7 have been beaten.
Discovering How
9. A prisoner stood at a checkpoint, a bruise on his head and neck. His arms
Arguments Work
were pinioned behind his back, and he was guarded by another soldier
armed with an AK-47.
10. A prisoner stood at a checkpoint. Next to him were three other unarmed
and bound prisoners. The Russian assault on the command post probably
failed.
11. Armed with assault rifles and armor-piercing, rocket-propelled grenades,

the fighters have been careful about conserving their arms and ammuni¬
tion, rarely wasting it on targets where they are not likely to do immediate
damage.
12. If you throw a ball at a stationary wall, the ball will rebound with about
the same speed as it had before hitting the wall. Now imagine what hap¬
pens if the wall is moving toward you. The ball rebounds with addi¬
tional speed. The wall has transferred some of its momentum to the ball,
causing it to speed up. And likewise, the ball has slowed the wall a neg¬
ligible amount. The opposite occurs if the wall is moving away from
you. A tossed ball rebounds with less speed. That's because the receding
wall absorbs energy from the tossed ball, causing it to slow down. And
likewise, energy from the ball causes the wall to speed up a tiny amount.
(James Oberg, "The Spacecraft's Got Swing," Astronomy, August, 1999,
pp. 50, 53)
13. Your article states that the sale of deadly pesticides is tightly regulated in
America. As a small farmer in the state of Washington, I find that for large
corporate farms there is easy access to deadly chemicals—both pesticides
and herbicides—and that enforcement of regulations is lax or nonexistent.
Mass pesticide pollution of our air, water and soil in America needs more
than "tight regulations" that are not enforced because of the power vested
interests have over our enforcement agencies. (Quentin Mehlenbacher, let¬
ter, Newsweek, August, 31,1981. p. 8. Reprinted by permission.)
14. Garfield
Gsrficld ® by Jim Davis
Source: GARFIELD © Paws, Inc. Reprinted with permission of Universal Press Syndicate. All rights reserved.
15. The amount of money wagered through legal gambling in America has 201
become so immense so quickly that it would be irresponsible to not thor¬ CHAPTER 7
oughly study its social, economic and political impact on the nation. That Discovering How
is why Congress passed legislation to create the National Gambling Arguments Work
Impact and Policy Commission.
16. . . . Scientists now know why wintergreen mints give off flashes of light
when you crunch them. Linda Sweeting of Towson State University and col¬
leagues . . . found that among pure crystals, only those lacking rotational
symmetry—be it natural or because of impurities—lit up. The finding con¬
firms an earlier theory: flashes appear when opposite charges on different
faces of the fragmented crystal recombine and excite gas molecules. Such
charges occur when voltage arises in a crystal under stress—a "piezoelec¬
tric" effect seen only in asymmetrical materials. ("Flashy Mints," in "In
Brief," Scientific American, August 1997, p. 20)
17. Tobacco use among children is at a 16-year high. And I just don't see the
enthusiasm for anti-smoking campaigns directed at kids that I saw as
recently as the late 1980s. Perhaps it's because today's generation of young
people is growing up more disconnected from adults and adult guidance
than any other generation in our nation's history. Many children have
been left to raise themselves. Maybe it has to do with our modern preoccu¬
pation with "rights." Don't people have the "right" to do whatever they
please—even kids? Or maybe it has to do with the image of smoking itself.
Nicotine addiction is a stealth pediatric disease. Kids smoke, but they
don't die until they're older, and we don't see the awful consequences
when they're young. . . . (C. Everett Koop, "Let's Get Serious about
Deterring Youth from Starting to Smoke," Lexington Herald-Leader, Septem¬
ber 8,1996)
18. Artifacts unearthed at Great Zimbabwe have not clarified the social and
cultural organization of the settlement, but they have distinguished it
from other Iron Age sites. In particular, a group of soapstone birds, many
of them 14 inches high and sitting atop three-foot-tall columns, is unlike
any sculpture found elsewhere. Each bird has a different pattern or mark¬
ing; none is identifiable as a local creature. Because of the regard contem¬
porary Shona people hold for their dead and because some Shona tribes
use iron rods to mark tallies of their dead, some archaeologists have spec¬
ulated that the avian icons indicate aggregates of ancestors used in rituals.
(Webber Ndoro, "Great Zimbabwe," Scientific American, November, 1997,
pp. 97-8)
FINDING UNSTATED ASSUMPTIONS
Diagramming arguments and identifying the kind of argument employed

enable us more easily to find unstated or implicit assumptions in arguments.
When we see what arguers actually have said, we are then in a position to
inquire what else they need or presuppose to make their argument succeed. This
"what else" amounts to the implicit assumptions of their argument.
202 Assumptions are statements that the arguer takes to be true without pro¬
CHAPTER 7
viding evidence for them. There are two kinds of assumptions. Implicit or
Discovering How unstated assumptions are statements that the arguer assumes to be true with¬
Arguments Work out actually stating them. For example, if I argue that since the dinosaur fossil
found in Africa had long, curved teeth and claws, it must have been a fish
eater, I am implicitly assuming that all dinosaurs with long, curved teeth and
claws were fish eaters. This argument also has an explicit assumption, namely,
that the dinosaur fossil had long, curved teeth and claws. An explicit assump¬
tion is a premise the arguer states but leaves unsupported. In an argument
where 1 is a reason for 2, and 2 is a reason for 3 (1 —> 2 —> 3), 1 is an explicit
assumption (stated but unsupported) while 3 is the conclusion. Since 2 is sup¬
ported by 1, it is not assumed in the argument.
As we noted earlier in this book, making implicit assumptions is not nec¬
essarily bad. Were we to include everything in our arguments, the argu¬
ments would be tedious and unnecessarily long. Thus, often we shorten the
argument simply by assuming certain premises that seem to be obvious
truths or that our audience would accept. Making implicit assumptions
helps us and our readers or listeners focus on what is critically relevant to
the argument.
Although assumptions are necessary, as critical thinkers we especially
need to discover and pay attention to the implicit assumptions that people
make. Although often the implicit assumptions are so obviously true that they
are not worth stating, sometimes people make implicit assumptions that are
downright dubious. Sometimes they do this subconsciously, unaware of what
they are assuming. At other times, people consciously omit the assumptions to
hide the weaknesses in their argument. Therefore, it is important for critical
thinkers to find the unstated assumptions in arguments so that they can
decide for themselves whether those assumptions are obviously true and
hence innocuous or whether they are dubious and need defense.
Finding implicit or unstated assumptions is no easy task, but here are
some suggestions.
1. In deductive arguments, the conclusion finds new relationships among the

data presented in the premises. The conclusion should not add new infor¬
mation to the premises. Consequently, the conclusion should not contain
anything that is not found in the premises. Since a deductive argument
requires at least two premises, to find the missing premise look at the
stated premises and then look at the conclusion to see what is in the con¬
clusion but missing from the premises. What is missing provides the core
content for the assumed premise.
For example.
Patients do not generally want to know the truth about their diagnosis of seri¬
ous illnesses like cancer. Hence, as a rule most doctors do not inform patients
that they have a serious illness like cancer.
The conclusion of this argument speaks about doctors; yet this term is
absent from the given premise, which is about patients. Flence, the argu¬
ment makes an assumption about doctors. In this case, the assumption is
that doctors generally do not tell patients what they do not want to know.
Or again. 203
CHAPTER 7
Because there is no evidence of a drainage system in the ruined building,
Discovering How
archaeologists presume that the building had a roof.
Arguments Work
The conclusion speaks about a building with a roof. This is not mentioned
in the given premise, which talks about a drainage system in the ruined
building. Hence, the assumed premise must concern a building with a
roof. We might write the assumption as: "If there is no evidence of a
drainage system in the ruined building, the building must have had a
roof."
2. In inductive arguments, since the conclusion can contain material not in the
premises, we have to ask what else is needed to make the inductive argu¬
ment strong. We ask what else is needed because we assume that the
arguer thinks that the argument is strong; otherwise he or she would not
be using the argument to persuade you about the truth of some thesis.
What makes the argument strong depends upon the type of inductive
argument it is.
• If the argument is a generalization, the unstated assumptions have to

do with the quality of the sample: the sample was large enough to
generalize from, it was a random sample, and the sampling activity
was unbiased. For example, since the day my daughter found a bee¬
tle in her blueberry yogurt, she will not eat yogurt. She has general¬
ized about this food from one case, assuming that the yogurt with
the beetle in it was a normal sample.
• If the argument is an analogy, the unstated assumptions relate to the
similarity of the things being compared. The author of the analogy
assumes that the things being compared are relevantly similar
enough to enable us to draw a good conclusion. For example, one
advertisement suggests that we should eat a particular brand of jam
because it is made like grandma's soap. The advertiser implicitly
assumes that there are relevant analogies between making jam and
making soap so that one can argue from the one process to the other.
• If the argument is a causal hypothesis, the unstated assumptions have
to do with the author's belief that the hypothesis to which he or she
has concluded provides a better explanation than the alternative
hypotheses. For example, if I argue that the stain on my basement
ceiling probably is caused by a leaky pipe in the bathroom above, I
am implicitly assuming that other hypotheses—such as rainwater
seeping in from the outside—are less plausible.
• If the argument is a causal prediction, the author assumes that there
is adequate past experience from the data gathered to warrant the
prediction and that the case in hand is relevantly like those past
cases. That is, the author assumes that "all things are equal" about
the past cases and the predicted future case. For example, it is pre¬
dicted that the winter that follows the year dominated by the
weather pattern called El Nino will be wetter and colder than nor¬
mal because this is what happened in the early 1980s. The meteo¬
rologists implicitly assume that other factors affecting the weather
204 systems this coming year will be basically the same as those that
CHAPTER 7 affected the systems in the early 1980s.
Discovering How
In short, critical thinkers want not only to identify the type of argument
Arguments Work
used, but also to discover the assumptions made so that they in turn can be
evaluated. Recognizing the type of argument assists us in the process of dis¬
covering those assumptions. We will say more about assessing these assump¬
tions when we turn to evaluating inductive arguments in Chapter 10.
Exercise 7
Go back to Exercise 1 and identify the implicit assumptions made in each of
the arguments.
Exercise 8
In the following articles,
1. Identify the topic, issue, and thesis.
2. Identify the main points (the conclusions that support the thesis).
3. Circle and identify any logical indicators.
4. Diagram the arguments.
5. Determine whether the arguments you identified in #4 are inductive or

deductive.
A. There is hardly a stadium built more than 10 years ago that isn't on the
endangered species list. Fans don't love plastic-grass, multiuse ballyards
like Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia anymore. We don't want Eighth
Wonders of the World like Houston's Astrodome. We don't even see the
need to preserve old ballparks like Detroit's venerable Tiger Stadium,
which will be replaced in 2000, and Boston's 85-year-old Fenway, which—
if the Red Sox have their way—could be razed soon after the millennium.
Instead we want new ballparks that just look like Fenway, faux-old
ballyards like Baltimore's Oriole Park at Camden Yards, urban confections
designed to soothe the eye and fatten a franchise's wallet. Fenway, by con¬
trast, is a classic, replete with nooks and angles and the Green Monster
and a sense of proximity to the players that no other stadium offers.
Despite players' complaints about the park's old, dingy locker rooms and
weight-training area, . . . the game will be forever diminished if the old
girl disappears. (Michael Farber and Richard Deutsch, "Endangered
Species: Ball Game's Over," Sports Illustrated, September 29,1997, p. 96)
B. The context for the following piece was the debate about the effectiveness
of the Joe Camel ads in getting young people to smoke.
Thanks to the cartoon character Old Joe, Camel cigarettes are now a
drug of choice among American smokers under 18. Since 1987, when R. J.
Reynolds introduced the suave and debonair symbol to these shores,
Camel's share of the illegal youth market has soared from a barely percep-
tible 0.5 percent to a stunning 33 percent, according to figures from the 205
antismoking side of the debate. CHAPTER 7
Reynolds says these kids would have smoked anyhow. And of course Discovering How
it doesn't want kids to smoke. Arguments Work
"If we believed for a minute that the camel ad induces children to

smoke," a spokeswoman said, "we wouldn't wait for the FTC or anyone
else to act. We would immediately change the campaign."
Sure.
. . . Cigarette promotions are aimed primarily at kids. Old Joe sym¬
bolizes "cool." Brands pitched at the female market are keyed to slimness,
sex appeal and sports. Marlboro seeks to identify with athleticism and the
outdoors.
The messages are not merely subliminal, they are overt: Smoking will
make you all the things you want to be. But the companies say this is only
to promote brand loyalty among people who already smoke.
Right.
. . . Canada has banned cigarette advertising. The ban is being
appealed to the Canadian Supreme Court. The United States, despite
evidence that 9 of 10 smokers begin before they turn 21, is unlikely to
follow Canada's lead. Here the tobacco industry has far deeper historic,
cultural and economic roots. Here more politicians are for sale. Here,
too, we have a First Amendment that probably—but not certainly—
would be held to prohibit a total ban on the promotion of an otherwise
legal product.
Whether to ban Joe Camel, however, has become a ripe question. More
than a year after antismoking groups formally petitioned for this, the staff
of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) apparently has recommended that
the agency find the symbol unfairly attractive to children and banish him
from public sight.
The government would have stronger constitutional grounds for ban¬
ning all cigarette ads than for proceeding against just this one.
While the courts have many times upheld the government's power to
censor commercial speech that is untrue or deceptive, there is no showing
that Joe Camel ads are any more untruthful or deceptive than the ads that
are calculated to make teenage girls think smoking will make them attrac¬
tive or help them stay slim.
What, then, is Joe Camel's peculiar sin? That he is simply more effec¬
tive? You can say what you like in an ad, but only so long as you don't say
it too well? That is a terribly dangerous line for any government agency to
cross. . . .
But if Joe Camel is banned, the Marlboro Man and the Virginia Slims
ladies will still be around, and I suspect it wouldn't take long for Reynolds
to find an able successor for Joe.
Then we would have the FTC and the courts in the endless, ponder¬
ous business of deciding which of these wicked ads are impermissibly
more wicked than the others. And while that went on. Congress and the
legislatures would have yet another excuse for postponing the higher
206 taxes that, as smokers themselves will tell you, would best hasten the
CHAPTER 7 decline of the tobacco industry.
Discovering How Children in particular are price-sensitive shoppers, and even the
Arguments Work tobacco lobby has yet to claim that higher taxes would be unconstitutional.
Journalists, some say, are suspect on this issue. Is it that we love the
First Amendment so much, or the profits from tobacco advertising? If
there is a moral obligation to the principle of unfettered commercial
speech, there is also an equivalent burden to recognize the great harm
tobacco causes.
But we must take care to get rid of Joe Camel in ways that don't do
harm to the Constitution. Let's let taxes break that camel's back. (Martin
Dyckman, "Breaking the Camel's Back," St. Petersburg Times, August 15,
1993)
C. Imagine if it were happening here. Imagine if our government were spon¬

soring research in the poorest pockets of our own country where masses of
pregnant women are infected with HIV. The researchers know that AZT
could save many of their babies from being born infected. Without AZT one
baby in four is infected by the mother, with it only one in ten. But AZT is
expensive, $1,000 a mother as it is prescribed now, and the need for a
cheaper regimen is critical. So with the best of motives, they set up a study
to see if lower, less costly doses are as good as higher doses. Some mothers
are given the current AZT protocol, some are given smaller doses. But
half—this is the crucial fact—are given placebos, those doses of nothing
pills. After all, they reason, how else can they find out if something is better
than nothing?
Imagine now what happens when the placebo children are born, when
it is discovered that in the name of science the researchers withheld a
known treatment. When it becomes known how the government justified
this research by saying that these few babies were sacrificed today for the
good of more babies tomorrow. And that their mothers would never have
had any medical care anyway. It is, of course, unimaginable. Yet it is hap¬
pening in Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and other countries
where AIDS has spread like, well, AIDS. And happening with the best of
American intentions and funding.
In some African countries up to 40 percent of pregnant women are
infected. On average the annual health care budget in Africa hovers
around $11 a person. The likelihood that these women will get AZT as it is
given in our country is virtually nil.
So the urgency of the problem and the poverty of the people are used
to explain research that would simply never pass ethical muster here. In
the heated controversy that has arisen over their use of placebos, the ques¬
tion has come up: Does a double medical standard justify a double ethical
standard? Here, giving a placebo when a known effective treatment exists
violates all the canons for research on human subjects. But in the seven
AZT studies funded by our government abroad, the women being given
dummy pills will give birth to more than a thousand infected babies. . . .
But many respected AIDS researchers hotly disagree, arguing that in
the real world of African AIDS, where women have little prenatal care and
nothing is the norm, these placebo studies offer the best, fastest hope. 207
They argue that African leaders know best the ethical balance for their CHAPTER 7
own countries. As two supporters of the research added in a New York Discovering How
Times op-ed piece, "Americans should not impose their standards of care Arguments Work
on developing countries."
The argument about universal human rights in a diverse world under¬
lies a host of issues from child labor to women's equality to free speech. It
is often said that poor countries cannot afford universal human rights. But
if AZT is too expensive for Africa, do we deal with a low economic stan¬
dard by lowering an ethical standard? If so, developing countries could
become convenient offshore research factories for ethically cheap
science. . . .
Just a few months ago, our government publicly apologized for Tus-
keegee. Now I wonder: Did we shut down Tuskeegee? Or did we export
it? (Ellen Goodman, "An AIDS Ethical Dilemma," Boston Globe, September
24, 1997. © 1997, The Boston Globe Newspaper Co./Washington Post
Writers Group Reprinted with permission.)
LOOKING AHEAD
We have clarified the difference between deductive and inductive arguments

and have concentrated on helping you recognize arguments, particularly those
that are inductive. In doing so we distinguished between several kinds of
inductive arguments: generalizations, analogies, causal inferences, and appeal
to authorities. In the next two chapters we attend to writing and problem solv¬
ing. In doing the exercises in these chapters, you will be asked to construct
arguments, and more than likely you will use both types of arguments that we
have described. In the final three chapters of the book we return to these argu¬
ment types and study appropriate ways to evaluate them.
1. (1) Since taking some vitamin C daily is good for your health, (2) I take several
thousand milligrams daily to really protect my health. Since is a premise indicator.
Inductive generalization. 1 —> 2
3. (1) Although my street is normally quiet, (2) today cars from all around the neighbor¬
hood are driving past my house. The city must have one of the nearby roads blocked.
Inductive causal hypothesis (inappropriate use of a deductive-type indicator must). It
could also be a deductive argument, with the assumed premise that if cars from all
around the neighborhood are driving past my house, the city must have one of the
nearby roads blocked. (1 + 2) —> 3
5. U.S. News tallied 76 deaths in day-care facilities in 1996. The causes included
drowning, falls, being struck by autos, and sudden infant death syndrome—but
(1) the data are sketchy, since (2) many states do not report the causes of these
deaths. Since is a premise indicator. Deductive. 2 —> 1
7. (1) Zebra mussels have been found above the dam separating the lower from the
upper St. Croix River. (2) Boaters have not been careful to scrape off all the mussels
208 attached to their boat when they transported them around the dam. Inductive
causal hypothesis. It could also be a deductive argument, with the assumed prem¬
CHAPTER 7
ise that if zebra mussels have been found above the dam separating the lower from
Discovering How
Arguments Work the upper St. Croix River, boaters have not been careful enough to scrape off all the
mussels from their boats when they transported them around the dam. 1 —> 2
9. (1) Yes, it was settled; his career was determined. (2) He would run away from
home and enter upon it. (3) He would start the very next morning. Therefore,
(4) he must now begin to get ready. Therefore is a conclusion indicator. Deductive.
(1 + 2 + 3) —> 4
11. (1) As the fire which is kindled makes its fuel into ashes, so (2) the fire of knowl¬
edge makes all actions into ashes. So is a conclusion indicator. Inductive analogy.
1 —» 2
13. 1 say (1) we shall always have native crime to fear until the native people of this
country have worthy purposes to inspire them and worthy goals to work for. For
(2) it is only because they see neither purpose nor goal that (3) they turn to drink
and crime and prostitution. For and because are premise indicators. Deductive.
2 —> 3 —> 1
15. (1) You must strive to guide policy indirectly, so that you make the best of things,
and what you cannot turn to good, you can at least make less bad. For (2) it is
impossible to do all things well unless all men are good, and (3) this I do not
expect to see for a long time. For is a premise indicator. Deductive. (2 + 3) —> 1
1. (1) Introducing thick, fuzzy wool mittens for your immune system. (2) Shield
yourself . . . during the cold season and throughout the year. 1 —> 2 Analogy
comparing lozenges to mittens.
3. (1) Although there are signs that the wall of ageism is beginning to crumble—
(2) welcome back the craggy, world-weary faces of Mick Jagger (age 51), Keith
Richards (age 51), Eric Clapton (age 50), Robert Plant (age 46), Don Henley (age
47), and yes, Tom Jones (age 54)—(3) with the exception of Tina Turner, ... it
seems only males are granted special dispensation to pass through (to musical
stardom at an older age). 2 —> 3 Generalization from six male singers.
5. In the fullest definition, (1) harmony is an experience that engages any or all of the
five senses in addition to delighting the mind. (2) Harmony can stir the spirit as
well as soothe the soul. (3) Consider the harmonious interplay of petals with the
rose. (4) Or the full chorus soaring to the last movement of Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony. (5) [There cannot] be beauty without harmony. Not if one agrees that
beauty arises from the perceived harmony of an object. An object, often made up
of divergent parts that come together in an aesthetic whole. Thus, (6) the highest
praise one can bestow on an intricate timepiece is "created in harmony." Analogy
comparing a watch with a rose and with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
3 4 (+5)
i I
6
7. (1) I switched from European cars to American cars in 1991, buying one by
Chrysler and one by Ford, and wound up with two limes—not quite lemons, but
nothing to write home about either. [(2) American cars are nothing to write home
about.] (3) Next time, I'll give a Japanese car a try. 1 —> [2] —> 3 Generalization from
buying a Chrysler and a Ford.
9. (1) At the time of the birth of Christ, Rome was a prosperous, thriving empire with
a standard of living significantly higher than that of any other city in the Western
world, if not on the entire planet. (2) Rome thrived as a government center living
largely off the tribute (taxes) of the provinces and conquered lands. ... (3) The
parasitic nature of Rome's opulent existence contributed to its eventual downfall. 209
(4) Is a similar redistribution of income and wealth taking place in America?
CHAPTER 7
(5) Resources are being extracted from the general tax paying public to feed the Discovering How
bureaucrats and government officials who tend to concentrate themselves in state Arguments Work
or national capitals ... (6) America's government centers have become parasite
economies. ... (7) The affluence of government centers is making the rest of
America poorer. (8) "Capital crimes" gradually are sapping the nation of needed
economic vitality. (1-3, 5-8) —» 4 Analogy comparing U.S. centers of government
(Washington, D.C.) with Rome.
1. (1) There have been a number of earthquakes in and around Los Angeles in recent
years. (2) They appear to be increasing in intensity. (3) In the next few years we
will see a really big one hit this area. (1 + 2) —> 3 Prediction.
3. (1) They must have forgotten my birthday this year. (2) I looked in the closet,
under the bed, even downstairs under the Ping-Pong table, and haven't found
anything even resembling a wrapped present. 2 —> 1 Causal inference.
5. (1) The victim's blood was on the front seat of the car, and (2) there were bloody
tracks leading to the front door of the house. (3) The victim's blood was also on the
accused's socks. (4) He also could not explain where he was during that crucial
half hour before he was taken to the airport. (5) There is little doubt that he is
guilty of the murder. (1 + 2 + 3 + 4) —> 5 Causal inference.
7. (1) When the shortstop played the ball, it took a wicked hop. (2) It must have hit a
small stone on the edge of the infield grass. 1 —> 2 Causal inference.
9. (1) Before mid-century, there were no significant holes in the ozone layer over
Antarctica, but the size of the holes has increased dramatically since then. (2) Dur¬
ing that same period we have also seen a dramatic rise in the number of air condi¬
tioners and refrigerators. Perhaps (3) the CFC emissions from these appliances
affect the ozone layer. (1 + 2) —> 3 Causal inference.
1. Conclusion: Please, let us have the three motorized portages back.
Premises: It is a precious treasure and we will protect it and pass it on.
Analogy: Boundary Waters is compared to a diamond. As one protects and passes
on a diamond, so one would do so to the Boundary Waters.
3. Conclusion: The Greenlanders starved to death.
Premises: Excavations have turned up many expensive portable items, like cruci¬
fixes, that would probably have been removed by the settlers in an evacuation.
And had the colony's population gradually diminished, the wood in many of the
farms—a valuable commodity in a place with few trees—would have been scav¬
enged by the remaining settlers. Such was not the case. Cut marks on the dog
bones suggest the dogs were butchered; even the cow hooves were eaten.
Causal argument
5. Conclusion: Use the Diadora tennis shoe on the court.
Premises: Diadoras are like Ferraris for your feet. Like the famous racing car,
Diadora shoes are very quick, precisely engineered, responsive and—I think—
good to look at. . . . To take a lesser shoe on the court would be like driving the
family sedan at LeMans.
Analogy
7. Conclusion: Burke & Barry [whiskey] has an indefinable quality that sets it apart.
Premises: There is a quality that sets champions apart from other thoroughbreds.
Maybe it's heart. Something you can't define. But you know it's there. How to
210 judge fine Kentucky whiskey. Taste. Aroma. Smoothness. Qualities that are hard to
define. But one taste of Burke & Barry [whiskey] and you know they're there.
CHAPTER 7
Discovering How Analogy
Arguments Work 9. Conclusion: Endocrine disrupters are at work.
Premises: Girls are undergoing earlier puberty.
Causal argument
11. Conclusion: Don't abort.
Premise: Though his prospects were dim, the baby born was Ludwig van
Beethoven. [That is, this case turned out to be a genius.]
Intermediate conclusion: Any child could turn out to be a genius.
Generalization
13. Conclusion indicator: This indicates
Conclusion: These meteorites did in fact come from Mars.
Premise: Barnacle Bill, Yogi, and the soil exhibit other chemical signatures that
closely match the 12 Martian meteorites.
Analogy
15. Conclusion: The college has a quality food service that is deserving of praise from
our newspaper rather than scorn.
Premises: I found that the food tasted very good and appeared very attractive. The
cooks are concerned about appearance. I have not found a dirty fork, plate or
glass. The people are polite and friendly.
Generalization
1. Data: The average driver spent 32 seconds leaving his or her spot when no one else
was jockeying for it, but an additional seven seconds when another car appeared
eager to enter.
When cars honked, drivers took an additional 12 seconds.
3. Analogies or generalizations.
Analogy between backhanding another's face with a glove two centuries ago
(dueling) and hanging onto a parking space today. Also an analogy of hanging on
to one's parking space with Norm keeping his bar stool in Cheers. Generalization:
"We all have at least a bit of Bickle in us and are quite willing to squander time
and energy in senseless posturing when strangers attempt to horn in on our
spaces."
1. Argument. The argument is an inference from the effect (the government restocked
its reserves) to the cause (oil prices declined).
3. Causal explanation. The effect—he quickly ran from the house—is explained by
the cause—he could smell smoke in the hallway. Psychological explanation.
5. Causal explanation. The effect—he wrecked his car coming home from work
today—is explained by the cause—an inconsiderate driver cut him off on the free¬
way and he hit an embankment.
Psychological and physical explanation.
7. Causal explanation. The effect—men are less likely to develop osteoporosis until
later in life than women and seldom suffer as severely—is explained by the fact
that they have 30 percent more bone mass on the average and don't undergo the
sudden drop in estrogen that occurs with menopause.
Physical explanation.
9. Description
11. Description 211
13. Causal explanation. The effect—the lax enforcement of anti-pollution regulations—
CHAPTER 7
is explained by the cause—the power vested interests have over our enforcement Discovering How
agencies. Psychological explanation. The paragraph also contains a noncausal argu¬ Arguments Work
ment: because of the power vested interests have over our enforcement agencies,
America needs more tight regulations.
15. Argument. The conclusion—we ought to thoroughly study its social, economic
and political impact on the nation—is argued for on the grounds that the amount
of money wagered through legal gambling in America has become so immense so
quickly. The paragraph also contains an explanation. That the amount of money
wagered through legal gambling in America has become so immense so quickly is
given as a reason why Congress passed legislation to create the National Gambling
Impact and Policy Commission.
A psychological explanation.
17. Probably a causal argument, since the causes are unsure. For the effect—There is
no enthusiasm for anti-smoking campaigns directed at kids that I saw as recently
as the late 1980s—the author suggests three possible causal hypotheses: (1) Per¬
haps it's because today's generation of young people is growing up more discon¬
nected from adults and adult guidance than any other generation in our nation's
history. (2) Maybe it has to do with our modern preoccupation with "rights."
(3) Or maybe it has to do with the image of smoking itself. If it contains explana¬
tions, they are psychological.
1. Assumes that each dose of vitamin C taken will contribute to good health.
3. Assumes that other, unstated hypotheses—for example, that a delivery truck is
blocking the road—will not explain the presence of the cars on the street as well as
the given hypothesis.
5. When many states do not report the causes of these deaths, the data is sketchy.
7. Assumes that other, unstated hypotheses will not explain the presence of the mus¬
sels as well as the hypothesis about failure to clean off contaminated boats.
9. If he is going to run away tomorrow, he must get ready now.
11. Assumes that the analogs—fire and knowledge—are relevantly similar in other
respects.
13. The natives of the country see neither purpose nor goal.
15. If you cannot do all things well, you can at least make them less bad.
A. Topic: baseball parks; Fenway Park

Issue: Whether Fenway should be replaced
Thesis: (3) Fenway should not be replaced.
Main points: (1) Fenway is a classic, replete with nooks and angles and the Green
Monster and a sense of proximity to the players that no other stadium offers.
(2) The game will be forever diminished if the old girl disappears. 1 —> 2 —> 3
Deductive arguments.
C. Topic: AIDS research
Issue: Whether AIDS research should be done in Africa by using samples that are
not given any AZT
Thesis: (1) We should not do AIDS research in Africa by using samples that are not
given any AZT.
Main points: (2) We would not allow such research to happen here. (3) Giving a
placebo when a known effective treatment exists violates all the canons for research
212 on human subjects. (4) The researchers know that AZT could save many of their
CHAPTER 7 babies from being born infected. (5) Without AZT one baby in four is infected by
Discovering How the mother, with it only one in ten. (6) We don't deal with a low economic standard
Arguments Work by lowering an ethical standard. (7) If we did, developing countries could become
convenient offshore research factories for ethically cheap science.
3 7
1 i
2 4+5 6
N i /
1
Deductive arguments
CHAPTER 8
Synthesis
Writing with Critical Thinking
At various points along our journey into critical thinking you have been
encouraged to put your ideas into writing. Writing assists you in making ideas
your own, in clarifying your opinions or beliefs, and in sorting out the evi¬
dence you have for thinking your beliefs are true.
Putting your ideas down on paper in a manner suitable for critical reflec¬
tion is a difficult task; it involves more than merely journaling or chronicling
your ideas. You need to
• set out a problem or issue that is worthy of reflection

• take a position on it by stating a thesis
• find evidence or main points to justify your confidence in answering the
problem in the way you did.
This chapter provides assistance in developing your ideas into a written

piece of persuasive reasoning. You will not find an easy formula for writing a
good paper here because no such formulas exist. Writing is not a linear process
by which you start at point A and arrive at point G—a Good Paper. Even the
structure we suggest provides only an initial model that, as you progress, you
will modify to suit your own communication style. But although future modi¬
fication will occur, to promote your ideas in writing it is best to begin with a
strong foundation.
The writing process is filled with uncertainty. You might begin to work on
some topic and then have to change and start on another when the first leads
to a dead end. You might have to revise your issue and thesis as you proceed.
You probably will encounter interesting information in your research that you
will never use. You might also have to go back and find additional information
to carry out your project, either in the same sources where you already looked
or in new sources. You might discover counter-arguments to what you pre¬
sented that are so strong and convincing that you have to alter what you ini¬
tially wrote. You might even uncover a subsidiary problem that is much more
interesting, important, and controversial than the original problem, leading 213
you to change the direction of your paper.
214 But despite these uncertainties in the writing process, you can begin with
CHAPTER 8 several certainties.
Writing with Critical
Thinking
• Good writing is hard work.
For most of us, writing takes great mental and physical energy. Perhaps this is
one reason that writing is so rewarding, for when the project is done, you will
have produced something tangible through your travail. In any case, you must
set your mind and energies to the task, realizing that significant effort is
required to produce a quality product.
• Good writing depends upon reading.
Every system needs the introduction of new energy to keep functioning. Your
mind also needs new energy to produce new ideas. This energy comes from
your experiences and your reading about what others have experienced or
thought. To change the metaphor, experience and reading are the fertile soil
that generates new ideas. While personal experience provides basic but essen¬
tial access to the world, your limits restrict what you can encounter. To get
beyond those limits, to incorporate others' experiences and reflections, you
need to read what others have written—in books, articles, newspapers, and
reference sources. This reading may be of two types. General reading uncon¬
nected with a specific research project stimulates you with new topics, new
vocabulary, and new ideas that may capture your interest and intrigue you to
pursue them further. Specialized reading on the topic of your research paper
connects you with those who have also thought, researched, and written
about your topic and issue. Those who read little almost always have diffi¬
culty writing.
• Writing gives birth to more writing.
Once you have produced a written piece, you need to sit back and let the
words and ideas mellow. Setting it aside for a while gives you distance from
what you have written so that when you reread it, the ideas and their phrasing
are somewhat fresh. That temporal difference allows you to rethink and
rewrite more clearly. Obviously this is an argument against writing a paper at
the last minute before it is due.
After a time, reread what you have written, noting what needs changing,
developing, and supporting. Possibly you will change some of your ideas;
doing this will require that you go back and rewrite sections of your paper.
You will discover ambiguities, vagueness, lack of clarity, bad reasoning,
unwarranted use of emotive language, lack of sufficient detail, and lots of
other reasons to rewrite. In short, writing necessitates rewriting.
• Writing is fun and rewarding.
Don't forget this last point, which is of great importance. You can achieve great
satisfaction when you see the results of your mental labor. Producing a paper
that contains your own ideas, carefully thought out and researched, well writ¬
ten and clearly explained, is a significant accomplishment; the results are
worth sharing with others. Writing lets your ideas loose.
GENERATING A TOPIC 215
CHAPTER 8
Suppose one of your teachers asks you to write a paper for the class, or you Writing with Critical
decide on your own to write something. You now face one of the most daunt¬ Thinking
ing tasks in argumentative writing: generating a topic. "Where do I begin?"

you ask yourself. Without a good topic, your writing project cannot begin.
As you recall from Chapter 3, the topic is the subject of your paper,
expressed in a few words or a phrase. Let us begin with a few suggestions for
choosing a topic on which to write.
• Choose a topic in which you are interested.
Writing several paragraphs, let alone a paper, about a topic in which you have
no interest is difficult. You will find that you cannot convey the ideas with the
enthusiasm necessary to intrigue and persuade others. But if you write about
something that interests you, even the research will go more smoothly. You
will want to read and learn more about the topic, see its connections with
other things you know, and discover what others have thought and said about
it. To begin a paper on an open topic, write a paragraph or two about some
things, people, ideas, or events that interest or concern you and tell why you
are interested in them. After writing these paragraphs, identify a topic that
applies to each of these areas.
• Choose a topic that will interest your audience.
When you write, you need to consider who your audience is. To capture the
attention of your prospective readers, think about their interests and back¬
ground so that they will want to read what you write. Ask what your readers
already know and do not know so that you can add to their knowledge and
understanding or persuade them to a different opinion. You want to consider
what they accept or believe, what presuppositions you share in common with
them and what they would require arguments for so that you can write about
things that are significant while not assuming too much.
• Choose a topic either that you know something about or about which
someone else can assist you to find information.
Select a topic that is addressed by adequate quality resources. Your instructor

or a librarian can assist you in searching for materials on your topic. When
you are given an open agenda, it is wise to explore several topics so that if one
leads to a dead end, another may prove fruitful.
• Choose a topic that is neither too broad nor too narrow.
You must avoid both generalities that make a topic too broad and a parochial¬
ism that narrows a topic too severely. Topics like U.S. presidents, baseball,
euthanasia, movie stars, and the Second World War are so broad that they
make it difficult to narrow your focus. Topics like the ninth inning of yester¬
day's ball game, abortion in Manhattan, or last week's episode of Home
Improvement might prove too narrow to generate enough research materials.
The rule of thumb is this: if you are overwhelmed by materials, probably your
216 topic is too broad; if you are underwhelmed by materials, probably your topic
CHAPTER 8 is too narrow.
Writing with Critical If your choice is between too broad and too narrow of a topic, it is better to
Thinking avoid an overly narrow topic. If your topic is overly narrow, the slightest shift
in topic as you write your paper might move you to a different topic. If your
topic is broader, you can develop different aspects of that topic without getting
off course. As you work with your topic, feel free to narrow or broaden its
scope while avoiding the extremes.
• If you are working in an unfamiliar area, find resource materials that

might suggest topics to you.
Look at the chapter headings of a standard textbook in the field. If the text has
study questions, read them to find ideas you might want to address. Find an
index for academic journals in the field you are asked to investigate and look
at the subject headings. The advantage of these methods is that the textbook
probably has a bibliography, while the journal indexes list recently published
articles or books relevant to the topic. This will get you started with resource
materials.
• Look at the editorial pages of your local or a national newspaper to find

what is currently being debated.
Here you will find topics about which there is serious discussion and disagree¬
ment. The editorials will also introduce you to current thinking on the topic.
Remember that the topic guides your writing. Since it is the subject you
will address, select the topic with care and enthusiasm.
Exercise 1
By the time you have completed this chapter, you will have written and
rewritten an argumentative paper.
1. Write a paragraph about three things, people, ideas, or events that interest
you, and tell why you are interested in these.
2. For each of these three interests, identify a topic about which you would
like to write. Make sure it is neither too broad nor too narrow.
3. Select one of these topics for your argumentative paper.
GENERATING AN ISSUE
After you have identified your topic, the next step is to generate a problem or
issue that you want to address. As Chapter 3 noted, you state the issue in the
form of either a direct or indirect question. This question identifies what you
intend to address or answer in the paper. Since this issue guides the rest of
what you write, choose it carefully. At the same time, you should feel free to
modify the issue as you go along. The issue you choose is not written in stone.
But remember that if you alter the issue, you have to go back and review what
you have researched and written to see whether these materials are now rele¬
vant to your new formulation of the issue.
You generate the issue by asking a question about your topic. In fact, to 217
get started you might list half a dozen or more questions that relate to your topic. CHAPTER 8
You may even mention your topic to your friends and have them suggest Writing with Critical
some questions about this topic. The more questions you ask about the topic, Thinking
the more issues you have from which to choose. This diversity of questions
provides some flexibility so that you do not feel trapped by thinking that there
is only one problem on your topic. Remember that the issue posed contains
your topic.
Suppose you chose the topic of automobile air bags. What issues can you
raise regarding this topic? Here are some questions:
1. Should consumers have to pay for air bags in their automobiles even if
they do not want them?
2. Should people be allowed to disconnect their air bags if they think they
are unsafe?
3. Should automobile manufacturers be held legally accountable for deaths
caused by air bags?
4. Do the few children's lives saved by disconnecting automobile air bags
outweigh the greater number of adult lives that will be lost because of dis¬
connected air bags?
5. Would weaker air bags result in fewer or more deaths?
6. Should the government require auto manufacturers to design air bags for
all passenger sizes and weights?
Once you have listed these questions about your topic, you need to choose one
of them on which to proceed. Not all of these questions will lead to a good
paper; some questions are better than others in generating arguments. You
need to sort through the questions to find the particular issue you feel is sig¬
nificant and want to address.
Many of the same suggestions noted about how to go about choosing a
topic apply to selecting an issue as well.
• Choose an issue of interest to you and others.

• Choose an issue that either you know something about or on which
someone else (your professor, librarian, parent, peers) can help you find
information.
• Your issue should be neither too broad nor too narrow.
• Choose an issue about which there is some significant disagreement.
Your paper should address a topic that is significant both to you and to others.
Writing a paper about today's weather will not get you very far. Neither will
writing a paper that takes a position that most people accept. You, your
teacher, and your readers will wonder why you are spending your time writ¬
ing about something on which you all agree. The disputability of your topic
keeps you and the reader interested, wanting to know the reasons why you
believe as you do, and why others take differing stands.
If you cannot find people who have written on both sides of your issue,
you should begin to question whether your issue is significant or disputable
enough to warrant your time and energy researching and writing about it.
Generally, the more you find people responding on both sides of your ques¬
tion, the more interesting, important, and disputable the issue is. One test of
218 disputability is to give your issue to some friends. If they do not give different
CHAPTER 8
answers to your issue, probably it is not very disputable.
Thinking Exercise 2
1. List half a dozen questions you might ask about the topic you chose in
Exercise 1. The questions should be of the sort that people could reason¬
ably answer in different ways.
2. Choose from these questions the question you intend to address as your
issue in your paper.
3. Evaluate the issue you have chosen using the four items listed in this section.
GENERATING A THESIS
Once you have chosen the issue you want to address, it is time to stake out a
position on the question posed. In your paper do not provide a survey of dif¬
ferent views; that would be a mere report. Rather, in an argumentative paper
you attempt to persuade your readers about the truth of a certain point. This
point constitutes your main thesis; it asserts your opinion on the issue you
chose to address. The thesis that initially directs your research derives from
your experience, reading, and reflection.
When you write your paper, no matter how long it is, the first paragraph
or two and the concluding paragraph should state your thesis. It should
appear in the beginning of your paper to let your reader know what you
intend to show or defend. It should appear at the end of your paper to confirm
to your reader that you have indeed defended that thesis.
The paragraph stating your thesis is both the first and the last paragraph
you write. It is the first thing you write because the thesis provides the unify¬
ing factor for the rest of the paper. Everything in the paper relates back to the
thesis, developing and defending it. The thesis paragraph is also the last thing
you write as you review what you have written and reflect on how successful
your reasoning has been.
As you develop your paper, you may actually change your mind about
your thesis. Your initial thesis reflects your opinion or belief prior to your
research into the reasons for and against holding it. Somewhere along the way
you may decide that the evidence points not in favor of but against your thesis.
In this case, you may have to qualify or modify your thesis to reflect your
revised thinking. When this happens, you have to rewrite your thesis (and
probably part of your paper) to encompass the changes. In short, while the the¬
sis controls your paper, and while you need to continually check that you are
addressing it, you should feel free to alter that thesis so that it better reflects the
results of your research, careful thinking, and developed arguments.
To say that your thesis is tentative and may change sounds frightening—
and it is. But it is also exciting, for research and writing can be a time of dis¬
covery, opening you to positions and views that previously you had not seri¬
ously considered. Writing provides the opportunity for you to explore new
horizons, to think in new ways, to entertain unlikely or unusual ideas, and not 219
merely cement your old views. CHAPTER 8
One difficulty, discussed in Chapter 3, that plagues many papers is that Writing with Critical
the writer gets off the topic or thesis. The author intends to go in one direction Thinking
but through following a train of thought moves in another. So that this does
not happen to you, frequently stop writing and read what you have written.
Then go back and reread your thesis statement to see whether you are still
addressing the topic and issue and asserting the thesis you said you would. If
you find you are addressing some other topic or issue or are asserting a differ¬
ent thesis, you will have to find where you departed from the trail and begin
again at that point. A clearly written thesis statement helps prevent moving off
on tangents.
Exercise 3
State the thesis of the essay that you started in Exercises 1 and 2. It should be
your answer to the question posed in the issue selected in Exercise 2.
GENERATING THE MAIN POINTS
It is now time to construct your paper, to develop and defend your ideas.
Since this book is directed toward critical thinking, your development of the
ideas must do more than summarize the data you find or the various positions
others have taken on the issue. As we stated in the previous section, the paper
is not to be a survey of various views. You do need to understand the data and
others' views, for if you misunderstand them you will in turn misrepresent
their ideas in your paper. But to present only the data or others' views leaves
you and the reader at the earlier stages of critical thinking—knowledge and
comprehension. Rather, your goal is to use the data from your research and the
arguments of others to shape arguments that defend your position and/or
refute contrary positions. Your ultimate goal is to rationally persuade your
reader (and perhaps yourself) that your thesis is true.
The arguments you present to defend your view constitute the main points
of your paper. Each main point is itself a subthesis, which both relates back to
the main thesis and in turn needs to be developed and defended by arguments
and evidence. In a sense, the development of each main point becomes a mini¬
paper within the larger paper. Thus, an outline develops in which the thesis is
supported by main points, which themselves are supported by subpoints or
arguments, and so on. The structure may look something like this.
Thesis
Main Point 1 (subthesis)
Support for main point 1 given by submain points
Other Main Points as needed
220 This skeleton provides a structure around which you can build your paper.
CHAPTER 8 Your research and thinking flesh out these main points, developing and
Writing with Critical strengthening your arguments for your positions and against competing
Thinking views. By carefully laying out your arguments to develop the main points, you
shape a carefully reasoned paper.
Continuing our air bag example, if you decided to write your paper on the
thesis "People should be allowed to disable air bags if they desire," you might
develop the following main points.
1. Forcing people to act contrary to their own desires or their own perceived
best interest is paternalism, and paternalism is not justified for adults.
2. Older people and children have been killed or seriously injured by air
bags and this is unjustified.
3. The accidental deployment of air bags is both dangerous and costly.
Main points can have two different kinds of structure. Some main points
are positive in character, presenting arguments for your thesis. Initially, you list
reasons for believing that your thesis is true. As you research, you modify this
list by adding to it, discarding some of the earlier reasons as being inadequate
to support your thesis, and in general developing and improving the list. One
of the major functions of your research is to strengthen your initial, positive
reasons for your thesis by developing what you think is true and adding new
information and arguments. As mentioned previously, research might also
have the opposite effect, convincing you that your original position needs to
be abandoned or significantly modified.
The arguments you give in favor of your position should
• be supported by careful, documented research

• be supported by careful reasoning
• use principles or truths that are widely accepted.
Where exceptions to such principles or truths are made, you need to defend
them convincingly.
Save your strongest argument for the end because this argument will stick
with the reader the longest. As you lay out your main points, you might start
with your weakest argument and gradually proceed to your strongest argu¬
ment. However, since giving your weakest argument as your initial argument
might turn the reader off from the outset, you might think about starting your
reasoning with your second strongest argument.
Some of your main points may also be negative in character. That is, they
present arguments against positions that differ from your thesis. To respond to
or refute opposing views, you need to look at what other people have written
and thought about your thesis. You need to understand their arguments and
then interact with them, showing the reader where those who disagree with
you went wrong or why their arguments are inadequate to refute your posi¬
tion. Here you carefully consider the other side of your thesis. When you do
this, it is essential that you treat the other side with intellectual fairness.
Some writers are tempted merely to dismiss contrary positions without
taking them seriously. They make those positions as weak as possible and then
easily refute them. This kind of reasoning is called the Straw Person Fallacy.
You might think of the story of the Three Little Pigs; in it the wolf easily blew
down the pig's house constructed from straw. This tale illustrates the 221
approach some take to others' positions. If by weakening their arguments you CHAPTER 8
misrepresent those who disagree with you, you have created a straw person Writing with Critical
argument that may be easy to refute. Your refutation may seem persuasive at Thinking
first to your readers, but it both violates the integrity for which critical
thinkers strive and destroys the ultimate goal of critical thinking: to arrive at
the truth. So, when you consider the views of others, treat them with integrity;
present their views in their strongest form possible and then proceed with
your critique of them.
Your resulting paper probably will have something like the following
structure.
INTRODUCTION. Here you set the stage for your • respond to actual or possible criticisms of
paper. You may tell your thesis and main points
• lay out your opponent's view and critique or
• why you are writing this paper (in the sense
refute it.
of providing a context for the paper). You
may show how the issue arises or why it CONCLUSION. Here you summarize what you
should be addressed. have said or argued. It
• what your approach to the issue is
• should contain a restatement of your thesis
• what your thesis is.
• may review or mention the main points sup¬
BODY. This is the "meat" of your paper. Here you porting your thesis
• should not introduce new topics or material.
• lay out your main points to develop and
defend your thesis
Making an outline also serves to keep your paper on track. In your own
writing it is important to make sure that the main points address the same
topic and thesis with which you began. If they do not, there is a good chance
that you have wandered off the main topic or issue. A good outline helps
assure that you still are addressing the topic or issue on which you chose to
write. With an outline you can see the main points more easily and can deter¬
mine whether or not they are relevant.
One important word. This structure for writing papers presents an ideal, as
much broken as kept in good writing. Writers may depart from this ideal by
beginning their piece with a story or puzzle to capture the reader's interest.
They may also begin with a commonly accepted view on the issue posed and
then proceed to refute that view so that their thesis comes rather late. Eventu¬
ally you too will work creatively in your presentations. But as with any rule or
ideal, to break the ideal you must first master it. Only then can you go on to
rework the structure you have mastered to better convey your thoughts. If you
depart from this ideal, you must be careful not to create a muddled presenta¬
tion, for readers expect to find clarity in what they read.
Exercise 4
Here is an editorial on air bags.
1. State the issue and thesis.
2. Make an outline of main points the author presents to support his thesis.
222
CHAPTER 8 The new prohibitionists
Thinking It gets sillier and sillier. After air bags rate by 45%. Adding an air bag increases
exploding in cars traveling at low speeds this to only 50%.
killed more than 30 children and 20 Air bags also work well only in direct
adults, President Clinton announced that frontal crashes. For other types of acci¬
car owners will be allowed to deactivate dents, having an air bag can actually
their air bags with the help of a increase the statistical fatality rate for cer¬
mechanic. However, there are no plans to tain categories of adults. For adults over
cancel the 1991 congressional mandate 70, this effect largely counteracts other
that dual air bags must be installed in safety benefits. Some data also suggest
every car by the 1998 model year. that people in small cars may benefit less.
So a lot of car buyers will pay $400 Why wasn’t all this taken into account
for air bags they don’t want and don’t before the Naderites and others forced air
have to use. bags on all of us? Because that isn’t the
This is what happens when the gov¬ way the government works. Congress
ernment steps in to protect us from our¬ sees a problem, it passes a law. The con¬
selves. The usual form of government sequences are somebody else’s affair.
regulation, like air pollution or air safety The potential toll of innocent victims
controls, is designed to prevent people of air bags may actually be much larger
from being harmed by others. Air bags, than the official statistics show. The evi¬
however, belong to a whole different dence is mounting that some drivers
species of regulation. They require peo¬ compensate for increased safety protec¬
ple to protect themselves from their own tions by taking significantly more risks on
actions. The results can be ridiculous. the road. In a 1993 article in the Journal
For adults as a whole, the most of Policy Analysis and Management, two
recent analysis by the National Highway University of Chicago researchers con¬
Traffic Safety Administration concludes cluded that, allowing for such “offsetting”
that air bags are ari overall safety benefit, behavior, air bags and other protective
reducing the fatality rate by 11%. How¬ devices would have only “a modest net
ever, the same analysis shows that for a effect” overall.
child under 10 in the passenger seat, the A subsequent study of insurance
presence of an air bag more than dou¬ data collected between 1989 and 1993,
bles the statistical probability of that published in the Journal of Law and Eco¬
child’s dying in an accident. nomics, found that “air bag-equipped
Air bags have widely varying bene¬ cars tend to be driven more aggres¬
fits, depending on individual circum¬ sively,” and have more accidents.
stances, and can be outright harmful to I wish the do-gooders would read a
certain categories of car occupants. bit of history. They could turn to the chap¬
According to NHTSA, including accidents ters on Prohibition. In trying to protect
where adults were often killed or badly people from the evils of drink Congress
injured, accompanying children experi¬ banned the stuff, touching off a major
ence a large “fatality increase with pas¬ crime wave and a general disrespect for
senger air bags [that] persists up through law. It also killed a lot of people with poi¬
age 10.” soned booze. Right now there are lots of
Air bags also don’t do much good for people out there who would like to see a
people who are already wearing seat similar prohibition on cigarettes.
belts. Compared with no protection, Are air bags just an expensive nui¬
wearing a seat belt reduces the fatality sance? No, it’s worse than that. When
continued
government gets into this kind of activity, are capable of assuming responsibility 223
it promotes the dangerous idea that peo¬ for their own safety and well-being.
CHAPTER 8
ple are children who need to be looked Congress should start by repealing Writing with Critical
after by their betters. Paradoxically, those the requirement that every car must have Thinking
who are most determined to mandate air bags and instead require car compa¬
devices like air bags are often those who nies to provide information that will let
claim to have great confidence in the consumers make their own choices.
judgment of their fellow citizens. Yet they [Robert H. Nelson, "The New Prohibitionists," Forbes,
do not seem to think these same people February 10,1997, p. 72. Reprinted by permission of FORBES
Magazine, © Forbes Inc., 1997.]
Exercise 5
Present an outline containing at least three main points to support the thesis
you stated in Exercise 3. The main points are to be expressed in complete sen¬
tences. At least one of your main points should respond to a denial or critique
of your thesis.
DECIDING WHAT NEEDS DEFENSE
Arguments play an important role in our lives. Often we provide evidence or

reasons to support our beliefs or to persuade someone about the truth of a the¬
sis. But are the reasons we present as a defense themselves true? When our
readers or listeners doubt these reasons as much as the conclusions they sup¬
port, we have in turn to defend these very reasons. So reasons are used to
defend other reasons, which ultimately defend conclusions.
At the same time, we cannot argue for the truth of every statement in our
presentation; we lack the time, space, and energy for this endeavor. Indeed, if we
had to defend every statement we used, we would be caught either in an infinite
circle or an infinite regress of reasons. Being caught in a circle means giving a rea¬
son in support of another reason, and then a third reason in support of the sec¬
ond reason, so that eventually you use one of your ultimate conclusions to sup¬
port a prior premise. Being caught in an infinite regress of reasons means that every
reason is supported by another reason and so on to infinity. This regress would
be like dialoging with children who respond with the question "Why?" to every¬
thing you say. Although they request a reason for every response you give, after
a while you must draw the conversation to a close and proclaim that what you
have said is just the way things are. Since a reasoning chain has limits, you have
to make an initial determination about which statements need more careful con¬
sideration and support and which you can let pass. Those actual statements you
let pass constitute your explicit assumptions. Those that need some support often
function as conclusions of other arguments. Let us further explore this distinction
between reasons that do and reasons that do not need defense.
Statements Not Needing Defense

Let us first consider actual statements we let pass without a defense: our
explicit assumptions. As we noted in Chapter 7, explicit assumptions differ
224 from implicit assumptions, which are statements assumed but never actually
CHAPTER 8
stated. Explicit assumptions are an essential and important aspect of our com¬
Writing with Critical munication. Included in this category are the following:
Thinking
• Statements grounded in our own individual, personal experience
Generally we need not defend assertions about what we have seen, heard,
smelled, or touched. For example, "I saw two loons on the lake yesterday";
"Mary brought her twin girls by my office"; "I heard the crowd roar when
Taylor kicked the winning goal in overtime."
• Statements about common experience
Since most of us sense colors, shapes, smells, and sounds in the same way,
general statements (in contrast to personal experience statements) about how
things look, smell, or sound generally need no defense. Likewise, since
humans experience similar feelings, emotions, pains, and desires, we often do
not need to defend statements like "Southern Californians got angry when
they discovered that the gas pumps did not give them the amount of gasoline
they paid for"; or "Butterflies churn even in stomachs strong enough for the
Big One, a 235-foot-high roller coast at the Pleasure Beach."
• Statements about matters of common knowledge
The truth of such statements is generally acknowledged and hence not dis¬
puted. It is common knowledge that the earth is spherical or that seals try to
escape from stalking polar bears by plunging down their hole into the sea,
although few of us have actually experienced this fact. These statements
sound reasonable enough to our limited experience to be accepted as true
without needing defense.
• Statements accepted by both author and audience within the context of a

presentation
For the sake of argument or to get the discussion underway, people may agree
to accept certain claims as true, although these claims may be disputed by oth¬
ers who are not part of the audience. In this context, this common viewpoint
can be assumed and need not be defended. For example, in the context of a
theological debate, the presenter and listeners may carry on a conversation
that presupposes the existence of God. Since they both agree on this premise,
they can pass on to more disputable claims. But if the dialogue were between a
believer in God and a nonbeliever, the claim that God exists would not be held
in common and the matter would be disputable. Or again, two Republicans
may assume that we need a tax cut and proceed to discuss the best way to
achieve it, whereas in the context where a Republican debates a Democrat,
there may be no shared common view and the matter of a tax cut is highly dis¬
putable.
• Claims that seem intuitively obvious to us
This is perhaps the category with which you ought to be most careful, since it
is easy to claim that something is intuitively obvious to you when that same
claim may be disputed by those with whom you are communicating. If you
argue against capital punishment, you may take it as intuitively obvious that 225
people who are executed for serious crimes committed suffer in their last CHAPTER 8
moments, but others may doubt whether this is so. The claim, rather than intu¬ Writing with Critical
itively obvious, may be disputable. Thinking
In summary, since we cannot defend every statement we make, we present

many statements for which we do not give reasons. These explicit assumptions
are taken as givens. We assume them to be true (on the grounds noted) and ask
our readers or listeners to do likewise.
Statements Needing Defense

Not every statement we make, however, can be assumed to be true. When we
turn to those statements we need to defend, we encounter statements or
claims that are disputed or disputable. They are not matters of our own or
common experience or knowledge, accepted within the context of our dis¬
course, or intuitively obvious. Generally, statements that are disputable and
require defense include the following:
• Statements about experiences only a few persons have had or of a very

unusual sort
These may include things like sightings of UFOs, near-death experiences,

miraculous healings, or new experimental research or laboratory results. It is
important to note that although statements about such experiences generally
require a defense, this should not be taken to imply that such statements are
false. Rather, in such cases to question why these statements are true, to ask
for further evidence in their behalf, is simply appropriate.
• Statements that make universal or near universal claims
For example, "All the theater-goers enjoyed the movie," "Most physicians rec¬
ommend this product to their patients," "Everyone is wearing jeans to the con¬
cert," "The bakery down the street makes the best pies ever," "Sarah is the
funniest girl ever" all need defense. We may accept without defense the claims
that many theater-goers enjoyed the movie, some or many physicians recom¬
mend this product, the bakery makes good pies, or Sarah is funny. Because our
experience is limited, it is easier to believe particular statements that affirm
that something is the case some of the time. But rarely do we have access to
information that allows us to make universal or near universal claims about
all, every, most, or best. In particular, hyperbole is always suspicious. Hence,
when people make universal claims, it is often appropriate to query what
basis they have for making such statements.
Other statements needing defense are these:
• Statements that report data or make claims that many people actually do
or may dispute
Someone may argue in defense of the pro-life position that many women who
have abortions suffer from depression or serious medical complications. But
whether or not this claim is true is as much a matter of dispute as the conclu¬
sion it is used to support, and hence it needs defense.
226 • Statements that reflect disputable inferences from data
CHAPTER 8
Some people might conclude one thing from the data, whereas other people
conclude something quite different from the same material.
Thinking
Consider the following article.
Moroto Morass
The arid, scrub- and acacia-dotted hills cus weighed between 40 and 50 kilo¬
of Uganda’s Moroto region in East Africa grams and had an advanced “locomotor
are not where you’d expect to find an repertoire” that included climbing, hang¬
ape. But more than 20 million years ago, ing and swinging from branch to branch.
during the Miocene epoch; this area was This form of locomotion “allows you to be
the woodland home of a surprisingly a big animal and still exploit an arboreal
modern-looking ape that may have environment,” says MacLatchy, who sus¬
swung through the tress while its primi¬ pects that Morotopithecus was a typical
tive contemporaries traversed branches fruit-eating ape.
on all fours. According to a report in the Critical to their locomotor reconstruc¬
April 18 issue of Science, this ape dis¬ tion is the recently unearthed scapular
plays the earliest evidence for a modern glenoid, or shoulder socket. Monkeys
apelike body design—nearly six million have glenoids that are teardrop-shaped in
years earlier than expected—and may outline, whereas modern apes, humans
belong in the line of human ancestry. and, according to the researchers, Moro¬
The authors—Daniel L. Gebo of topithecus have glenoids that are rounder,
Northern Illinois University, Laura M. which enhances shoulder mobility for
MacLatchy of the State University of New hanging and swinging. This and other fea¬
York at Stony Brook and their col¬ tures, the authors contend, make it more
leagues—first focused on fossils found in closely related to living apes and humans
the 1960s. The facial dental and vertebral than are some, considerably younger fos¬
remains, originally dated to 14 million sil apes.
years, revealed a hominoid (the primate Other are not so sure about the
group comprising apes and humans) with shoulder evidence. Monte L. McCrossin,
a puzzling combination of features—its a paleoanthropologist at Southern Illinois
face and upper jaw resembled those of University, points out that because noth¬
primitive apes, but the vertebral remains ing else is preserved to identify it conclu¬
were more like modern apes. Conse¬ sively, “the possibility exists that the gle¬
quently, paleontologists were at a loss to noid will turn out not even to be from a
classify the Moroto hominoid definitively primate.” He is also skeptical about the
and tentatively placed it in various, previ¬ proposed novelty of this shoulder mor¬
ously established taxonomic groups. phology. Scapular glenoids have not
Now Gebo and MacLatchy are plac¬ been recovered for other early Miocene
ing this ape in its own genus and apes, so they, too, might share the
species, Morotopithecus bishopi, based rounded features. “Absence of evidence
on newly discovered pieces of shoulder shouldn’t be taken as evidence of
and thigh bone and a high-quality radio- absence,” he quips.
metric date suggesting an age of at least Source: (Kate Wong, "Moroto Morass: A Fossil Ape Unexpectedly
20.6 million years for all of the remains. Resembles Modem Apes and Humans," Scientific American, July,
1997, p. 21. Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 1997, by
The researchers infer that Morotopithe¬ Scientific American, Inc. All rights reserved.)
This article illustrates both of the last two points. The paleoanthropologist 227
McCrossin expresses doubts both about the data (whether the fossil shoulder CHAPTER 8
bone is from an ape) and the interpretations built upon the shape of the bone. Writing with Critical
This demand for further evidence and careful critique of inferences made from Thinking
evidence is a hallmark of the sciences.

A final type of statement needing defense is
• A normative statement, that is, an assertion about things that are good or
bad or acts that are right or wrong.
Normative statements usually contain terms like should, ought, good, bad, right,
and wrong. When we claim that things should be done, that someone ought to
act in a certain way, or that certain programs deserve to be implemented, we
enter into areas that generally require defense. The words should, ought, and
their synonyms in a discourse usually trigger in the critical reader the request
for a defense. For example, currently a debate rages in sporting circles about
whether cities and states should use public funds to build new, expensive
sport stadiums for privately held professional teams. Any claim that public
funds should be so dispersed is disputable and needs defense.
Disputable statements, then, can be legitimately questioned by either the
author or the audience. In our own writing, we need to identify disputable
statements and defend them to the best of our ability. This need can be illus¬
trated by the following letter.
(1) Major League Baseball in the 1990s is quite different from what it was in the
1890s. (2) Baseball these days isn't about green fields and red ropes. (3) It is
about money. (4) Owners talk of moving teams just so more fans will come to
the stadiums. (5) Effective, but is that how owners should show loyalty to their
clubs? (6) The richer teams can now buy up all of the good players, leaving
smaller teams with young players or worn-out veterans. (7) Another thing that
has changed is the players themselves. (8) We call players who like to get dirty
"throwback" players. (9) Modern players are too worried about hurting them¬
selves, or doing something wrong, to give their best effort. (10) We accept a pro¬
fessional baseball player spitting in the face of an umpire and getting to play in
the next game. (Scott Reese, letter, Christian Science Monitor, November 11,1997)
In this paragraph, statements 1, 2, 3, 5 (which is a rhetorical question), 7, 9, and

perhaps 10 need defense because they are all universal statements about
which people may legitimately differ. On the other hand, 4 and 6 do not need
defense because they are common knowledge, while 8 is a definition of a cer¬
tain kind of player. Statement 1 [Major league baseball in the 1990s is quite dif¬
ferent] is the thesis and thus needs defense; the author defends it by 2 (Base¬
ball is not about green fields and red rope) and 3 (Baseball is about money);
3 is defended by 4-6. The author also defends 1 by 7 [Players have changed],
which in turn the author defends by 8-10. Hence, in this paragraph the thesis
1 is defended by the subtheses 2 + 3 and 7, and these in turn are further
defended by additional reasons.
In short, when you write or speak, you need to consider whether the state¬
ments you make need or do not need a defense. The place to start is whether
you the writer think the statements need defense or not. But you cannot stop
there. Since you are writing for or speaking to an audience you are trying to
228 persuade, you need to press on to the more difficult part, to take the perspec¬
CHAPTER 8
tive of your readers. They also are involved in the communication process, and
Writing with Critical if you are to be persuasive, you need to consider what they would accept
Thinking without argument and what they would treat as disputable. You might not
think that a particular statement is disputable, but if you think your readers
may dispute its truth, it is better to defend the statement.
Those who follow this advice are better and more careful writers and
speakers. They pay attention to what they say and consider what needs sup¬
port and what can be affirmed without further justification. They then seek to
provide reasonable support for those claims that need it. As a result, their pre¬
sentations are stronger and more persuasive.
Exercise 6
For each of the articles,
1. Give the topic, issue, thesis, and main points.
2. Identify the statements that can be asserted without defense and those
that need a defense. (The statements are numbered to make your reference
to them in your homework and class discussion easier.) Note that you
might be unsure about how to classify some statements. Consider whether
the audience for these articles might think these statements need defense.
3. Identify which statements the author has in fact supported or defended.
A. (1) The vast majority of Minnesota's 15,000 miles of (snowmobile) trails

were built for snowmobiling. (2) The hundreds of snowmobile clubs in the
state used money from snowmobile registrations and a very small percent¬
age of the state gas tax to build bridges and clear trails. (3) More money
was raised by the clubs through various fund raisers and used for the trail
system. (4) The labor came from club members volunteering thousands of
hours of their own time. (5) State employees do maintain some of the trail
system, but (6) the vast majority is done by volunteers.
I don't believe that (7) snowmobilers are opposed to the trails being
used for other recreational purposes. However, (8) snowmobilers are
already paying state registration fees, volunteering time, and raising funds
to maintain trails. ... (9) Maybe bicyclists and roller bladers should start
paying a trail user fee and volunteering their time for trail maintenance.
I'm sure (10) we can find a solution to the pavement wear problem.
However, (11) snowmobilers should not be expected to bear the entire
weight of this problem. [Rory Tate, letter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, November
18,1996. Reprinted by permission.]
B. (1) As the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development sees it, the long
and devastating "free fall" of American cities is over, and the difficult
climb back has begun. (2) He may be right.
(3) New York City has a good chance of ending the year with 1,000 mur¬
ders or less, a terrifying statistic in most venues but a reason to celebrate in
the Big Apple, which suffered through a record 2,245 homicides in 1990.
(4) In Detroit, which came up with the quaint custom of burning itself
down every Halloween, a genuine rehabilitation seems to be under way.
(5) There has been some modest job creation, an increase in home owner¬ 229
ship, a commitment of $2 billion in private investments in the city's CHAPTER 8
empowerment zone and a resurgence of the downtown area, which was Writing with Critical
in pitiful shape (especially at night) just a few years ago. (6) A symbol of Thinking
the renewed action in Detroit is the serious effort by the football Lions to
arrange a return to the city. (7) The Lions have been holed up for years in
suburban Pontiac, Mich.
(8) Chicago, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Cleveland—all are making
headway in the areas of employment, public safety, neighborhood revital¬
ization and civic pride. (9) Even Newark, N. J., comatose since the riots of
1967, appears to be waking up. (10) Among other things, Newark's rancid
high-rise public housing complexes are being demolished and housing
more suitable to the human species is being built . . .
(11) It's not that the Clinton administration has been a champion of
the cities; far from it. (12) But since Bill Clinton became president, cities
have at least been able to get a hearing in Washington. (13) And some
members of the administration have been passionate and eloquent advo¬
cates for cities. . . .
(14) Without some federal support, local efforts are doomed. (15) The
Secretary points to several things: to federal support for anti-crime initia¬
tives, including money to put additional police officers on city streets; to
changes in public housing policies away from high-rises filled with the
poorest of the poor to lower density, mixed-income dwellings; and to the
creation of urban empowerment zones, which carry with them a whole
load of federal subsidies and tax benefits.
(16) It is too early to gauge the impact of the empowerment zones, but
the other efforts have been helpful. (17) And cities have unquestionably
benefited from the continued push to make credit more readily available
through programs like the Community Reinvestment Act and the low-
income housing tax credit. . . . (Bob Herbert, "After Collapse, Cities
Emerging From Rubble," Lexington Herald-Leader, October 7,1996).
C. In this article, you have to consider both the report of the scientific study
and the claims made by the study. Note where the author moves between
these two perspectives. (1) The little kid was screaming at the top of his
lungs. (2) The checkout lines at the supermarket were backed up. (3) Every
human being in the greater Philadelphia area in need of 10,15 or 20 items
was standing with or next to me in the optimistically named "express"
lanes.
(4) The kid, a boy around 6, was hanging onto the cart in front of me.
(5) He kept trying to pull it back to the candy rack. (6) His mom, a woman
in her late 20s, had an infant in the cart's safety seat. (7) She told her son to
stop crying and to quit pulling on the cart. (8) He continued doing both.
(9) She yelled at him. . . . (10) The 6-year old gave the cart another pull.
(11) His mother stepped around the cart and slapped him on his behind.
(12) Did she do something horribly wrong? (13) A supplement in the
current special issue of Pediatrics magazine gives the issue of corporal
punishment a thorough review. (14) Twenty-three experts in children's
health, psychology and human development review what science knows
230 about whether parents should hit their children. (15) The findings have a
CHAPTER 8 lot to say about what happens millions of times each week when adults
Writing zvith Critical use hitting or spanking to discipline a child. . . .
Thinking (16) In reviewing the studies that have been done, the experts found
that infants—children younger than 2—do not understand and cannot be
effectively taught by spanking or any form of physical discipline. (17) Stud¬
ies that followed parents and children over time suggest that aggressive¬
ness and antisocial behavior grow more likely when physical punishment
is harsher and more frequent.
(18) Spanking and other forms of corporal punishment of children
who are older than 4 [are] not effective and might be harmful in the long
run, the experts found. (19) But they did find some evidence that the rare
spanking of a preschool child might contribute to reinforcing other disci¬
plinary techniques without any apparent harm to the child. (20) Still, non¬
corporal methods of discipline such as reasoning, positive reinforcement
and "timeouts" are always adequate and are the most effective ways to
discipline children of all ages.
(21) The conclusions from the experts' review of the scientific data are
clear:
• (22) Getting out the belt or the strap makes no sense and is both a lousy
way to parent and unethical.
• (23) The more you hit a child the worse you make things between you
and the child in the long run.
• (24) Hitting or spanking an infant is pointless.
• (25) Spanking, slapping or hitting might get the attention of a preschooler.
(26) If you have ever broken down and spanked your child, as the
mom did in the supermarket, you need not fret about long-term harm, but
you should know that there are better ways to change bad behavior.
(27) While the rare spanking of a child can be effective, rewards, firm
instruction and timeouts do just as well. (28) Corporal punishment has no
place in good parenting. (Arthur Caplan, excerpted from "Research
Review Finds Spanking Does More Harm than Good," Oct. 30, 1996.
Reprinted by permission of the author. "Spanking Experts Say It's Not
Necessary," Grand. Forks Herald, October 28,1996).
D. Take two paragraphs from a paper you wrote for another course and analyze
each of the statements in those paragraphs to determine whether or not they
need a defense. Did you defend those statements that you decided needed
defense?
DOING RESEARCH
One of the first questions you ask once you have chosen a topic (and perhaps
issue and thesis) is where to find reliable information to help you write an
informed paper. The amount of information available is mind-boggling, so
where do you begin?
First, you should begin research by using tools that access the topic you
have chosen. Search engines in libraries and on the Internet can help you find
materials that relate to the topic you have chosen. For example, if you have 231
chosen as your topic "air bags," you can begin to acquire information on that CHAPTER 8
topic by typing in these words in the "Search" box of some search engines. Writing with Critical
You will probably find that initially your topic is too broad, for it brings Thinking
up too many entries under that heading. A library search may yield dozens of
books or hundreds of articles; an Internet search may produce hundreds of
thousands, if not millions, of hits. Consequently, you need to narrow the head¬
ing under which you search to make the available information manageable.
You can do this by adding adjectives or other nouns that appear in your issue
or thesis statements. For example, if your issue is whether people should be
allowed to disconnect the air bags in an automobile, you may search for some
combination of air bags and other terms, like disabling.
You may wonder whether anyone has written about your particular issue.
Maybe or maybe not. It depends on how narrow your issue is. If people have
written on, say, voluntary use of air bags, that provides a good starting point
with lots of information to weigh. You can read what has been written about
your issue and process it, deciding how strong or weak the arguments are.
But suppose no one has written specifically on your issue. You use the
search engines and simply cannot call up anything on the junction of air bags
and disabling. Are you then dead in the water, especially if the teacher wants a
bibliography or footnotes? Not really. You will have to return to the broader
topic—for example, air bags—and from there begin again to narrow the topic
until it approaches your own particular issue—for example, conjoining air bags
with infant deaths. If this area is not exactly pertinent to your thesis because
you were not specifically dealing with infants, do not despair. By reading in
this related area, you should be able to find principles, arguments, and discus¬
sions that can be extended or applied to what you are addressing about dis¬
abling air bags in general.
But you are not yet done. Your thesis needs the support your main points
provide. You can develop your main points by further narrowing the research.
To investigate each main point, the strategy developed above can be repeated.
Each main point has a topic that can be accessed, addresses an issue, and
makes a thesis. As before, the research words can be narrowed down so you
can concentrate especially on what is relevant to your issue. If the information
peters out at this point, return to the broader topic and creatively apply what
you learn from it to your issue.
In short, in your research you constantly move between topics that are too
broad and those that are so narrow that you cannot find direct information on
them. By moving up and down on this continuum, and by moving sideways
to related subtopics, you can find pertinent information for your paper.
DETERMINING THE RELIABILITY OF SOURCES
Since our experience is very limited in time and place, much of our informa¬
tion comes from other sources. Our life span is brief and our memories are
inaccurate, so we rely on information presented by others to supplement our
historical knowledge. Since our travel experience is limited, to acquire knowl¬
edge of other parts of this world we depend on what others tell us these places
232 are like. Because we can only be in one place at a time, yet exciting events
CHAPTER 8
occur simultaneously in many places, we trust newspapers, magazines, radio,
Writing with Critical television, and the Internet to inform us about current events. We can conduct
Thinking only very limited personal investigations. Hence, we rely on researchers'
reports to give us additional information.
How good is all this information? Are the claims true and conclusions jus¬
tified? It depends, in part, on the reliability of the sources.
This book began with two articles from very different print sources, a
major-city newspaper and a weekly tabloid. Perhaps the fact that the one arti¬
cle was taken from a tabloid immediately made you suspicious, for the sensa¬
tionalism of this type of media creates doubts about its truthfulness. There are
many kinds of print media and not everything in print is equally reliable;
merely because something appears in print does not mean that it is true.
For one thing, the authors and information they present are fallible. Usu¬
ally they derive their information from other sources, which themselves may
be mistaken or not fully knowledgeable. Errors can creep into the information
at many points along the information chain. For another, information changes.
The geology texts before the 1970s suggested that life began around 600 mil¬
lion years ago. Now geologists are looking at evidence that indicates figures
six times that old. So merely because you find information in a reputable text
does not mean that you cannot and should not question it. Even your texts
may be mistaken and bear scrutiny. Again, theories interpreting information
change. It was once an accepted theory, affirmed by many biology texts, that
the origin of life on earth was to be found in prebiotic soups of methane and
ammonia that, with the addition of some form of energy, were capable of pro¬
ducing amino acids, the building blocks of life. Now new theories of earth
life's origin are heralded: some suggest that life arose from the repetitive crys¬
talline structures found in certain clays, that it was brought to earth aboard
asteroids, or that it originated from Martian rocks that reached our planet after
being launched into space. In short, new theories stimulate research, and the
resulting new knowledge stimulates new theories. This research may confirm
or disconfirm the standard theories found in your texts. In any case, what is
currently accepted as fact is open to critical questioning, and as critical
thinkers you want to question what you read and hear, whether presented in
books, textbooks, magazines, or newspapers.
Similar things may be said about other forms of media: radio, television,
and the Internet. The recent development and expansion of electronic media
has opened up new worlds of information. At the same time, the information
we obtain through these sources requires assessment before it is accepted, for
not everything said or shown over the air waves or downloaded on the com¬
puter is accurate and reliable. The mere fact that a reporter says something on
the evening news or on 20-20, even repeatedly, does not make it true. Claims
made by advertisers on the electronic media must be carefully scrutinized. The
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulation of media content is only that, reg¬
ulation; the FTC provides no guarantee that what is said is true. We still need
to investigate for ourselves the truth of important claims.
But what sources can we trust? When you write essays or papers, where
do you go for information? Traditional sources include books, magazines,
newspapers, and journals. These are accessed through various catalogs, peri¬ 233
odical and newspaper indexes, and readers' guides. The instructors in your CHAPTER 8
courses and librarians can guide you to the proper reference materials that Writing with Critical
provide access to this information. But what if you have no such direct guide? Thinking
How do you determine the trustworthiness of your sources? You can ask sev¬
eral questions to help determine reliability.
• What kind of reputation does the journal, magazine, book publisher, or

electronic publisher have for publishing accurate and informed articles?
Magazines for Libraries, edited by Bill Katz and Linda S. Katz, is a standard
source for assembling a library collection of journals, magazines, and news¬
papers. It may be said that if a journal or magazine is not in Magazines for
Libraries, unless it is relatively new, its reliability probably is in question.
Though this source does not strictly evaluate or rank the magazines and jour¬
nals, it provides clues to help you assess that media. It indicates whether the
journal is refereed (a journal is refereed when the articles it prints have been
reviewed and selected by an editorial board of scholars), the official journal of
some society, authoritative, or recommended for libraries. It also discusses the
level of reading ability required to access the source and gives a sense of the
articles published. In a more scholarly vein, the various professional or disci¬
plinary indexes (Social Science Index, Psychological Abstracts, Philosophers Index,
Religion Index) provide another source for discerning the reputation of journals
and magazines. The fact that a journal or magazine is indexed in a profes¬
sional or disciplinary index usually indicates that the journal is viewed by
members of the discipline as reputable.
• What is the level of readership in the magazine, journal, book, or on-line

source? Is the publication meant for a popular or scholarly audience?
Magazines for Libraries answers these questions as well. It indicates whether the
magazine or journal is popular or academic and whether it is written for an
elementary, junior high, high school, general, academic, or specialist audience.
You can also get clues about the intended audience from analyzing the
publication. In the case of books, is the dust jacket or cover plain or does it
contain pictures, and if so, pictures of what sort? Who has made the endorse¬
ments found on the cover? In the case of magazines or periodicals, look at the
title and layout. Scholarly illustrations, absence of advertisements, dense text
in smaller print, nonglossy paper, use of citations and references, and the pres¬
ence of abstracts and conclusions in the articles indicate that you are working
with a scholarly journal. Lots of pictures of notable or popular people, adver¬
tisements, large print on glossy paper, short articles with no citations, and
reports of interviews or hearsay indicate that you are working with a more
general interest periodical or a popular magazine.
Substantive news or general interest periodicals play an important role in com¬
munication. Generally no special background or academic expertise in the sub¬
ject matter is presumed. Their language level makes them accessible to the
average educated reader. These periodicals are amply illustrated with color
photographs or drawings related to the subject discussed. The articles are writ¬
ten by knowledgeable people from diverse backgrounds: editors and their staff.
234 freelance writers, or scholars. Sometimes the writers cite sources but generally
CHAPTER 8
not. Published commercially these magazines provide specialized knowledge
Writing with Critical to a broad but intelligent audience. Although generally not comparable to
Thinking scholarly publications, they often are trustworthy, presenting important infor¬
mation in language and formats that are more accessible to the average edu¬
cated reader. This category of publications includes Discover, Smithsonian, Scien¬
tific American, Atlantic Monthly, Economist, Psychology Today, New Republic, USA
Today Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, and New York Times.
Popular magazines are written at levels accessible to a general audience. They
are well illustrated, often with photographs of popular or notable persons. The
paper is glossy; the print is large; the citations of sources are absent. The articles
are short, often with little depth of research but emphasizing interviews and
personal comments. Alluring or provocative article titles tip you off about the
intent of the author and the magazine. Eye and interest catching, they aim to
entertain the reader and sell the products of their advertisers, who figure promi¬
nently in the publication. Magazines in this category include Ebony, Jet, Parent,
People, Readers Digest, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, MS, Life, Time, and Newsweek.
Exercise caution in taking material from the popular media. Instead of
sharing their sources with their readers, writers in more popular magazines or
journals simply lay out matters as they see, have researched, or have heard
about them. Their emphasis on quotations from others can tend to make them
less responsive to the requirements of careful scholarship. They also aim at a
specific market, perhaps less to persuade rationally than to enhance the reader-
ship of the magazine. In short, you have to be especially careful in using popu¬
lar magazines as sources of information; where they are reporting work printed
elsewhere, you should check to see that the authors are presenting it correctly.
• Has this journal or publisher regularly published materials that have been
confirmed by research? Has the material been referenced in other writ¬
ings? Do those writings confirm or disconfirm the material? That is, are
the materials read, accepted, and cited by authorities in the field?
You can answer these questions by noting how frequently the materials you
are investigating are cited in other works. To discover this in the humanities,
for example, you might consult the Arts and Humanities Citation Index.
Although the fact that a book, article, or piece of data is referenced in another
work does not make it authoritative, the frequency of such citations suggests
that these works are accepted by some as authoritative. This can be important
confirmation of reliability.
• Has the piece you want to use, along with others in the magazine, book,
journal, pamphlet, or electronic media, been refereed? That is, have other
scholars looked at the material before it was printed, evaluated it accord¬
ing to current standards of scholarship, and then decided whether it met
the standards of scholarship adequately enough to be published? Or did
the person, without apparent evaluation by others, publish it by him or
herself, for example, over the Internet on a web page or in a vanity press
(where you pay a publisher to print and distribute the book)?
Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory, a standard source in most library

collections, contains a listing of refereed journals. In addition, some subject-
related indexes in print or electronic format list journals that are refereed. You 235
can look in the respective academic journals (usually in the front or back) to CHAPTER 8
see how articles are submitted to the journal and judged to be acceptable. Writing with Critical
Some on-line indexes even allow you to limit your search results to articles Thinking
that appear in refereed journals. Doing a keyword search using a World Wide
Web search engine such as InfoSeek or AltaVista, however, will not inform
you about what is or is not refereed; here you have to look at individual com¬
ponents of the article or information you discover to assess its merit.
• Who is the author? What are that person's credentials? What kind of edu¬
cation or experience has she or he had that is relevant to what he or she
wrote? What else has that person written on a similar topic?
To assess the author's background, look for what the book or journal itself tells
you about the author: his or her expertise, what group or organization he or
she is associated with, or his or her credentials. You might look up the
author's name in Contemporary Authors, Who's Who, Faculty White Pages, MLA
International Bibliography, or the various subject or professional journal
indexes. Is the author connected to reputable universities, government bodies
or organizations, or businesses or industries where he or she would be in a
position to know whereof he or she writes?
• If your source is a book, has it been reviewed? Check the reviews. (One
should be careful here; reviews sometimes are not helpful because they
reflect the reviewer's bias; that is, they can trumpet the reviewer's view¬
point or can be written by someone with a particular ax to grind.)
Subject-related journal indexes contain references to book reviews. You might

also check Book Review Digest or Book Review Index.
• Does the material have the kind of documentation you can follow up so that
you can check the resources that the author used? If there are no footnotes
or references included in the document, why not? Is it because the work is
entirely novel or is it because the work is largely unresearched opinion?
• Has the source contributed significantly to an on-going discussion on
important topics? What is the tenor or feel of the articles in the journal or
of the book? Does it give the impression of providing a carefully reasoned
argument, or is it fixated on sensationalism or on pushing a particular
point of view? What is the level of its emotional content; has the author
used emotion in place of reasoning to persuade?
Exploring Resources on the Internet

Many students have turned to doing their research on the Internet because of
the convenience and power of its search engines. The Internet contains many
good and useful things. By typing in one or a combination of search words,
you can find and access all sorts of materials from around the world. Docu¬
ments, articles, informational pieces, newspapers, photographs, even books
are now published or printed on-line and can be downloaded easily. The elec¬
tronic media holds great riches for the careful explorer and critical thinker.
Much of what is on the Internet, however, fails to meet the kinds of crite¬
ria we developed above. It is important to note that the Internet, and more
236 specifically the World Wide Web, is largely a medium for self-publication.
chapter 8 What you find there often has not passed by an editor, editorial board, or pub-
Writing with Critical lisher who has evaluated the ideas before deciding whether they merit publish-
Thinking ing. In some cases, it may be impossible to determine the author of a web
resource. Merely because it is present on a particular site does not mean that it
originated there. In other cases where an author is listed, it may be difficult to
discover the person's credentials or establish his or her credibility. Conse¬
quently, although users of keyword search engines can retrieve documents on
almost any subject imaginable, they must scrutinize the results, for documents
produced by an authority or amateur, scholar or hobbyist, careful researcher
or crank can appear on the same level; the writings of the incompetent are
listed alongside of those who are knowledgeable.
Hence, in being wary of what they get via the electronic media, critical
thinkers will carefully assess the material obtained. Before it is used, they should
ascertain something about its source—the author, where the material originates,
the reliability of the web site itself—and think about what other information
may independently confirm what they have gotten. The information explosion
can easily become an information nightmare, where truth is indistinguishable
from falsehood, partial truth, or trash. When assessing the credibility of the
information published on the World Wide Web, ask the following questions:
• Who is the author of the material?
Does the author have a web page that includes biographical information that
lists his or her training on or experience with the topic? This information helps
you determine the extent of the author's competence in the field. Does the
author list his or her other publications, including books or journal articles
that deal with the topic addressed by the web document? Is the author affili¬
ated with a governmental, educational, or research institution or nonprofit or
professional organization that is known for its reliability? Does the author dis¬
close this information in his or her biographical information, or do you have to
assume the person's affiliation with an organization or institution based on the
site where you found the resource?
• What type of site have you accessed? Who sponsors the site? What do you
judge regarding its reliability?
.edu—a U.S. university or college. Its purpose is to .org—a nonprofit organization or trade associa¬
provide information about the educational institu¬ tion. Its purpose is often connected with the spe¬
tion. It may also contain information written by peo¬ cific interests of the organization.
ple connected with that institution. Tire information .mil—a military site.
may or may not be sanctioned by that institution. .com—a commercial or business site. Its purpose
.kl2.(state).us—a school with grades somewhere is to engage in a commercial enterprise that will
between kindergarten and twelfth grade. allow it to make money, entertain, or distribute
.gov—a governmental organization or agency. Its information.
purpose is to provide information reflecting the .net—a network administrative organization.
point of view of the government, its officials and
agencies.
Is the web page on which the person publishes designated as the official site of 237
some reputable organization, or is the web site one that ends in .com or .net, CHAPTER 8
which suggests that the content may be more personal or commercial than Writing with Critical
scholarly? The previous list of abbreviations used in site designations may Thinking
help you sort through the confusion.
• How recently has the site been updated?
Has the information been updated recently? Is it the kind of information that
needs updating, or is it about events or ideas in the past whose interpretation
does not change frequently?
You may find some of the following sites helpful in learning how to evalu¬
ate Internet information.
Elizabeth Kirk at the Johns Hopkins University, MD.

chttp://milton.mse.jhu.edu:8001/research/education/net.html> (August
1999)
Trudi Jacobson and Laura Cohen at University of Albany, NY.
<http://www.albany.edu/library/internet/evaluate. html> (August 1999)
One final point. Referencing an Internet or web resource is no different

from referencing traditional printed material. When you reference the Internet
in a footnote or in the bibliography, you must provide an address complete
enough to allow readers to find the same resource you used and decide for
themselves how authoritative or reliable your sources are. Since web
addresses change frequently, you also need to supply the date on which you
accessed the material. You may even make a printout of the web resource you
used in case the professor requests the original information and the site has
changed. The goal of all referencing is to allow readers access to the same
information to which you had access so as to allow them to make their own
assessment of the data and arguments. Footnotes and bibliography function to
further critical thinking.
Exercise 7
Find articles or presentations from five of the following magazines, TV pro¬
ductions, and web sites. Use the following worksheet to determine how reli¬
able the article and its information are.
Africa Today JAMA

Atlantic Monthly Instrumentalist
Beijing Review Jenny Jones
Black Scholar Life
Byte New Republic
Chemical Abstracts Nature
Chicago Tribune Psychology Today
Christian Century Reader's Digest
Current Sociology Rolling Stone
Discover Runners' World
Ebony Scientific American
238 Economist Sports Illustrated
CHAPTER 8 Foreign Affairs Time
Writing with Critical Hard Copy Your hometown newspaper
Thinking Hypatia 20-20
http: / / www.er.doe.gov/ http://www.touregypt.net
http:/ / www.guardians. net / egypt / pyramids.htm
http: / / norml.org http: / / iufomrc.com
Exercise 8
Use the following worksheet to determine how reliable three of the resources
are that you are using for your paper.
RESOURCE EVALUATION WORKSHEET
Book, Magazine, Journal, or Web Site Title:_
Article Title (if a journal, magazine or web site):_
Publication data:_
What reputation does the publication have (note Magazines for Libraries or
other sources)?_
Is the publication refereed?_
If it is a book, has it been reviewed and where?_
Audience: For whom is the piece written?
General audience Educated audience Scholarly audience
Does the article contain an abstract or brief summary?_
Does the article contain bibliographical references? None Few Many
What kind of illustrations are included?_
How fully is the topic covered in the article?_

Author:
Who is it?__
What organization or institution is the author connected with?_
What can you discover about the author or sponsoring organization (if a web
site), using this or other sources (note suggestions in this chapter)?_
Objectivity: What possible biases might the writers or publishers of this article,
continued
book, or web site have? Why do you think this? 239
CHAPTER 8

Thinking
Your Evaluation:
Based on the above questions, is the publication
Scholarly Substantive/General Interest Popular

Give your reasons for your judgment?
How reliable is the material in the publication? Defend your answer.
MOVING ON
This chapter has presented lots of advice. Now it is time for you to try your
hand at writing a paper that defends a thesis you think is important. Amid all
this advice, it is important to repeat that writing can be fun. Like any worth¬
while endeavor, writing involves much hard work. Research also is work, but
at the same time it can open doors to information and ideas about which you
never dreamed. You will meet new people, authors with exciting ideas to stim¬
ulate your mind. Research will push you in new directions so that once you
start reading you will find it difficult to stop; something more, something new,
something interesting is always there to be learned.
Good writing is a skill, and as this chapter emphasized from the outset,
developing skills takes practice. So don't get discouraged by your first draft—
or your first paper. Your papers will get progressively better as you work to
master the skill of writing as an essential component of critical thinking. Save
some of your first work—your first drafts and papers—so that later, when you
have advanced in the skill of writing, you can see how far you have come.
Nothing better enhances your self-esteem as a writer.
Exercise 9
Turn your outline into a paper of a length determined by your instructor.
Include at the top of your paper some of the words that you used in searches
in card catalogs, computer based searches in the library, and on the Internet, to
give your instructor some idea of how you went about researching your paper.
First write out the topic, issue, thesis, and main that of your partner to see how well you have
points of your paper. Then let your partner read communicated what you want to say. In particu¬
your paper. Have your partner identify what he or lar, note any differences and write down how you
she takes to be your topic, issue, thesis, and main will address those differences.
points. Then compare your list of these items with
240 Exercise 10
chapter 8 Take a thesis that contradicts the thesis you developed in Exercise 3 and write
Writing with Critical a paper defending that thesis. [Doing this will help you begin to see the
ThvikmS strength of the other side, which is necessary to being a critical thinker. If you
have difficulty defending an opposite thesis, it might reveal that your original
thesis was too trivial to merit attention.]
Take one of your papers from Exercises 9 or 10 both of you differed regarding what needed
and number the statements. Make a copy of it for defense. Note where you defended statements
your partner. Each of you should then go through that your partner did not think needed defense
the paper and identify those statements that need and where you failed to defend statements that
defense. Finally, share your answers, noting where your partner thought needed defending.
Exercise 11
Write a final paper, combining what you have discovered in Exercises 8
and 9, giving and defending your final position on the issue you devel¬
oped in Exercise 2. That final position might be the same as the one you
began with, it can be its opposite, or it can be some mediating or qualified
position. The defense of your position should include both arguments for
your view and arguments rebutting others' views.
Topic: Air bags
Issue: Should auto owners be allowed to choose to purchase air bags, or alter¬
natively, should the government require auto owners to purchase air bags?
Thesis: Auto owners should be allowed to choose to purchase air bags, or

alternatively, the government should not require auto owners to purchase air
bags.
Outline:
A. The President announced that car owners can deactivate air bags with a
mechanic's help. Therefore, people are required to pay $400 for air bags
they do not want.
B. Air bags increase the fatality risk for children under ten.
C. Air bags do not significantly help seat belt wearers or people in small cars.
D. Air bags can increase the fatality rate for adults over 70.
E. Air bags correlate with more aggressive driving.
F. The author presents an analogy with prohibition, which led to a major
crime wave and disrespect for the law.
G. Air bags lead the government to treat us as children who are not responsi¬
ble for our own safety. This is unwarranted paternalism.
Answers to Exercise 6 241
In the following, (ND) = needs no defense. (D) = needs defense. CHAPTER 8

A. Topic: Cost of trail maintenance
Thinking
Issue: Should other users of state trails help defray the cost of trail maintenance?
Thesis: Other users of state trails should help defray the cost of trail maintenance.
Main Points: 8
Statements 1-5 may be accepted within the context of the letter and hence don't need
defense. The author takes 8 as needing defense; this is the function of 2-6. Because 6
says "a vast majority," it needs defense, though it is not crucial to the argument. State¬
ments 7 and 10 are universal but not germane to the argument. Statements 9 and 11 are
normative and need defense.
C. Topic: Spanking
Issue: Does spanking have a place in good parenting?
Thesis: Spanking has a place in good parenting (28).
Main points: (16), (18), (20), (22-5).
Statements (1-2) ND—a personal experience; (3) ND, if taken as hyperbole; (4-11)
ND—a personal experience; (12) a question; (13-14) ND (description of a study); (15) D
(an interpretation of the data); (15-25) that the study reported this needs no defense,
though what the study reported needs defense (note that they are conclusions from the
study). (26-28) D.
CHAPTER 9
Synthesis
Solving Problems Creatively
w e have arrived at the stage where creative thinking plays a major role in
critical thinking. It is true that some creativity enters in at step 3 of our six-
step critical thinking structure; in Application you take what you think you
comprehend and apply it to a situation to determine whether or not you
really understood. You may recall the example earlier in the book of
installing a garage door opener. My belief that I understood the instruction
booklet was verified by my successful installation of the opener. At the
Application stage, however, creativity is limited because you are attempting
to apply what you have read, heard, or learned to a like or similar situation
in order to show that you truly comprehend the information. You are neither
asked to adapt what you understood nor to integrate the information with
other things you know—or, if you are asked, the adaptations are minor and
carefully controlled.
Demonstrating comprehension of what you have read or heard is impor¬
tant, but creativity eventually goes far beyond merely showing that you have
understood. At some point you may be asked to take what you have learned,
understood, and carefully analyzed and to add to it your own significant con¬
tributions to solve unique difficulties. The opportunity to "let your own voice
be heard," "to do your own thing" may be yours. Someone may ask you to
develop your own position in a research paper, design a new floor plan for a
kitchen or house, adapt a play to your local stage, draw up and propose a
budget for a company or struggling business, conduct your own research in
the sciences, or initiate a new venture to assist the poor in the community.
Whatever the situation, such a request requires you to step out beyond the
comfort zone of understanding what others have said and argued, to construct
your unique solution to the problem at hand.
This chapter concentrates on the task of problem solving. First, we look at
problem solving in general. The end of the chapter contains several scenarios
for you to work out in the context of a particular approach to problem solving
242 adapted from Alex Osborn's1 Future Problem Solving. Though this chapter is
best approached as a group project, you can apply the skills you learn to your 243
own individual efforts at problem solving. CHAPTER 9
Before we begin, however, a word of caution. No foolproof, simple Solving Problems
method for consistent, successful problem solving exists. Indeed, the more the Creatively
problem concerns people, the more dimensions you have to consider. Problem
solving involves acquiring relevant knowledge of the facts, comprehending
the information learned, and carefully analyzing it. Beyond this, problem solv¬
ing also involves open-mindedness or the ability to look at things from new
angles, wide experience, hard work and perseverance, imagination, creativity,
intuition, and sometimes (if not often) a dose of good luck. With the exception
of the last, you bring these things to the problem. Finally, often you also need
to develop and carefully follow a strategy to make sure that what is important
is not overlooked and likely solutions are properly pursued. This chapter
focuses on developing your strategy abilities to identify problems and to
brainstorm and evaluate possible solutions.
STEPS IN PROBLEM SOLVING
Problem solving begins with a situation that presents problems or difficulties

to be addressed. For example, last winter my son's snowblower ran into a
hard pile of snow and came to a quick halt. In the front of the snowblower is
an auger, a horizontal metal piece that rotates, picking up the snow and spit¬
ting it out the chute. In this case, the auger would no longer rotate. If my son
was to continue his snow-blowing business, we would have to solve the auger
problem and get the snowblower back on the road.
Although the initial problem may appear simple at first glance, looks can
be deceiving. What you take as the problem may be caused by another or
more serious problem. That is, the immediate difficulty may be symptomatic
244 of deeper problems that need to be resolved. Since problems are not always
CHAPTER 9 obvious or what they appear to be at first glance, the first step is to
Solving Problems
1. Identify all the possible problems or causes of the problem in the situation.
Creatively
Return to my broken snowblower. Why would the auger no longer turn to
throw the snow? Was a belt broken? Was the auger or the drive mechanism
frozen? Was there ice in the gears, preventing the chain from moving the
auger? Was the chain stretched, and if so could we adjust the length of the
chain? Was the sprocket so worn that it threw off the chain each time we
installed it? The initial problem—the snowblower's auger would not rotate—
could have been caused by any one of several factors. Before we could solve
the problem of the auger not turning, we had to think of the problem's many
possible causes.
A second example comes from medicine. In the first half of the twentieth
century a serious ill manifested itself that desparately needed to be addressed.
Although outbreaks of a mysterious disease that left people paralyzed
occurred as far back as the end of the eighteenth century, the first serious epi¬
demic of what became known as infantile paralysis (polio) occurred in 1916,
when six thousand people died and over 27,000 people were left paralyzed.
The epidemics began to come yearly with increasing intensity, until in 1952
there were over 58,000 cases of polio and three thousand deaths. The public
questioned what could be the cause of this seemingly new disease that struck
the most vulnerable, the children. People responsible for public health pon¬
dered a variety of possible causes in the effort to determine what really
brought on the fever, paralysis, and even death. Did it come from intimate
contact between persons, poor sanitation, feces, unwashed hands, insects like
flies or fleas, social status, or a virus?
The first step of problem solving, then, is to discover and accurately iden¬
tify the variety or complexity of possible problems that lie behind or cause the
symptomatic problem. To accomplish this, you need to brainstorm what the
problems or causes may be by considering the situation from many perspec¬
tives. At this initial stage, any and all problems or causes should be listed: this
is the point of brainstorming. You want to discover what is obvious and what
may lie hidden. Including "the hidden" is important because the underlying
problem(s) or cause(s) may not be readily apparent. It is generally the case that
only after brainstorming can you whittle down the problems or causes to
attend to the most likely candidates for treatment. If you start narrowing
down your problems or factors too soon, you may miss the real or underlying
problem. You deal with symptoms but not the causes of the difficulty.
Criteria for evaluating how successful you are in arriving at the most
important problems include
(a) Clarity in expressing the problems and showing what is problematic.

Problems are difficult to solve if they are formulated unclearly.
(b) Showing the relevance or connection of other, possible problems to the
original situation or problem.
(c) Using diverse perspectives to view the problems; that is, making your
approach broad enough to catch all the problems.
(d) Originality in viewing the problems. Creativity plays an important role in 245
problem solving. CHAPTER 9
Solving Problems
Sometimes resolving a problem requires that you write something down.
Creatively
For example, in your education you have been asked to write papers of vari¬
ous length. As we noted in Chapter 8, argumentative or position papers focus
on some problem or issue that you need to resolve. Where the situation to be
dealt with requires writing something down, the problems or issues must be
clearly developed. One way of doing this is to follow the pattern we estab¬
lished in this book. Not only your entire presentation but each of your para¬
graphs should be well developed, having a topic, issue, thesis, and main
points.
Although there may be many problems in a situation, the goal is to dis¬
cover the deeper or underlying problem or cause of major importance. Gener¬
ally this is the problem or cause you must address if the more apparent prob¬
lems are to be resolved. You may experience this when you visit the doctor.
You have a fever, chills, runny nose, headache, and so on. You want the doctor
not merely to stop your runny nose, but to diagnose and address the underly¬
ing problem of which these are the symptoms.
Sometimes the underlying problem or cause is simple, one that is listed in
the brainstorming session in step 1. At other times it may be a broader, more
general problem or cause that underlies many of the problems that were brain¬
stormed. In any case, the task in step 2 is to
2. Identify the underlying or fundamental problem or cause.
How well you succeed in solving a complex problem will depend on how
clearly you comprehend the underlying problem. The more clearly the doctor
can determine the cause of your symptoms, the easier it will be for the doctor
to write the correct prescription or send you to the right specialist.
In the case of our snowblower, the underlying problem seemed to be sim¬
ple: the chain had gotten stretched and hence would not stay on the sprocket.
When my son and I examined the snowblower, we found that the chain came
off the auger. It seemed that all we would have to do would be to reinstall the
chain. But each time we reinstalled it, the chain slipped off. The problem
proved more complex than we thought. At first we thought we could simply
adjust the adjacent, sprocketed wheel to take up the slack in the chain. But the
adjustment wheel was already positioned to take up maximum slack and
could not be further adjusted. So we decided to shorten the chain. But first we
had to figure how to get the chain off the machine. That required removing not
only the housing but other pieces of the drive mechanism. When we finally
got the chain off, we removed one pair of links and reinstalled the chain. But
now the chain was too short to fit around the drive wheel and the auger. So we
had another problem beyond the problem that the chain came off the auger:
our chain was either too short or too long and the adjustment wheel was use¬
less for correcting the tension on the chain. The point of this example is that
often a more serious problem underlies the symptom. What seems at the out¬
set to be a simple problem often turns out to be complex and requires that one
handle many facets to solve it.
246 The appearance of polio provides a similar example of looking for the
CHAPTER 9 underlying cause. After years of investigation, researchers eventually identi¬
Solving Problems fied a virus as the cause of the symptoms. However, identification was not
Creatively simple: the virus presented itself in at least three different strains, and part of
the research had to be directed to typing the polio viruses to determine
whether these three strains exhausted the possibilities, or whether other,
unidentified strains lurked in the population.
Since comprehension involves language, it is important to try to express
the underlying problem clearly and with focus. If your description is too
vague, your solutions will not be specific enough. If your description is too
narrow, it will restrict the possible ways you may go about solving the prob¬
lem. This is particularly true when we deal with broad social problems, like
racial prejudice, distribution of welfare, national health insurance, drug abuse,
and raising the educational performance of students. On the one hand, vague
descriptions of the social problem give us nothing specific to address; it is like
picking up Jell-O—it keeps slipping through our fingers. We need clarity in
expressing the problem. On the other hand, narrow descriptions of the prob¬
lem fail to address its complexity. By focusing on only one aspect, we can
oversimplify and make the problem worse rather than better, for we throw its
other dimensions out of balance. We have already considered this when we
spoke in Chapter 3 about discovering or creating the issue to be addressed.
The clearer we formulate the issue, the easier it is to address the issue. That is,
a clear issue paves the way for a clear thesis.
Criteria for evaluating your success in identifying the underlying problem
or cause include
(e) The comprehensiveness of your underlying problem. It must underlie

most of the problems isolated in step 1.
(f) Its relevance to the situation. The underlying problem must relate specifi¬
cally to the situation at hand, so that by addressing it you are addressing
the problem or problems that initiated the problem-solving project. By
addressing it, you relieve the symptoms.
(g) Clear focus of the underlying problem. It should be narrowed down but
not so much that it will not relate to the other identified problems.
Once the major problem is identified, it is time to embark on an attempt to

solve it. Often we cannot solve a problem because we continue to look at it in
one way and hence fail to entertain other ways to resolve the problem. Con¬
sider the following puzzle. Without lifting your pencil, connect all nine dots
by four straight lines.
Did you solve the puzzle? If not, was it because you limited yourself by 247
invoking rules not stated in the directions? Most people who attempt to solve CHAPTER 9
the puzzle assume that the lines drawn must remain within the square or that Solving Problems
the lines cannot cross each other. But no such limitations are given. Only if you Creatively
break through certain assumptions or presuppositions and think of various

alternatives can you come up with a solution (See note 2).
Thus, in step 3,
3. Brainstorm as many good solutions to the underlying problem as you can.
Solutions, like the statement of the problems, should be specific so that

they can be carried out. Vague solutions—fix the chain in the snowblower or
end polio—provide inadequate direction.
You can think of this step in terms of the main points we spoke about in
Chapter 3. There we saw that the main points should relate specifically to the
underlying thesis. They should help advance that thesis. Similarly, the solu¬
tions to your problems should relate specifically to the underlying problem
and should help advance the solution of the problem.
Several solutions appeared with respect to repairing the snowblower:
loosen the nut and move the adjusting wheel, remove some links from the
chain to shorten it, purchase a new chain, purchase a bigger adjusting
sprocket, take it to a repair shop, purchase a new snowblower.
In the case of polio, physicians, researchers, and the community suggested
various solutions: nasal sprays that would deactivate whatever was inhaled;
treatment of the nose with provic acid or alum, which disabled the sense of
smell; ingestion of some form of peanut oil or large quantities of vitamin C;
and quarantine. When a specific virus became identified as the underlying
cause, researchers directed their attention to how the virus might be handled:
should the virus be killed in patients; should there be a preventative vaccine;
should the vaccine consist of an inactivated virus or a live but weakened
virus? Initially the research community manifested little unanimity about the
direction it was to take to stop the polio epidemics.
Mechanical or technical problems are one sort of problem to be solved;
addressing and solving personal and social problems often can prove much
more difficult. When you try to solve broad social problems, you should
always think about introducing the critical thinker's friends: WHO will carry
out WHAT action, HOW it will be done, WHERE and WHEN will this solu¬
tion take place, and WHY it will solve the problem. These provide the speci¬
ficity needed to construct definite proposals, rather than merely expressing
general ideas about vague solutions.
Criteria for evaluating good solutions include
(h) How clearly you elaborate the solutions.

(i) How specific or definite your solutions to the problem are.
(j) The relevancy of the solutions to the underlying problem.
(k) The diversity of perspectives used in suggesting solutions.
(l) How flexible your solutions are to adapt to changes in the situation.
Remember that each situation introduces new facts, which require adjust¬
ment of solutions to the new situations.
248 (m) How likely it is that those who carry out your solution will succeed.
CHAPTER 9 (n) The cost in time, energy, and personnel in resolving the problem.
Solving Problems
Sometimes you discover that deriving solutions is difficult because first,
Creatively
the initial problem situation lacks sufficient details. You may have to go back
and research the problem to find more relevant details or you might have to
make critical assumptions in order to generate possible solutions. Problem sit¬
uations are not always clear. For one thing, a description of the problem con¬
tains many facts. Some of these facts are relevant to the problem itself; others
are irrelevant. You have to distinguish the relevant facts from the extraneous
facts. For another, it is possible that in describing the situation, important, if
not crucial, facts go unnoticed. These facts may not be obvious but lie hidden
by the very structure of the situation (I could not see into my snowblower, and
early disease researchers knew nothing of viruses), or they may be so distant
from the initial problem that they are ignored.
Second, your ability to generate solutions depends on your background
knowledge. The more knowledge you have, the easier it is to come up with a
diversity of workable solutions. You may recognize elements of the problem
that have arisen in other contexts, or you may be able to apply information
from other situations to the current problem. Jonas Salk, who created the first
polio vaccine, had a background investigating influenza. Although most of
you are not paid researchers, yet reading widely in newspapers, journals,
books, and magazines plays an important role in providing you with impor¬
tant background knowledge.
The goal of problem solving is to come up with a suggestion that will best
resolve the underlying problem. However, "best," is a vague term. What is it
to resolve the problem in the best way? "Best" may be measured by different
criteria in different cases. To arrive at the best solution for your underlying
problem, the solutions given in step 3 must be weighed or evaluated for their
adequacy. Since to weigh something you must have a scale, you need to have
some criteria by which you will evaluate various possible solutions to the
underlying problem. Hence:
4. Identify the criteria that you will use to decide which solution is the best or most
promising.
If you go to purchase a new dress, you do not simply enter a store and buy
the first one you see. You evaluate several dresses, if not many, for their fit,
style, color, pattern, cost, quality, and so on. Then you weigh which dress best
satisfies these criteria. Of course, the criteria themselves may not have equal
weight. If you have lots of money, cost is a small factor; for other persons cost
may be more significant than style. So even the criteria can be ranked in order
of importance.
In fixing my snowblower, deciding on the best solution required consider¬
ations of the time required for us to repair it, the cost of taking it to a repair
shop, the time that the repair shop would need to repair the machine given
that it was the height of the snow season, the cost of the repair versus the high
cost of buying a new machine, the cost of the repair versus shoveling the
snow, and the age of the snowblower. These criteria, having primarily to do
with time, energy, and cost, had to be applied to the solutions that we identi¬ 249
fied in step 3 so that we could decide what to do. In this case too we had to CHAPTER 9
rank the criteria, since my son was earning money with the snowblower and Solving Problems
there were only so many snowfalls in a season. Time meant more than cost— Creatively
within limits.
With the polio epidemics, the critical issue had to do with whether the
researchers were to find a cure or a prevention, and if prevention were sought,
whether they would use live or inactivated viruses. It was believed that live
viruses stimulated antibodies more effectively since they created the most nat¬
ural immune response. The danger was in making sure that the injected
viruses could not mutate and themselves cause the disease. Inactivated viruses
stimulated antibodies by their presence and appeared safer, since treating
viruses with heat, chemicals, or radiation would kill them. At the same time,
the viruses had to be completely inactivated while making sure that the vac¬
cine was strong enough to stimulate antibodies to prevent the disease. Further,
initial production of the viruses required the use of monkeys. But should the
process initially used be the only way to produce the live viruses, there would
not have been enough monkeys to produce enough vaccine viruses to vacci¬
nate all humans. Hence, investigators needed to develop alternative produc¬
tion procedures. Criteria for choosing between solutions included safety, effec¬
tiveness in preventing the disease, avoiding harmful side effects, implications
for other species like monkeys, and producibility in large enough quantities.
Here again creative brainstorming is the key to come up with the criteria
to evaluate potential solutions. When we deal with solutions to social and per¬
sonal problems, additional criteria for solving problems may include
(o) Humaneness of the solution.

(p) Equity and justice of the solution.
(q) Which solution has the fewest adverse side effects.
(r) The cost of the proposed solution.
(s) Whether the benefits outweigh the costs.
(t) The amount of time needed to implement the solution.
(u) Whether governmental bodies would approve the solution.
Once you have decided on the criteria you will use to evaluate your solu¬
tions, you need to
5. Evaluate your potential solutions according to the criteria developed in step 4.
In the example of my snowblower, I had to apply my criteria to my pro¬

posed solutions—order a new chain and install it ourselves, try to fix the old
chain, take the machine to a repair shop, junk the machine, get a new snow¬
blower, have a friend fix it—to see which ranked the highest overall. In the
case of polio, the research community was not of one mind on which direction
to go with the vaccine. Jonas Salk chose to go with the deactivated virus,
which in this case ultimately proved successful. For him a vaccine made from
deactivated viruses was more efficient, less costly, and certainly more effective.
You might wonder what happens when the solutions that best meet your
criteria differ from what you think deep down ought to be done to resolve the
problem. That is, your intuition about what will work or your emotions may
250 conflict with what results from a rational evaluation of the situation. Think
CHAPTER 9 about such a conflict arising when you consider dating someone who does not
Solving Problems fit certain criteria you have preestablished. It is not always easy to resolve this
Creatively disagreement between your present feelings and some preselected criteria of
the perfect mate. When critical thinkers choose to go with "their heart," they
will want to understand why they did not follow the criteria in this case. It is
not that following your heart or intuitions is wrong or disastrous; sometimes it
works out for the best. But following your heart raises questions about how
carefully you selected the criteria initially and how important the criteria are,
either individually or jointly, that were used to assess possible solutions.
This brings us to step 6 in problem solving: implement the solution. In an
academic or corporation setting, you may be required to
6a. Describe in written form the most promising solution to the Underlying Problem.
In the real world, step 6 may require you to
6b. Carry out the plan of action that you have formulated by means of steps 4 and 5.
If you are required to explain something, unless the context is otherwise,

you should not assume that your reader is as fully aware of the details of the
problem as you are. So any explanation should be clear, concise, and yet thor¬
ough. It is essential that you relate your best solution back to your statement
of the underlying problem (step 2) and indicate how it will solve that problem
in terms of the criteria you have used for evaluation, with the fewest negative
side effects. Again, one should always remember that one's best friends in
writing are Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How.
The solution on which you settle may actually be a combination of the var¬
ious solutions you have weighed, perhaps encompassing important elements
in some or all of them. The solution may be simple—take the snowblower to
the shop—or it may be complex—like creating a preventative vaccine and test¬
ing it on significant numbers of schoolchildren, or taking diverse steps to
improve the educational system so that a greater number of students gradu¬
ate. Hence, the evaluation in step 5 only provides the beginning, indicating
what you think is important to resolve the problem.
When you go through this process of problem solving, you may discover
that your solution won't work. The underlying problem may be different than
you thought it was, or the solution on which you settled may be inadequate to
the task. In fact, this is what happened with my snowblower. I measured the
chain, but it seemed the same length as the new one. So I took the machine
into the shop. The problem, it turned out, had to do with the bushings in the
ends of the auger and not with the chain at all. But I never thought (nor even
knew) about the bushings, for these were hidden from my view and hence
were not part of my list of facts to be considered. Replacing the chain our¬
selves would not have been enough to get my son back on the driveways
blowing snow.
Another possibility is that you may discover that the byproducts or side
effects of your solution are unacceptable. These other effects might turn out to
be worse than the original problem. An original vaccine, which had been suc¬
cessfully tested on twenty monkeys, turned out to be not only useless but
could produce severe alergic reactions. A vaccine developed by another 251
researcher caused a number of cases of polio and led to several deaths. Thus, CHAPTER 9
in looking at your ultimate solution you should Solving Problems
Creatively
7. Think about some implications of and objections to your solution, and how any
negative implications or objections may be avoided or overcome.
Perhaps negative side effects cannot be avoided or objections cannot be over¬

come, but at least you should be aware of possible objections, problems, or
complications. One has to be open to failure in problem solving. But having
failed, one gets back into the harness and undertakes trying again to resolve
the problem. Going back through these seven steps will help you to do a better
job in your second attempt.
As can be expected, variations in the real world will require changes in the
procedure. Yet at the same time this procedure provides a basic, helpful frame¬
work for creative problem solving.
RESOURCES
By now you are probably wondering on what resources to draw to solve your
problem. It seems that we often start solving problems either with a blank
mind (we have no idea where to go) or with one solution that precludes us
from considering all others. An essential part of problem solving is both gener¬
ating possibilities and breaking out of the rut.
Several suggestions that might assist brainstorming and problem solving
in general can be suggested.
• Get help from others.
When I needed to repair my snowblower, I called on the aid of my neighbor,

who is a much better mechanic than I. He helped remove the parts and
showed me some of the problems. But I still had to come up with the solution.
In the scenarios at the end of this chapter, you should remember that this
is a group project. Hence, you need to welcome all the ideas the group mem¬
bers put forth. Some will be good, some terrible, some wild and way out, some
seemingly so sensible. All these ideas should be considered initially. The wild
idea might be the one that works; the sensible one much too costly. Brain¬
storming means opening up to many ideas initially. As you go along, these
ideas will be altered, pared down, revised, even piggy-backed on.
• Bring in materials from your experience.
Specific examples that worked for you or others in the past are a good place to
start in solving problems. What worked in the past for you or someone else
might work in resolving your new problem. Here you are rich, for you have
had many experiences over the years on which to draw. The older you are, the
more resources from your experiences you will have. It was the rich previous
experience of working with influenza that enabled Salk to move ahead suc¬
cessfully with his polio vaccine.
252 • Research your problem and suggested solutions.
CHAPTER 9
You both can learn from the past and need not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Solving Problems
What happened in the past with similar problems can help shed light on your
Creatively
problem. With complex problems, you can bring research to bear on step 1. But
at least by step 4 it is time to see if you can locate some information on the
underlying problem. Since the underlying problem by now is well formulated,
various indexes in books, on-line services, or libraries should help you locate
articles or books on the topic. Of course, merely because a particular solution is
written down and published does not mean that it is the solution to the problem.
In fact, it might not be a solution to your problem at all. Thus, critical thinkers
bring together their own ideas with those found in their research to solve cre¬
atively the problems facing them. We addressed research resources in Chapter 8.
• Separate ideas from the persons who hold them.
This is a hard concept. We tend to think that our ideas are an extension of our¬
selves so that if they are rejected, amended, or altered, we must have been
deficient in some way. Part of the trick of brainstorming is to divorce yourself
from your ideas so that everyone is free to take the ideas and see whether they
will fly. Don't be put down if your idea is rejected; congratulate yourself on
the fact that you entertained an idea that people could consider.
Similarly, if your idea is accepted, don't be overproud, refusing to let your
idea be altered, pared down, revised, even piggy-backed on. Where you work
in groups, congratulate yourself on the fact that you entertained an idea that
people could accept, but at the same time remember that it is a group project,
where all can contribute.
SUMMING UP
This seven-step program is an ideal. As we noted, in real life you will modify
some of the steps, do some steps simultaneously, and perhaps even backtrack.
Yet this structure provides a very helpful model for solving problems, whether
simple ones like which car to buy or more difficult ones like resolving a per¬
sonnel conflict in an organization or company.
Following these seven steps does not guarantee that you will resolve the
problem. No method can assure success. But it provides one way of helping
you to understand and address the problem, to distinguish the underlying
problem from the symptoms, and to come up with possible solutions. It will
broaden your approach and encourage you to pay attention to additional fea¬
tures and to look in various places for pieces that can be used to construct
your solution.
Exercise
The following three scenarios pose problems needing resolution. Choosing
one of the scenarios, your group should follow the steps developed in this
chapter to arrive at what it thinks provides the best solution to the underlying
problem it identifies. Each individual in the group should be equally involved
in the project. Since some of this project probably will have to be done outside
of class, you may need to arrange a time when you can get together to com¬ 253
plete the project. CHAPTER 9
Solving Problems
Step 1: In critical thinking, before you can deal with a situation, you must Creatively
identify the problems or causes to be addressed. Only when the problems have
been clearly identified can solutions begin. Thoroughly read and discuss the
scenario that you have chosen or been assigned. Brainstorm and list as many
problems or causes in the assigned scenario as you can. Select the ten that you
think are the most important. Write out your ten problems or causes clearly
and thoroughly, giving a one paragraph description for each.
Consider the scenario from a variety of perspectives, which may include
1. arts and aesthetics

2. basic needs
3. business, commerce, economics
4. education
5. environment
6. ethics and religion
7. government and politics
8. law and justice
9. physical health
10. psychological health
11. recreation
12. social relationships
13. technology
14. transportation
Criteria for grading step 1:
Clarity of stating the problems

Problems, not solutions, clearly indentified
Relevance of the problems to the scenario
Diversity of perspectives used in stating the problems
Originality
Good writing
Step 2: The Underlying Problem. Based on the problems you listed in step 1,
identify the underlying problem in the scenario. It should be the one that, if
solved, may solve many of the other problems you listed in step 1. (It may be
one of the ten, though probably it will be a problem that underlies several of
the problems noted in step 1.) Write a paragraph clearly developing this
underlying problem and showing how it relates to the ten problems listed in
step 1. Step 2 is crucial, for all else that you do hangs on how well you identify
this underlying problem.
Relevance of underlying problem to the situation posed

Clarity and specificity of the problem
254 Distinguishes the underlying problem from the symptoms
CHAPTER 9 A focus narrow enough to be specific but broad enough to encompass
Solving Problems
the problems that arise in the scenario
Creatively
Step 3: Brainstorm as many solutions as you can to your underlying prob¬

lem. List the five most promising solutions. Each solution should address all of
the aspects of the underlying problem. Write a paragraph for each solution,
stating WHO will carry out WHAT action, HOW it will be done, WHERE and
WHEN this solution will take place, and WHY it will solve the problem.
Again, be aware of diverse categories or perspectives from which a solution to
the underlying problem may be generated. Solutions should be definite pro¬
posals rather than possibilities. Specificity and thoroughness are important.
Clarity of solutions
Relevance to the situation
Diversity of perspectives the solutions represent
Flexibility of viewpoints
Elaboration
Adequacy to the story
Specificity and completeness
Likely to succeed
Originality
Good writing
Step 4: Identify the criteria by which you will decide which solution is the
best or most promising. Brainstorm all the criteria you can think of and choose
the five that you believe are most relevant and important. Each criterion
should address a single dimension of the problem. Put these five in the form of
a question. For example, which solution is the most cost effective? Which solu¬
tion is most humane? In which solution would the people who need the help
voluntarily participate?
Relevance and applicability of the criteria

Ability of the criteria to be scaled
Step 5: Evaluate the five solutions according to the criteria developed in

step 4. Construct a chart listing your solutions in a horizontal row at the top
and the criteria for evaluation in a vertical column on the left. Each member of
your group should rank the solutions numerically from 1 (best) to 5 (least
acceptable) according to each of the criteria; enter the number in the appropri¬
ate cell on the chart. Then tally the total points for each solution on your chart
and combine your individual rankings into a group evaluation.
Step 6: Present your primary solution. Write a three to four page essay
describing the most promising or best solution (either the one that received the
lowest score in step 5, a combination of the top vote getters, or perhaps some 255
underlying solution). Develop and explain your solution. Include a descrip¬ CHAPTER 9
tion of your plan of action for carrying out the solution. Make sure that you Solving Problems
relate your best solution back to the original story and your statement of the Creatively
underlying problem. Show how it will solve that problem.

You might consider some of the following concerns: Who will be
involved? What actions will be taken? When and where will the plan be car¬
ried out? How might obstacles be overcome? You should assume that your
instructor is unfamiliar with the discussion of the problem and so be clear and
concise, yet thorough in your written description.
Relevance of your solution to the described scenario

Strength and clarity of the arguments supporting your view
Depth of your insight into the problem
Effectiveness of your solution
Creativity
Awareness of difficulties in implementing the solution
Impact of your solution
Humaneness of your solution
Good writing
Step 7: Identify either three possible negative side effects or three objections
to your solution. Show either how the side effects will not occur or how they
can be handled. Provide a reasonable response to the objections, showing how
they may be overcome.
Step 8: Theater. On the final day of the group project, your group will be
given ten minutes to act out a short play that demonstrates your chosen solu¬
tion. Plan the theater ahead of time and bring to class whatever props you
want to use in the play. Before the play, read your underlying problem to the
class and present a brief (one paragraph) summary of your primary solution.
Relevance of the play to the underlying problem and primary solution

How well the play communicates the solution
Creativity
SCENARIOS: PROBLEM SOLVING INACTION

Scenario 1: Racial Conflict
In the warm summer of the year 2015 a group of forty youths carrying base¬
ball bats and golf clubs jumped out of their electric cars as they drove past a
low-income apartment complex inhabited by members of a minority group.
Many of the minority kids who lived there ran away, but one young boy was
caught and badly beaten, losing teeth and suffering a concussion.
256 Several other incidents followed in which the All-American Boys gang
CHAPTER 9
attacked and beat members of minority groups wherever they could find
Solving Problems them. These groups, in return, formed gangs to defend themselves. In fact,
Creatively members of the minority group were accused of attacking members of the
majority group in similarly vicious fashion.
Townsville is a midwestern community of about 100,000. In the past the
city was racially uniform, populated largely by people of the upper and mid¬
dle class. Its main industries are medical technology and delivery of health
care, high-tech computer manufacturing, and telecommunications. Until
recently it had one of the lowest rates of crime in the country, an excellent
health care system, low unemployment, and was recognized nationally as an
outstanding city in which to live.
In the five years prior to the gang attacks, a fairly large number of people
representing two different racial minorities moved into the city looking for
work and economic opportunity. They were attracted by the city's good pay¬
ing jobs and reputation for excellent schools and safety. About half of the
immigrants are foreign born. The result has been a significant increase in racial
tension, with gangs of youths beating up members of the other communities.
Crime has increased, police have been assigned to the schools, school perfor¬
mance has deteriorated, and citizens are afraid to venture out at night. The
city has also begun to develop segregated housing patterns based on race, eth¬
nicity, and class.
When the police cracked down on marauding youth, members of the
minority communities accused the police force, staffed wholly by members of
the majority community, with harassment and discrimination in intervening in
the racial conflicts. The police defended themselves by saying they were doing
their best to control a bad, tense situation. All members of the police force
have undergone sensitivity training in the last five years.
The mayor convened a blue-ribbon panel of persons representing various
populations of the community, of which you are a member. Your task is to iso¬
late the key problem and draw up a program for resolving it so as to restore
peace, safety, harmony, opportunity, and prosperity to the community.
Scenario 2: Educational Challenges

In the year 2015 the State Board of Education was authorized by the legislature
to institute high school graduation requirements in reading, writing, mathe¬
matics, social science, and science. This was in response to a perceived pro¬
gressive deterioration in the ACT and SAT test scores of the high school jun¬
iors across the state and to complaints from business leaders that those
applying for jobs in the state had a high degree of functional illiteracy in
English and mathematical incompetence. The results of the first state-wide
tests given to ninth graders shocked the community. In the large urban areas
of the state, only about 45 percent of the ninth graders passed the four tests.
The suburban areas did better, though the percentage of students passing still
hovered at about 78 percent. Only in some of the affluent suburbs and in about
a quarter of the rural areas did students consistently do better than 85 percent
passing.
When these figures were analyzed, the educators discovered that the fail¬ 257
ure rate correlated with a number of other figures, including those of students CHAPTER 9
receiving free school lunches, of students from single-parent working families, Solving Problems
of students with special learning needs, and of recent immigrants from non- Creatively
English speaking countries. It was also the case that schools that had inte¬
grated students with special, severe learning disabilities into their regular
classes had lower passing rates. At the same time, schools with PTA organiza¬
tions and heavy parental involvement in the schools reported markedly better
results, regardless of their economic status.
In 2015 the schools in the urban areas have 65 percent minority enroll¬
ment, while those in the inner ring of suburbs have 35 percent minority enroll¬
ment. Proportions similar to those holding between urban and suburban
apply to single-parent versus two-parent families and to those receiving and
not receiving free school lunches. In the rural areas minority populations vary
depending on location, with some school districts having a much higher per¬
centage of minorities and foreign immigrants than others. This results from
immigration over the years from nonwestern countries and migrant laborers
now establishing residence. The minorities are both native English and non-
English speakers.
The governor of the state has assembled a blue-ribbon commission, of
which you are a part, to discuss ways of improving the test performance and
the graduation skills of the students in the state. Your task is to isolate the fun¬
damental problem and suggest measures to address it so as to improve the
overall education in the state.
Scenario 3: Environmental Damage

In the second half of the twentieth century, the size of American forests, partic¬
ularly in the East, increased dramatically; in some areas it approached the size
found by the early European settlers. At the same time, however, the health of
the eastern forests declined substantially. By the year 2020 some species such as
the hickories, which generally don't begin to produce viable seedlings until
they are 150 years old, are practically extinct. Butternut trees are succumbing to
the butternut canker, oak trees to oak wilt, and pine trees to various infestations
of bark beetles and diseases. The forests are filled with dead and dying trees,
the food of insects and fungi. Hence, what looks healthy and thriving from a
distance is in ecological ruin when you investigate up close.
The worst degradation occurs on the higher slopes of the forests, where
the winds blowing over the industrial centers and tall smokestacks of power
plants of the West and Midwest waft across the forests. Population growth and
a robust economy in the midwestern and especially the western states have
encouraged significant industrial growth, particularly in the petrochemical
industry. This expansion has fueled an increased industrial and residential
demand for electricity. At the same time, public resistance to nuclear power
plants out of fear of a nuclear accident encouraged utility companies to build
and maintain coal-burning power plants. Local pollution control regulations
require that industries and power plants construct tall smokestacks to disperse
the pollutants by the upper wind patterns away from local communities.
258 Chemical analysis of tree rings reveals increased absorption of toxic metals
CHAPTER 9 like barium, cadmium, zinc, lead, and copper. Many of the lakes in the region
Solving Problems are empty of life because of their high sulfuric acid content.
Creatively The result has been a severe decline in animal and bird population in the
eastern forests. Some species, such as the white-tailed deer, thrive, since the
dying trees allow more sunlight to penetrate the forest, enabling low vegeta¬
tion needed for forage to grow. Deer overpopulation, however, contributes to
the further destruction of the forest, since they eat both bushes and young
saplings. Further, the increased run-off that results when the trees can no
longer hold the soil in place and when the deer have overgrazed certain areas
pollutes the streams so that fish and other aquatic populations are in serious
jeopardy.
Lumber companies have lobbied state and federal governments to allow
them to harvest the dead and dying trees, arguing that they present a serious
fire danger. They maintain that lumbering would also bring additional jobs
and revenue to communities in the region. At the same time, environmental¬
ists have lobbied against harvesting, responding that new forest roads and
forestry practices would further debilitate the soils and increase erosion and
discourage conservation-minded recreational use of the forests.
The President has appointed a blue-ribbon commission, of which you are
a member, to identify the main problem and to suggest the best plan of
addressing it, a plan that the President can get through a Congress controlled
by members of the opposition party.
Notes
1. Alex F. Osborn, Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative Problem
Solving (Buffalo: Creative Education Foundation, 1993).
CHAPTER 10
Evaluation
Assessing the Strength of Inductive Arguments
At last we come to the major goal of critical thinking, namely, to be in a posi¬

tion to evaluate expressed opinions. We have learned how to discover and
comprehend people's opinions when expressed as claims, to discover and ana¬
lyze the reasoning behind opinions, and to synthesize them to resolve prob¬
lems in creative ways. Now we investigate how to decide whether a person is
justified in holding certain opinions or believing particular claims—the sixth
and final step in our structure of critical thinking.
BOSS, DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE THEN WHY DON’T YOU PAY BECAUSE THEN YOU COULD
l‘M GETTING PAID WHAT ME A LITTLE MORE 60 AROUND SAYING I’M
I'M WORTH •> ‘ NOT WORTH WHAT
HY SHOULD M-
1 DO THAT?
Source: BLONDIE. Reprinted with special permission of King Feature Syndicate, Inc.
What premise do both Dagwood and his boss Mr. Dithers accept?
What would each conclude from that same premise?
259
260 Do they conclude the same thing? Why or why not?
CHAPTER 10
Assessing the
Strength of Inductive
Arguments
Which conclusion appears to be the most reasonable? Why do you say
that?
This last question asks you to evaluate. We certainly are no strangers to

evaluation. Often when we read a book or article or listen to a talk, we focus
on evaluation. Frequently our first questions are these: Is that true? Why
should I believe that? Sometimes we are skeptical about what the person says
and may even have the opportunity to ask the person Jto "prove it."
But what basis do we use to make our evaluation? If speakers or writers
agree with our position, we tend to think that what they say must be true, well
argued, and worthy of attention. If they disagree with us, we tend quickly to
reject what they say or tune them out without further exploration. A human
response is to use our own opinions or beliefs as standards to test the ade¬
quacy of other views.
But possibly our own views are incorrect; perhaps they too need critical
evaluation. Hence, it is risky to judge others' views solely on the grounds that
they agree or fail to agree with our own views. We need to look for better rea¬
sons to accept or reject the views of others.
Critical thinkers adopt an open mind about other positions. They first try
to understand and comprehend what is said; then they seek out the reasoning
behind the position advanced. Only after they understand others' opinions
and their basis do critical thinkers evaluate those opinions. They do not judge
opinions without looking at the evidence for and against those opinions. They
bring their experience, knowledge, understanding, and critical evaluation
skills to bear on what they are asked to believe.
Chapters 10 through 12 aim to assist you in this difficult but important
task of evaluation. They look at questions of truth, the reliability of sources,
the cogency of arguments, and the validity of arguments in order to help you
determine when you are justified in believing a claim. When you complete
these chapters, you should have a better understanding of what makes an
argument cogent or valid and of what fallacies or bad reasoning to avoid.
DETERMINING THE TRUTH OF STATEMENTS
People can legitimately differ over whether a claim is true or not and to what
degree they believe it to be true or false. This is nowhere more evident than in
the areas of politics, religion, and morals. That the latest crime bill will end
narcotics crime, that current economic policies are expanding the gap in stan¬
dards of living among segments of our society, that a creator-God exists, that a
woman should have the right to terminate her pregnancy, that integrity of
character is relevant to job performance—all these claims would be hotly
debated in certain quarters. People appeal to their experience, authorities, and 261
diverse arguments to come to different conclusions. But these are not the only CHAPTER 10
areas where opinions are disputed. Indeed, there is hardly a subject about Assessing the
which differences in knowledge and viewpoint will not lead people to make Strength of Inductive
Arguments
different truth claims. Hence, while there may be unanimity about the truth of
a few opinions, with many others disagreement (sometimes heated) reigns.
The ultimate task of critical thinking is to decide whether a statement or
claim is true or false. In trying to decide, critical thinkers look at a variety of
things. They
• Check their experience

• Review their background knowledge
• Ask others for their opinions
• Consult authorities
• Construct arguments
• Conduct research
• Review the research of others.
Some of our knowledge comes from direct experience. We have experiences

and on this basis believe that some statements are true. For example, I know
the statement "It is raining outside" is true because I look out my window and
see drops of water on the driveway. Or again, I believe the statement "I ate an
omelet for breakfast" is true because I saw the omelet, ate it, and recall doing
so. I need not argue for the truth of this statement about my breakfast; my
experience of eating the omelet is sufficient to establish its truth.
We must be careful here. From the fact that we experience something, it
does not follow that the way we interpret or describe it necessarily is the way
it really is. Consider, for example, the time when you drove down a road on a
hot summer day, and in a dip in the road ahead you saw water. When you
arrived at the dip there was no water; what you saw was an illusion produced
by the sun and the heat on the dark pavement. In the omelet example, the
statement that I ate an omelet for breakfast presupposes the accuracy of my
senses and my memory, both of which are fallible. Similarly, the fact that we do
not experience something does not mean that statements about what we have
not experienced are not true. More is the case than we have experienced.
Hence, though our experience is relevant to the truth of statements, it is nei¬
ther necessary for a statement's truth (a statement can be true regardless of
whether we have experienced it) nor always sufficient (our experience might
be wrong). It will be sufficient when we have reason to think that our senses
and memory are acting properly.
Another way of determining truth is to consult your background knowledge.
Over the years you have acquired a store of information that provides a good
data base from which to make judgments about whether claims are true or
false. The better your background knowledge, the better positioned you are to
decide the truth of new claims. For example, suppose you are asked, "What
factors contributed to the Crusades?" Probably you have never been exposed
to the question. So if asked whether it is true that inheritance customs in
Europe contributed significantly to the Crusades, you might say that, given
what you know, the truth value of this statement is unknown to you. At the
262 same time, those who have studied medieval history probably would have
CHAPTER 10 known that the statement is true. This example illustrates the claim that peo¬
Assessing the ple with richer or broader backgrounds are often in a better position to deter¬
Strength of Inductive mine the truth or falsity of new statements they encounter.
Arguments
Again, this background information may be mistaken; what you think you
know may not be knowledge at all. However, it provides an important
resource for assessing the truth of new claims.
Another option is to ask friends, acquaintances, or authorities for their opin¬
ions. Sometimes this provides a reliable source of information; at other times it
proves unreliable. The reliability of the information depends in part on the
experiences and knowledge of the persons consulted. Yesterday my neighbor
asked me whom I might recommend to reshingle his roof. Some years ago he
noticed that I had mine reshingled and wondered whether I would recom¬
mend that person. I might have replied, "B. P. is a good shingler because he
did my roof well." Whether B. P. is a good shingler or not depends on many
things, including whether B. P/s work on my roof represents his work in gen¬
eral. My neighbor may want to consult others, including authorities like the
Better Business Bureau, before he hires a roofer.
Research likewise extends our knowledge. We may conduct our own
research, in which case what we learn is dependent on our own experience. Or
we may consult others' research, in which case we rely on the opinions of oth¬
ers who often claim to be authorities. Thus, research piggy-backs on the other
ways of determining truth.
Arguments also provide a way of determining truth. If we are interested in
establishing the truth of a statement, we might infer it from other statements
that we take to be true. In arguments we move from the more known to the
less known. As we noted in Chapter 7, deductive arguments establish conclu¬
sions with certainty, while inductive arguments establish conclusions with
varying degrees of probability. Chapter 12 takes up the evaluation of deduc¬
tive arguments. This chapter concentrates on inductive reasoning.
COGENCY IN INDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS
In Chapter 7 we noted that an inductive argument is cogent when its premises
(1) are true,

(2) are relevant to the conclusion, and
(3) provide good reason to think that the conclusion is true.
In contrast to deductive arguments, the premises of inductive arguments do

not necessitate, but only make probable, the conclusion. Inductive arguments
yield probability, not certainty. Hence, we are justified in believing the con¬
cluding statement to be probably true when the argument is cogent, though it
remains possible that despite the evidence the conclusion is false.
In the next four sections we explore how to evaluate the cogency of argu¬
ments from authority, generalizations, analogies, and causal inferences.
Arguments from Authority 263
CHAPTER 10
Chapter 8 discussed the importance of determining the reliability of the
Assessing the
authors of our sources. Sometimes we consider those authors to be authorities. Strength of Inductive
Authorities play a significant, indeed necessary, role in our lives. To discover Arguments
what needs to be done, to get things done, or to learn the truth, we rely on the
word of authorities, for each of us has serious limits. None of us possesses all
the knowledge required to make our machines, grow our crops, repair our
vehicles, survey our property, defend ourselves in a court of law, invest in a
stock, and build bridges.
When I am sick I visit my physician. He studies my symptoms, suggests
the cause of my illness, and proposes some remedies. I could inquire about the
basis of his statements and then proceed to investigate his claims. In the
course of the investigation, I might seek a second opinion. But then I have
traded one authority's opinion for another. To have a second opinion can
sometimes be good, for authorities can be mistaken or unsure of their diagno¬
sis. But most of the time I choose to accept my physician's assessment of my
illness and prescriptions for its treatment. I find this to be the most effective
and efficient way to handle my medical problems.
Though we need to rely on authorities, the difficult problem arises about
how to identify reliable authorities. How can I find a reliable dentist, auto
mechanic, lawyer, salesperson, beautician, politician, minister, teacher, realtor,
or insurance salesperson? Looking in the Yellow Pages is one place to begin,
but this does not provide a very reliable way to find a trustworthy authority.
Anyone who has sufficient funds can advertise, name their company
AAAWhatever, or place a fancy boxed ad to catch the consumer's attention.
The Yellow Pages lists candidates to help me, but it fails to sort among them
for reliable performance.
Six factors may be considered in your search for an authority whom you
can trust.
• Is the authority properly qualified? What training has she or he had in the
specialty? Has the person continued training to remain current with the
latest information? To ascertain this, look for diplomas, certificates, or ask
the person about his or her training.
Several years ago I took some students on a trip to visit archaeological sites in
Mexico and Guatemala. In the course of our trip, one person so severely shat¬
tered his elbow that I had to take him to the hospital in Guatemala City. The
surgeon called me to his office to discuss the case. When I entered his office, I
quickly scanned the diplomas on the walls to ascertain where the surgeon was
educated, how recently, and what his expertise was. I wanted some evidence
of his qualifications before I would allow him to perform surgery on the
injured person.
• Is the authority commenting on his or her area of expertise?
If the person is an authority on the cinema, is he or she commenting on the

cinema or advertising some wine to be purchased?
264 • Does the person have something to gain personally from what he or she
CHAPTER 10 says?
Assessing the
A "yes" answer would not necessarily exclude someone from being a reliable
Arguments authority. People properly develop an expertise in an area to make money. But
you have to determine whether personal reward is the primary reason the
authority makes the particular recommendation and whether this reward may
affect the truthfulness of the claims made. For example, why is the baseball
star promoting a brand of shoes with his name on them?
• What kinds of experiences have other people had with the alleged author¬
ity? Did the authority perform competently for them?
Here you might consult your friends, neighbors, the Better Business Bureau,
and other individuals in the community.
• How long has the person been in that occupation or business?
On the whole, persons who have practiced their trade or profession success¬
fully for a long time are more likely to be authorities. Presumably, they have
had many different experiences and consequently have developed the expert¬
ise to cope with novel situations. However, this rule of thumb must be tem¬
pered, for people setting up new businesses might possess more up-to-date
information or training and hence be more authoritative on what is necessary
to solve your problem.
• What has the person accomplished in his or her field? Can you observe
what he or she has created, made, or repaired? What is the quality of the
craftsmanship or service rendered?
In certain fields it is appropriate to ask what people have done, published, or

created to demonstrate their expertise. In other fields you might look for prac¬
tical problem solving or creativity or for how they have performed the service
they offer.
The appeal to authority generates an argument of the following sort.
Smith is an authority in her field.

Smith says that such and such is true.
Therefore such and such is probably true.
Appeals to authority are inductive arguments. We have noted that in inductive

arguments we can accept the premises as true while still denying the conclu¬
sion. In appeals to authority, we could accept what the authority said, but
since the authority could be wrong, even when speaking about his or her own
field, the conclusion is at best probably true. There are degrees of probability,
however, so that qualified people speaking in their field have a greater chance
of speaking the truth than people who are less well qualified, who have, for
example, weaker training and less experience.
Though at times this inductive argument from authority is cogent, at other
times it contains a fallacy. A fallacy occurs when an argument breaks a rule or
where the premises fail to support the conclusion. In constructing arguments, it is
important to avoid fallacies. Fallacious arguments are useless to critical 265
thinkers, though they might be persuasive to others. CHAPTER 10
The Fallacy of Appeal to an Unqualified Authority occurs when some¬ Assessing the
one asks you to accept a statement as true or to take a certain action because Strength of Inductive
someone who is an actual or alleged authority has said so, but the actual or Arguments
alleged authority is commenting on a subject about which he or she is not

qualified to speak. That person may not be an authority at all, or that person
may be an authority in a specific area but not in the area on which he or she is
commenting. In the last case, what the arguer is hoping is that you will
extend or transfer that person's credibility from one realm to another so that
you will accept the statement or take an action recommended (such as pur¬
chase a product).
For example, an advertisement for a particular brand of hair care product
featuring three pictures of the model Cheryl Tiegs, ends with the statement:
"Clairesse . . . because I love the look." The advertisement is signed, "Cheryl
Tiegs." Here someone who knows something about modeling is asked to
endorse a product that is tangently related to her area of expertise, while the
advertiser hopes that her endorsement will persuade you to purchase the
product. A similar expectation is set up when, in an entirely different ad,
Cheryl Tiegs endorses an Olympus camera. "Cheryl Tiegs praises her favorite
model [note the ambiguity of meaning]. Cheryl: Once I get going, I can talk
about the Olympus OM-IO all day." The fact that she poses in front of cameras
does not make her an authority on single lens reflex cameras, or even cameras
in general.
Advertisers also like to use sports figures to market their products. A cur¬
rent favorite is the former basketball superstar Michael Jordan. In an ad for
Ball Park Franks, Michael Jordan holds a half-eaten hot dog under the caption,
"It's not really summer Til you have your ball park. Put summer in play
Michael's way. With big, juicy, nothing-else-like'em Ball Park Franks."
Although he is surely an authority on playing professional basketball and per¬
haps even of playing professional baseball, he has no special expertise on the
subject of hot dogs.
Sometimes the connection between the authority and the product is very
strained. Several years ago Dewar's Whiskies ran a series of ads that featured
ordinary people who plugged the Dewar brand. For example, "Dewar's Pro¬
files: Ed Silvers. Home: Los Angeles, California. Age: 39. Profession: Music
Publisher. Hobbies: Sailing, collecting antiques. Last Accomplishment: Bring¬
ing to life a large, dormant music publishing company. . . . Scotch: Dewar's
'White Label.' "The fact that Ed Silvers knows something about the music
business and has succeeded in it does not make him an authority on scotch.
That he drinks and recommends a specific brand provides no relevant reason
for you to use it.
Sometimes the names of the authority are not used, only the title. For
example, an advertisement for Mercury automobiles proclaims, "44 out of
50 airline pilots judge Mercury more comfortable to drive than a $31,000 Rolls
Royce. The jury: 50 commercial airline pilots—professionals with acute sensi¬
tivity to motion, vibration, and noise." But though pilots would be authorities
on piloting planes, they are not necessarily authorities especially suited or
266 more qualified than others to judge whether one automobile excels over
CHAPTER 10 another in smoothness of ride, steadiness, ease of handling, and quietness. Of
Assessing the course, they are not unqualified either. The question you must raise is whether
Strength of Inductive the fact that pilots and automobile drivers both "drive" motored vehicles sub¬
Arguments
ject to noise and vibration makes the pilots specially qualified to comment on
certain characteristics of cars.
It is not always easy to discern whether the person is an authority in the
area on which he or she is commenting. When a basketball player promotes a
certain brand of shoe, a skier a certain brand of skis, a business traveler a
brand of suitcase, a model a brand of make-up, we might think that these per¬
sons should know something about the things they use. But consider all the
things you use. Does using something make you an authority about that item?
Are you, by using it, an expert on its construction? Probably not. Special edu¬
cation or carefully tested experience is needed to make a person an authority.
It is this added dimension that results in the specialized knowledge that you
want to look for when an authority tells you that you should believe or do
something because he or she says so.
One final point. Why do advertisers in particular use fallacious argu¬
ments when they probably know these arguments are fallacious? The
answer is that there is a difference between cogency and persuasiveness. Peo¬
ple who give arguments or evidence want to persuade you to think or act in
a certain way. Advertisers want you to purchase their product; why else
would they pay millions of dollars to sports stars or Hollywood personali¬
ties to endorse their products? For them it is persuasiveness, not cogency,
that matters. It is up to you as a critical thinker to resist the persuasive
appeal in order to assess the cogency of the argument. When you evaluate
the reasons presented to you to do something, act in a particular way, or
buy a product or service, you utilize the highest level of critical thinking
skills: critical evaluation.
Exercise 1
First, identify the conclusion of each argument. Second, identify the authori¬
ties to whom the author appeals. Finally, using the criteria suggested in this
section, tell which of the following arguments commit the Fallacy of Unquali¬
fied Authority and explain why they do.
A. 1. Ad with a picture of a Ford Taurus and the claim, TALK ABOUT A

SAFE INVESTMENT. "It's important to believe my family's safe." Wes¬
ley Howard, loyal Ford owner. "It feels safe. It gives me peace of
mind." Jay Seifer, former import owner. "I feel safe in this car." Ann
Kimble, former import owner. "I feel like I'm getting a safe, solid, valu¬
able ride." Dennis Bryant, former import owner. (Advertisement)
2. "I don't skimp on nutrition. That's why Tang is on my table."—says

research psychologist Jennifer Macleod. When large corporations have
people problems they turn to Jennifer Macleod. She's a private consult¬
ant with a Ph.D. in Research Psychology. (Advertisement)
3. A recent technique, just coming into widespread use, measures minute

changes in the amount of oxygen in blood vessels in the brain. Known
as functional magnetic resonance imaging, ... it lights up areas that 267
are active during some mental processes, such as seeing, calculating or CHAPTER 10
remembering. . . . "These new imaging techniques provide a window Assessing the
into the brain," Dr. Joseph Coyle, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Strength of Inductive
Arguments
medical school, said. . . . "For the first time, they permit us to docu¬
ment individual brain functions (and) can lead to drugs and other
interventions." (Robert S. Boyd, "New Techniques Allow Scientists to
'Map' Brain," St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 9,1997).
4. "French Colombard from Ernest and Julio Gallo is a richly rewarding

experience. It will surely be one of the finest wines you have ever
tasted." signed, Peter Ustino, film director. (Advertisement)
5. There's nothing upright about Central Park West star Lauren Hutton or
the character she plays, Linda Fairchild Rush. Who else has what it
takes to make us believe that "bohemian socialite" is not an impossible
contradiction? Here, she wears a wool suit that fits a relaxed attitude
without compromising professional style. Wool is a favorite. You can
dress up or down; it's all in the way you wear it. (Advertisement)
6. I challenge you to get more lather with Zest Body Wash. Craig "Iron
Head" Heyward, NFL Running Back. (Advertisement)
7. [Picture showing a woman holding flowers, standing in front of her

home.] Beverly Hills: Insured by Loremost. "I depend on AARP Mobile
Home Insurance Program for security I can afford and the service is excel¬
lent." Melba Beverly, Marietta, Ga. Give your mobile home the VTP treat¬
ment. In the flowing hills of Marietta, Georgia, Melba Beverly is all smiles.
She enjoys the affordable security of AARP Mobil Home Insurance Pro¬
gram, provided by the Foremost Insurance Group. (Advertisement)
8. Our members know why they belong. Peter Max: Artist. Interests: Cre¬
ating the universe. Passions: Creating new images, inventing color
combinations and rising artwork for good. Lifestyle: Holistic living,
Macrobiotic diet. Working out regularly. Yoga, Taking time to serve oth¬
ers and the planet. Sports Club/NY. The finest sports and fitness com¬
plex in the world. (Advertisement)
9. Photo with a woman holding a puppy. "She got her healthy start on
Pedigree Puppy food long before she was even born." Dr. Pran Smith,
Veterinarian & Top Breeder of Champion Labrador Retrievers. "This lit¬
tle girl is only 16 days old, but she's been getting the nutritional bene¬
fits of Pedigree Puppy for 11 weeks already. That's because I fed her
mom Pedigree Puppy all through her pregnancy. I wouldn't raise my
puppies on anything else." (Advertisement)
10. "The next century will be the golden age of sea power," predicts Admi¬
ral Donald Pillig, vice-chief of US Naval Operations. (Christian Science
Monitor, December 2,1997)
B. Return to the two case studies used in Chapter 1. Which of the individuals
appealed to as witnesses or authorities in the respective cases are reliable
and why?
268 Generalizations
CHAPTER 10
A second kind of inductive argument is a generalization. In a generalization,
Assessing the
Strength of Inductive the arguer infers a conclusion about all or a certain percentage of a group from
Arguments information about a select sample. We discussed generalizations in detail in
Chapter 7. Our concern here is to determine when a generalization is cogent
and when it has committed a fallacy.
The basic rule for a generalization is this: the stronger the sample, the more
cogent the argument. An argument commits the Fallacy of Hasty Generaliza¬
tion when it draws a conclusion from an inadequate sample. What we need to
address is what makes a sample adequate and when the sample is so weak or
inadequate that the generalization drawn from it is fallacious.
A good sample must satisfy several conditions. First, it must be of an ade¬
quate size. As we noted in Chapter 7, the larger the sample, the smaller the
margin of sampling error. A sampling error is the difference between how fre¬
quently the characteristic occurs in the sample and how frequently it occurs in
the group about which we make the generalization. For example, if a sample
showed that 51 percent of Americans would vote for a Democratic candidate
for president, the prediction is that the number who actually vote that way in
the election will be within so many percentage points of this 51 percent. A
sample of 100 yields a margin of error of +/- 11 percentage points (a range of
22 percent). A sample of 1,500 yields a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage
points (a range of 6 percent). Whereas investigating a sample above 1,500
might not be cost effective (that is, the cost of increased sampling does not sig¬
nificantly reduce the margin of error), reducing samples below a certain size
greatly increases the margin of error and thereby the chances of making a sam¬
pling error. At some point the sample is too small to adequately ground an
inference, and an argument with too few samples may commit the Fallacy of
Hasty Generalization.
Consider the following letter to a college newspaper, which we used as an
exercise earlier in the book.
To refute some of the claims made in last week's editorial I will present some
of my own evaluations from my experiences on the college board plan. In
evaluation, I looked for tastiness, appearance, and cost of the food, cleanli¬
ness, and politeness and friendliness of the kitchen staff. I found that the food
tasted very good and appeared very attractive. The cooks are so concerned
about the attractiveness of their food that they wipe off any soup that drips
down the side of each cup before presenting it to someone . . . All in all, the
college has a quality food service that is deserving of praise from our news¬
paper rather than scorn. (Neil Pauluk, letter. Echo, February 22,1974)
The sample here is very small, namely, this one person's experience during
one week between when the editorial was printed and the time he wrote his
letter in reply. The generalization the author makes seems very hasty, based on
an inadequate sample.
You might have noticed that I said that an argument with a small sample
may commit the Fallacy of Hasty Generalization. There are cases where we
may be safe in making a generalization based on a few instances. For example,
if I am trying out a new drug on mice, and the first five mice I give it to die
immediately from convulsions, it is probably safe to conclude that every
mouse would die from convulsions if I administered the drug to them—and I 269
need not risk my entire batch of test animals on a worthless experiment. CHAPTER 10
Sample size for small groups also presents problems. That is why, for Assessing the
example, surveys of small classes in school are not very helpful unless you get Strength of Inductive
Arguments
a complete response (in which case you no longer have a generalization but a
complete enumeration). If you survey a class of ten students, for example, and
get responses from seven, the margin of error is very great. Since you have no
assurance that the answers from the seven represent those of the three who
did not take or return the survey, it is difficult to draw reliable conclusions
from such a sample.
As you can see, although there are figures that give us set ranges for mar¬
gin of error, a more individual dimension also is present. How large is the
group about which you are generalizing? What characteristics are being gener¬
alized? In each case the critical thinker has to ponder what would be a good
sample size to justify making the generalization and evaluating it as cogent.
Sometimes the audience is not given enough information to know how
good the sample is. Consider this advertisement.
Discover the medically proven way to lose weight. In universities across the
country, clinical studies prove four out of five people lost weight successfully
with Dexatrim. In fact, no other weight-loss product has more published clini¬
cal and medical studies than Dexatrim to prove it works.
Before we run out to purchase Dexatrim to lose weight, as critical thinkers we

would want more evidence. The advertisement lists no studies to enable the
reader to follow up the claims made. The claims may be true, but the critical
thinker in not in a position to know.
Second, every member of the population under study must be given an equal
chance to be sampled. Hence, the sample must be random. Otherwise, the sam¬
ple may be biased and not yield accurate results about the population.
A classic example was the Chicago Tribune's sample of potential voters in
the 1948 presidential election. The newspaper sent poll takers into the suburbs
in the afternoon to sample how people were voting. It then reported, in a
famous erroneous headline, that Thomas Dewey won the presidential election,
though in fact Harry Truman did. The problem was that the newspaper's sam¬
ple was not random but biased: it favored suburban, nonworking women,
who tended to vote Republican in the election.
A truly random sample is not easy to attain. Many popular polling meth¬
ods fail this test. Standing outside the Student Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and
stopping every tenth person is not a random sample of the entire college pop¬
ulation, because it omits students who have classes or work at that time. Polls
in shopping malls often have similar defects. On one hand, if the poll-takers
are attempting to generalize about the entire population, they are sampling
only those who shop in malls at the time they sample. On the other hand, if
they are generalizing only about shoppers in malls during the hours they are
polling, then by stopping every fifteenth shopper their poll may satisfy the cri¬
terion of randomness. In short, whether the sample is random enough
depends in part on the population about which a person wants to generalize.
Similar problems arise with questionnaires mailed out, inserted into mag¬
azines, or stuffed in college post office boxes. Since only a certain percentage
270 of those polled return the questionnaires, the resulting sample is not random.
Those who have strong opinions about the matter, pro or con, have a greater
Assessing the tendency to take the time to respond, whereas those with weak or no opinions
Strength of Inductive do not bother. Hence, the return, which is usually low on such polling tech-
Arguments niques, often provides an unrepresentative sample from which to generalize.
Third, the approach taken to the sample should be unbiased. For example, criti¬
cal thinkers pay attention to how the questions are phrased. They look for a
possible bias in the questionnaire that reveals the questioner's wishes or pre¬
dispositions. Here is an example from a student survey on sexual attitudes.
Can you determine the questionnaire's bias?
This questionnaire is designed to measure the way you feel about sexual behavior. It is not a test, so
there are no right or wrong answers. Place a number beside each question as follows:
1. Strongly disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neither agree nor disagree 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree
1. I think adults have too much sexual free¬ 8. Extramarital sex is never excusable.
dom these days. 9. I think there is too much sexual free¬
2. I think that the increased sexual freedom dom given to teenagers these days.
seen in the past several years has done 10. I think there is not enough sexual
much to undermine the American family. restraint among young people.
3. I think that young people have been 11. I think people indulge in sex too
given too much information about sex. much.
4. Sex education should be restricted to the 12. I think the only proper way to have
home. sex is through intercourse.
5. Older people do not need to have sex. 13. I think sex should be reserved for
6. Sex education should be given only marriage.
when people are ready for marriage.
7. Premarital sex may be a sign of a decay¬
ing social order.
Further, how clearly are the questions posed? Could the question be
understood in a variety of ways? Will an answer to the question (for example,
a yes or no) provide a clear response? Are the questions phrased so that the
allowed responses could be ambiguous or vague, capable of being interpreted
in a variety of ways? If ambiguity is present in either the question or the
response, then the way the respondent understands the query might differ
from how the poll taker understands the query. This ambiguity would invali¬
date the question asked.
Consider the following example from a soccer questionnaire polling par¬
ents' views of the coach's performance.
Did the coach emphasize winning?
Respondents might read emphasize as overemphasize. They might be concerned

with certain attitudes or policies that the coach displayed in his or her drive to
win—did the coach berate the players when they were losing, did the coach
yell at or complain about the referees? Or the respondents might understand
the question in terms of a comparison, comparing a coach's emphasis on win-
ning with an emphasis on all the team members getting playing time. In this 271
case, how readers respond depends on whether they think that their child got CHAPTER 10
to play sufficiently On one hand, if their child was not a very good player but Assessing the
played a lot, they may answer negatively, thinking that the coach preferred Strength of Inductive
Arguments
player involvement to winning; if their child did not get to play much, they
might answer affirmatively. On the other hand, if their child was a very good
player and got enough playing time, they may answer affirmatively; if their
child did not play much, they may answer negatively, thinking that the coach
preferred participation to winning.
Another way the sample may be biased involves the samplers themselves.
Who asks the questions? Is the questioner in a position of power so that the
person's mere presence biases the respondent's answer? For example, should
physicians be put in charge of asking their clients questions to ascertain the
clients' views of the clinic? Should professors be present when students fill out
a classroom questionnaire on faculty performance? Moreover, if the question¬
ing is oral, what kind of body language does the questioner use in asking the
questions? Does it indicate what response the questioner wants the respon¬
dent to provide?
In short, the very act of sampling sometimes affects the sample. If it alters
the sample significantly, then it biases the sample and the results are less trust¬
worthy. To generalize from such results may cause us to commit the Fallacy of
Flasty Generalization.
The key, then, to a good generalization is how the population is sampled.
The larger the sample, the more random the selection process, the more care¬
fully bias is avoided in the questions asked, the clearer and more definitive the
questions asked, the better will be any generalization based on that sample.
Any generalization that fails to meet any of these criteria in a significant way
commits the Fallacy of Hasty Generalization.
At the same time, although we must be careful with our generalizations,
we cannot abandon them. We cannot sample every instance. We cannot taste
each grape in the store before buying it or check each gallon of milk to see
whether it is spoiled. We must make decisions based on limited samples, and
we must do so in ways that are time and cost effective. Critical thinking
involving generalizations requires a balanced approach to the sample to create
the most cogent generalizations possible, given the limited resources of time,
energy, money, and information at our disposal.
Exercise 2
In the following generalizations, identify the conclusion. Then evaluate the
samples for size, randomness, and bias. Which generalizations are cogent, and
which are examples of hasty generalizations? Explain why in each case.
1. Pine floats. Maple floats. Oak floats. Elm floats. Therefore all wood floats.
2. In a survey of physicians, a major drug firm inquired whether the physi¬

cians used the firm's brand of pain reliever or that of its competition. The
firm paid the physicians for their time in answering the survey and prom¬
ised more surveys in the future. On the basis of the reports, the firm
advertised that doctors recommend its brand of pain reliever twice as fre¬
quently as that of the leading competitive brand.
272 3. The first three cabinet appointments the president made graduated from
CHAPTER 10 Yale. The president must be biased toward his alma mater.
Assessing the
4. In a remarkable survey of children between the ages of 10 and 16, the Los
Arguments Angeles polling firm of Fairbank, Maslin, Maulin and Associates learned
that one-third of the kids "often" want to try what they see other people
doing on television, while two-thirds said their peers are influenced by
what they see on the tube. The survey shows that television has a more
profound impact on the lives, values, ethics and morals of the young than
perhaps even television's greatest critics thought. And the kids in the sur¬
vey handed down a two-count indictment. The first was against the televi¬
sion industry. The second was against their parents. Sixty-five percent said
programs like "The Simpsons" and "Married . . . With Children" encour¬
age children to disrespect their parents. Sixty-two percent said sex por¬
trayed on TV shows and in movies influences kids to have sex when
they're too young. Eighty-two percent said TV should help teach children
right from wrong. (Cal Thomas, "Children Take a Look at TV, and the
Results Are a Turn-off," Philadelphia Daily News, March 6,1995.)
5. When Joel couldn't remember his locker combination, he tried 15 before

he tried 25. It didn't work. When he found out it was 25-15, he said that
he thought about trying this, but remembered that from his experience the
lower number always came first.
6. To assure quality, the inspector tested the twenty-fourth can in every two-
dozen cartons of peaches. She found that each of the cans had been prop¬
erly sealed and the fruit was safe. Based on her recommendation, the com¬
pany passed the inspection.
7. A large insurance company wanted to assess customer satisfaction and so

had its agents poll their clients about their customer satisfaction. In the
interview the agents asked whether the client was satisfied with the
agent's performance. The company was pleased to receive a report that
showed well over 75 percent of respondents were satisfied with their
agents and service.
8. In a recent telephone survey, the pollster asked over the phone whether
the person was pro-life or pro-choice. Based on the sample, the survey
reported that about 48 percent of Americans favored maintaining the pres¬
ent policy on abortion.
9. In the last 100 years, no president has been elected without winning
Maine's electoral votes. As goes Maine, so goes the nation.
10. The Gallup survey, released by the National Academy of Social Insurance,
found strong public support for Social Security but a lack of confidence in
its future. The national survey was based on interviews with 1,002 adults
in February and 1,000 adults in March. It has a margin of sampling error
of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The National Academy of Social
Insurance is an independent research and education organization that
focuses on Social Security and related public and private programs.
According to the survey, 80 percent of adults voiced support for Social 273
Security, but only 30 percent expected to receive benefits throughout their CHAPTER 10
retirement. ... Of those surveyed, 88 percent said that the government Assessing the
"routinely mismanages money" and 72 percent believed that Social Secu¬ Strength of Inductive
Arguments
rity "suffers from mismanagement and fraud." ("Few Have Confidence in
Social Security," St. Paul Pioneer Press, May 17,1994)
11. Just two weeks ago I was on the Coast Daylight Starlight train, completing
the last leg of my trip out west on Amtrak. The air conditioning failed. A
steam pipe exploded in the dining car. We were an hour late arriving in
Oakland. The bus to San Francisco that is part of the train trip could not
accommodate all the passengers—and it was the only bus that night.
Amtrak has not improved train travel. (Maureen Cohen, letter, publication
unknown.)
12. My sister was taken to General Hospital as an emergency patient a week

or so ago. Upon arrival she was given immediate attention, and during
her stay in the hospital everything possible was done for her in tests and
treatments, all with a warm, personal relationship. The doctors and nurses
surely deserve the new hospital now being built, because of the excellent
care they give in this old and crowded building. (A. T. Henrici, letter, Min¬
neapolis Tribune)
13. Anyone can win. I did! And I'll be back again this year." Terry Maanum.
(Casino advertisement)
14. Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) recently conducted an

energy poll on seven Minnesota campuses, including Augsburg. The
results indicate a great willingness by students to conserve electricity
rather than increase the amount of nuclear energy being produced.
A total of 938 students were polled at Carleton, Hamline, Macalester,
St. Catherine, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, and Augsburg. . . . "These results show that students are
concerned about radioactive waste storage in Minnesota," said the MPIRG
executive director. Ninety percent of Augsburg students feel that instead
of increasing the supply of electricity, the supply should be reduced and
consumers should be more efficient. In order to provide for Minnesota's
overall electricity needs in the future, 72 percent of Augsburg students
believe that alternative energy sources such as wind and solar should be
the highest priority. For 21 percent more efficiency is the highest priority;
and five percent rank nuclear power the highest. . . . Fifty-three percent
of Augsburg students believe that nuclear waste will be a very serious
problem for future generations.
Overall, 97 percent of Minnesota students are willing to conserve more
than they already do by turning off lights and other relatively easy means if
it meant that nuclear storage was prohibited in Minnesota. (Rhonda Bock,
"MPIRG Releases Results from Poll," Echo, November 8,1991)
15. "Now some questions about paying for a new baseball stadium. Please tell
me if you favor or oppose each of the following and how strongly you feel
about it . . ."
274 Favor Oppose
Favor Not Not Oppose No
CHAPTER 10 Strongly Strongly Opinion
Strongly Strongly
Assessing the
Strength of Inductive 2%
A sales tax on goods and 11% 10% 15% 62%
Arguments
services purchased in the
metro area?
A tax on liquor sold in the 33% 17% 12% 35% 3%
metro area?
A tax on all hotel rooms in 14% 18% 18% 45% 5%
the metro area?
An additional statewide tax 39% 9% 10% 40% 2%
on cigarettes?
A ticket tax on events at a 29% 21% 14% 30% 6%
new stadium?
Note: questions were rotated
Results are based on a Star Tribune Minnesota Poll conducted

statewide Jan. 17-21 by phone with 699 randomly selected adults. Results
were weighted for age, gender and education to make sure the sample
reflected 1990 census proportions. Weighting accounted for household size
and the number of phone lines going into a household. For results based
on the sample, one can be 95 percent confident that error due to sampling
will be no more than 3.7 percentage points, plus or minus. (Robert Where-
att, "Public Unmoved by Twins Proposal," Minneapolis Star Tribune, Janu¬
ary 26,1997)
Arguments from Analogy

In Chapter 7 we noted that arguments from analogy contend that since two
things are alike in one or several ways, and since one of the analogues has a
certain additional property, the other analogue must likewise possess that
property. For example, because governments are like ships, and both must
have strong people at the helm to make sure that they accomplish their mis¬
sion, if the captain becomes incompetent and begins to run the ship aground
on the shoals, the crew must remove the captain for dereliction of duty and
install another captain. Similarly, should the president be morally incompetent
and mishandle the affairs of state, the people must remove the president for
dereliction of duty and install another in the office.
Arguments from analogy presume several things.
1. They presume that two things (analogues) are like each other. In our exam¬
ple, ships and governments are analogues.
2. They presume that all instances of the assumed analogue (ships) possess
the same features (the captain will be removed for incompetent perform¬
ance or dereliction of duty). We call this the fundamental generalization.
In the structure we used to show analogies,
A C
B .-. D
275
A and B are analogues (in our example A stands for ships, B for governments); CHAPTER 10
A and C are connected by the generalization that all As that have the property Assessing the
C (in our example C stands for the property of necessarily removing a captain Strength of Inductive
Arguments
derelict in duty). From these presumptions, the arguer concludes that since
one analogue has a certain property, the other analogue will possess that prop¬
erty D (the head of state ought to be removed). The conclusion is D.
But how strong is an argument from analogy? It is only as strong as its two
presumptions are true. First, the strength of the argument depends on how
similar the two analogues are. The more the two things resemble each other, the
more likely it is that they will possess similar properties. The more dissimilar
they are, the less likely it is that they will have similar properties. In short, an
argument from analogy is only as good as the compared analogues resemble
each other. Thus, in our example, how similar are ships to governments? Are
they generally alike, or do their dissimilarities outweigh their similarities such
that we cannot draw a conclusion from one analogue to the other?
Second, an argument from analogy is only as strong as its fundamental
generalization, namely, that things of a certain sort (like ships) have a certain
property. The critical thinker might agree that this property is present in some
cases, but might wonder whether the property will be present in most or all
cases so that one can draw a conclusion based on that presence.
Arguments that either lack a close relationship between the two ana¬
logues or have a suspect generalization regarding the analogue and its prop¬
erties are guilty of the Fallacy of Faulty Analogy. This fallacy contains a
significant subjective element. Whereas one person might see a close relation¬
ship between the analogues, others might see a distant relationship, if any.
Thus, to make analogies work, the arguer must convince the listener at the
very beginning that the two analogues are enough alike to provide the basis
for a cogent argument.
Exercise 3
For each of the following analogies, (1) identify the analogues, (2) identify the
generalization covering the analogue and its characteristics, and (3) determine
whether the analogy commits the Fallacy of Faulty Analogy and explain why
or why not.
1. Follow the Ayds diet plan. That's what Judie Miskella of Arlington, VA.
did and lost 66 pounds. And if it worked for Judie, it should work for you.
(Advertisement)
2. I feel that fish have been neglected in the hunting controversy. The sup¬
posed cruel and inhuman treatment shown to four-legged creatures by
hunters is, in my estimation, mild compared to that which the fisherman
inflicts on his prey. The next time you bite into a fish sandwich, think of
what it would be like to have a hook rammed through your mouth, then
have your lungs pierced by a stringer or have someone run fingers into
your lungs to hold you up to the admiration of others. (David Lucca, let¬
ter, Minneapolis Tribune, November 2,1975. Reprinted by permission.)
3. Suppose you merely scolded your puppy, never punished him, let him go
on making messes in the house, and occasionally locked him up in an
276 outbuilding but soon let him back into the house with a warning not to do it
CHAPTER 10 again. Then one day you notice that he is now a grown dog and still not
Assessing the housebroken—whereupon you whip out a gun and shoot him dead. Why
Strength of Inductive that's the craziest way to raise a dog I ever heard of! Yes, but isn't that the
Arguments way people raise their kids nowadays? (Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers,
1959)
4. We are not like the giant soap manufacturer who produces millions of bars
on a continuous assembly line with ingredients poured in one end, hard¬
ened, squeezed, and scrunched out the other. It takes more time and
money to make our soap our way. Think about Neutrogena this way:
wouldn't you rather have a little glass jar of jam grandma made than any
kind you can buy? (Advertisement)
5. Picture showing a package of cigarettes on the back of a turtle. "You can't

rush smooth flavor." (Advertisement)
6. Students enrolled in a Russian course at Eckerd College approached their

first class with some apprehension about its difficulty. The professor entered
the room, followed by his dog. Before saying a word to the students, he
commanded the dog to sit, beg, lie down, roll over—all in Russian. The dog
obeyed each command perfectly. "See how easy Russian is," the professor
said. "Why, even a dog can learn it!"
7. Contemplate the whole of [nature] and every part of it: You will find it to
be nothing but one great machine, subdivided into an infinite number of
lesser machines, which again admit of subdivisions. All these various
machines, and even their most minute parts, are adjusted to each other
with accuracy. . . . The curious adapting of means to ends, throughout
all nature, resembles exactly, though it much exceeds, the productions of
human contrivance; of human design, thought, wisdom, and intelligence.
Since therefore the effects resemble each other, we are led to infer, by all
the rules of analogy, that the causes also resemble, and that the Author of
Nature is somewhat similar to the mind of man, though possessed of
much larger faculties. (David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural
Religion)
8. "You go to an expert for medical advice. You should go to a professional

travel agent for travel advice. Doctors and lawyers and architects. Because
of their years of knowledge and practice, you can put your well-being into
their hands. It's the same with travel agents. Especially your local ASTA
agent. Where years of study and knowledge get you the most safety and
comfort in travel, as well as the most for your dollars."
9. Coke is like family. You can never have enough. Coca Cola. Always.
10. I am a 33 year-old wife and mother. I am college-educated and work for a

Fortune 100 company. My husband is not a participant in Promise Keep¬
ers. But it's about time we had someone praise leadership in the home.
What is wrong with promoting faith, integrity and loving your wife? I
consider my husband to be the head of my household, and that has never
infringed on my individuality. At work, I have a supervisor who makes a 277
game plan, and then everyone pitches in to get the job done. My part is CHAPTER 10
vital and my talents are unique. That is just like in my home—someone Assessing the
has to be in charge, and I'm glad it is my husband; it makes me and my Strength of Inductive
Arguments
child feel secure and loved. (Karen Beauvais, letter. The Atlanta Constitu¬
tion, October 18,1997)
Causal Arguments
The third kind of inductive argument we need to evaluate is the causal argu¬
ment. The causal argument moves from certain evidence—effects—to suggest
or hypothesize a cause of those effects. For example, my car engine misfires
when I go uphill. The gas tank is full, but it has been 40,000 miles since my
last tune-up. So I make an appointment with the mechanic to tune up my
engine. My hypothesis is that dirty or worn out spark plugs are causing the
misfiring.
In our daily life we need to form causal hypotheses; yet we must be very
careful in concluding that what we hypothesize is really the cause of the
effects we observe. In the example, it turned out that my car did not need a
tune-up after all; the engine was misfiring because a spark plug wire had
become disconnected. But my mistaken hypothesis cost me over $100. I had
not investigated all the possibilities, so although I correlated the lack of a tune-
up with my poorly performing engine, the lack of a tune-up was not the cause
of the poor performance.
Hence, one must guard against the Fallacy of False Cause. This fallacy
occurs when one takes two events as causally related when in fact they are
either (1) merely correlated with each other or else (2) unrelated except that
the one occurs before the other.
Let us focus first on correlation between events. When two events occur
repeatedly together over a period of time, they may be causally related: the
one brings about the other. But they also may be merely correlated with each
other, such that although when one occurs so does the other, they do not occur
because of each other. For example, an observer may notice that the price of a
certain commodity rises in the year before the Democrats win a majority in
Congress, and it falls in years before the Republicans win. This observer may
be tempted to suggest that a causal relation holds between the price of the
commodity and which party wins the election. In fact, the observer may even
be tempted to use this hypothesis to predict the winner of the next election.
However, the relation may be simply a coincidental correlation that fails to be
borne out in the future. Arguments of this sort confuse causation with correlation.
The distinction between cause and correlation can have great significance. In
recent years a national debate has raged on the issue of whether or not silicone
breast implants caused illness and disease in women. Lawyers for the women
affected argue that the breast implants caused the women's illnesses; lawyers for
the sued companies argue that the illnesses and implants are merely correlated,
that the illnesses could not be traced to the implants but was coincidental with
them. Hundreds of millions of dollars and the survival of a major corporation
278 ride on the outcome of the case. Juries and judges and a scientific panel have
CHAPTER 10 been called upon to decide whether the relationship is correlation or causation.
Assessing the So far, juries have concluded the relationship is causal and have awarded women
Strength of Inductive damages; the scientific panel concluded that the illnesses and implants were only
Arguments
correlated, that there was no scientific evidence of a causal connection.
Although the correlation of two events may be mere coincidence, at other
times the correlation may be connected with some third feature. For example,
birds reproducing and leaves sprouting on trees occur regularly at the same
time in spring. These events are not causally connected; leaves sprouting on
trees do not cause birds to lay eggs. But neither is their correlative occurrence
a coincidence. Both are connected to certain features of nature: climate and
season cycles. That is, though they have a common cause, it would be a mis¬
take to causally connect birds reproducing with leaves sprouting.
It is very easy to confuse causes with correlates. Causes help us to under¬
stand our world, while correlates contribute little. Hence, in attempting to
understand events, critical thinkers look for causes to inform them about why
something happened and carefully assess the evidence to see whether it is
strong enough to suggest more than an affirmation of a mere correlation
between events.
A second version of the Fallacy of False Cause focuses on the time dimen¬
sion between two events. When one thing occurs after another has occurred,
we sometimes conclude that the first caused the second to happen. When the
two are not actually related causally, the argument commits the fallacy of
"after this, therefore because of this" (at times you may see this referred to by
its Latin phrasing, post hoc, ergo propter hoc).
For example, Frank may notice that after he changed from cologne A to
cologne B, Susie started paying attention to him. He might then conclude that
the change to the new cologne is what caused Susie to have an interest in him.
But in fact, the two events may have no causal connection at all; it may be that
she noticed him for the first time because when she recently dumped her old
boyfriend, Frank was sitting across the table from her.
This version of the Fallacy of False Cause, which focuses on the time
dimension of one thing following another, is the source of many of our super¬
stitions. Something fortunate or unfortunate occurs after some other event,
and we immediately conclude that they are causally related. For example, how
many times have you played a game with a pair of dice, and the rolls were not
going your way? So you blew on the dice, and, wonder of wonders, the num¬
ber you needed came up. So what did you do the next time you rolled? My
guess is that you blew on the dice again—and hence committed the fallacy! A
quick look at the habits of many athletes—for example, batters when they
come to the plate or basketball players when they step to the free-throw line—
will confirm the suspicion that many athletes fall prey to this fallacy.
Sometimes it is not easy to decide whether two events are merely tempo¬
rally connected or whether they are causally connected. On the day of a recent
primary election in a major city, the newspaper mistakenly published the pic¬
ture of one of the candidates in conjunction with an article on fraud. That can¬
didate lost the election by fewer than 200 votes and in turn sued to force
another election. He argued that he lost the election because the newspaper
printed the wrong picture in connection with its report on fraud. The court
was now in a difficult position, having to decide to what extent the candidate's 279
picture connected the candidate with the fraud in the minds of the voters, and CHAPTER 10
then whether this association, if it occurred at all, contributed to his defeat. Assessing the
The court in this case concluded that merely because the candidate lost the Strength of Inductive
Arguments
election after the mistaken photo was published was insufficient evidence that
the photo and the article caused his defeat.
Or again, suppose that a football team hires a new coach, and the team has
a losing season. Should the coach be fired? Would firing the coach be an
instance of a false cause? Was the arrival of the coach merely an antecedent to
the losing season, or was the coach part of the cause? Deciding the issue is
vitally important to the coach, team, and fans.
Critical thinkers are wary of assertions of causal relations and will want
more evidence to confirm that the relationship is more than mere coincidence.
But how will they find this evidence? One way is to apply what is called the
Method of Difference. To test whether two events are causally related, set up
a test where everything is the same in two groups except for the causal condi¬
tion for which you are testing. In the test group make sure that causal condi¬
tion is present; in the control group see to it that causal condition is absent (or
vice versa). If the effect you are looking for occurs in the test group but not in
the control group (or vice versa), you have reason to think that the condition is
truly causally related to the effect.
For example, suppose one wants to find out why it is that legs sprout from
an insect in a certain place on its body. A researcher may set up a test with two
groups of fruit flies and remove certain genes from the embryos of one group.
If in one case the legs sprout from the head rather than bud from the body,
whereas in the other case the fruit flies develop normally, the researcher may
legitimately conclude that these specific genes control or regulate where the
legs bud.
The method of difference, however, is not foolproof, for insuring that the
control and test groups are identical is difficult. The less identical the two
groups, the less certain it is that you have isolated the cause of the effect.
Hence, scientists in particular are careful both about their experiments and the
conclusions they draw from them. Critical thinkers likewise must be careful
not to make unwarranted inferences when they see two events either corre¬
lated or succeeding each other.
In short, though we naturally look for causes, for this is how we explain
our world, critical thinkers must resist the tendency to make the easy inference
that one thing caused another. Careful study and investigation is often
required, especially in cases whether the decision has significant importance.
Being careless can have serious consequences.
Exercise 4
In the following arguments, (1) identify the effect(s) and the causal hypothesis.
(2) Identify what, if anything, is fallacious about the argument and explain
why it is or is not fallacious.
1. At a White House reception in 1910, the wife of the Russian Ambassador

stepped outside the bounds of decent society by asking President Taft for
a cigarette. Taft stepped outside the bounds of decent society by giving her
one and even lighting it. Taft was not re-elected. (Advertisement)
280 2. "My dad's real big. Mom says it's 'cause he always ate raisins for snacks.
CHAPTER 10 So I eat raisins, too. Sure hope she's right." (Advertisement)
Assessing the
3. A marshmallow a day makes your blue eyes bluer. (Advertisement)
Arguments
4. A gentleman sitting on a Los Angeles park bench was not swept up in the
excitement of election year. He said, "I am 105 years old. I've never
touched a politician or been touched by one in my whole life. I think I owe
my longevity to that." (Source unknown)
5. "I don't know how to tell you this, Phil, but channel 4 comes in clear when
you leave the room." Cartoon
6. We raised the salaries of the President and Congress and just take a good
look at the "great" job the President has done. The public got the short end
again and again. (Source unknown)
7. Damning rock music for its "appeal to the flesh," a Baptist church . . .
has begun a campaign to put the torch to rock music records. About
$2,200 worth of records were tossed into a bonfire this week after church
officials in [Tallahassee] labeled the music immoral. The . . . associate
pastor of the church said he had seen statistics which showed "of 1,000
girls who became pregnant out of wedlock, 984 committed fornication
while rock music was being played." (Excerpted by permission of Associ¬
ated Press.)
8. Be a winner in a Prinz Heinrich cap from Austria. Smart, stylish, made of

sturdy navy blue loden wool. Whatever your sport, you'll be that much
better in this handsome imported cap. (Advertisement)
9. Want him to be more of a man? Try being more of a woman. Emeraude by

Coty. (Advertisement)
10. Picture showing a beautifully dressed woman smoking. "Come all the
way up to Kool Filter Longs. Stylishly long, tastefully cool. Lady Be Cool."
(Advertisement)
11. The United States built the greatest system of public education the world
has ever known not at the federal level, not even at the State level, but at
the level of the local school district. Until a few years ago, the people had
direct control over their schools: how much to spend, what kind of courses
to offer, whom to hire. Is it an accident that as this local control gave way
to funding and control at the federal and state level, reading and other test
scores have declined? The truth is, a good education depends far more on
local control and accountability than on the amount of money spent.
(Ronald Reagan)
12. Wear an Eva Gabor's "Great Going Wig" and you'll be going great!
(Advertisement)
13. As for Ronald Campbell's untimely slam at the Cincinnati Bengals' new
helmet (with tiger stripes on them), don't knock the stripes. They seem
to be working! (Mark Shump, letter. Sports Illustrated, January 4, 1982,
p. 103)
14. All of the in-depth political analysis of the past election has ignored one 281
aspect both historical and astro-mystical. That is the brief and disappoint¬ CHAPTER 10
ing appearance of Haley's Comet this year. The approach of a comet is Assessing the
believed to coincide with the fall of kings. Strength of Inductive
Arguments
Historically we find earlier appearances of Haley's coincide with the fall
of Jerusalem to Rome in 70 a.d., the invasion of Europe by the Turks in 1456,
the death of King Edward VII in 1910 and the fall of King Harold II at the
Battle of Hastings in 1066. It is particularly noteworthy that this year when
Haley's Comet first went behind the sun, Jacques Duvalier and Ferdinand
Marcos were both in power, and when it reappeared they were gone.
So it should have been little surprise to find the reigning Independent-
Republicans in the Minnesota House and their counterparts in the U.S.
Senate eclipsed. Gov. Rudy Perpich, as a true man of the people, was
spared a similar fate. (Phyllis Kahn, letter, Minneapolis Star and Tribune,
November 18,1986)
15. Since the end of the Gulf War, some veterans have reported suffering from
a variety of problems, including mood changes, concentration problems,
muscle pains, skin rashes and diarrhea. The conclusion of two studies of
Gulf War veterans' health published in the New England Journal of Medi¬
cine concluded that the health of veterans of the Persian Gulf War has dif¬
fered slightly from that of other groups of soldiers, but not in a way that
suggests a "mystery illness" is afflicting them. One of the new studies
found that a higher-than-expected number of Gulf War veterans died of
accidents—car accidents, in particular,—in the two years following the
war's end in 1991. Deaths from infection, cancer or diseases of major
organ systems, however, were no higher among them than among their
military compatriots who didn't go to war. ("2 Studies Explore Gulf Vet's
Health," Charlotte Observer, November 13,1996)
Critical Thinking in the Corporate World

You may think that critical thinking is only accomplish this outrageous experiment,
meant for college or university courses, he collaborated with Pierluigi Zappa-
that it has little application in the busi¬ costa, the co-founder and vice chairman
ness or corporate world. If so, consider of Logitech, the world’s largest manufac¬
the true story of Scott Adams, the creator turer of computer mice and related
of the comic strip Dilbert, whose cartoon devices, and someone with apparently a
message highlights and pokes fun at the large sense of humor. With Zappacosta’s
follies and weaknesses of corporate blessing Adams posed as a corporate
practices. Scott Adams wanted “to see if consultant whose goal was to help Log¬
a group of executives would allow some¬ itech executives write a new mission
body who has very few credentials, statement. It didn’t matter that they
except for good hair, to come into their already had one; Adams, donning a wig
meeting and get them to write a mission and assuming the alias of Ray Mebert,
statement which is so impossibly com¬ would help them redefine their mission
plicated that it has no real content.” To statement, to “crisply define the goals” of
continued
282
CHAPTER 10 Critical Thinking in the Corporate World continued
Assessing the
Strength of Inductive the New Ventures Group in the company. mission statement but rather the compa¬
Arguments In a memo distributed to a select nies that had a high awareness among the
group of Logitech’s vice presidents and employees about what the mission state¬
senior managers, Zappacosta described ment was, tended to have higher profits
Mebert as a man with “special talents as year after year.” Although the Yankovitch
a facilitator” and “a very original thinker” and Meyer study was a pure fiction, no
who had collaborated with big-name one questioned this assertion.
consultants. Mebert continued by presenting an
Mebert came to Logitech with an analogy. A mission statement’s mysteri¬
entourage consisting of a photographer, ous role in generating higher profits is
videotaping crew, and personal assistant like a great broccoli soup recipe from
(West Magazine contributing editor Tia your neighbor. “You wouldn’t say, ‘Well,
O’Brien, who wrote the story that ap¬ this is a great soup, but I could take the
peared in the San Jose Mercury News), broccoli out or take a little pepper out and
purportedly to help sell the mission state¬ it would still be great soup.’ You never
ment they would devise to those who know exactly which part of the soup is
would implement it. In a conference room the part that kind of made it work, in fact,
with eleven senior executives, nine men it’s that it all worked together that really
and two women, Mebert quickly estab¬ makes it kind of work at all. So it is with
lished his credentials as a well-qualified mission statements.”
management consultant. “I did the Har¬ Mebert proceeded to draw three
vard MBA thing, and then I went to Proc¬ overlapping circles on an easel. He
ter & Gamble where I worked on the labeled them Authority, Linguistics, and
Taste Bright Project,” Mebert said. Taste Message. He called the area where they
Bright, he explained, was a top-secret overlapped the Buy-in Zone. Authority “is
effort to use the taste of soap to increase the reason for having the people in this
sales. He affirmed that “There actually are room, the people who have credibility with
some people who admitted in focus the people who are actually going to be
groups that they would sometimes taste doing the day-to-day work.” Linguistics:
soap. We found that to get repeat business “Picking the wrong words is a mistake a
it was necessary to actually improve the lot of companies have made.” Message:
smell as well as the taste of the soap.” He “You have to have the right message!”
continued listing his (false) credentials: he With this structure in mind, Mebert
worked at Fortune Computer (a widely began to develop the new mission state¬
known, failed Silicon Valley business ven¬ ment. The previous statement, crafted six
ture) and then founded Ray Mebert Asso¬ months earlier by some of the same
ciates. He claimed that Apple Computer executives now in the room, read, “The
recruited him to formulate strategy to mar¬ New Ventures mission is to provide Log¬
ket the Newton (a hand-held computer itech with profitable growth and related
that also failed). None of the executives new business areas.”
present questioned Adams’s qualifications “Doesn’t that seem vague enough for
when he revealed his record of past failed you?” Mebert challenges. Not all of the
accomplishments. executives were convinced, especially
“If any of you recently read the Yanko- those who helped write that mission
vitch and Meyer study about mission state¬ statement. Mebert told them that by “con¬
ments comparing companies that have centrating on the linguistics part of the
mission statements with those that don’t exercise” he would help them produce a
have them, it wasn’t enough to just have a new, focused mission statement. He
concluded
began by asking the executives to suggest An hour after beginning, the execu¬ 283
“specific words” that “describe where you tives had fashioned their new mission
CHAPTER 10
are and where you want to be.” statement. “The New Ventures mission is Assessing the
“Active,” suggested one executive. to scout profitable growth opportunities in Strength of Inductive
Mebert wondered why they should use a relationships, both internally and exter¬ Arguments
two-syllable word when three syllables are nally, in emerging, mission inclusive mar¬
available. “So really a pro-active kind of kets, and explore new paradigms and
thing,” he said, writing “Proactive” as the then filter and communicate and evangel¬
first word on the list. Another suggested ize the findings.” The executive team
“Education.” appeared satisfied with the results. But
“Education, hmmm,” Mebert pon¬ Mebert was not finished. A mission state¬
dered. “Seems like there’s a better word ment is worthless, he said, unless it is
for that. There’s really an osmosis kind of communicated to—and accepted by—
thing here.” He scribbled “Education- employees. Remember the Buy-in Zone?
Osmosis” on the easel. “Is it a formal “Anybody play an instrument or do
process with classes?” he asked, then any composing?” Mebert asked. “Be¬
added “Formal” next to “Osmosis.” cause what I’ve found is that some com¬
“Relationships,” “Breaking Paradigms,” panies have created, like, a division song
“Fertilizing,” “Consumerization Process,” around the mission statement.” One exec¬
“Vision Alignment.” Within fifteen minutes utive said he played the flute, the sax, and
Mebert collected about twenty-five terms the keyboard; another affirmed that he
for constructing the revised mission state¬ wrote music. “So you’d be willing to take it
ment. He then explained the next step: on?” asked Mebert. “Yeah,” the executive
“Essentializing is the key to the good mis¬ replied.
sion statement. But you want to essential- Only then did Mebert, pulling off his
ize in a way in which when you’re done, wig and drawing a sketch of Dilbert on his
you’ve got something that will cause easel, reveal that he was not a corporate
action.” He indicated that they should consultant at all but Scott Adams, the cre¬
cross out the less important terms on his ator of Dilbert. The executives at first were
list. Few of the executives, however, were startled by Adams’s revelation. Then a cou¬
willing to erase terms they suggested, so ple of the executives started clapping, and
with only three terms crossed off, Mebert the entire group burst into applause.
invited them to complete the sentence, (Source: From Tia O'Brien, "Mission Impertinent," San Jose
Mercury News, November 16,1997)
“The New Venture Mission is . . .”
Discussion Questions
A. What is the context in which Scott Adams impersonates the corporate con¬
sultant Ray Mebert? Note his goals and objectives and with whom he
works. What helps Adams succeed in pulling off his hoax?
B. What roles do authorities play in this hoax?
1. What authorities are appealed to in this story and how do they

function?
2. How reliable are the various authorities noted in this story? Has a fal¬
lacy been committed here? Explain.
3. Why is "Mebert's" appeal to authorities so successful in leading this

group of executives to form a new mission statement?
284 C. "Mebert" focuses on linguistics as a key to forming a good mission
CHAPTER 10 statement.
Assessing the
1. What is linguistics according to "Mebert"? Is this definition consistent
Arguments with the traditional understanding of linguistics?
2. What does "Mebert" see as the role of linguistics in crafting a mission
statement?
3. Has the New Ventures mission statement satisfied the role "Mebert"
assigned to linguistics?
4. Why are the executives apparently unaware of how language is func¬
tioning in their new mission statement?
D. "Mebert" introduces an analogy to help the executives understand the role
and importance of a mission statement.
1. What is the analogy "Mebert" creates?
2. What conclusion does "Mebert" draw from this analogy?
3. What conclusion do you think can be drawn from this analogy? Defend
your view.
4. Has the fallacy of faulty analogy been committed?
E. What dimensions of critical thinking play a role in this story?
1. Think especially about what you learned about language and ambigu¬
ity in Chapter 5 and apply those insights to this case. (You may want to
review Chapter 5.)
2. How does the problem solving technique developed in Chapter 9 com¬
pare to that used by "Mebert"? What steps are not used by the group
and to what problems do they lead?
F. The third circle in "Mebert's" diagram is labeled Message.
1. What kind of message did the new mission statement send? Why do
you say this?
2. What is the message that Scott Adams wanted to send with his experi¬
ment? Why or why not was he successful?
3. Why did the executives clap at the end of the presentation when
"Mebert" revealed his true identity?
SUMMING-UP
In this chapter we have reaffirmed that inductive arguments should be cogent.

An inductive argument is cogent when its premises are true, relevant to the
conclusion, and provide good reason to think that the conclusion is true. Argu¬
ments that fail to support the conclusion either because they break a rule or
are inadequate or irrelevant in some way are fallacious. We have looked at four
common inductive fallacies in this chapter.
Appeals to Unqualified Authority occur when a per¬ Faulty Analogies either lack a close relation¬
son asks you to accept a statement as true or to take ship between the two analogues or make a sus¬
a certain action because a person who is an actual pect generalization about the analogue and its
or alleged authority has said so, but the actual or properties.
alleged authority is commenting on a subject about False Cause occurs when a person takes two
which he or she is not qualified to speak. events as causally related when in fact they are
Hasty Generalizations draw conclusions about either merely correlated with each other or else
all or a percentage of a specific group from an unrelated except that the one occurs before the
inadequate sample. other occurs.
Each of these inductive fallacies focuses on the content of the argument; in

each case the premises fail properly to support the conclusion. In the following
chapter we will learn some additional fallacies of content.
1. C: Ford is a safe investment. We have no reason to think these persons are any
more qualified than anyone else to judge automobiles.
3. C: These new imaging techniques provide a window into the brain.
Dr. Coyle is probably a relevant authority.
5. C: You should wear wool. Lauren Hutton is probably not an authority on clothing
fibers.
7. C: AARP Mobile Home Insurance Program provides affordable security. Melba
Beverly is not a qualified authority on insurance.
9. C: Don't raise your puppies on anything but Pedigree Puppy food. Fran Smith is a
veterinarian and a kennel owner and hence would have relevant knowledge about
feeding animals.
1. C: All wood floats. Inadequate sample of four instances. Iron wood does not float.
3. C: The president must be biased toward his alma mater. Inadequate sample size.
5. C: Lower numbers always come first in combination locks. Inadequate sample
size, based on limited experience.
7. C: Well over 75 percent of respondents were satisfied with their agents and service.
Probable bias in the survey, since it was asked by the agents themselves.
9. C: As Maine goes, so goes the nation. The causal relation between the electoral
votes in Maine and the election of the president is very slim, given Maine's few
votes. Hence a predictive generalization based on this information is risky.
11. C: Amtrak has not improved train travel. Inadequate sample size.
13. C: Anyone can win. Inadequate sample size.
15. C: In this poll, the results are given but no conclusion drawn. A properly con¬
ducted poll.
1. (1) Judie Miskella and you. (2) Judie lost 66 pounds. (3) The argument depends on
how similar you are to Judie in body type, age, weight, metabolism, reason for 285
being overweight, and so on.
286 3. (1) Puppies and humans. (2) You do not train puppies by not punishing them and
then, when they turn out bad, killing them. (3) The argument depends on how
CHAPTER 10
Assessing the
similar raising and disciplining humans is to raising and disciplining puppies.
Strength of Inductive 5. (1) Cigarettes and turtles. (2) Turtles cannot be rushed in their movement. (3) The
Arguments slowness of turtles is quite irrelevant to that of smoking.
7. (1) Machines and nature. (2) Machines have a marvelous mean-ends adjustment.
(3) The argument depends on how similar nature is to machines. Nature operates
on other than mere mechanical principles.
9. (1) Coca Cola and Family. (2) One never has family around enough. (3) Soft drinks
and family are significantly different.
1. Taft was not re-elected. The suggested causal hypothesis is that the populace's fail¬
ure to condone men's helping women to smoke led to Taft's defeat. After this,
therefore because of this.
3. Getting bluer eyes. Eating marshmallows every day makes your eyes bluer. Con¬
fused a possible (though unlikely) correlation with causation.
5. Channel 4 comes in clearly. Phil's leaving the room causes better TV reception of
channel 4. Confused correlation with causation.
7. Pregnancy. Rock music helps teen girls get pregnant out of wedlock. Confused cor¬
relation with causation.
9. Being a man. Being a woman (and wearing Emeraude perfume) will cause a man
to be a man. After this, therefore because of this.
11. Test scores declined. Federal and state control replacing local control over educa¬
tion caused the decline in test scores. Confused correlation with causation.
13. Winning. Wearing a helmet with tiger stripes caused the Bengal team to win. Con¬
fused correlation with causation.
15. Illnesses of various sorts. The question considered here is whether exposure to
something in the Gulf War caused a variety of illnesses. It concerns whether there
is a causal relation or a correlation between serving in the Gulf War and the pres¬
ence of a variety of illnesses.
CHAPTER 11
Evaluation
Identifying More Fallacies of Content
1 he previous chapter introduced you to four fallacies of induction: appeal to

irrelevant authority, hasty generalization, faulty analogy, and false cause. But
there are many more fallacies of content. In fact, in this book we barely touch
the surface on fallacies. One book lists over a hundred different kinds. All fal¬
lacies share the problem that, for one reason or another, the conclusion fails to
follow from the premises.
To give you a flavor of the more common fallacies and to tie into some of
the things we addressed in earlier chapters, this chapter considers a few addi¬
tional major fallacies of content. These are called fallacies of content or infor¬
mal fallacies to distinguish them from the fallacies of structure or form.
Fallacies of form are found in deductive arguments. In arguments with a
fallacious form, the conclusion fails to follow from the premises not because of
what the premises say but because of the structure of the argument. Any argu¬
ment with a fallacious structure or form, regardless of the content of the prem¬
ises and conclusion, is fallacious. For example, consider the argument:
Dogs are animals.

Cats are animals.
Therefore, cats are dogs.
The premises of this argument are true, but the premises do not establish the
conclusion about cats because the argument has a fallacious form. Though
dogs and cats are both animals, they do not share enough animal properties
for cats to be dogs. We will briefly look at formal fallacies in deductive argu¬
ments in Chapter 12.
Fallacies of content occur where the conclusion fails to follow from the
premises because of the content of the premises. What the premises say deter¬
mine whether the premises are strong, clear, or relevant enough to establish
the conclusion. Such fallacies are referred to as fallacies of content or infor¬
mal fallacies (informal means not pertaining to form, that is, arguments whose
287
288 fallaciousness does not depend on the form or structure of the argument).
CHAPTER 11 Their fallaciousness is not a matter of the truth or falsity of the premises; the
Identifying More premises could be true and the argument would still commit a fallacy. Rather,
Fallacies of Content the fact that such arguments are fallacious has to do with the content of the
premises and their relationship to the conclusion. The premises are either too
ambiguous to support the conclusion (Fallacies of Ambiguity), irrelevant to
the conclusion (Fallacies of Relevance), or make critical presumptions that
prevent us from being able to draw a cogent or valid conclusion (Fallacies of
Presumption). This chapter adds eleven more examples to those found in
Chapter 10.
You will notice that our examples are generally drawn from real life. That
is because people actually commit these fallacies; they are not mere textbook
problems. Frequently such faulty arguments are used because they are persua¬
sive; in one way or another they get the reader or listener to agree with the
thesis proposed by the writer or speaker. Since this is especially characteristic
of advertisements, we will consider a significant number of examples from
that medium. Critical thinkers look beyond the persuasive power of the argu¬
ment to evaluate whether the premises really support the conclusion. Being
aware of these fallacies should assist you in assessing the real worth of persua¬
sive arguments.
FALLACIES OF AMBIGUITY
Arguments that trade on ambiguity commit the Fallacy of Ambiguity. In these

arguments the conclusion seems to follow from the premises, but a closer look
reveals that this is only an illusion created by ambiguity of meaning (semantic
ambiguity), ambiguity of use (syntactical ambiguity), or vagueness. Before
you go on, you might want to return to Chapter 5 and review the sections on
ambiguity.
1. Equivocation
Ambiguity of meaning (semantic ambiguity) occurs when the same term (or
its synonyms) changes meaning in the course of the discussion. Such changes
of meaning are called equivocation. When an argument trades on ambiguity of
meaning, it commits the Fallacy of Equivocation. When an argument commits
this fallacy, the conclusion does not follow from the premises because at some
point in the argument the topic has changed, though because of grammatical
similarity it might not appear so.
Consider the following example of equivocation.
Sharon's new boyfriend is a turkey.

Turkeys gobble.
Therefore, Sharon's new boyfriend is a fast eater.
The problem with this argument is obvious. The word turkey has two different
meanings in the premises. In the first premise it refers to undesirable charac-
teristics of persons—that the boyfriend is not very bright; he does not have it 289
all together. In the second premise turkey refers to an animal. But for the argu- chapter 11
ment to succeed, the word turkey must mean the same in both premises; other- Identifying More
wise, the topic has changed from persons to animals, and the conclusion does Fallacies of Contents
not follow.
The other change of meaning or equivocation is on gobble. In the second
premise, gobble refers to a sound made by turkeys. In the conclusion, the word
gobble is not used, but its synonym—fast eater—is given. But this synonym
relates to a different meaning of gobble—to eat one's food quickly. This second
example of an equivocation shows that the same word or symbol need not be
used for the fallacy to occur; equivocation can occur when the synonym pre¬
sents a different meaning of a word than the meaning used elsewhere in the
argument.
When you accuse an argument of equivocation, you need to be able to
identify the word or words that have an ambiguity of meaning and to give their differ¬
ent meanings. This enables you to show someone that the argument actually
commits the Fallacy of Equivocation.
2. Amphiboly
Ambiguity of use (syntactic ambiguity) occurs when the grammar of the sen¬
tence is unclear. As we noted in Chapter 5, it might be due to such things as a
misplaced or absent comma or a pronoun with an unclear referent. When we
are led to draw an incorrect conclusion based on evidence presented in a syn¬
tactically ambiguous way, we have committed the Fallacy of Amphiboly.
To identify an amphiboly, look for ambiguity of use. For example, suppose
someone said that environmentalists should not vote for Smith because in her
stump speech she said, "One should save cans and waste paper." The implied
conclusion that Smith is not an environmentalist (probably) is mistakenly
drawn from the ambiguity of the term waste. If waste is a verb, then Smith
probably is not an environmentalist, for she encourages us to waste paper. But
if waste is an adjective modifying paper, then probably she is an environmental¬
ist, for she encourages us to save both cans and waste paper. The use of waste
can be ambiguous in this sentence.
Amphiboly can also occur where pronouns have unclear referents. For
example, suppose a friend argued, "In the confrontation between the thief and
the police officer, he was shot. This again shows why we should strengthen the
ban on weapons." Whether the conclusion follows may depend on the referent
of he. If he refers to the police officer, the premises are relevant to the conclu¬
sion; banning weapons may control their proliferation among thieves. If he
refers to the thief, the conclusion probably does not follow from the premises
because the premises do not inform us whether the thief had a weapon and
the police officer was firing in self-defense.
Amphibolies are not all that common. But we include them here to
emphasize the broader point that critical thinkers should always pay attention
to grammar, whether their own or others. In their communication they should
strive for grammatical clarity and accuracy so that their audience does not
draw an incorrect conclusion from the information presented.
290 Exercise 1
CHAPTER 11 For each of the following arguments, identify the conclusion. Then determine
Identifying More whether the fallacy committed is equivocation or amphiboly. If equivocation,
Fallacies of Content
determine which terms have an ambiguous meaning (are semantically
ambiguous) and give the two meanings used. If amphiboly, identify the syn¬
tactic ambiguity (ambiguity of use) on which the argument trades. Some argu¬
ments may commit both fallacies.
1. The IRS official is correct: Filing a federal income tax return does not vio¬
late your rights. However, being forced to file does. Since taxes are revolt¬
ing, why aren't you? (Todd J. Olson, letter, Minnesota Daily, May 5,1982)
2. This is the season of harvest, so harvest some clothes at Hauglands.

(Advertisement)
3. Before my daughter's graduation exercises began, I was reading the pro¬

gram. On the cover was a picture of a boy and girl in cap and gown, the
school's name and the words "The Sixty-Second Annual Commence¬
ment." An elderly woman sitting next to me leaned over to comment,
"My, but they're cutting down on graduation ceremonies. Sixty seconds is
the shortest one I've ever attended."
4. Conrad
Conrad / By Bill Schorr
Source: CONRAD © Tribune Media Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
5. The lady has taste. Taste in the pretty things around her. Taste in her ciga¬
rette. Flavor-rich Eve. A rich yet gentle tobacco blend. Smooth. Satisfying.
Made for the lady with taste. Smoke pretty Eve. (Advertisement)
6. Everyone needs a little comfort. Getting comfortable sometimes means

getting away from it all. And then settling back with the smooth, easy
taste of Southern Comfort. (Advertisement)
7. "Statistics show that in China a child is born every 47 seconds," reported a

TV commentator. "Isn't it a wonder," remarked a viewer to her husband,
"that they manage to space them so regularly." (Mina and Andre Guillois,
Les Femmes Marrantes)
8. Dennis the Menace 291
CHAPTER 11
Identifying More
Fallacies of Contents
Source: © 1987 DENNIS THE MENACE. Reprinted by permission of King Features.
9. For Better or For Worse
J&j dy nN <3^sioti
y&>& As
c
Source: FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE. Reprinted by permission of United Features Syndicate, Inc.
292 10. Photograph of a woman in black fur, a black Rolls Royce, black oil der¬
CHAPTER 11 ricks against the sky, and a label reading, "Johnnie Walker Black Label
Identifying More Scotch." Success is often measured by how deeply you are in the Black.
Fallacies of Content [Advertisement]
11. Tiger
TIGER
Source: TIGER. Reprinted with special permission of King Features Syndicate, Inc.
12. Why are fire trucks red? Fire trucks are red because they have six tires and
two drivers, which make 12, and 12 inches makes a ruler, and a ruler is
Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Elizabeth is also a ship, and a ship floats on
water, and there are fish in the water and there are fins on the fish, and the
Finns fought the Russians, and the Russians are red, so fire engines are red
because they are always rush'n.
13. Picture showing a man being intimate with a woman. "Gravity . . . The
Force that Pulls You Closer. Gravity, fragrance for men." (Advertisement)
14. B.C.
Source: B.C. By permission of Johnny Hart and Creators Syndicate.

15. Beetle Bailey 293
CHAPTER 11
Identifying More
Source: BEETLE BAILEY. Reprinted with special permission of King Features Syndicate, Inc.
FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE
A second type of fallacy of content focuses specifically on whether the prem¬

ises are relevant to the conclusion. In a good argument, the premises are rele¬
vant to the conclusion. In particular, the premises of deductive arguments are
conclusion-specific; that is, given specific premises, only a specific conclusion
follows. When the premises are irrelevant to the conclusion, the argument com¬
mits a Fallacy of Relevance. We will consider six different types of this fallacy.
3. Appeal to Force or Fear

Sometimes people argue for the truth of a conclusion based upon premises
that appeal to force or fear. The Fallacy of the Appeal to Force occurs when a
person argues that a statement is true or that you should do something
because that person or others have the power to make bad things happen to
you if you do not believe the statement or fail to perform the recommended
action. The person supports the conclusion by making a threat against your
own or another's safety or a threat to remove a privilege. For example, "I
ought to pitch. Otherwise I am going to take the bat and ball and go home."
The threat fails to provide good evidence for the claim that the person should
pitch. A much better argument would appeal to the person's pitching skills as
a reason why that person should be the pitcher.
The appeal to fear is the same fallacy but viewed from the perspective of
the person to whom the argument is directed. The Fallacy of the Appeal to
Fear occurs when persons adopt a specific truth or take a specific action based
on fear that something bad will happen to them if they do not believe or act in
a certain way. For example, mother to daughter: "You should eats lots of broc¬
coli, or else you will get cancer." The mother is arguing that the daughter
should include broccoli in her regular diet based upon an appeal to the daugh¬
ter's fear about getting cancer.
Appeals to force or fear are fallacious because from the threat of force or fear
any conclusion—even contradictory conclusions—can follow. A person might
argue that you should come or that you should go, or that you should believe or
not believe something, using the same threat of force. But premises are used to
support a specific conclusion. If you can derive multiple or contradictory
294 conclusions from the same set of premises, the argument fails in its task of
CHAPTER 11 establishing any specific position.
Identifying More There are, of course, relevant appeals to fear. For example, "You should
Fallacies of Content not drive over the speed limit on this road because the police strictly enforce
the speed laws." This appeal provides a good, relevant reason in this instance
for not speeding. Hence, since fear can at times provide a legitimate or rele¬
vant reason, you have to decide from the context when the appeal to fear or
force is irrelevant and when it is relevant to the conclusion. When it is irrele¬
vant, the argument commits the fallacy.
4. Appeal to Pity
The Fallacy of the Appeal to Pity is similar to the Appeal to Force in that the
arguer uses an emotion to recommend the truth of the conclusion or to recom¬
mend that you take some action. In the Fallacy of the Appeal to Pity, the
arguer appeals to pity.
Students sometimes use this type of argument: "I had two other tests to
study for, and then I overslept. Please excuse me from doing today's assign¬
ment." Faced with such appeals, who can resist? Yet, although such arguments
might be persuasive with teachers, they are generally fallacious, for as with
the appeal to force, anything, including contradictory conclusions, can follow
from invoking pity. Since such arguments do not support a specific conclusion,
they are generally fallacious.
As with the Appeal to Fear, there are times when it is legitimate to appeal
to the emotion of pity to support a conclusion. Persons may legitimately argue
that you should help rescue them from a flood because the roof on which they
are sitting is about to be inundated by rising water. Concern for their safety
would be directly relevant to the action they are requesting you to take on their
behalf. Hence, again, you need to decide from the context when the appeal to
pity is irrelevant and when it is relevant to the conclusion. When it is irrele¬
vant, the argument commits the fallacy.
5. Ad Hominem
The Ad Hominem fallacy (Latin, meaning directed to or against the person) is
particularly pernicious because it directs its attention not to the issue but to
the person him or herself. Consequently, the premises of these arguments are
irrelevant to the conclusion. At the same time, such arguments are often per¬
suasive because of our concern for character. Their persuasiveness accounts
for their frequent use in political campaigns and debates.
The fallacy comes in several varieties. The Abusive Ad Hominem argument
takes the form of saying that what someone says is false or not to be believed
because that person has a bad character or set of habits. For example, "You
should not trust Jones's testimony because he is an alcoholic." Now it might be
true that Jones is an alcoholic, but at the same time in this case he might be
telling the truth. If he came running to you and told you that your house was on
fire, it would not be wise to dismiss his statement simply on the grounds that he
is an alcoholic. He may, at this moment, be sober (or even inebriated) and have
important news for you. You need to check out the truth of his claim.
The Non-abusive Ad Hominem, on the other hand, has the form of say¬ 295
ing that what someone says is true or to be believed because that person is CHAPTER 11
such a nice person. Consider an ad for Golden Sun Feeds showing a feed Identifying More
dealer umpiring a little league baseball game. "To think a half hour ago this Fallacies of Contents
Sunshine Guy brought you a load of feed. Now your Golden Sun dealer's
calling them the way he sees 'em at the little league playoff game. Depending
which team you're pulling for, the Sunshine Guy can be a saint or a bum. But
when he teams up with you to work out the most profitable feeding pro¬
grams for your livestock, there's no questioning his decisions on the choice of
Golden Sun quality products." The appeal is to a civic minded person who is
also a feed dealer; his civic mindedness is given as a reason for doing busi¬
ness with him.
A third version appeals not to the person's character but to the person's cir¬
cumstances to support the claim that what that person is saying is true or false.
This is called the Circumstantial Ad Hominem. For example, "You cannot
accept Ms. Smith's testimony about keeping the system of tenure at the univer¬
sity. After all, she is a tenured professor and has a vested interest in keeping
tenure." The fact that Ms. Smith is a tenured professor should not be used to
dismiss her testimony regarding keeping the system of tenure at the university.
What has to be assessed are the reasons she gives for keeping it. Her argument
and not her position as a teacher is relevant to the truth of the conclusion.
Here is another example of the circumstantial ad hominem fallacy, this time
in an advertisement for Shalimar perfume showing an intimate couple in
Indian garb. "The inspiration for this classic fragrance came from the story of a
man who loved a woman so deeply, that when she died, every fiber of his
being was devoted to creating a monument to her memory. Twenty thousand
men labored daily for twenty-two years to fashion marble into . . . the Taj
Mahal. The garden where their love grew was called the Garden of Shalimar."
The perfume is being recommended on its name alone, which is connected
with an exotic garden in Agra, India. The name of a perfume provides no rea¬
son for determining its quality or for you to purchase the product.
6. Appeal to Vanity
The Fallacy of Appeal to Vanity (also called the Appeal to Flattery) occurs com¬
monly in advertisements because it is particularly persuasive. The arguer con¬
tends that a particular statement is true or that you ought to take a particular
action because of some quality that you, the reader or listener, possess. What is
emphasized in the reasoning is the purchaser, not the qualities of the product.
For example, consider an advertisement showing a wood stereo cabinet in a liv¬
ing room. "Magnavox stereo. When it's not playing beautiful music, it's still say¬
ing beautiful things about you. Whichever magnificent Magnavox stereo you
select, it will speak eloquently of your good taste." The ad appeals not to the
quality of the stereo, but to you and your taste as a reason for purchasing the
product. Or again, in an advertisement for the Jaguar automobile. "Some peo¬
ple seek the sun. Then again, there are others who bask in it at will. If you're in
the latter group, consider the XJ-S Convertible." Here the ad appeals to your
uniqueness: you are special, and since this product is made for special people,
you should purchase it.
296 The Appeal to Vanity is fallacious because it supports the conclusion not
chapter 11 by appealing to evidence that is relevant to the conclusion (for example, the
Identifying More quality of the product) but by appealing to some feature about the person who
Fallacies of Content [s tG believe the conclusion. But the features of the reader are quite irrelevant
to the truth of the conclusion. When what is recommended is the product, one
wants evidence of the quality or serviceability of the product, not an irrelevant
appeal to the reader's "good taste."
7. Appeal to Numbers
The fallacy of the Appeal to Numbers is the opposite of the appeal to vanity.
Whereas the appeal to vanity appeals to the reader's uniqueness, the appeal to
numbers occurs when a statement is thought to be true because many people
believe it. This is often called the Bandwagon Fallacy. For example, a student
argued, "Many people today believe in angels. In a recent poll 64 percent
reported they believed in angels, and 46 percent believed they had some experi¬
ence of angels. This is the reason I believe that angels exist." The argument, how¬
ever well intentioned, is fallacious: many people could be wrong in their beliefs.
Not too many centuries ago most people believed that the sun went around the
earth, but the fact that most believed this provides no evidence for how the solar
system functions.
Appeals to numbers or mass appeal are irrelevant because the premise is
not about the topic found in the conclusion but about the beliefs of those who
consider the conclusion. But unless the conclusion is likewise about those
beliefs, persons' beliefs are irrelevant in determining whether some opinion is
or is not true.
At the same time, you should be aware of the persuasiveness of such argu¬
ments. The fact that everyone is doing it provides a powerful motivator for
thinking that something is true or for purchasing a product. People—especially
young people—do not like to be odd, unusual, or left out. Because they do not
want to stand out from their peers, they often demand or purchase brand name
clothing. Peer pressure successfully functions to get them to purchase socially
accepted products. Recognizing the fallaciousness of appeals to numbers is a
first step to convincing people that such arguments should be resisted.
8. Fallacies of Time
A final set of fallacies of relevance concerns time. People often use time as a
reason for claiming that a statement is true or false, or that one ought or ought
not to purchase a product. There are four versions of the fallacy of time.
Appeal to Tradition: The argument goes like this: because a belief is old,
or because a product or company has been around for a long time, the belief
must be true or the product of good quality. Consider the following ad for
Simonize car wax. "1910: Simonize introduces the first car wax ever. 1920:
Simonize is introduced to England. 1937: Simonize helps a lot of people
through college. 1955: Simonize introduces the first one-step wax . . . Simo¬
nize. You've always heard how good it was." The advertisement introduces an
appeal to a long tradition to get you to purchase Simonize car care products.
But nothing is said about the contemporary quality, let alone the past quality,
of the product.
Appeal to Novelty: the argument contends that because a belief or a prod¬ 297
uct is new, the belief must be true or the product of good quality. Consider this CHAPTER 11
Volkswagen advertisement. "NEW. What does it mean? It's probably the most Identifying More
powerful word in advertising. ... In the case of an automobile, it's starting Fallacies of Contents
from scratch and totally redesigning just about every single part to best fill
your needs. . . . Which is exactly what we did with our Volkswagen. Five
years ago, we set out to design the car of the future. . . . To do that properly,
we had to start from ground zero, taking everything into consideration. . . .
You see, if you're in the market for a new car, we think your hard-earned
money deserves more than just the word NEW with an exclamation point
after it. It deserves new, period." The car company is pushing novelty as a rea¬
son for purchasing its car.
Stagnation: because a belief is old or a product or company has been
around for a long time, the belief must be false or the product or company out-
of-date. Perhaps someone has told you that you should not take a course in
ancient philosophy or literature because people back then were unscientific;
by now their ideas are out-of-date. But though it is true that such thinkers pre¬
ceded the era of modern science, it does not follow that their ideas are worth¬
less. There may be some very good and true ideas in ancient philosophy and
literature that are worth considering despite the fact that they were written
2,500 years ago.
No Precedent: because a belief is new or a product is new, the belief must be
false or the product suspect in quality. Those who resist change often appeal to
this reasoning: it has never been done that way before, so we should not do it
now. But the fact that something has not been done a certain way before provides
no good reason to reject the claim that the project may now be worth an attempt.
You can easily see from this list of four types why arguments that appeal
strictly to considerations of time are fallacious. The matter of time alone is gen¬
erally irrelevant to the truth of the conclusion, for from time alone it does not
follow that the statement is true or false or that the product has or lacks qual¬
ity. Statements that have been around for a long time can be true or false; new
claims likewise can be true or false. Products or companies that have lasted
over the years are not necessarily good now; likewise new products can be
good or bad, regardless of being new. It is not time itself that determines the
truth or falsity of claims (unless they are about time) or the quality of a prod¬
uct or company.
Exercise 2
For each of the following arguments, (1) identify the conclusion, (2) identify
the fallacy, and (3) tell why it is fallacious.
1. You're not John Doe. Why drive his car? A car isn't just something you
drive. It's something you wear. The Mazda MX-3 is a new sports coupe for
those of us who'd never be seen driving a beige cardigan. Instead of mak¬
ing a car that everyone would like, Mazda engineers made a car that a few
people will love. (Advertisement)
2. More and more Americans are coming out of the fog to realize that we
have an unfit president, a man clearly holding a position far beyond his
298 wisdom and his skill. In his movie career, Reagan played many roles and
CHAPTER 11 played them competently He played gun fighters and fighter pilots and
Identifying More professional athletes, but he wasn't really any of these things. Then he got
Fallacies of Content to play President. He did well at first. When Americans saw him on the
screen he looked, spoke, and acted like a president. Congress was afraid of
him because the people loved his act. The press was afraid of him because
the people loved his act. One problem with Hollywood is that the sequel
seldom matches the original. In Reagan's first term his luck held. In the
second term (the sequel) his luck ran out. (Ron Palossari, "Dear Ron,"
Echo, March 6,1987. Reprinted by permission.)
3. You take out Table 22's order, bring the ice water for Tables 19 and 21, pre¬
pare the desserts for Table 17, drop off the check for Table 11. You rush out
to take Table 19's order, and as you're headed for Table 21, Table 22 needs
more coffee. Meanwhile, the manager has just seated a party of eight in
your section, and Table 17 is ready for the check. ... A restaurant night¬
mare, the kind waiters and waitresses experience all the time. ... I don't
know how much waiters and waitresses make these days, but it probably
isn't enough. There are few jobs that take so much out of you emotionally
as well as physically. There may be none so stressful. ... So the next time
you're in a restaurant or cocktail lounge, be good to those who wait on
you. They want to provide good service as much as you want to receive it.
And chances are, their job is a lot tougher than yours. . . . (Excerpted by
permission from Pete Temple, "Waiting on Tables can be a Nightmare."
This week, June 15,1987.)
4.
Source: Good Housekeeping. April 1982. p. 178. © 1982 Good Housekeeping. Reprinted by permission of Orlando
Busino.
5. Taste the flavor of times long gone. In Heartland Natural Cereal. Your first 299
taste of Heartland Natural Cereal will seem strangely familiar. As if CHAPTER 11
you've tasted it sometime, someplace, long ago. As if, somehow, it's part Identifying More
of your past. Because it is. Pet Incorporated has reached back, beyond Fallacies of Contents
today's complicated, artificial times, to bring back a taste rich in the natu¬
ral goodness Americans enjoyed long ago. (Advertisement)
6. A newborn goes from Nature's perfect surroundings right into diapers.

So 1,760 hospitals use Pampers. Now your baby's on his own—but he
needs more love and care than ever. No wonder so many hospitals think
Pampers are the best all-around way to diaper babies. And so many
mothers think Pampers are the best diaper to surround a baby with.
(Advertisement)
7. They say a woman thrives on change. That's why you're always looking
for something new to do. Something new to wear. And something differ¬
ent for dinner. It's a good day for Stouffer's. (Advertisement)
8. With the month of May we have Poppy Day coming up the 19th. As an
auxiliary member of the V.F.W. and a poppy seller who has taken many
nasty rebuffs from the people I asked to buy, I want to make one thing
clear. The money collected is used only to help the poor boys who went
and gave of themselves so we could keep our freedom. Many of them
came back only in part. Who cares? The many auxiliaries and posts care.
We sell the poppies to help the forgotten ones crowded in hospitals and
institutions. If you can come away and not feel you want to help, then
don't put anything in that poppy can when the girl thrusts it toward
you, but don't belittle us who are standing in the cold and rain trying to
help in our small way. (Jeanette Fitch, letter, Minneapolis Star and
Tribune)
9. At Ste. Pierre Smirnoff FIs., we've been making vodka for 150 years. Tava
is the only liqueur which bears our name. (Advertisement)
10. Of all the people in all the world, if you don't deserve one, who does? You,
of all people. You've probably been told that to own a fur is to be pam¬
pered and self-indulgent. And so stoic little you have resisted. But your
time has come. Because if you're seeking lots of attention in this world,
you have to love yourself first. And show it. And what better way than in
fur. Come on, you've been a good girl too long. Unpampered. Unspoiled.
And perhaps even unnoticed. So own up. You've always wanted to own
one. This winter get all wrapped up in yourself. In fur. You deserve it.
You'll love yourself in fur. (Advertisement)
11. Why [vote for] Bill Bednarczyk? The present City Treasurer is 76 years
old—eleven years past retirement age for most workers. He is drawing a
full pension from the Minneapolis Fire Retirement Fund in addition to his
salary as Treasurer. . . . Whatever his past accomplishments for the city,
most people feel he should retire. (Political pamphlet of the Bednarczyk
Volunteer Committee)
300 12. It comes to some as a rich, lingering moment and maybe it can to you.
CHAPTER 11 Because when you put on a piece of real gold jewelry, it is a different feel¬
Identifying More ing. Real gold jewelry goes beyond fashion. You don't wear it just to com¬
Fallacies of Content plement an outfit, you wear it because it's personal—because it expresses
you. Real gold jewelry always means Karat Gold Jewelry. Nothing else
feels like real gold. (Advertisement)
13. During Watergate, President Nixon argued that he did not have to make
the White House Tapes, which he considered his personal documents,
available to Congress, on the grounds that no other Presidents had been
required to do so.
14. We senior citizens who play golf were pretty shaken when we heard that
the all-course senior ticket for the city's public golf courses had been
raised from $250 to $290 for the coming year. Why penalize the seniors on
fixed incomes so severely all in one year? It is unfair to us who have only a
few years left to play. (W. A. Wicks, letter, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Reprinted by permission.)
15. Photograph showing clipping from a newspaper. "2 Children Killed Inside
Clothes Dryer. Two small children left alone by their mother when she
went to work died Thursday while playing inside a clothes dryer that
began running, Miami police said." The cost of having a corporate day¬
care program is nothing compared to the cost of not having one. Licensed
day-care centers and homes have room for only 6 million of the 24 million
children needing day-care today. By 1990, that figure will grow to 30 mil¬
lion. Find out how to start a day-care program. (Advertisement)
16. How good it is with Winston's finer flavor. It's America's largest-selling
long cigarette. That's how good it is! (Advertisement)
17. We didn't make them for the masses. We didn't make them for the aver¬
age jock. We didn't make them for athletes who settle for second best. Get
serious. Twinlab Sports Drinks. Serious nutrition for serious athletes.
(Advertisement)
18. You may lose 10 lbs. in 10 days with the delicious Grapefruit Juice Diet!
The revolutionary grapefruit diet that everyone is talking about. THIS
STARTLING DIET REALLY WORKS! TV personalities, movie people, and
fashion models (men, too) are raving about this diet. A copy of this new
and startling successful Diet Plan can be obtained by sending only $1.00 to
Waist Watchers. (Advertisment)
19. Photo showing a woman entering a room, and all at the circular table stare
at her. AN UNRELIABLE WATCH CAN MAKE YOU UNRELIABLE. Your
watch has done you in again. And everybody's fed up with your excuses.
To insure your dignity, not to mention your job, you need an Accutron
watch. (Advertisement)
20. Is the Lynx a nuisance? If a marauder, a killer, is not a nuisance, just what in
your opinion is? Evidence showed that this Lynx has killed at least two deer;
how many more is hard to provide but very easy to guess. Had he killed
only to satisfy his hunger, he would have eaten the one before killing the 301
other, and one deer would have been enough for a cat of that size to satisfy CHAPTER 11
him for two weeks. But he killed another one and perhaps many more. For Identifying More
what? it must be for blood thirst, or was it for "ego boosting" of the Lynx. Fallacies of Contents
These people who trap predators don't kill for "ego boosting" but
because they have a heart for the innocent deer and sheep, who need pro¬
tection. Trappers kill only the beasts that kill the poor animals that have no
protection. You never saw a lamb or deer do any harm to others.
Why don't you open your heart for our animals that are needed for
our own existence, instead of for some needless beasts? Did you ever see
the killing of a wolf or lynx? It's the most brutal way imaginable. They
snatch the young from their mothers and sometimes I wonder if they even
bother to kill them, but just start tearing them apart and eating them while
still alive, and beasts like that get protection from people that are sup¬
posed to be "humane." Now you tell me if a predator is a "nuisance."
(E. Buschmann, letter, The Country Echo)
21. Readers inclined to take this gospel [that alien spacemen are responsible
for ancient buildings and events] with a grain of salt as large as Lot's wife
will fly in the face of some 14 million other readers who have harkened to
the intriguing theories of a 38-year-old Swiss hotelier, iconoclast, school
dropout and ex-convict named Erich von Daniken. . . . Lecture audiences
lap up the von Daniken gospel while orthodox critics argue that his theo¬
ries are as full of holes as his native Swiss cheese. They claim he was psy¬
chically marked as a child when he saw Allied airmen climb out "like
creatures from another world" from their force-landed bomber in Switzer¬
land. They cite his three and a half years in prison for embezzlement, for¬
gery and fraud—including heisting money from his Boy Scout troop. They
say he wears elevator shoes. . . . (S. K. Oberbeck, "Deus ex Machina,"
Newsweek, October 8,1973, p. 104)
22. Ah yes, the "thirties" were the days of simple tastes and simple pleasures.
They were the days of affluence and abundance. They were the days
when bad news didn't seem to travel as fast as it does today. And the
family contented itself to sit around the living room listening to the radio
together. And of course the most popular face of the "thirties" was
Shirley Temple. She brightened up the silver screen and became "Amer¬
ica's Sweetheart."
Try as we can, we will never bring back the good old days. But we
can revive some of the simple little pleasures from the past. So now Ideal
proudly introduces the new Shirley Temple doll. Her head, arms and
legs are moveable to create different poses. Her dimples, sunshine smile
and golden curls all helped to make her the 'most loved little girl in the
world.' Yes, the 'dimpled darling of the thirties' is back again to shower
joy and tears on a whole new generation of admirers. (Advertisement)
23. This paper has been sent to you for good Luck. The original is in New
England. The Luck has been sent to you. You will receive good luck within
four days of receiving this letter, provided you in turn send it on. This is
302 no Joke. Send copies to people you think need good Luck. Do not keep
CHAPTER 11 this letter. It must leave your hands within 96 hours.
Identifying More A R.A.F. officer received $470,000. Constantine Dias received the
Fallacies of Content chain in 1953. He asked his secretary to make twenty copies and send
them out. A few days later he won a lottery of two million dollars. Joe
Elliot received $40,000 and lost it because he broke the chain. While in the
Philippines, Gene Welch lost his wife six days after receiving this letter.
He had failed to recirculate the letter. However, before her death, he
received $7.75 million. Carlo Dadditt received the letter and forgot it had
to leave his hands within 96 hours. He lost his job; later after finding the
letter again, he mailed twenty copies. A few days later he got a better job.
(Chain letter)
24. Hagar the Horrible
Hagar the Horrible/By Dik Browne
Source: HAGAR THE HORRIBLE. Reprinted with special permission of King Features Syndicate, Inc.
25. Smokers Joining Merit Bandwagon. Low tar MERIT attracts increasing
number of former high tar smokers. It's clear: MERIT taste is changing
attitudes toward low tar smoking. [Advertisement]
26. Surely the professor jests when he says that he agrees with Senator
Pococurante's view of opera in Voltaire's "Candide." The professor is a
choice example of that more tiresome of beings, the jaded and dyspeptic
critic who likes nothing and is in reality a frustrated, nonproducing
would-be artist. The joke is on him, ultimately, as Voltaire rather clearly
implies. (Letter, Minnesota Daily)
27. Been looking for that great, ungainly pen your father had in 1927? Big Red
writes again. Too many good things get lost in the shuffle. It's time to get
back to fundamental values. It's time for virtue to triumph. So we're
bringing back the giant of a pen that roared through the Twenties and
Thirties writing checks, letters, autographs, great novels, jazz and mash
notes. Yes, Big Red writes again. (Advertisement)
28. 303
CHAPTER 11
Identifying More
Help us get to the heart of the problem.
29. The BMW 3.0Si. For those who deny themselves nothing. (Advertisement)
30. Changes such as the DH are equal to altering the Ten Commandments.
Restore baseball to a nine-player game. (Thomas Zocco, letter. Sporting
News, April 4,1983)
31. Senior advisor, speaking to the president: "The Secretary of State has a
plan to stop the bickering with your Cabinet. He'll simply fire a warning
nuclear shot over the White House." (Cartoon, Ralph Dunagin, Minneapo¬
lis Tribune, December 24,1981)
32. Picture of old man and boy. "For four generations we've been making
medicines as if people's lives depended on them." Lilly Pharmaceuticals.
(Advertisement)
33. 20,679 Physicians say Luckies are less irritating. (Advertisement)
34. Honeywell Pentax ES—a camera for the busy, demanding and talented two
percent. If you're successful in your business or profession, the drive to excel
304 and the demand for perfection that helped you get there are the same quali¬
CHAPTER 11 ties that can make you a fine photographer. And now photography can be an
Identifying More exceptionally satisfying way to express your creativity and sensitivity without
Fallacies of Content spending a lot of the one thing you're shortest of—time. At about $600, the
Honeywell Pentax ES was not designed for mass appeal. (Advertisement)
35. Revolutionaries . . . have never earned a decent wage by legitimate work

in which they provided a needed service or product. The reason is they are
just too lazy to work at a productive job. . . . [Revolutionaries are nothing
new. They are the same lazy, shiftless visionaries and petty criminals who
are always around, only lately they have had more publicity, protection,
and attention than ever before. If the college creeps had to pay their own
way, if the window smashers had to work at day labor to pay for the win¬
dows, and the flag burners were run through boot camp, our revolution
would disappear. (Edward Brown, Jr., letter, Newsweek, June 1,1970, p. 12)
36. The Gallup Poll stated that 49 percent were for abortion, 45 percent
opposed. It is clear that it is the immoral people who are for abortion. Bro¬
ken down into age, single, married, education, etc., the figures showed
that twice as many single people are for abortion as opposed. This tells us
that they are engaged in sexual activity and want abortion to be legal.
Also, college graduates were 2 to 1 for abortion. This tells me how colleges
are decaying. When you take these percentages off the total, it doesn't
leave many decent, sensible people for abortion. (Ron Stevens, letter, Min¬
neapolis Tribune)
37. Because you enjoy going first class. In Toledo, Spain or at home, life's
more satisfying when you're enjoying the best. That's Passport. Ask for
Passport—go first class. (Advertisement)
38. I'm convinced that Madalyn O'Hair is nothing but another moronic
Martha Mitchell. She continuously beats her little pink gums, but nothing
ever seems to come out. I feel she mocks Christianity because she's just
plain jealous. The reason she thinks Christians haven't done anything is
because her own moron species keep butting in. All the atheists have done
is tell lies about the Bible, organize crime, plot political assassinations,
rape, steal, etc. In short, they're making earth hell. (Steve Nichols, letter.
Campus Life)
39. If not for yourself, for your image. Old Grand-Dad. Head of the Bourbon
Family. (Advertisement)
40. New technology. New designs. New standards. New thinking. Add in a
great warranty and you have a whole new Hundai. (Advertisement)
FALLACIES OF PRESUMPTION
A third kind of fallacy has to do with presumptions, that is, with taking things
for granted in the argument that should not be taken for granted. In Chapter 4
we noted that many arguments make implicit assumptions, and that this is an
important and often necessary feature of reasoning. We cannot explicitly say 305
everything that needs to be said; we have neither time nor space for this. But CHAPTER 11
when assumptions become presumptions that so bias the premises that the Identifying More
argument is not cogent or sound, a Fallacy of Presumption is committed. Let Fallacies of Contents
us look at three of these fallacies.
9. False Dichotomy
The Fallacy of False Dichotomy occurs in an argument of the following sort.
1. You have only two options, A and B.

2. Option B is undesirable (or false).
3. Therefore, you must choose option A (option A is true).
If the premises of this argument are true, if in fact there are only two options
and you cannot have one option, you necessarily are left with the other option.
In Chapter 12 we show that this presents a valid deductive argument form.
The Fallacy of False Dichotomy occurs when the arguer presumes in the first
premise that there are only two real options, whereas more than two exist in
reality. If the options are more than two, the conclusion does not follow.
1. You have option A, B, or C.

2. Option B is undesirable (or false).
It no longer follows that you must choose option A, for you have more options
than A, namely, you have either A or C. Consider the Amtrak example on the
next page.
The argument here is
1. Either you go to the city by car (and have a long, tortuous drive) or you go
by Amtrak.
2. You don't want a very long and tortuous drive.
3. Therefore, you should go by Amtrak.
But there are other options. You could fly (and probably get there much faster).
The Amtrak ad assumes that the reader has only two options to get to the city,
when another realistic option exists.
10. Begging the Question

Arguers commit the Fallacy of Begging the Question when in one way or
another they assume what they have to prove. Sometimes this assumption is
obvious—for example, the author may simply repeat the conclusion using
other language. Consider this argument:
Voluntary euthanasia is justified because dying people ought to have the right
to decide whether to live or die.
Here the conclusion essentially repeats the premise, so that what has not been
defended is why voluntary euthanasia is justified. This version of the fallacy
occurs frequently in dorm or lunchroom discussions. When the arguing gets
tough, arguers may simply repeat what they have said, thereby trying to
306
CHAPTER 11
Identifying More
THE HARD WAY. THE EASY WOT.
By Car ByAmtrak:
Get on board.
Relax! Have a drink, stretch out,

eat, walk around, work, sleep.
Arrive downtown, relaxed and a little richer.
No matter how you look at it, going anywhere

these days by car can be a real drag. And when you
consider the high price of gas and the low mileage you
get, you’re better off taking Amtrak.*
Once aboard, discover the real ease of traveling.
See the country like you've never seen it before. Get a
snack, take a snooze . . . really relax in comfortable
wide seats. And if you’re going a long way, Amtrak has
complete dining and sleeping facilities.
Amtrak makes traveling with your family econom¬
ical with special family plan rates. Whether it's a busi¬
ness or pleasure trip, you can be sure the going and
coming will be easier on Amtrak.
For information and reservations call Amtrak or
your travel agent. See for yourself why it's easy come,
easy go to over 480 cities in the U.S.A. on Amtrak.
'The estimated cost of driving an average car i$ 17C per mile Including
gas, oil and depreciation, and excluding tolls, parking, etc.
AmtrakJll
Easy come, easy go.
Arrive nervous, tense,

a little poorer, hardly
ready for business or pleasure.
bolster the truth of their claim. Repeating what is said may be persuasive in 307
the end, but simply repeating the assertion in so many ways provides no evi¬ CHAPTER 11
dence for its truth. The argument begs the question in that the conclusion Identifying More
remains undefended and hence is fallacious. Fallacies of Contents
In more challenging versions of this fallacy, the place where the argument
has begged the question may be more carefully hidden. In one version a per¬
son argues in a circle; that is, the arguer contends that the conclusion is true
because it follows validly from true premises. When the person is asked why
one of the premises is true, the person defends that premise by appealing to
the conclusion. For example:
(1) Our company produces the highest quality product in the industry. We
know this because (2) we sell more of it than our competitor, and (2) the rea¬
son we sell more of it than our competitor is that (1) we produce the highest
quality product in the industry.
If you carefully follow this reasoning through, you can see that the author has
begged the question by arguing in a circle. The conclusion—our company pro¬
duces the highest quality product—is used to support the premise—we sell
more than our competitor—which in turn provides evidence for the claim that
we produce the highest quality product in the industry. This becomes very
apparent if you diagram this argument: 1 —> 2 —> 1. Arguments that beg the
question are suspect because they fail to provide independent evidence for the
conclusion.
11. Complex Question

A third example occurs in a slightly different context, namely, of arguing not
directly but indirectly for a conclusion by means of a question. We noted ear¬
lier in this book that questions generally do not make assertions; in a question
the person generally seeks information. When so used, questions cannot serve,
as premises in arguments. At the same time, questions can be so phrased that
they make a claim that in turn plays a role in supporting a conclusion. This
occurs in the Fallacy of Complex Questions. A Complex Question occurs
when the question is so phrased that it assumes that you have already agreed
to a specific claim, which then provides the basis for further argument. For
example, the question "When did you stop beating your roommate?" is com¬
plex, for it assumes that you have beaten your roommate in the past; the issue
now concerns when you stopped the practice.
Or consider an ad that pictures a motorcycle with all its special parts
labeled and a price tag of $3,999. The text reads "Will that be cash or charge?"
The question is complex, because it assumes that you will purchase the motor¬
cycle, and all that needs deciding now is whether you will pay for it with cash
or a charge card.
This fallacy frequently occurs in business transactions. Managers instruct
store clerks not to ask customers whether they want a certain product, but to
assume that they want it and to ask customers how they want to pay for it,
whether they want it in a bag or box, or whether they want to take it now or
put it as layaway. In each case, the clerk wants the customers to assume that
they will buy the product so that the only remaining decision is how to pay.
308 wrap, or take it away. The assumption is hidden in the question, and that is
CHAPTER 11 what makes this form of discourse persuasive.
Identifying More
Exercise 3
In each of the arguments, (1) identify the conclusion where there is one, and
(2) identify the fallacy committed.
1. Tiger
TIGER by Bud Blake
Source: TIGER. Reprinted with special permission of King Features Syndicate, Inc.
2. I've heard enough to make me decide one of two things: quit or smoke
Brand X. I smoke Brand X. (Advertisement)
3. "What are you going to do with the extra energy you'll feel wearing
SHEER ENERGY?" (Advertisement for pantyhose)
4. It's us. Or rust. Bring your new car to us soon after you buy it and we'll
totally rustproof it. Or don't bring your new car to us. And expect to have
the body start rusting to pieces from the inside out in a couple of years.
Because no car is really rustproofed at the factory. Us. Or rust. It's your
choice. (Advertisement)
5. Is Early Times really necessary in your Pussycats? Anything else, and you
might wind up with an alleycat. (Advertisement)
6. Which of these highly intelligent Minolta SLRs is right for you?

(Advertisement)
7. When asked what makes his team strong yearly, the coach thought the
school's tradition was the answer. He backed this by pointing out that
when counting all sports, his school is the winningest school in conference
history. (Roseville Suburban Sun)
8. Citizens can either remain living with the hatred racial conflict brings and
not increase taxes and spending, or one can live in a more peaceful envi¬
ronment with a decrease in racial conflict and have to pay a little more.
When analyzing the two options, the obvious choice should be the one
that eliminates racial conflict in having to spend a little more money.
(Student paper)
9. Photo showing four Number One drivers made by the same golf equip¬ 309
ment manufacturer. "Which one for you?" (Advertisement) CHAPTER 11
Identifying More
10. Garfield
Garfield ® by Jim Davis
Source: GARFIELD, © 1987 Paws, Inc. Reprinted with permission of Universal Press Syndicate. All rights
reserved.
11. Funky Winkerbean: Well, Les, that big clod, Bull Bushka, has been picking
on you for a full week now!
Les: Yeah! I hate to do it, but I guess there's only one course of action open
to me! Who do I see about dropping out of school?
Source: FUNKEY WINKERBEAN. Reprinted with special permission of North America Syndicates, Inc.
12. The President is a very shrewd politician. If he weren't, he would not be

President.
13. Isn't it time you started thinking about number 1: (yourself)?
14. There has never been a sports superstar like [Michael Jordan], . . . [There
is] room to debate who actually was pro football's ultimate ballcarrier. But
there is no room for debate with Jordan, because he has left us no room.
(Bryan Burwell, "There's No Air Apparent," Sporting News, November 3,
1997, p. 9)
15. We don't want to confuse anyone out there. Some people do get what they
pay for. Others get much more. Maybe they know something the rest of us
don't. Or maybe they simply drive a Chevy Cavalier. It's loaded with
gadgets you usually get in more expensive cars. (Advertisement)
Exercise 4
Create a portfolio of fallacies that provides examples from ten of the fifteen
major fallacies noted in this chapter and in Chapter 10. The examples can
come from advertisements, letters to the editor, editorials, cartoons, articles,
books, radio, and television. Include in your portfolio either the original piece
or a facsimile of it. Indicate separately (1) the argument in the editorial, adver¬
tisement, and so on that you are considering. (2) Name the fallacy committed.
310 (3) Convince the reader that the argument commits this fallacy (arguments are
chapter 11 innocent until proven guilty). (4) Document your source.
Identifying More
Bring a copy of the examples you are going to use and where you and your partner disagree about
in your portfolio, without your notations, and either the conclusion or the fallacy, come up with
give the copy to your partner. Have your partner a reasoned defense of an agreed-upon position
find the conclusion of the arguments and the fal¬ about the fallacy committed.
lacy your examples commit. Compare answers.
SUMMING-UP
In this chapter we have considered eleven additional fallacies.
This list of fallacies touches on the more common examples; there are
many others. Though learning these examples is important, the larger point is
that critical thinkers pay attention to the language of the argument. Chapters 4
and 5 stressed the role of language in comprehending what others say. This
chapter makes the same point, though now in the context of arguing. If you
pay careful attention to the language, you will be on your way to identifying
whether the premises are ambiguous, irrelevant to the conclusion, or by mak¬
ing crucial presuppositions that fail to adequately support the conclusion. Pay¬
ing attention to language often is no simple task, but it is the first step in free¬
ing you from the persuasive power of arguments that should not be
persuasive.
Fallacy of Equivocation: we draw an incorrect Fallacy of the Appeal to Numbers: the arguer
conclusion based on ambiguity of meaning. contends that a statement is true because many
Fallacy of Amphiboly: we draw an incorrect con¬ people believe it.
clusion based on evidence presented in a syntacti¬ Fallacy of Appeal to Time: the arguer appeals to
cally ambiguous way. time alone to establish the truth of the conclusion.
Fallacy of the Appeal to Force: the arguer uses the Fallacy of False Dichotomy: the arguer presumes
threat of force to establish the truth of a conclusion. that the premise contains only two options,
Fallacy of the Appeal to Pity: the arguer uses pity whereas there are really more than two.
to establish the truth of the conclusion. Fallacy of Begging the Question: arguers assume
Ad Hominem Fallacy: the arguer contends that what they are trying to prove.
what a person says is true or false based on that Fallacy of Complex Questions: a question is so
person's character or circumstances and not on phrased that it assumes a person has already
evidence relevant to the conclusion. agreed to a specific claim, which then provides the
Fallacy of Appeal to Vanity: the arguer appeals to basis for further argument.
some quality of the reader or listener to establish
the truth of the conclusion.
One final, important point. The fact that an argument is fallacious does not 311
imply that the conclusion of the argument is false. The conclusion may still be CHAPTER 11
true; it is just that the premises fail to establish that truth. For example, Identifying More
All cows give purple milk.
Whatever moos gives purple milk.
Therefore, all cows moo.
This argument is unsound; it has both false premises and breaks a rule
(what we will call being invalid in Chapter 12). Yet the conclusion is true: cows
do moo. It is just that we know this fact about cows based on other informa¬
tion (probably a generalization or as an item of common knowledge) but not
based on the premises of the argument. So when critical thinkers discover a
fallacy, they do not immediately reject the conclusion, for the conclusion may
still be true. They realize that the conclusion is not supported by these particu¬
lar premises, though perhaps people can present other good reasons for
accepting the conclusion. Fallacious reasoning leaves the matter undecided.
1. Conclusion: you should be revolting. Amphiboly on revolting: in the premise an
adjective; in the conclusion a verb. Equivocation on revolting: disgusting or
rebelling.
3. Conclusion: This is the shortest graduation ceremony I have attended. Equivoca¬
tion on sixty-second: the number of the commencement or how long in seconds.
5. Conclusion: Smoke pretty Eve. Equivocation on taste: flavor vs. aesthetic culture.
7. Conclusion: They manage to space their children so regularly. Equivocation: is
every exact or an average.
9. Conclusion: Michael left the leaves. Equivocation on leaves: items on a tree vs.
items not moved.
11. Conclusion: The Kellys will have difficulty fitting the new family in. Amphiboly on
Kelly house: the house the Kellys owned or where the Kellys live.
13. Conclusion: Use Gravity fragrance for men. Equivocation on gravity: a physical
force or the cologne.
15. Conclusion: Fie tastes the salt. Amphiboly: does it refer to the salt or the food?
1. Conclusion: You should drive the new Mazda MX-3. Appeal to flattery.
3. Conclusion: Be good to those who wait on you in restaurants. Appeal to pity.
5. Conclusion: Eat Heartland cereal. Appeal to the past (tradition).
7. Conclusion: Purchase Stauffer's dinners. Appeal to time (novelty).
9. Conclusion: Purchase Tava liqueur. Appeal to the past (tradition).
11. Conclusion: Vote for Bill Bednarczyk. Ad hominem.
13. Conclusion: Nixon does not have to make White House Tapes available to Con¬
gress. Appeal to time (no precedent).
15. Conclusion: Find out how to start a day-care program. Appeal to fear.
17. Conclusion: Drink Twinlab Sports Drinks. Appeal to flattery.
312 19. Conclusion: You need an Accutron watch. Appeal to fear.
21. Conclusion: Von Daniken's book is suspect. Ad hominem.
CHAPTER 11
Identifying More 23. Conclusion: Send copies of this letter on to others. Appeal to fear. Also hasty gen¬
Fallacies of Content eralization.
25. Conclusion: Smoke Merit. Appeal to numbers.
27. Conclusion: Purchase Big Red pens. Appeal to time (tradition).
29. Conclusion: Purchase the BMW 3.0Si. Appeal to flattery.
31. Conclusion: The President's Cabinet should stop bickering. Appeal to force.
33. Conclusion: Smoke Lucky Strike cigarettes. Appeal to numbers.
35. Conclusion: Revolutionaries have never earned a decent wage by legitimate work
in which they provided a needed service or product. Ad hominem.
37. Conclusion: Drink Passport Scotch. Appeal to flattery.
39. Conclusion: Drink Old Grand-Dad Bourbon. Appeal to flattery.
1. Begging the Question (circular reasoning). Technically this is not an argument

because of the questions.
3. Complex Question.
5. Conclusion: Early Times is necessary with your Pussycats. False dichotomy.
7. Conclusion: Our team is strong every year. Begging the Question (circular reasoning).
9. Complex question.
11. Conclusion: I'm going to drop out of school. False dichotomy.
13. Complex question.
15. Conclusion: Drive a Chevy Cavalier. False dichotomy.
CHAPTER 12
Evaluation
Assessing the Validity of Deductive Arguments
Vil'3-reo by Dan Piraro
Source: BIZARRO © Dan Piraro. Reprinted with permission of Universal Press Syndicate. All rights reserved.
I he prison inmate in this cartoon makes an unusual confession to the priest.

He argues that since all dogs go to heaven and since he is extremely allergic to
dogs, he had to commit a crime to avoid accompanying the dogs to heaven.
Supposing he is correct about dogs and his allergies, did he really have to com¬
mit a crime? Without disputing the truth of the premises, what do you think?
VALIDITY IN DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS
In Chapters 10 and 11 we learned how to evaluate the cogency of arguments in

terms of their content. We studied standard cases of inductive reasoning—appeals 313
314 to authority, generalizations, analogies, and causal inferences—and then con¬
CHAPTER 12
sidered a select number of other fallacies of content in both inductive and
Assessing the Validity deductive reasoning.
of Deductive This final chapter continues the emphasis on the skills needed for evalua¬
Arguments
tive reasoning. Here we focus on good and bad deductive reasoning. In Chap¬
ter 6 we saw that if the premises of a deductive argument are true and the
argument breaks no rules (is valid), the conclusion must be true; the conclusion
follows with certainty from the premises. The reason for this concerns the
argument's form or structure, not its specific content. What matters is how the
argument is constructed or put together. In fact, no matter what the content, so
long as the statements are meaningful and the deductive argument has a valid
form, if the premises are true, the conclusion is true.
Deductive arguments whose form or structure does not violate rules of
good reasoning are valid arguments. Deductive arguments whose form or
structure violates rules of good reasoning are invalid arguments. They com¬
mit what are termed formal fallacies because something is amiss with their
form or structure. Critical thinkers avoid invalid arguments because they fail
to establish the truth of the conclusion. Our task is to learn how to identify and
distinguish some valid and invalid forms of deductive reasoning.
An argument that both has true premises and is valid is called a sound
argument. The following argument is sound, for its premises are true and it
violates no rule of sound reasoning.
Premise: If the Earth were the same distance from the Sun as Mercury, organic
life as we know it would not exist on Earth.
Premise: Organic life exists on Earth.
Conclusion: The Earth is not the same distance from the Sun as Mercury.
This means that in evaluating deductive arguments we look at two things.

One is the truth of the premises. For any argument, we want to know whether
the premises are true. The defense of the premises of deductive arguments
occurs in the way described in Chapter 10, where we saw that we can deter¬
mine the truth of premises based upon such things as our experience, author¬
ity, or other arguments. We also want to know whether the argument is valid.
In this chapter we consider validity.
Logic is the study of arguments and how to evaluate them. To master logic
takes substantial time and practice. Since this is an introductory text, we do
not attempt such an endeavor here. Many good logic texts are available that
can help you succeed in mastering logic. Rather, this chapter introduces you to
some basic argument forms or structures that you frequently encounter and
helps you to distinguish valid from invalid arguments. If successful, this chap¬
ter can whet your appetite for further study of formal reasoning.
ARGUMENT FORMS
As the argument diagrams in Chapter 6 revealed, arguments come in many

forms. Yet many of the forms we actually use can be traced back to combina-
tions of a few fundamental forms. In what follows we concentrate on some of 315
these so that you can learn to recognize a few common valid and invalid argu- chapter 12
ment forms. Assessing the Validity

of Deductive
Arguments
Valid Conditional Argument Forms
Many of our arguments use the if-then form. For example,
• If the Republicans capture the Congress, we can expect a cutback in social

programs. The Republicans did capture Congress, so the cutback is
around the corner.
• If I pass my biology test, I will get an academic scholarship, and if I get an
academic scholarship, I will be able to stay in school. Hence, if I pass my
biology test, I will be able to stay in school.
Whether these if-then or conditional arguments are valid depends on their

form or structure. Before we look at their structure, some new vocabulary will
be helpful.
• Statements that have an if-then structure are • The claim that follows then (whether the
called conditionals. As we noted earlier in word then is stated or implicit) is the
this book, in a conditional the if part of the consequent.
statement cannot be separated from the then • We say that the antecedent implies the conse¬
part; together they make one statement or quent, which means that the antecedent can¬
claim. not be true and the consequent false.
• The claim that follows if is called the
antecedent.
In the conditional "If the Republicans capture the Congress, we can expect a
cutback in social programs," "the Republicans capture the Congress" is the
antecedent, and "we can expect a cutback in social programs" is the conse¬
quent. When we say that the antecedent implies the consequent, we mean that
the statement "the Republicans capture the Congress" cannot be true while the
statement "we can expect a cutback in social programs" is false.
1. Affirming the Antecedent

The first kind of valid conditional argument form has the following structure,
[p and q are variables that stand for statements.]
If p is true, then q is true, p is true. Therefore, q is true.
We call this argument form Affirming the Antecedent. When we say that
the antecedent implies the consequent and that the antecedent is true (that is,
we affirm the antecedent), we can conclude that the consequent is true. In
the schema, saying that "p is true" affirms the antecedent of the conditional
statement. Any argument of this form (provided that p and q remain constant
in the argument) is valid.
316 Our argument about Republicans exemplified this form. The antecedent
CHAPTER 12 was "the Republicans capture Congress"; the consequent was "we can expect
Assessing the Validity a cut back in social programs." In our argument we said that since the
of Deductive antecedent implies the consequent, and since the antecedent is true, so is the
Arguments consequent. The argument, then, is valid.
Note that the order in which the antecedent and the consequent are given
is irrelevant. We could just as well argue
p is true. If p is true, then q is true. Therefore, q is true.
John is growing a mustache. If he grows a mustache, he will be more attrac¬

tive to coeds. Therefore, John will be more attractive to coeds.
or
q is true because p is true, and if p is true then q is true.
Samantha will make varsity because she is the only goalie trying out for the
team, and if she is the only goalie trying out for the team, she will make varsity.
Here is another example of this valid argument form but using between
the antecedent and the consequent another connector that functions like if.
Whenever great earthquakes occur in the San Andreas fault, significant dam¬
age to structures occurs. A great earthquake occurred in Los Angeles several
years ago along the San Andreas fault. Consequently, great damage to struc¬
tures must have occurred.
Sometimes the conditional is masked by a statement that says more than is

apparent. For example.
Since he entered the room with dirty shoes, he is the culprit who left the foot¬
prints in the living room.
Since is a premise indicator; the premise is "he entered the room with dirty
feet." The argument assumes the conditional "if he entered the room with dirty
shoes, he is the culprit who left the footprints in the living room." That is, when
given one premise and a conclusion, you can often find the assumed premise by
inserting a conditional with the given premise as the antecedent and the con¬
clusion as the consequent. This technique, about which we will say more later,
you can use frequently when reconstructing and evaluating arguments.
2. Denying the Consequent
A second valid conditional argument form has the following structure.
If p is true, then q is true, q is false. Therefore, p is false.
We call this argument form Denying the Consequent. By saying that the
antecedent implies the consequent, and that the consequent is false, we can
infer that the antecedent is false (that is, the opposite or denial of the
antecedent is true). By saying that q is false we deny the consequent. Any
argument of this form (provided that p and q remain constant in the argu¬
ment) is valid.
We can modify a previous argument to illustrate this form. 317
CHAPTER 12
If the Republicans capture Congress, we can expect a cutback in social programs.
Assessing the Validity
We cannot expect such a cutback, so the Republicans did not capture Congress.
of Deductive
The antecedent is "the Republicans capture Congress"; the consequent is "we Arguments
can expect a cutback in social programs." We said that since the antecedent
implies the consequent, and since the consequent is not true, the antecedent is
not true.
To repeat a previous point, the particular order in which the premises and
conclusion occur is irrelevant to the validity of the argument. The fundamen¬
tal structure is what matters. Likewise, you can use words that function like if
with the same result.
Here are some additional examples.
If I could just get around this tractor-trailer, we could make it to school on

time. Since we didn't make it to school on time, you know that I couldn't pass
the tractor-trailer.
Whenever I try to get my paper done at the last minute, the computer fails. I
was lucky this time; the computer finally was working. [Can you supply the
conclusion?]
3. Hypothetical Syllogism
We will look at one final valid form using conditionals. [There are other
forms that we will not consider.] The Hypothetical Syllogism connects two
conditional statements in order to conclude to a third conditional statement.
In this argument the component conditional statements must exactly exem¬
plify the form we give (though the order of the premises and conclusion
does not matter).
If p is true, then q is true. If q is true, then r is true. Therefore, if p is true,

then r is true.
or
If q is true, then r is true. If p is true, then q is true. Therefore, if p is true,

then r is true.
For example:
If Celeste is Cherie's only sister, and if Cherie's only sister is engaged to

Ralph, then Celeste is engaged to Ralph.
If Arlyn gains back all the weight he lost, his racquetball game will suffer. If
Arlyn must have his ice cream every evening before bed, he will gain back all
the weight he lost. So if Arlyn must have his ice cream every evening before
bed, his racquetball game will suffer.
Note that in contrast to the first two argument forms, both premises are condi¬
tional statements and the conclusion of the hypothetical syllogism is itself a
conditional. An arguer who uses this form validly concludes to a conditional
from two other conditionals.
318 Invalid Conditional Argument Forms
CHAPTER 12
Each of the valid forms just discussed is associated with a form that is invalid.
of Deductive
Failure to recognize the difference between different argument forms leads to
Arguments the failure to distinguish between valid and invalid arguments. In an invalid
argument, even though the premises are true, the conclusion does not follow
from those premises (though the conclusion still might be true for reasons
other than found in the premises). We will concentrate on fallacies connected
with the first two valid argument forms.
4. Fallacy of Affirming the Consequent

The first of these invalid forms is called the Fallacy of Affirming the Con¬
sequent. This fallacy occurs when the consequent of a conditional state¬
ment is affirmed. Since the antecedent implies the consequent, the arguer
then proceeds to affirm the antecedent. This argument has the following
form.
If p is true, then q is true, q is true. Therefore, p is true.
Any argument of this form is fallacious because it has an invalid form. The
form is invalid because q might be true for reasons that have nothing to do
with p. For example:
If I drop an egg, it will break. This egg is broken. Therefore, I dropped it.
Suppose it is true that if I drop an egg, it will break. Yet finding a broken egg
does not tell me that the egg was dropped. Its breakage could result from a
number of causes: hitting it with a knife, bouncing it off someone's head, or
cooking it with too high heat. That is, the egg may be broken for reasons that
have nothing to do with my dropping it, and hence I cannot conclude from the
presence of a broken egg that it was dropped. Any argument, therefore, that
adopts this form will be invalid: the conclusion neither follows from nor is
established by the premises.
Here is an example that some beginners in science think is a good argument.
If the hypothesis is true, the experiment will work. The experiment worked,
so the hypothesis is true.
In this argument because the consequent is affirmed in the premise, the

antecedent is believed to be true. This exemplifies our invalid argument form.
The argument is fallacious because since the experiment might have worked
for reasons that have nothing to do with the truth of the hypothesis, we cannot
conclude anything about the hypothesis from the fact that the experiment
worked.
5. Fallacy of Denying the Antecedent

Another related invalid form is called the Fallacy of Denying the Antecedent.
This fallacy occurs when the antecedent of a conditional statement is denied.
Since the antecedent implies the consequent, the arguer then proceeds to deny
the consequent. This argument has the following form.
If p is true, then q is true, p is not true. Therefore, q is not true.

For example, 319
CHAPTER 12
If the dam breaks, the town will be flooded. The dam did not break, so the
town is safe.
of Deductive
Is the town safe? Not necessarily. It could be flooded from sources other than Arguments
the dam breaking; for example, heavy rain could overload the storm sewers,
which in turn will back up into the streets and flood the town. Hence, the con¬
clusion does not necessarily follow from the premises.
Disjunctive Arguments
There is one final argument form to introduce: the disjunctive argument. In a
valid disjunctive argument one premise asserts two options, while a second
premise affirms that one of these options is unacceptable (false, impossible,
unavailable, not wanted). Consequently, the other option must be true. The
statement "p or q" is termed a disjunct, and an argument that uses a disjunct
as one of its premises is a Disjunctive Argument. The valid form of the argu¬
ment is
p is true or q is true, p is unacceptable (false, impossible, unavailable,

unwanted). Therefore, q is acceptable (true, possible, available, wanted).
For example, when you go to a restaurant, the waitress generally will offer
you a soup or a salad. You might not want soup today. If what she said was
true, she must bring you a salad.
You may have soup or you may have a salad. You don't want soup, so I will
bring you a salad.
Note how the disjunctive argument differs from the conditional. In the
disjunctive argument, the statements are connected by or, whereas in the con¬
ditional they are connected by if-then. One thing they have in common, how¬
ever, is that the disjunct and the conditional make one complete, compound
statement; they cannot be separated into their component statements. That is,
when the waitress offers you soup or salad, she is not offering you soup and
she is not offering you salad. She is offering you one or the other. The two dis-
juncts are part of a single statement.
There is a form of the disjunctive argument that is invalid. The form is
p is true or q is true, p is acceptable (true, possible, available, wanted).

Therefore, q is unacceptable (false, impossible, unavailable, unwanted).
For example.
Either Marvin is my friend or Bob is. Marvin is my friend. Therefore Bob is

not my friend.
What makes this argument form fallacious and hence guilty of the Fallacy of
False Disjunction is that it is possible that both of the disjuncts are true. That
is, it is possibly true that both Marvin and Bob are my friends. The or is being
used in a weak sense in that it allows one or the other or both possibilities.
320 Perhaps your mother has asked you if you wanted cake or ice cream for
CHAPTER 12
dessert. If you are wise (and hungry), you ask her for both. Depending on
Assessing the Validity your mother's mood, she may give you both. In giving you both she is within
of Deductive her "argument rights." That is, if she responds to the disjunction of cake or ice
Arguments
cream by giving you both, her initial offer of one or the other remains legiti¬
mate because she was using the weak sense of or.
The trick with disjuncts is to discern whether the or is being used in a
strong (it gives you only one of two options; you cannot have both) or a weak
sense (you can have either one or both options). Your generous mother
undoubtedly uses the weak sense of or when she offers you cake or ice cream
for desert. But the waitress in the restaurant is not so generous; when she
offers you soup or salad, she is using or in the strong sense: you can have one
but not both. When critical thinkers consider disjuncts, they are careful to dis¬
cern when the or is being used in the strong sense and when it is being used in
the weak sense. This can make a difference, particularly in legal documents.
For example, consider the following argument.
My house is covered for either wind damage or hail damage. My house

received damage from both. Therefore, the insurance company will cover all
the damage.
This is probably true, but its truth depends on the sense of or in the policy. If
or is being used in the weak sense, my house is covered for both; but if or is
being used in the strong sense, my house is not covered for both. When you
are making important decisions, it is important to discern which sense of or is
being employed. For example, if your employer says that you may apply for
the position of supervisor or for a transfer to another plant, you will want to
find out whether the employer is using or in the strong or the weak sense. If
the employer is using or in the strong sense, or limits your options to only
one; if the employer using it in the weak sense, or allows you to apply for
both.
Exercise 1
This exercise is to help you learn the forms we discussed and distinguish valid
from invalid arguments. For each of the following arguments, (1) circle the
logical indicators, (2) identify the form used, and (3) determine whether the
argument is valid or invalid.
1. If p is true, then q is true, q is true. Therefore, p is true.
2. If p is true, then q is true, p is false. Therefore, q is false.
3. Either p is true or q is true, p is false. Consequently, q is true.
4. If p is true, then q is true. If q is true, then r is true. Thus, if p is true, then r

is true.
5. When p is true, then q is true, q is true. Hence, p is true.
6. Either p is true or q is true. Since p is true, q is false.
7. q is false because if p is true then q is true, and p is false.

8. Since p is true and if p is true then q is true, then q is true. 321
9. p is false, q is true, for either p is true or q is true. CHAPTER 12
10. If q is true, then r is true. Since if p is true then q is true, if p is true then r of Deductive
is true. Arguments
11. If p is true, then r is true, for if q is true then r is true, and if p is true, then
q is true.
12. q is false because p implies q and p is false.
13. p is false because q is false and p implies q.
14. If p is true then q is true, and if p is true then r is true, so if q is true then r
is true.
15. If q follows from p, and p is true, q must be true.
16. Because you have p, and since either p or q is true, q is false.
17. When you have p you have q, and when you have q you have r, so when
you have p you have r.
18. Since you do not have q, then you do not have p, for if you have p you
have q.
19. Since you do not have p, then you do not have q, for if you have p you
have q.
20. Use disjunctive reasoning to solve the following puzzle. You have seven
pennies, one of which is a fake. You can only tell it is a fake by weighing it
and noting that it weighs more than the others. How would you deter¬
mine which penny was fake by making only two weighings with a bal¬
ance scale?
INCOMPLETE ARGUMENTS
Earlier in the book we discussed the fact that arguers make unstated or
implicit assumptions. When we communicate, we do not have the time nor is
it appropriate to state everything relevant. These assumptions we may expect
the listeners or readers to pick out by themselves. We may omit a premise. For
example, a student may argue
Since the choir has to sing this evening, the teacher should postpone the paper
for another day.
This argument presents one premise—the choir has to sing this evening—and
the conclusion—the teacher should postpone the paper for another day. Since
every informative deductive argument requires at least two premises, we need
to supply the missing premise. We can do this by first finding the conclusion
and then the premise. From these two we then construct a conditional state¬
ment that connects or links the two—if the choir has to sing this evening, the
teacher should postpone the paper for another day. This conditional statement
322 will express the arguer's unstated premise. When we supply the premise, we
CHAPTER 12 do so in a way that makes the argument valid.
Task: Consider the following argument and find the assumption the grocer
of Deductive
Arguments
makes.
“If you can learn by watching,

he’d have my job by now.”
Source: MARMADUKE. Reprinted with permission of United Features Syndicate, Inc.
Sometimes the arguer supplies the premises but leaves the audience to
draw the conclusion. This is an important persuasive rhetorical technique, often
used in advertising. Advertisers know that if they can get prospective cus¬
tomers to draw the conclusion for themselves, this creates or reinforces the
customers' desire to purchase the product, for the customers themselves have
drawn the conclusion.
To fill in the conclusion, you need to evaluate the given premises and then
decide on the proper form to create a conclusion that will make the argument
valid. We try to make the argument valid because we want to give the benefit
of the doubt to the arguer. For example, a candidate for office might argue
A vote for my opponent is a vote for higher taxes, and you don't want higher
taxes.
The candidate leaves the conclusion—-don't vote for my opponent—for the

members of the audience to make, hoping that by their making it they will cre¬
ate or strengthen a resolve to vote for the candidate.
Filling in unstated assumptions is an important part of both argument
reconstruction and evaluation. Most arguments in real life lack at least one
premise; some lack the conclusion. So as you evaluate arguments, remember
that premises or conclusions may be missing and that to fully understand 323
what the person argues, you need to fill in these premises yourself from the CHAPTER 12
information that is supplied and from your knowledge of proper argument Assessing the Validity
forms. of Deductive
Arguments
Exercise 2
In the following arguments, first identify the conclusion and the premises.
Then figure out the missing premise or the missing conclusion.
1. Since their all-star first baseman has not agreed to terms, the team will be
looking to trade for a new infielder.
2. Cheryl won't be going to the Caribbean for spring break because she
could not get a good enough paying job during the fall term.
3. I told you last week that either you pay your back rent or you move out.
So now you must move out by Thursday.
4. Why am I here? Because last week I told you that either you pay your
back rent or you must move out, and I haven't received a check in the
mail.
5. Charlene cannot be older than her cousin, since her cousin is already in
college and Charlene is only a junior in high school.
6. If you fight against that army, you will have to fight alone, and if you fight
alone you will lose.
7. Shawn didn't get hired because when he filled out his resume, he was not
entirely truthful.
8. He threatened that either I left the house or he would leave. So he is gone.
9. When the bills kept piling up I knew we were in serious trouble, for when
bills keep piling up, you know you don't have enough money to survive.
10. Either Julius Caesar was killed on the Ides of March or that was his birth¬
day. But Shakespeare would not have written about Caesar's birthday.
COMPLEX ARGUMENTS
Very often the conclusion of one argument becomes the premise of another
argument, and so on, creating a complex argument. We noted these complex
argument structures in Chapter 6, where, for example, we diagrammed serial
arguments. In such arguments a premise leads to a conclusion, which in turn
functions as a premise for another conclusion. 1 —> 2 —» 3. Number 2 is a con¬
clusion that follows from 1; in turn 2 functions as a premise to support con¬
clusion 3.
In practice, such arguments need to be rewritten in order to find the
unstated assumptions needed to make the argument fit the forms noted ear¬
lier. Consider the following serial argument given by Plato in the Crito.
324 The Laws replied, "Well then, since (1) you were brought into the world and
nurtured and educated by us, (2) can you deny in the first place that you are
CHAPTER 12
Assessing the Validity our child and slave, as your fathers were before you?
of Deductive And if (2) this is true, (3) you are not on equal terms with us; nor (4) can you
Arguments think that you have a right to do to us (the laws) what we are doing to you."
We might rewrite this argument as follows, supplying the missing premises in

order to make the argument valid.
1 + [If you were brought into the world and nurtured and educated by us,
you are our child]
2 + [If you are our child, 2 + [If you are our child,
you are not on equal you don't have the
terms with us] right to do to us what
you are doing]
i i
3 4
Where arguments are complex, you need to evaluate each argument for its
validity. In this argument, 1 —> 2 must be evaluated, as must 2 —> 3 and 2 —> 4.
Each of these arguments is an example of Affirming the Antecedent and hence
valid. The remainder of the evaluation will deal with the truth of the individual
premises, both of the given premises and of those assumed. The entire argument
will be valid or sound if each of its component arguments is valid or sound.
[This may be a good place to review your ability to diagram arguments.]
We will not pursue in more detail the analysis of complex arguments
because this process requires developing more sophisticated reasoning skills.
Exercises 3 and 4 contain some arguments of this sort to give you the opportu¬
nity to try your hand at this complex reasoning process.
Exercise 3
For each of the following arguments, (1) circle the logical indicators. (2) Dia¬
gram the argument. (3) Identify the form or structure of each argument, com¬
paring it with the types discussed in this chapter. (4) Then determine whether
the argument(s) is valid or invalid.
1. If capital punishment deterred violent crimes, it would be justified. Since

it does not deter violent crimes, it isn't justified.
2. If capital punishment deters violent crimes, it is justified. It must deter

violent crimes since it is justified.
3. Since capital punishment deters violent crimes, it is justified.
4. Capital punishment would be justified if it deterred violent crimes. But it

doesn't deter violent crimes. You can draw the conclusion.
5. Either it is snowing or sleet is falling. Because there is no sleet, it must be

snowing.
6. Where there is smoke there's fire. I don't smell any smoke, so the fire must 325
be out. CHAPTER 12
7. If time means money, you'll save on US Air. Everyone wants to save time.
of Deductive
Fly the USA on USAir. (Advertisement) Arguments
8. If T. J. told the truth, then his buddy lied. If T. J.'s buddy lied, T. J. is inno¬
cent. It follows that if T. J. told the truth, T. J. is innocent.
9. If you'd like to win a free vacation on your next business trip, Marriott has
your ticket! So come to Marriott Hotels. (Advertisement)
10. If you're the kind of person who wants to get extra miles without spend¬
ing extra money, change to Mobil Super 10W-40. Buy Mobil Oil for your
next oil change. (Advertisement)
11. One bum to another. “I, for one, am glad the dollar's out of trouble,
because if the dollar's in trouble, then the dime is certainly in trouble."
(Dana Fradon, The New Yorker Magazine, 1971)
12. This chair is made of either walnut or mahogany. It is not made of

mahogany, for it is made of walnut.
13. If everyone wore one of these tee shirts, the world would look a lot better.
Buy a shirt. Save the earth. (Advertisement)
14. I think I have a very good chance of getting married because I am almost a
straight A student. (5th grader)
15. Either you let me pitch or I'll take my bat and ball and go home. You
won't let me pitch? See you later.
16. I told her that if she did not have enough money left when she arrived at
Grandma's, she should call. She must have enough money left for she
didn't call.
17. There is no better way to introduce your children to instant photography

than with The Button, Poleroid's fun camera. The Button doesn't require
hours of practice to master. You just aim and shoot. (Advertisement)
18. It's either us or rust! (Advertisement)
19. My mother always said, "If you want to marry a dentist, you better use
Lavoris mouthwash." So instead of using some mild minty stuff ... or
something that smells like a bottle of medicine. . . I used Favoris. And
you know what? Mother was right. Take it from a dentist's wife: for really
clean, really fresh mouth and breath, more dentists (including my hus¬
band) use refreshing Lavoris than any other mouthwash. (Advertisement)
20. When my sons are grown up, I would ask, O my friends, to punish them;
and I would have you trouble them, as I have troubled you, if they seem
to care about riches, or anything more, than about virtue; or if they pre¬
tend to be something when they are really nothing then reprove them, as I
have reproved you, for not caring about that for which they ought to care,
and thinking that they are something when they are really nothing. And if
326 you do this, both I and my sons will have received justice at your hands.
CHAPTER 12 (Plato, Apology)
of Deductive Exercise 4
Arguments
These are examples of more complex arguments, where statements in the
argument are missing, where the conclusion of one is the premise for another,
or where the argument needs reconstructing. Follow the directions for Exer¬
cise 3. You will need to rewrite the arguments to diagram and analyze them
for validity.
1. Ultra Fine's precision plastic point and vivid Flair ink make your writing
ultra-easy to read. That's a good enough reason to own one. The way it
looks is a good enough reason to give one. (Advertisement)
2. So why not issue an apology to African-Americans, accompanied by repa¬

rations or some other form of compensation? "That's exactly why [certain
Congressmen] don't want to talk about an apology, because the next step
is to talk about reparations," [according to] Ron Walters, a political science
professor. (George E. Curry, Editor's Note: 'A Better Way to Apologize/
Emerge, September 1997, p. 8)
3. Thanks to Hitachi's exclusive new Super Bright Lens technology, the

world's brightest large screen TV picture belongs to Hitachi Ultra Vision.
So does the ultimate in picture clarity with another exclusive, Magic
Focus, the world's first and only automatic convergence adjustment fea¬
ture. Then there's Dolby Pro Logic sound with twin built-in center channel
speakers for audio as dramatic as the Ultra Vision picture. So who's the
brightest of them all? The person who chooses Hitachi Ultra Vision, the
best large screen TV in the world. (Advertisement)
4. If you run a business, you probably don't like the idea of paying more
than you need to for employee health coverage. That's why Blue Cross
and Blue Shield of Minnesota developed a new way of determining rates
for our small group plans of 5 to 50 employees. ... So why pay more
than you need for health care coverage? Call a Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Marketing Representative today. (Advertisement)
5. I find it pretty sad that [people advocate that] we should move out of the
way of tailgaters speeding down the road. That encourages this very
unsafe practice. I have had people tell me they tailgate just to get the
person in front of them to go faster or get out of their way. If we continue
to bow down to such overly aggressive and dangerous behavior, then
driving will turn into a free-for-all, with the survival of the most aggres¬
sive driver. (Nancy Saville, letter, U.S. News & World Report, December 9,
1996, p. 8)
SUMMING-UP
The aim of this chapter is two-fold: to introduce you to valid and invalid argu¬
ment forms that you encounter in your daily reasoning and to make you
aware of how arguments can be strung together. Since many of the arguments
we construct or encounter are deductive, it is important to develop the skills 327
needed to assess deductive reasoning, particularly if you will be in an occupa¬ CHAPTER 12
tion that requires evaluation of reasoning. This chapter, however, presents Assessing the Validity
only a sample of the variety of deductive argument forms. Here is a chart to of Deductive
help you review them. Arguments
Valid Argument Forms

Affirming the Antecedent Denying the Consequent
Hypothetical Syllogism Disjunctive Argument
Invalid Argument Forms

Affirming the Consequent Denying the Antecedent
False Disjunction
By now you have observed several things.
• Critical thinkers carefully attend to the structure of deductive arguments.
Varying structures call for varying assessment. Whereas “If the dog is hungry,
he will come home; the dog is hungry, so he will come home" is valid, the
argument "If the dog is hungry, he will come home; the dog is not hungry, so
he will not come home" is invalid. The arguments look very much alike, but
their form or structure varies in ways that affect their validity.
• Critical thinkers know the difference between valid and invalid argument
forms and evaluate arguments according to these forms.
After working with this introduction, perhaps you will take the time and have
the interest to pursue the discovery of other argument forms in more detail,
perhaps by taking a logic course. Taking such a course is especially important
for people who are going into professions that require entrance reasoning tests
(medicine, law) or that specialize in argumentation (communications, philoso¬
phy, politics, and the natural and social sciences).
Finally,
• Critical thinkers use deductive reasoning to supply missing or assumed

premises.
The argument about the dog may be presented with one of its premises miss¬
ing. For example, "The dog is hungry, so he will come home." Critical thinkers
realize that what is missing in the argument is the conditional statement that
links the premise with the conclusion: "If the dog is hungry, he will come
home." Learning the valid argument forms assists you in discovering what is
assumed. And once you find the assumptions, you are in a better position
overall to evaluate the argument.
LOOKING AHEAD
Although this book has come to its end, for you the task of critical thinking has
just begun. The skills you developed will be in constant demand throughout
328 your life. You will be asked to believe many claims and often take actions on
CHAPTER 12 those beliefs: buy a specific product, vote for a candidate for office, travel
Assessing the Validity somewhere for a vacation, marry a special friend, take one job rather than
of Deductive another, pursue a profession, or choose a place to educate your children. To
Arguments
find out whether those claims are true and justified, your first tasks will be to
learn what is said and to comprehend it. This involves putting the claims into
your own language so that you can test your comprehension of them. Once
you have comprehended the claims, you need to ask why they are true.
Through analysis you will gather and identify the evidence and arguments rel¬
evant to deciding their truth. After analysis you may have the opportunity to
work with the claims and their arguments by developing your own position in
creative ways to solve the problems you confront. You will also have the
opportunity to assess the truth of the proposed claims in light of the evidence
provided. In each of these tasks, you will be functioning at the various levels
of critical thinking we developed in Chapter 2.
Having worked through this book, you have learned the basic information
and skills needed to be a critical thinker. Your challenge is to develop these
skills through lifelong learning and practice.
1. Affirming the consequent. Invalid

3. Disjunctive argument. Valid
5. Affirming the consequent. Invalid
7. Denying the antecedent. Invalid
9. Disjunctive argument. Valid
11. Hypothetical syllogism. Valid
13. Denying the consequent. Valid
15. Affirming the antecedent. Valid
17. Hypothetical syllogism. Valid
19. Denying the antecedent. Invalid
1. P: Their all-star firstbaseman has not agreed to terms.

C: The team will be looking to trade for a new infielder.
A: If their all-star firstbaseman has not agreed to terms, the team will be looking to
trade for a new infielder.
3. P: Either you pay your back rent or you move out.
C: You must move out by Thursday.
A: You didn't pay your back rent.
5. P: Her cousin is already in college and Charlene is only a junior in high school.
C: Charlene must not be older than her cousin.
A: If her cousin is already in college and Charlene is only a junior in high school,
Charlene must not be older than her cousin.
7. P: Shawn was not entirely truthful on his resume.
C: Shawn did not get hired.
A: If one is not entirely truthful on one's resume, one won't get hired.
9. P: When the bills keep piling up, you know you don't have enough money to 329
survive.
CHAPTER 12
C: When the bills kept piling up, I knew we were in serious trouble. Assessing the Validity
A: When you don't have enough money to survive, you know you are in serious of Deductive
trouble. Arguments
1. (1) If capital punishment deterred violent crimes, it would be justified. Since (2) it
does not deter violent crimes, (3) it isn't justified.
Since: premise indicator
1+2
Denying the Antecedent. Invalid

3. Since (1) capital punishment deters violent crimes, (2) it is justified.
Since: premise indicator
1 + [assumed premise: If capital punishment deters violent crimes, it is

justified.]
1
2
Affirming the Antecedent. Valid
5. (1) Either it is snowing or sleet is falling. Because (2) there is no sleet, (3) it must be
snowing.
Because: premise indicator
1+2
I
3
Disjunctive argument. Valid
7. (1) If time means money, you'll save on USAir. (2) Everyone wants to save time. (3)
Fly the USA on USAir.
1+2
i
3
9. (1) If you'd like to win a free vacation on your next business trip, Marriott has your
ticket! So (2) come to Marriott.
So: conclusion indicator
1
I
2
330 Affirming the Antecedent. Valid
11. One bum to another, (1) "I, for one, am glad the dollar's out of trouble, because
CHAPTER 12
(2) if the dollar's in trouble, then the dime is certainly in trouble."
of Deductive Because: premise indicator
Arguments
2
1
1
Denying the Consequent. Valid
13. (1) If everyone wore one of these tee-shirts, the world would look a lot better.
(2) Buy a shirt. (3) Save the earth.
1+2 1+3
i or i
3 2
The argument is ambiguous. It is either Affirming the Antecedent (Valid) or
Affirming the Consequent (Invalid).
15. (1) Either you let me pitch or I'll take my bat and ball and go home. (2) You won't
let me pitch? (3) See you later.
1+2
I
3
Disjunctive argument. Valid
17. (1) There is no better way to introduce your children to instant photography than
with The Button, Poleroid's fun camera. (2) The Button doesn't require hours of
practice to master; you just aim and shoot.
2 + [assumed: If the Button doesn't require hours of practice to master,

there is no better way to introduce your children to instant photography
than with The Button.]
I
1
19. My mother always said, (1) "If you want to marry a dentist, you better use Lavoris
mouthwash." So instead of using some mild minty stuff ... or something that
smells like a bottle of medicine ... (2) I used Lavoris. And you know what?
(3) Mother was right. Take it from a dentist's wife: for really clean, really fresh
mouth and breath, more dentists (including my husband) use refreshing Lavoris
than any other mouthwash.
1+2
i
Affirming the Consequent. Invalid

Answers to Exercise 4 331
1. (1) Ultra Fine's precision plastic point and vivid Flair ink make your writing ultra- CHAPTER 12
easy to read. That's a good enough reason to (2) own one. (3) The way it looks is a Assessing the Validity
of Deductive
good enough reason to (4) give one.
Arguments
good enough reason to: conclusion indicator
two arguments:
1 + [assumed premise: If it makes your writing ultra-easy to read you

should own one.]
1
2
Second argument:
3 + [assumed premise: If it looks good, you should give one.]

3. (1) Thanks to Hitachi's exclusive new Super Bright Lens technology, the world's
brightest large screen TV picture belongs to Hitachi Ultra Vision. (2) So does the
ultimate in picture clarity with another exclusive. Magic Focus, the world's first
and only automatic convergence adjustment feature. (3) Then there's Dolby Pro
Logic sound with twin built-in center channel speakers for audio as dramatic as
the Ultra Vision picture. So who's the brightest of them all? (4) The person who
chooses Hitachi Ultra Vision, the best large screen TV in the world.
So: conclusion indicator.
1 + 2 + 3 + [Assumed premise: if a TV has these features, you would be the

brightest person to choose it.]
I
4
Affirming the Antecedent: Valid

5. (1) I find it pretty sad that [people advocate that] we should move out of the way
of tailgaters speeding down the road. (2) That encourages this very unsafe prac¬
tice. (3) I have had people tell me they tailgate just to get the person in front of
them to go faster or get out of their way. (4) If we continue to bow down to such
overly aggressive and dangerous behavior, then driving will turn into a free-for-
all, with the survival of the most aggressive driver.
The argument goes
(4)
(5) Assumed: If driving turns into a free-for-all, that encourages this very unsafe
practice.
(6) Therefore, if we continue to bow to such overly aggressive and dangerous
behavior, it will encourage this very unsafe practice.
(7) We don't want to encourage this very unsafe practice.
(1) We should not advocate moving out of the way of tailgaters speeding down the
road.
332 4 + (5) (3 seems to describe this practice.)
12
CHAPTER

I
of Deductive (6) + (7)
Arguments
I
1
4 + 5 —> 6 Affirming the Antecedent: Valid
6 + 7 —> 1 Affirming the Antecedent: Valid

Credits
Chapter 1: Page 2: Wayne Wangstad, St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 22, 1995. Reprinted by
permission.
Chapter 3: Page 33: Excerpted from Christopher John Farley, "If It Was a Bomb, Then Whodunit?"
Time, August 12,1996, p. 26. (1996 Time, Inc. Reprinted by permission. Page 33: From "Banned
Freon Now Favorite of Smugglers," Charlotte Observer,August 13, 1996. Reprinted with per¬
mission of Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Page 34: Elisabeth Salina Amorini,
letter, U.S. News & World Report, August 5,1996, p. 11. Reprinted by permission. Page 35: Mor¬
ton Sobell, retired electrical engineer, letter. New York Times, August 10, 1997. Reprinted by
permission. Page 37: Bill Sharp, letter, U.S. News & World Report, January 27, 1997. Reprinted
by permission. Page 37: Philip Guercio, letter, U.S. News & World Report, January 27, 1997, p. 7.
Reprinted by permission. Page 37: Excerpted from Diane Ganzer, letter, St. Paul Pioneer Press,
August 13, 1996. Reprinted by permission. Page 38: Rosemary Falls, "Look-Obsession Hurts
Our Girls," Waco Tribune Herald, August 11, 1996. Ms Falls is a teacher and columnist. Page 41:
Excerpts from Celia Moore, "Pensions Made Woman-Friendly," Ms., July/August, 1997, p. 34.
Reprinted by permission of Ms. Magazine, (c) 1997. Page 41: Letter from Harlan Smith, eco¬
nomics professor emeritus. University of Minnesota, letter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, January 25,
1997. Reprinted by permission. Page 42: Adapted by permission from Eugene Murphy and
John King, "Icy Message from the Antarctic," Nature, September 4,1997, p.20. Copyright, 1997,
Macmillan Magazines, Limited. Page 42: Excerpted from "A Monument, or an Oilfield," New
York Times, September 18,1997, p.A34. Copyright, 1997, by The New York Times. Reprinted by
permission. Page 42:Excerpted from "Birds Do It, Bees Do It," The Economist, August 30, 1997,
pp.59-60. Copyright 1997, The Economist Newspaper Group, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
Further Reproduction prohibited, www.economist.com. Page 44: Former First Lady, Rosalynn
Carter, Vice Chair, The Carter Center, and Honorary Chair, Last Acts: Care and Caring at the
End of Life, "All of Us Must Face Hard Facts of Death," Atlanta Constitution, July 2, 1997.
Reprinted by permission. Page 47: Excerpted from Joe Klein, "Pretty Close to Awful,"
Newsweek, September 16, 1996, p. 51. Copyright 1996, Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission. Page 50: Molly Ivins, "You Don't Have to Rely on the Brokaw/
Jennings/Rather Cersions," TV Guide, December 3, 1985. By permission of Molly Ivans and
Creatos Syndicates. Page 53: Excerpted by permission of author from E. Gordon Gee, "Coast
of College Education Remains One of America's Great Bargains Despite Tuition Increases,"
The Phoenix Gazette, August 19,1996. Page 54: Excerpted from Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "A Revolu¬
tion in AIDS Drugs Excludes the Tiniest Patients," New York Times, September 8,1997, p. A14.
Copyright 1997 by the New York Times. Reprinted by permission. Page 54: Excerpted from
James A. Lovell and Brian Kyhos, "Continue Our Quest in Space," Denver Post, August 10,
1996. Page 55: Excerpted by permission from Martin Olav Sabo, "Is Constitutional Change
Needed to Slay Deficit Dragon?" St. Paul Pioneer Press, February 5, 1997. Page 56: Excerpted
with permission from Donald M. Hunten, "Pipelines to the Planets," Nature, September 11,
1997. Pp. 125-6. Copyright 1997, Macmillan Magazines, Limited. Page 62: Walter G. Perry, let¬
ter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, September 4, 1996, p. 4. Reprinted by permission of Walter Gordon
Perry. Page 62: Excerpted by permission of the author from Thomas Sowell, "Yes, Blacks Can
Make It on Their Own," Time, September 8, 1997, p. 62. Page 62: Excerpted from "Let Private
Partners Assist National Parks," St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 20, 1996. Reprinted by permis¬
sion. Page 63: Excerpted from George Dohrmann, "Turnovers Tell Tennessee's Tale," St. Paul
Pioneer Press, September 18, 1997. Reprinted by permission. Page 63: William F. O'Keefe,
"Spend Road Taxes on America's Roads," Tallahassee Democrat, September 2, 1996. Reprinted
with permission of Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Page 65: Excerpted from
Sasha Nemecek, "Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Want a Dam: How Dams Affect Biodiversity," Sci¬
entific American, August, 1997, pp. 20, 22. Reprinted with permission. Copyright 1997 by Scien¬
tific American, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 4: Page 85: Claire Rudolf Murphy and Hane G. Haigh, "Gold Rush Women," Alaska,Octo¬
ber, 1997, p. 49, which was excerpted from the authors' book Gold Rush Women (Anchorage:
Alaska Northwest Books, 1997.) Page 85: Maitland Sharpe, "Taking a Stand," Outdoor Ethics
Newsletter, 12, no. 2 (Winter 1993), p. 7. Reprinted by permission of the Isaak Walton League
of America. Page 103: Excerpted by permission of Les Palmer from "Expensive Meat," Alaska,
April 1997, p. 54. 333
334 Chapter 5: Page 126: Reprinted by permission of the author from Charles W. Gusewelle, "The
Weight of Remembrance Extends the Half-Life of a Life of Regret/' The Kansas City Star,
CREDITS August 24, 1996. Page 129: Excerpted from Tim Giago, "Congress Should View Indian
Nations as Sovereign Peers," St. Paul Pioneer Press, June 23,1997. Reprinted by permission of
the Giago Book Publishing L.L.C., 2218 Jackson Blvd., Suite 9, Rapid City, SD 57702.
Page 130: Excerpted from Debra O'Connor, "Sending More Cops to the Suburbs May Be Mis¬
guided," St. Paul Pioneer Press, February 19, 1995. Reprinted by permission. Page 130:
Excerpted from Martin Dyckman, "Breaking the Camel's Back," St. Petersburg Times, August
15,1993. Copyright St. Petersburg Times, 1993. Reprinted by permission. Page 131: Excerpted
from Darrell Caraway, letter, Motor Trend, January 1997, p. 12. Reprinted by permission. Page
132: Stephanie Palmquist, "Home, Shmome," Echo, October 10, 1997. Reprinted by permis¬
sion. Page 133: Excerpted from Barbara Kantrowitz, "The Messiah of Waco," Newsweek,
March 15, 1993, p. 56. Copyright 1993 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted by per¬
mission. Page 133: Tracey Glumich, "In Search for Identity," Echo, September 26, 2997.
Reprinted by permission. Page 134: "Unembarrassable," an interview with Martin Amis, in
"How the World Sees Us," New York Times Magazine, June 8, 1997, pp. 44-5. Copyright 1997
by the New York Times. Reprinted by permission. Page 135: Excerpted from Tom Powers,
"Tonya Flashes Her Fascinating Facets to Media," St. Paul Pioneer Press, February 19, 1994.
Reprinted by permission. Page 137: Excerpted from Matt Mirmak, "Political Correctness Hin¬
drance to Liberal Arts," Echo, April 26,1991. Reprinted by permission.
Chapter 6: Page 144: Excerpted from Tim Giago, "Congress Should View Indian Nations as Sover¬
eign Peers," St. Paul Pioneer Press, June 23, 1997. Reprinted by permission of the Giago Book
Publishing L.L.C., 2218 Jackson Blvd., Suite 9, Rapid City, SD 57702. Page 146: Excerpted
from S.K. Oberbeck, "Dues ex Machina," Newsweek, October 8, 1973, p. 104. Copyright 1973
Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission. Page 155: Excerpted by per¬
mission of Sky Publishing from "A Dust-Choked Spiral," Sky and Telescope, November, 1997,
p. 57. Page 168: Excerpted (with numbers added) from William Vickrey and James A. Mir-
rlees, "Making Honesty Pay," Scientific American, January, 1997, p. 18. Statement numbers
added. Reprintedt with permission. Copyright 1997 by Scientific American, Inc. All rights
reserved.
Chapter 7: Page 178: Excerpted by permission of the author from Cora Holmes, "Another Ghost at
Chemofski," Alaska, October, 1997, pp. 40-41. Cora Holmes is the author of Good-bye, Boise,
Hello, Alaska and Dear Cora,both published by Reinman Publications. Page 183: Gary Daw¬
son, "New Speed Limits Being Enforced," St. Paul Pioneer Press, July 30, 1997. Reprinted by
permission. Page 189: Excerpted by permission of Kalmbach Publishing Co., "Neanderthal
Origins," Earth, October, 1997, p. 11. Page 199: Excerpted from Matt Clark, "The Calcium
Craze," Newsweek, January 27, 1986, p. 50. Copyright 1986, Newsweek, Inc. All rights
reserved. Reprinted by permission. Page 201: Excerpted by permission of C. Everett Koop,
Surgeon-General of U.S., 1981-1989, "Let's Get Serious about Deterring Youth from Starting
to Smoke," Lexington Herald-Leader, September 8,1996. Page 205: Martin Dyckman, "Breaking
the Camel's Back," St. Petersburg Times, August 15, 1993. Copyright, St. Petersbur Times,
1993. Reprinted by permission.
Chapter 8: Page 229: Bob Herbert, "After Collapse, Cities Emerging From Rubble," Lexington Her¬
ald-Leader, October 7,1996. Reprinted with permission of Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information
Services. Page 230: Arthur Caplan, "Spanking Experts Say It's Not Necessary," Grand Forks
Herald, October 28, 1996. Reprinted with permission of Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information
Services.
Chapter 10: Page 267: Robert S. Boyd, "New Techniques Allow Scientists to 'Map' Brain," St. Paul
Pioneer Press, November 9, 1997. Reprinted by permission. Page 272: Cal Thomas, "Children
Take a Look at TV, and the Results Are a Turn-off," Philadelphia Daily News,March 6, 1995.
Reprinted with permission of Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Page 272:
Excerpted by permission of Associated Press from "Few Have Confidence in Social Security,"
St. Paul Pioneer Press, May 17, 1994. Page 273: Rhonda Bock, " MPIRG Releases Results from
Poll," Echo, November 8, 1991. Reprinted by permission. Page 276: Anecdote contributed by
Richard Bredenberg in "Campus Comedy." Reprinted with permission from the April 1981
Reader's Digest, p. 49. Copyright 1981 by The Reader's Digest Assn., Inc. Page 277: Karen
Beauvaus, letter, The Atlanta Constitution, October 18, 1997. Reprinted by permission. Page
281: "2 Studies Explore Gulf Vet's Health," Charlotte Observer, November 13, 1996. Reprinted
with permission of Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
Chapter 11: Page 290: Anecdote contributed by Lois Garman, "Cap and Gone." Reprinted with
permission from the May 1979 Reader's Digest, p. 200. Copyright 1979 by The Reader's Digest
Assn., Inc. Page 301: S. K. Oberbeck, "Deus ex Machina," Newsweek, October 8, 1973, p. 104.
Copyright 1973, Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.
Chapter 12: Page 326: Nancy Saville, letter, U.S. News & World Report, December 9, 1996, p. 8.
Excerpted by permission.
Index
Places in the text where the word listed is defined are indicated by page
numbers in bold type.
Abusive ad hominem. See Fallacy Bandwagon fallacy. See Fallacy

Ad hominem. See Fallacy Begging the question. See Fallacy
Affirming the antecedent, 315-16
Affirming the consequent. See Fallacy Can, 104
Ambiguity, 108-18 Careless use of language. See Ambiguity
ambiguous comparison, 114-15 Causal argument, 180,189-91, 203^1, 277-79
ambiguous grammar, 114 inference, 190-91,196-99
ambiguous modifier, 113-14 prediction, 189-91, 203
ambiguous referent, 113 Circumstantial ad hominem. See Fallacy
resulting from careless use of language, Cogent argument, 179, 262, 268
109-11 Collaborative learning exercise, 11,13,14, 28,
resulting from confusion of different 29, 31, 77,139,172, 239, 240, 310
meanings, 111-12 Comparison, 146-48
resulting from vague language, 116-18 Complex question. See Fallacy
semantic, 111-12 Comprehension, 22-23, 72-77
syntactic, 113-15 Conclusion, 156-64, 221, 322-23
Amphiboly. See Fallacy Conditionals, 315
Analogy, 180,185-86, 203 Connotations, 75-76,122-27
Analysis, 24-25 Consequent, 315
Antecedent, 315 Converging argument. See Argument
Appeal to authority, 10-11,180-81, Critical thinking, 13-20
263-66 dispositions, 14-15
Appeal to numbers. See Fallacy skills, 15-18
Application, 23-24
Argument, 155-57, 262 Deductive arguments. See Argument
conjoint argument, 165-66 Denotation, 121
converging argument, 166 Denying the antecedent. See Fallacy
deductive, 179, 202-3 Denying the consequent, 316-17
diagramming arguments, 164-69 Descriptions, 145-46
diverging argument, 166-67 Designation, 121-22
inductive, 179- 82, 203-4, 262, 264 Disjunct, 319
invalid, 314, 318 Disjunctive argument, 319-20
locating arguments, 157-61 Disposition. See Critical thinking
serial argument, 167 Disputability, 217-18, 223-28
sound, 179, 314 Diverging argument. See Argument
valid, 314 Dysphemism, 129
Argument from analogy, 186, 203, 274-75
Argument-type indicators. See Indicators Emotive language, 123-27
Assumptions, 201-4, 321-23 Equivocation. See Fallacy
explicit, 202, 223-25 Euphemism, 128-29
335
implicit, 202, 224 Evaluation, 26, 259-62
336 Explanation, 150-52,160,196-99 Language, 73-77
physical explanation, 151-52 bias-free, 137-39
INDEX psychological explanation, 151-52 Logic, 314
Explicit assumption. See Assumptions Logical indicators, 158-61
conclusion indicators, 159-60
Facts, 79-83 premise indicators, 158-60
Fallacy, 264-65
abusive ad hominem, 294 Meaning, 121-22
ad hominem, 294-95 Main points, 56-59, 219-21
affirming the consequent, 318 Malapropism, 110-11
ambiguity, 288-89 Method of difference, 279
amphiboly, 289
appeal to fear or force, 293-94 Non-abusive ad hominem. See Fallacy
appeal to numbers, 296 Normative statement, 227-28
appeal to pity, 294 No precedent. See Fallacy
appeal to unqualified authority, 265-66, 285 Novelty. See Fallacy
appeal to vanity, 295-96
bandwagon. See Appeal to numbers Opinions, 79-83, 82
begging the question, 305-6 Ought, 104
circumstantial ad hominem, 295
complex question, 307-8 Persuasive comparison, 131
content. See Fallacy, informal Persuasiveness, 266
denying the antecedent, 318-19 Physical explanations. See Explanation
equivocation, 288-89 Premise, 156-61
false cause, 277-79, 285 Premise indicators. See Indicators
false dichotomy, 305 Problem solving, 242-51
false disjunction, 319 Psychological explanations. See Explanation
faulty analogy, 275 Puns, 112
flattery. See Fallacy
formal, 314 Qualifiers, 97-99
hasty generalization, 268-71, 285 Quantifiers, 99-100
informal, 287-88
non-abusive ad hominem, 295 Random sample. See Sample
no precedent, 297 Reading, 59-61
novelty, 297 Refereed journal, 233,234
presumption, 304-8
relevance, 293-97 Sample
stagnation, 297 random, 269-70
straw person, 220-21 size, 268-69
time, 296-97 unbiased, 270
tradition, 296 Semantic ambiguity. See Ambiguity
Sentences, 84-89
Generalization, 180,184-85, 203, 268-71
Serial argument. See Argument
Groups, 100-102
Sound argument. See Argument
Hasty generalization. See Fallacy Stagnation. See Fallacy
Homonyms, 112 Statements 84-90
Hyperbole, 130-31 compound, 89-90
Hypothesis, 191 particular, 98-99
Hypothetical syllogism, 317-18 universal statements, 99-102
Stereotype, 128
Implicit assumption. See Assumptions Straw person. See Fallacy
Implies, 315 Syntactic ambiguity. See Ambiguity
Indicators Synthesis, 25
argument-type, 181-82
conclusion, 159-60 Thesis, 49-52,157-58,161, 218-19
premise, 158-59 changing the. See Issue
Inductive argument. See Argument Topic, 32-34, 215-16
Inference, 155 Tradition. See Fallacy
Informal fallacies. See Fallacy True, 84, 92-97, 260-62
Innuendo, 129-30
Invalid arguments. See Argument Vague language. See Ambiguity
Issue, 38A10, 216-18 Valid argument. See Argument
changing the issue, 46-48 Vanity. See Fallacy
Knowledge, 21-22, 31 Worldview, 75

■
Reichenbach, An Introduction to Critical Thinking
Many current critical thinking texts presuppose that their readers already
possess fairly sophisticated critical thinking skills. An Introduction to Critical
Thinking recognizes that many students need to start with the basics, such as
how to find the topic, issue, or thesis of what they read and hear, before they
can identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments. Instead of fine distinctions
and needless complexity that can easily lose students, Reichenbach starts at
the beginning. He uses the educational objectives of Benjamin Bloom as six
sequential steps to critical thinking: knowledge, comprehension, application,
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. These six steps show how the skills need¬
ed to become a critical thinker can be developed and how they complement
one another.
Advertisements, letters to the editor, magazine articles, even cartoons—
and other actual, everyday examples illustrate the concepts and keep the text
interesting and applicable to real world situations. Exercises after every section
provide practice for each concept. Answers to the odd-numbered questions are
in the book so students can check their work.
What Instructors Are Saying about An Introduction to Critical Thinking
"I think Reichenbach's book is needed; there are not enough books of this sort
(i.e., critical thinking books that are not just watered-down logic books), and this is the
best one I have seen. The author does a wonderful job introducing critical thinking
techniques and I think students would find the book easy to read and understand."
Jill Dieterle, Eastern Michigan University

"The exercises seem to me the best feature of the book. There are a lot of them, and
they seem to get at the principles they are supposed to be teaching."
Arnold E. Johanson, Moorhead State University
ISBN □-□7-3bbDE7-E
9 DC)C 0
McGraw-Hill Higher Education
A Division of The McGraw-Hill Companies
78 DO 73 6 60 27 '
www.mhhe.com

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Introduction to CRITICAL

PREFACE: TO THE INSTRUCTOR ix

1. Critical Thinking in Real Life 1

2. Six Steps of Critical Thinking 12

Critical Thinking Dispositions 14

3. Knowledge: Acquiring Information 31

4. Comprehension: Making Information Your Own 72

5. Comprehension: Clarifying Your Language 108

Ambiguity Resulting from Careless Use of Language 109

6. Analysis: Distinguishing Types of Discourse 143

Three Types of Informative Discourse 145

7. Analysis: Discovering How Arguments Work 178

Deductive and Inductive Arguments 179

8. Synthesis: Writing with Critical Thinking 213

Generating a Topic 215

9. Synthesis: Solving Problems Creatively 242

Steps in Problem Solving 243

11. Evaluation: Identifying More Fallacies of Content 287

12. Evaluation: Assessing the Validity of Deductive

Validity in Deductive Arguments 313

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Before we go further, a technical issue must be addressed. Some have sug¬

AN OVERVIEW OF THE TEXT

This text grows out of my experience in teaching critical thinking to students

Critical Thinking in Real Life

You are about to embark on an adventure in critical thinking. "What is criti¬

Take a few minutes to read the following newspaper article.

raises. The issue should be in the form of a question.)_

you think the thesis is or is not believable?_

Let us return to these questions.

do you need to know to resolve the question?_

Now try to solve the puzzle.

Here is a second article for you to read carefully.

60-Foot Alligators Sighted in Florida Swamp!

"The teeth on these 60-foot-long monsters look like

Mike Bangor spent four grueling hours

1. What is this article about? Give the topic._

by identifying the position the author takes on the issue._

4. What evidence does the author give to support this position?

An answer to #1 is that the article is about alligators.

Are there any other clues to the reliability of the article?_

1. What makes someone an authority on a particular subject or area? In what

5. We greatly rely on vision to determine what we believe. How often have

Collaborative Learning Exercise

Six Steps of Critical Thinking

Consider the following cartoon.

CITIZEN DOC BY MARK O'HARE

What is the point of the cartoon?

• What does that saying mean to you?_

What does the saying mean to the author of the cartoon?.

is sitting on the floor?_

Collaborative Learning Exercise 1

CRITICAL THINKING DISPOSITIONS

Critical thinking involves certain dispositions. A disposition is a tendency to

• are curious about the world; they try to be well informed.

• withhold judgment when the evidence, grounds, or reasons are insufficient.

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS