When using general claims in an argument it is very common to see contradictory words such as “all,” “some,” “no,” and “only” in each premise. These words are meant to either generalize or specify within an argument. For example, “All students will get an “A” in their Critical Thinking class,” is a weak argument because it is very likely that at least one person will only get a “B” in the class. To strengthen this argument, a better choice of words would be, “Some students will get an “A” in their Critical Thinking class.” The second argument is much stronger because it is highly likely that at least one person will achieve an “A” in the course.
Examining valid forms of general arguments is much easier when viewing the argument from a diagram like those used in chapter eight. When creating these diagrams, only subcategories of the larger topic can be placed in smaller circles within the bigger circle. For example, I could make the argument, “Some dogs are trained. Some trained pets live in San Jose. So, some trained dogs live in San Jose.” Of course, this argument would be mapped differently because it does not contain a main category and subcategory. Instead, the “Dogs” circle would overlap the “Trained Pets” circle, which would then overlap the “San Jose” circle. The reason for this is that not all dogs are trained, and not all trained pets live in San Jose.
Examining valid forms of general arguments really is complicated when you are not able to view it in a diagram. Reading just the text can be quite confusing. Sometimes things are easier to understand if there is a visual image.
ReplyDeleteGeneral claims are very common. I see and hear it all the time. Personally, I use the word always more than I should. I guess it is a form of habit. “I am always tired.” Which is not really true because I am not tired all the time. But although these statements are not true, it does make the argument sound a lot stronger.
Heyy!! Your post made a lot of sense and got all the information correct. I also do agree with the poster above. A lot of people make general claims which are usually contradicting of what they say. One claim is heard recently was from one of my pledge brothers, he said that the Kappa Sigma fraternity on campus is always partying. This is false because they can't be partying 24/7.
ReplyDeleteThe diagram in chapter 8 does help a lot. I am a visual learner so the diagram helped a lot in explaining how to examine valid form of general argument.
Hello, I agree that it is vey common for people to use all, some, or only in there general claims when they are talking with there friends. It is also easy to contradict a claim if we believe it is not true. However, that is why we can make our argument much stronger if our previous argument was weak. In my post, I remember my friend saying that fraternities and sororities always participate in the greek life activities. However, that is not true because not all of the fraternities and sororities do on campus. Each one of them may participate with each other but it depends on what kind they are since there are academic, social, and honorary fraternities and sororities. Great post!
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