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It is vital to learn how to evaluate an argument calmly and objectively.
Discussing the following questions will help. These questions will enable you
to break down an argument into its component parts, thereby avoiding the
common tendency to be swayed by a presenter's delivery techniques or by one's
own set of biases and opinions.
Question: How Empirical Is the Presentation?
- The most persuasive argument is the one that supports its
thesis by referring to relevant, accurate, and up-to-date data
from the best sources possible. One should investigate the
credibility of the author, how recent the material is, the type
of research (if any) that supports the position outlined, and the
degree of documentation behind any argument. Empiricism implies
going to the best source for material. Original research material is preferable to secondary sources,
which in turn are preferable to hearsay.
Question: What Is Fact? What Is Opinion?
- A fact is a statement that can be proven. In
contrast, an opinion is a statement that expresses how a
person feels about an issue or what someone thinks is true. Many
authors blend fact and opinion; it is the responsibility of the
critical thinker to discriminate successfully between the two.
- This process of discrimination often ties in with the
concept of empiricism. Facts are generally empirically determined
from research. They are documented and can be known or observed
by other people. Facts can be verified in other sources or can be
replicated by other research. Good facts should be most
convincing in any issue.
- Opinions should carry less weight in evaluating an argument. While the
writer may believe them to be true, opinions are a product of the writer's
biases and personal system of beliefs. While many opinions make good sense and
may win a reader's approval, they must still be classified as mere opinions if
there is no factual evidence supporting them. Opinion may, in fact, be
entirely correct, but generally it still should be viewed with less trust than
facts.
- Some statements contain both fact and opinion. For example, research
has demonstrated that animals living in crowded cages show more aggressive
behavior than those living in less crowded cages. A statement such as
"Overcrowding of people in slum areas will foster high levels of aggression,
rape, and child abuse in the same way that one sees in caged animals" contains
elements of both opinion and fact.
Question: Is Propaganda Being Used?
- Propaganda is information presented in order to
influence a reader. It is not necessarily "good" or "bad." Many
authors consciously use propaganda techniques in order to
convince their readers of their special point of view. A close
look at the author's background or some of the motivations and
editorial policies of the source of the publication may provide
clues about what types of propaganda techniques might be used.
Question: What Cause/Effect Relationships Are Proposed?
- Much material is written to establish or advance a
hypothesis that some circumstances "cause" specific things to
happen. Experiments often consist of searching for cause/effect
relationships. Scientists seem to be linking more and more
observations with their antecedent causes. Students should note
when an issue has at its heart a disputed cause/effect
relationship; isolating the claim and examining the relationship
is the readers' responsibility.
Question: Are These Cause/Effect Relationships Merely
Correlations?
- Many cause/effect statements are flawed because no
appropriate research or evidence has isolated a single cause.
There may be other hidden factors underlying the relationship. A
good example is this statement: "Birds fly south in winter
because it gets cold in northern areas." This statement is
plausible, and many readers would accept it because it "makes
sense." Data exist to show a relationship between temperature and
bird population density: population decreases as temperature
decreases. However, no experiment has conclusively established
that temperature is a causative factor of bird migration.
Alternative hypotheses may very well also explain the behavior.
Food supplies may become scarce during low-temperature periods,
breeding instincts may precipitate migration, or the birds may
simply want a change of scenery! If sufficiently controlled
experiments could rule out these alternative hypotheses, the
cause/effect statement could be made. As it is, a simple
correlation (statement of coincidence) is all that remains:
"Birds fly south at the same time that the weather turns cold."
It would even be possible (although not very plausible) with the
observed data to infer the opposite causation: "It turns cold in
the northern latitudes because the body heat from migrating birds
is no longer present!"
- Students should be made aware that faulty cause/effect statements may
be a major source of confusion and misdirection used by authors to defend
their points of view. In some cases, the faulty cause/effect proposition is
the only rationale used by an author. A good technique for analyzing this sort
of error is to have the students try to generate alternative plausible
hypotheses for any proposed cause/effect relationship.
Question: Is Information Distorted?
- Many authors, in an attempt to produce facts to
substantiate their positions, quote statistics and research that
support their viewpoints. All of these statements of facts may be
biased. "Statistics don't lie--statisticians do" is a truism.
Students should always question the bias involved in obtaining
and presenting data. If averages are given, ranges and standard
deviations should be evaluated critically. One interesting
question that can be raised is: What statistics or data are
missing? If a simple survey could be done (in lieu of a statement
such as "Most Americans believe that . . ."), why was such an
easily supportable piece of data not produced?
- Students should learn not to be too easily impressed by statistical
data. Tabulated numbers or graphs may only reflect opinions.
Question: Are Analogies Faulty?
- Many authors make much of analogies as they attempt to
prove their theses. An analogy is a comparison of a
hypothesis (which is unproven) to a known set of causal events.
For example, a statement such as "The United States should not be
getting involved in Central American politics; we will have
another fiasco as we did in Vietnam" uses an analogy. However
true the second part of the sentence may or may not be, it should
not necessarily be accepted as a demonstration of the truth of
the first part of the sentence. Analogies usually ignore many
differences (in this example, differences in military position,
geographic location, political motivation, and other factors)
that make the current situation unsuitable for comparison and
render the analogy worthless.
Question: Is the Author Oversimplifying the Issue?
- Authors generally try to show their theses in the best
possible light and to discredit opposing viewpoints. When authors
are so single-minded as to completely ignore opposite viewpoints,
they probably are guilty of oversimplification.
- It may be argued, for example, that bilingual education has been shown
to be beneficial for students. However, if data are presented without a
discussion of the many social ramifications of
bilingual education programs, the argument has not answered all of the
important questions.
Question: Is the Author Stereotyping?
- This sort of logical flaw is similar to the cause/effect
flaw. The authors may have observed some general behavior; they
then may attempt to apply this general behavior (which may or may
not be true) to a specific individual or situation. For example,
if an author asserts that American cars are inferior to foreign
cars (which may or may not be true), he or she might not
establish that any particular American car is truly inferior.
Each point should be analyzed as it is empirically
observed, not as it is grouped with other observations.
Question: Are There Faulty Generalizations?
- In the case of a faulty generalization, a judgment is
based on inaccurate or incomplete information. For example:
"Ducks and geese migrate south for the winter; therefore, all
birds migrate south for the winter."
- In presentations, many subtle forms of inappropriate generalizations
may occur. The most common form concerns research in one area being applied to
other areas (as in a faulty analogy). For example: "The brain deals in
electric potentials. Computers deal with electric potentials. We can thus say
that the brain is a computer."
- Another example of a faulty generalization is when an author observes
only one event or cites only one case study and infers that this applies to
many other phenomena. Sigmund Freud could be considered guilty of this--his
theories of behavior are derived from only a few published observations of
individual case studies.
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