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1、Chapter 13Technical Argumentation 专业性辩论Argumentation means expressing your point of view on a subject and supporting it with evidence. The purpose of a technical argument is to help readers make a decision. Whenever you are exercising your professional judgment or expressing an opinion, you will nee
2、d the techniques of argumentation to convince your readers to adopt your point of view. As a researcher, you would argue in the discussion section of a research report to support the conclusions you have reached. In a business situation, you would argue for your recommendations or decisions in propo
3、sals and feasibility studies.辩论是指就某一话题发表观点并提供支撑性证据。专业性辩论的R的是帮助读者做出决定。 在使用专业判断或表达观点时，作者需使用辩论技巧说服读者接纳自己的观点。研究者会在 研究报告的讨论部分进行辩论以支撑自己达成的结论。商业人士需在商业计划及可行性报告 中为自己的建议或决定辩论。L Organization of ArgumentationArgumentation deals mainly with opinions. The opinions dealt with in an argument may be called propositi
4、ons 命题,premises 前提,claims 主张,theses 论题,or hypotheses 假设.Whatever name they Regardless of the name, they remain opinions. An argument supports one major opinion, which is often called the major proposition 主要命题、大前提 or thesis statement 论题. In turn, the major proposition is supported by a series of min
5、or propositions 次要命题、小前提，which are also opinions. Finally, the minor propositions are supported by evidence, which is usually verifiable facts and statements from recognized authorities.最后使用证据对小前提加以证明，证据通常是可以证 明的事实和权威人士的陈述。Here is an example about how to construct an argument. Suppose you are going
6、to write an argument on euthanasia, and the problem at issue is whether voluntary euthanasia 自愿安乐死 should be legalized or not. You may organize your argument in the following way.1. Major Proposition 主要命题The major proposition is the point you are making about the subject. It is the statement of the
7、main idea of the argument. It should be explicitly stated, and is usually placed at the beginning of the argument. However, if the major proposition is so controversial or threatening that it might be rejected immediately at the beginning, it would be better to place it in the middle or at the end o
8、f the argument. Suppose that you have done a lot of investigation on euthanasia and you have sufficient evidence against voluntary euthanasia, the major proposition of your argument would be voluntary euthanasia should not be legalized （志愿安乐死不应合法化）2. Minor Propositions 次要命题Minor propositions are opi
9、nions that support the major proposition. They are, in fact, subtopics and are often used as subtitles in the argument. To determine which minor propositions you can use in your argument, you have to analyze the major proposition. You should examine the issue from polarized thinking by pointing out
10、other alternatives to his or her oversimplified view of the issue. Also be careful to avoid slipping into either/or statements in your own writing.6. False Cause Argument事后归因（发生于后必为其果的论点）A false cause argument is a faulty assumption that because one thing follows another, the first thing caused the
11、second （because A is followed by B, A caused B）. Such reasoning underlies superstitions, such as walking under a ladder will bring bad luck”. Setting up false causes is another form of over simplification that grows out of the desire to believe easy answers rather than tackle complex issues. 设定虚假原因是
12、另一种过分简单化的论点，来源于一种相信简单答案而不是解决复杂问题的 愿望。For example:He caught cold in the rain and later developed tuberculosis. Obviously the cold caused the tuberculosis.President Jones raised taxes, and then the rate of violent crime went up. Jones is responsible for the rise in crime.In the two examples, the first
13、 occurrence might or might not have caused the second one, but the argument has not shown us evidence that one caused the other. To avoid a false cause argument, the arguer should provide some explanation of the process by which the first occurrence is supposed to have produced the consequence. If y
14、ou say that A caused B, you should have a clear reasoning as to how A caused B, rather than simply stating that A came first and B came later.One of your major concerns is to avoid fallacies in your own argumentation. You have to examine the evidence to see that it reasonably support the premise. Ho
15、wever, it is important to remember that you cannot expect any argument to be completely free of fallacies or that it is totally logical. The demand for perfection is a sort of fallacy in itself.ExercisesI. Spot the fallacies in the following arguments and tell what kind of fallacy each one is.1. She
16、 is very pretty, so she must be a very kindhearted woman.参考答案：Non Sequitur: Her prettiness can not prove that she is kindhearted.2. His subordinates always agreed with him because he was such a wise boss.参考答案：Non Sequitur: He may be so subjective that his subordinates dare not disagree.3. You cant e
17、at without having dirty dishes, and you cant have bingo 宾戈（一种赌博游戏） without corruption.参考答案： Either-or argument: There can be other choices.4. It still amazes me to realize that most people in the United States have no interest in sports. 参考答案： Hasty generalization: There is no sound proof for the st
18、atement.5. Since it is already considered permissible to take human life under some circumstances such as self-defense, it should be allowed to take human life in active euthanasia.参考答案：False Analogy: These are two actions under completely different circumstances and for different purposes. Self-def
19、ense is to take the criminals life for the purpose of saving the innocent, while euthanasia is simply to take the life of a innocent patient.6. If we allow that factory to come into our town, we are dooming ourselves and our children to a lifetime of breathing filthy air.参考答案：Either/Or argument: The
20、re can be other choices, such as taking measures to control air pollution.7. Religion obviously weakens the political strength of a country. After all, Rome fell after the introduction of Christianity.参考答案： False cause argument: That the introduction of Christianity occurred before Rome fell doesnt
21、prove that it is the cause of Romes fall.8. Everybody in a capitalist country is basically dishonest. Look at all the politicians who are arrested every year for taking bribes and misusing public funds.参考答案： Hasty generalization: Corrupted politicians do not represent everybody.9. It is obvious that
22、 examination grading systems promote unhealthy competition and damage students9 self-esteem, so the university should abolish letter grades.参考答案：Begging the question: The author is trying to pass off an opinion as a fact.10. This candidate for senator deserves your support on the basis of his combat
23、 record in the Gulf War and because there has never been a breath of scandal about him.参考答案：Non Sequitur: The evidence doesnt prove that he has the ability to make decisions on state affairs.11. The great peasant rebellions in the Middle Ages happened because the rulers and nobles taxed the peasants
24、 to the limit to pay for foreign wars and neglected conditions in their own country; the United States can expect similar uprisings if it doesnt drastically cut its defense budget and invest in domestic social programs.参考答案：Non Sequitur: The present situation in United States is quite different from
25、 that in the Middle Ages.12. As a legislator, I cant get too upset about the proposed tuition raise when every time 1 drive by our state university I get caught in a traffic jam of students in their four-wheel-drive vehicles and snazzy convertibles有活动折蓬的汽车.参考答案：Non Sequitur and hasty generalization:
26、 That some students have cars doesnt mean that every student is rich enough to afford the tuition raise.IL Identify the fallacies in the following passage, and make your comments on them.The feminist argument that pornography is harmful has no merit and should not be discussed in college courses. I
27、read “Playboy magazine, and I dont see how it could be harmful. Begging the question: Try to pass off an opinion as a fact. The fact is that it may harm others-children and adolescents. Feminists might criticize me for looking at porn, but they shouldnt talk; they obviously look at it, too, or they
28、couldnt criticize it. Many important people, including the Presidents, writers, and entertainers who have been interviewed by the magazine and the women who pose in it, apparently agree. Hasty generalization: People interviewed by the pornographic magazine and the women who pose in it can not repres
29、ent the public opinion. No scientific studies so far have proven that pornography is harmful, so it must not be harmful. Non Sequitur: Having not been proved doesnt mean it is not harmful. Besides, to be harmful, pornography would either have to harm the men who read it or the women who pose in it,
30、and since they both choose these activities, it must not be harmful. Non Sequitur: Their choice doesnt prove it is not harmful, e.g. many drug addicts harm themselves with drugs. Feminists should take a lesson from my parents-they dont like loud music and wont have it in their houses, but they dont
31、go around saying its harmful to everyone or trying to prevent others from listening to it.False Analogy: Loud music and pornography are quite different things. The latter may affect the psychological health of children and adolescents. Ever since feminists began attacking our popular culture, the mo
32、ral foundation of our society has been weakened; the divorce rate, for example, continues to rise. False cause argument: No evidence to prove the former causes the latter. If feminists would just cease their hysterical opposition to sex, perhaps relationships in our society would improve. If feminis
33、ts insist, instead, on banning porn, men will have no freedom and no pleasure left, and large numbers of women will be jobless and will have to work as prostitutes to support themselves. Either-or argument: Both men and women have many other choices. In light of these consequences, feminists shouldn
34、t be surprised if their protests are met with violence. Truly, the feminist argument is baseless.Source: Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2005). Argument On-line. Available: http:参考答案以粗体字放入上文适当位置。III. Choose a question that is relevant to your major, or choose one of the
35、general questions listed below. Investigate the question and prepare an argument. Your argument should consist of a major proposition, minor propositions, evidence, and counterarguments. And be aware of any fallacies that may occur in your argument. Should capital punishment be abolished? Should eut
36、hanasia be legalized? Should nurses be allowed to prescribe medication and therapy? Should undergraduates be allowed to get married before graduation? Should experiments on human cloning be permitted? Should people sacrifice economic development for environmental protection?略。可指导学生参考练习V的范文来做。IV. Wri
37、te a memo to an executive that recommends the purchase of some product or service the executive needs for his or her business. Your memo should establish criteria and justify the product or service you recommend over other alternatives.略。V. The following is an argumentation written by William Bennet
38、t, drug-policy director during the Presidency of George Bush (Senior). Read this article and discuss with your classmates on the methods and skills the author uses in his argumentation.Should Drugs Be Legalized?William Bennet(From Reader s Digest. March, 1990)Since I took command of the war on drugs
39、, I have learned from former Secretary of State George Shultz that our concept of fighting drugs is “flawed. The only thing to do, he says, is to “make it possible for addicts to buy drugs at some regulated place. Conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr., suggests I should be “fatalistic“ abo
40、ut the flood of cocaine from South America and simply “let it in. Syndicated columnist Mike Royko contends it would be easier to sweep junkies out of the gutters than to fight a hopeless war“ against the narcotics that send them there. Labeling our efforts “bankrupt J federal judge Robert W. Sweet o
41、pts for legalization, saying, “If our society can learn to stop using butter, it should be able to cut down on cocaine.”Flawed, fatalistic, hopeless, bankrupt! I never realized surrender was so fashionable until I assumed this post.Though most Americans are overwhelmingly determined to go toe-to-toe
42、 with the foreign drug lords and neighborhood pushers, a small minority believe that enforcing drug laws imposes greater costs on society than do drugs themselves. Like addicts seeking immediate euphoria, the legalizers want peace at any price, even though it means the inevitable proliferation of a
43、practice that degrades, impoverishes and kills.I am acutely aware of the burdens drug enforcement places upon us. It consumes economic resources we would like to use elsewhere. It is sometimes frustrating, thankless and often dangerous. But the consequences of not enforcing drug laws would be far mo
44、re costly. Those consequences involve the intrinsically destructive nature of drugs and the toll they exact from our society in hundreds of thousands of lost and broken lives . human potential never realized . time stolen from families and jobs . precious spiritual and economic resources squandered.
45、That is precisely why virtually every civilized society has found it necessary to exert some form of control over mind-altering substances and why this war is so important. Americans feel up to their hips in drugs now. They would be up to their necks under legalization.Even limited experiments in dr
46、ug legalization have shown that when drugs are more widely available, addiction skyrockets. In 1957 Italy liberalized its drug law and now has one of the highest heroin-related death rates in Western Europe. In Alaska, where marijuana was decriminalized in 1975, the easy atmosphere has increased usa
47、ge of the drug, particularly among children. Some Alaskan schoolchildren now tout coca puffs marijuana cigarettes laced with cocaine.Many legalizers concede that drug legalization might increase use, but they shrug off the matter. “It may well be that there would be more addicts, and I would regret
48、that result J says Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman. The late Harvard Medical School psychiatry professor Norman Zinberg, a longtime proponent of responsible drug use, admitted that “use of now illicit drugs would certainly increase. Also, casualties probably would increase.In fact, Dr. Herb
49、ert D. Kleber of Yale University, my deputy in charge of demand reduction, predicts legalization might cause “a five-to-six-fbld increase“ in cocaine use. But legalizers regard this as a necessary price for the “benefits“ of legalization. What benefits?1. Legalization will take the profit out of drugs. The result supposedly will be the end of criminal drug pushers and the big foreign drug wholesalers, who will turn to other