Instructor Manual
Chapter 1: Introducing arguments
Instructors’ material
Practice in identifying arguments and extracting the relevant parts of a text from extraneous material:
Our experience is that students find the tasks of recognising what a text is about and of identifying whether or not it contains an argument somewhat more challenging than one might initially expect. A useful initial exercise that can be set once the notion of arguments and the aims of arguments have been introduced, then, involves the interpretation and comprehension of the kinds of texts that they will later encounter when attempting to reconstruct arguments in order to assess them. Such an exercise doesn’t involve reconstruction as such (that comes much later), but introduces students to the techniques of recognising whether the author is giving an argument, the main point for which they are arguing, the reasons they give in support of that point and which material is irrelevant to the argument. Students who find such a task relatively straightforward can be asked to go on and try and extract the argument as it appears (without adding any missing premises, etc.) and write it out in standard form. Here are some passages that could work well for this exercise:
This week it was shown that there were more children born in the United Kingdom last year with Down's syndrome than there were before the introduction of universal testing, 20 years ago. One of the reasons is more obvious than the other –fertility among women in their 30s outstripped that of those in their 20s for the first time in the UK during 2005. Mothers are getting older and that trend is continuing; with it the incidence of Down's syndrome increases. The more surprising aspect, I find, is that 40% of women who have a Down's syndrome baby having been advised of that strong possibility during pregnancy didn't believe the test results.
My worry is this: that the discursive space around the issue is taken up with pro-lifers rejoicing in this selfless social direction. Pro-choicers are silent on the matter. And yet 94% of people will abort when told that a foetus probably has the condition. This silence is turning these abortions into a dirty secret. This can't be allowed to happen – they are either defensible or they aren't.
The taboo is even more marked in the case of aborting for birth
defects than it is with terminations generally. First off, you talk about
‘defects‘ and very soon the word ’eugenics‘ is used, and images of Nazis spring
up. Second, there is an unavoidable inference that if you are in favour of
aborting Down's syndrome foetuses, you must therefore think that people with
Down's syndrome are worthless. Why would you take such an unkind position?
Well, first of all, it's nothing to do with eugenics. Nobody aborts a Down's
syndrome foetus because they want to create a society of perfect people. I also
think that you would struggle to make the case that parents do it for their own
convenience. They do it because they don't believe that life is so precious that
it is worth it at any price. If you are pro-choice, you do not see the right to
life as a trump card that obviates all other considerations. You ask questions
about quality of life, and you bring to those questions your assessment of your
own life.
Which brings us to point two: the argument for termination always falls silent in the face of people saying how happy Down's syndrome children are, how much joy they bring to their families and communities, how much greater are their opportunities these days – because people were prepared to have them and fight for them.
However, you don't have to dispute any of that to support a parent's decision in favour of termination. I am pro-abortion generally for women who get pregnant by accident and are not in a relationship – or at least not one that they want to stay in – and don't want to have a child on their own. That doesn't mean I think children of single mothers are worthless, that I wish they didn't exist, that I don't believe they bring anything to society. I deride the idea of adoption as a humane and viable alternative to abortion, but that doesn't mean I wish adopted people dead. I wouldn't in a million years judge a foetus on what it's going to bring to society, nor what it will cost. I don't believe doctors do either.
But nor would I judge a parent who decided against having a baby with Down's syndrome. You might conceive children for your own pleasure, but once they are out, parents are just there to marshal children to their own life, hoping that it's one of more pleasure than pain. If you think that you can do this under any conditions, that's a point of view; but if you think you can't, that is not a selfish attitude, and nor is it shaming, nor reckless, nor spineless. It's a mature decision, based on an even-eyed view of the world and life in it, and one that any pro-choicer should be proud to defend.
Zoe Williams, Guardian, 26/11/08, accessed online from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/26/comment-abortion-pro-choice-women on 26/11/08
Copyright Guardian News & Media Ltd 2008.
Some further examples of extended arguments that could be used for an exercise practising writing extended arguments in standard form:
- Even if everyone were vegetarian, animals will still kill each other, and will still suffer from diseases, parasites, starvation, natural disasters, and other misfortunes. So vegetarianism can’t eliminate animal suffering. If vegetarianism will not eliminate animal suffering there is no reason to be vegetarian. So we shouldn’t be vegetarian.
- Sentient animals have the same moral status as humans. Killing humans for pleasure is immoral. Therefore, killing sentient animals for pleasure is immoral. The consumption of meat involves killing sentient animals for pleasure. So the consumption of meat is immoral.
- My father drives above the speed limit when he is in a hurry. He also has the nerve to tell me to obey all the road rules. He is being hypocritical. We shouldn’t listen to the advice of people if they are being hypocritical. So I shouldn’t listen to my father’s advice.
- In every city where road capacity has been increased traffic volumes have increased. The Redland City Council has proposed building five new major cross-city roads before 2012. Traffic volumes in Redland will increase accordingly and this will have a detrimental effect on the environment and on road safety. If we want our city to develop in a sustainable way, we must oppose these new roads.
- If the 2016 Football World Cup is held in Australia, it will be easier for teams from Oceania to become acclimatised and they won’t suffer the effects of jet-lag. So they are likely to do better than if it is held in the Northern Hemisphere. On this basis, New Zealand is likely to do better if the 2016 World Cup is held in Australia than it would if it were held in the Northern Hemisphere.
The arguments in exercise D of the students’ material for Chapter 1 could also be used as examples for further practice at putting extended arguments into standard form.