Beyond Feelings - Vincent Ruggiero [52]
Olaf: Did you hear the good news? School may not open on schedule this year.
Olga: How come?
Olaf: The teachers may be on strike.
Olga: Strike? This ridiculous, They're already making good money.
Janice: What movie is on at the theater tonight?
Mike: I don't know the title. It's something about lesbians. Do you want to go?
Janice: No thanks. I'll wait for a quality film.
Boris: Boy, talk about unfair markers. Nelson's the worst.
Bridget: Why? What did he do?
Boris: What did he do? He gave me a D – on the midterm, that's all – after I spent twelve straight hours studying for it. I may just make an appointment to see the dean about him.
Mr. Smith: The Harrisons are having martial problems. I'll bet they'll be separating soon.
Mr. Jones: How do you know?
Mrs. Smith: I heard it at the supermarket. Helen told Gail and Gail told me.
Mr. Jones: I knew it wouldn't work out. Jeb Harrison is such a blah person. I can't blame Ruth for wanting to leave him.
Apply your critical thinking to the following cases. Be sure to identify all your assumptions and decide whether they are warranted.
During his presidency, Ronald Reagan formally proposed a constitutional amendment permitting prayer in the public schools, arguing that it was time to "restore the simple freedom of our citizens to offer prayer in public schools and institutions. "The amendment was worded as follows: "Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to prohibit individual or group prayer in public schools or other pubic institutions. No person shall be required by the United States or by any state to participate in prayer."6 Do you endorse this amendment?
A Cambridge, Massachusetts, man got tired of looking at his neighbor's uncut lawn and untrimmed shrubs, which reached above the second-story window, and took his grievance to court. The neighbor admitted to the judge that he hadn't cut the lawn in fourteen years, but he argued that he preferred a natural lawn to a manicured one and untrimmed to trimmed shrubs. The judge decided he was perfectly within his legal rights in leaving his lawn and shrubs uncut, regardless of what his neighbor felt.7
Should parents who feel their college-age sons and daughters are being brainwashed by religious cults be allowed to kidnap their children and have them deprogrammed?
Should parents be allowed to keep their children out of school if they believe they can educate them better at home?
Many motorcyclists object to the laws of some states that require them and their passengers to wear helmets. They believe they should be free to decide for themselves whether to wear a helmet. Do you agree?
Group discussion exercise: Discuss one of the cases in application 2 with two or three of your classmates. Try to reach consensus on the issue, taking care to avoid unwarranted assumptions. Be prepared to present your group's view (or the individual views) to the class.
1 Seth S. Goldschlager, "There Was a Real Count Dracula and He Was Not a Good Old Boy," New York Times, August 27, 1972, Sec. 10, p.9.
2 "Visitors Say China Delivers Better Health Care Than U.S.," Binghamton Press, July 16, 1972, p.5D.
3 "Navajo Psychotherapy," Time, June 17, 1972, p.68.
4 "'Love Addicts'," Parade, April 1, 1973, p.9.
5 J. H. Plumb, "The Great Change in Children," Horizon, Winter 1971, pp.4-12.
6 "Reagan Proposes Prayer Amendment," The (Oneonta) Star, May 18, 1982, p.2.
7 "Liberation Lawn," New York Times, Many 23, 1982, Sec.4, p.11.
P2-C13-5
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
UNWARRANTED ASSUMPTIONS
Logical fallacies are errors in reasoning. Logicians have identified dozens of specific fallacies. However, we will limit our consideration to the most common ones. Like the other problems encountered in critical thinking, these errors occur when we approach issues carelessly. (The distinction between logical fallacies and the problems discussed in Chapters 6 through 13 is not a rigid one.