Claims

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Claims
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Examples of Evidenceand Claims

• Scientists asserting they have produced cold
  fusion in the laboratory
• Eye-witnesses asserting they say a criminal
  leaving the scene of the crime

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Similarities in Evidence and Claims

• Both are statements of reality or values
• Both frequently are problematic
• Both can be divided into the same categories
• definitions
• descriptions
• relational statements
• evaluative statements

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Differences between Evidence and Claims

• Their place in the argument
• Starting points initiate the argument
• Claims are the termination point of the argument
• Audience acceptance
• Starting points are generally accepted by the
  audience
• The audience either disagrees with or is
  indifferent toward the claim

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Categories of Evidence and Claims

• Definitions
• Descriptions
• Relationship statements
• Similarity
• Contingency
• Evaluative statements

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Definitions

• What is the proper meaning of X?
• 2 steps
• posit a definition
• construct reasons to support the definition
• Definitions and evaluation
• pro-life and pro-choice
• partial-birth abortion
• affirmative action

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Arguing about definitions

• Necessary when the audience does not accept the
  definition.
• Arguments generally focus around the
  reasonableness of the scope and breadth of the
  definition
• Arguments can focus on the criteria for
  acceptability of definitions

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Importance of Definitions in Argument

• Definitions are important to subsequent
  argumentative moves
• Definitions can imply descriptions
• Definitions can carry values

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Descriptions

• Descriptions characterize some feature of an
  object, concept or event.
• Examples
• The rifle purported to have killed President
  Kennedy requires a minimum of 2.3 seconds between
  shots. Examples of Descriptions
• Affirmative action programs must by their nature
  include hiring quotas.
• Jack Ruby was spotted in Parkland Hospital thirty
  minutes after President Kennedy was murdered.

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Descriptive Arguments

• To be argumentative, descriptions must be
  controversial and require reason for support
• Previous examples
• Oswalds rifle
• Affirmative action quotas
• Ruby in Parkland hospital

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Kinds of Descriptive Arguments

• Historical Facts
• Scientific Fact

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Importance of Descriptive Arguments

• To settle an existing controversy
• Useful as evidence in relational arguments of
  similarity and contingency
• Descriptions imply values

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Relational Statements

• What is the relationship between X and Y?
• Two kinds
• Contingency
• Signs
• Cause
• Similarity

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Relationships of sign

• The pain in your childs abdomen probably means
  she has appendicitis.
• The palm print on the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle
  proves that Oswald handled the rifle supposedly
  used to shoot President Kennedy.
• If the glove doesnt fit, you must acquit.

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Causal Relationships

• Contributory Causes
• Necessary and Sufficient Causes
• Motives

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Contributory Causes

• Causes which predispose or influence the
  occurrence of certain effects
• For example
• Genetics are the cause of heart attacks.
• A high cholesterol diet can cause heart attack.
• Vigorous exercise causes heart attacks.

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Necessary Causes

• A necessary causal claim implies that the effect
  cannot happen without the cause
• Money is essential to happiness
• Useful for arguing about an action eliminating an
  effect

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Sufficient Cause

• A sufficient causal claim implies that the cause
  cannot occur without the effect occurring
  simultaneously
• Money brings happiness
• Useful to argue about an action producing an
  effect

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Motive as causal

• Causal claims about the effects of human agents.
• Representatives and Senators self-interest
  motivated them to stall campaign finance reform

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Importance of Causal Arguments

• Important in their own right
• Important for their role in establishing
  evaluative claims

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Similarity

• Two or more objects are similar in important ways
• Examples
• Abortion is virtually the same as infanticide
• Clinton was a lot like Nixon
• Capital punishment is state sanctioned murder

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Importance of Arguments of Similarity

• Important in their own right to prove two things
  are alike
• Important in establishing arguments of value

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Evaluation

• Evaluation of a single object
• Comparison of two or more objects
• Evaluating actions

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Evaluation and Other Argument Types

• Evaluations are frequently dependent on other
  types of arguments
• Evaluation and definition
• Evaluation and causation
• Evaluation and similarity