Exam 2: Recognizing Arguments

I believe in the United States of America as a Government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic, a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect Union one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. (William Tyler Page, "The American's Creed," quoted in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 12^th ed.)

The California Psychological Inventory (CPI) was initially developed and first published by Harrison Gough in 1957. Thirty years later Gough revised his inventory by adding several new scales and revamping or eliminating a number of dated, sexist, or difficult to read items. The current version of the CPI contains 462 true-false items designed to measure various facets of the normal personality. It is intended to be used with both adolescents and adults to predict how individuals will behave and react in a variety of interpersonal situations. (Kevin R. Murphy and Charles O. Davidshofer, Psychological Testing: Principles and Applications, 4^th ed.)

Large-scale reductions in class size will likely lower the average quality of teachers: first, because to hire additional teachers school districts must reach into the lower-quality segment of the teacher pool; and, second, because a given budget will be spread among a higher number of teachers, thereby limiting potential increases in teacher salaries. (Jane Hannaway and Robert I. Lerman, Letter to the Editor, The New Republic)

For six months after Pearl Harbor, nearly everything in the Pacific went Japan's way. Britain's supposedly impregnable colony at Singapore fell easily. American naval garrisons in the Philippines and on Guam and Wake Islands were overwhelmed, and American and Filipino armies were forced to surrender at Bataan and Corregidor in the Philippines. Other Japanese forces steamed southward to menace Australia. Then the tide turned. (John M. Murrin, et. al., Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, 2^nd ed.)

Banning sweets from your household doesn't necessarily mean your child will grow up shunning sugary treats. Just the opposite is true, in fact: In a recent study, children who had just eaten a full meal were put in a room with a table piled with sweets. Even though they weren't hungry, children who were not usually allowed to have such treats gorged on the cakes and cookies, says researcher Leann Birch, Ph.D., professor of human development at Pennsylvania State University of Health and Human Development. Meanwhile, those kids whose parents regularly permitted such sweets in moderation hardly touched them. (Laura Flynn McCarthy, "Six Nutrition Rules Even Smart Moms Don't Know")

Cells are the smallest independent units of life, and all life as we know it depends on the many chemical activities of cells. Some of the basic functions of cells are growth, metabolism, irritability, and reproduction. Cells vary in size from a sperm, which is about 5 micrometers (five-millionths of a meter) long, to a nerve cell with thin fibers that may be more than a meter long. (Robert Carola, John P. Harley, and Charles R. Noback, Human Anatomy and Physiology, 2^nd ed.)

Rhetorical questions are statements.

There can be no defense of eating flesh in terms of satisfying nutritional needs, since it has been established beyond doubt that we could satisfy our need for protein and other essential nutrients far more efficiently with a diet that replaced animal flesh by soy beans, or products derived from soy beans, and other high-protein vegetable products. (Peter Singer, Animal Liberation)

If moms would stay home and be moms the way they're supposed to be instead of trying to act like men, we wouldn't have the trouble we're having with our children today. (From a newspaper call-in column)

Since, because, and thus are common premise indicators.

Medieval painting had presented life as an allegory; the Renaissance preferred realism. The Medieval painters posed their figures frontally, impersonally; the Renaissance developed psychological characterization and the art of portraiture. Medieval painting dealt in stereotypes; the Renaissance concerned itself with individuals. Space in medieval painting was organized in a succession of planes over which the eye traveled as over a series of episodes. The Renaissance created unified space and the simultaneous seeing of the whole. It discovered landscape, created the illusion of distance, and opened up endless vistas upon the physical loveliness of the world. (Joseph Machlis and Kristine Forney, The Enjoyment of Music: An Introduction to Perceptive Listening)

If it be true Christianity to dive with a passionate charity into the darkest recesses of misery and vice, to irrigate every quarter of the earth with the fertilizing stream of an almost boundless benevolence, And to include all the sections of humanity in the circle of an intense and efficacious sympathy; if it Be true Christianity to destroy or weaken the barriers which had separated class from class and nation from nation, to free war from its harshest elements, and to make a consciousness of essential equality and of genuine fraternity dominate over all accidental differences; if it be, above all, true Christianity to cultivate a love of truth for its own sake, a spirit of candour and of tolerance towards those with whom we differ-if these be the marks of a true and healthy Christianity, then never since the days of the Apostles has it been so vigorous as at present. (W. E. H. Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe)

I worry that to promote science as all fun and larky and easy is to store up trouble for the future. Real science can be hard (well, challenging to give it a more positive spin) but, like classical literature or playing the violin, worth the struggle. If children are lured into science, or any other worthwhile occupation, by the promise of easy fun, what are they going to do when they finally have to confront the reality? (Richard Dawkins, Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion, and the Appetite for Wonder)

Simple distinctions come all too easily. Frequently we open the way for later puzzlement by restricting the options we take to be available. So, for example, in contrasting science and religion, we often operate with a simple pair of categories. On one side there is science, proof, and certainty; on the other, religion, conjecture, and faith. (Philip Kitcher, Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism)

Many arguments do not contain any indicator words.

About a century and a half ago Matthew Arnold found in the withdrawing ocean tide a metaphor for the retreat of religious faith, and heard in the water's sound "the note of sadness." It would be wonderful to find in the laws of nature a plan prepared by a concerned creator in which human beings played some special role. I find sadness in doubting that we will. (Steven Weinberg, Dreams of a Final Theory)

Since 1950, almost every top publishing house in the United States has been issuing books that its editors know to be occult garbage. Why? The answer is obvious. Like worthless diet books, they make lots of money. (Martin Gardner, The New Age: Notes of a Fringe Watcher)

Let's get this straight now. Guns, evil. Abortion, good. Restrictions on gun ownership. Federal protection of abortion clinics and abortionists. Register your guns, but you don't have to tell your parents or the father you're having an abortion. A relative handful of kids tragically get killed because a few people went beserk or played with their daddy's gun; but thousands of kids are killed every year by abortion. Guns evil? Abortion good? There is something really, really wrong going on here. (From a newspaper call-in column)

Life can throw us some curves at times that are not always easy to handle. We can often feel lost, uncertain and upset. With so much to do and think about, we may become confused; not sure how to feel or what to do with our feelings. A natural reaction to stress, disappointment and losses in our lives is to feel down. But it's important to know that when these feelings are severe or continue for a long time, you may be experiencing depression--a disorder that requires professional help. (First Priority Health Brochure)

The following sentence is an argument: "Flight 336 to Rome will be delayed due to late arrival of the aircraft."