Argument Forms and Fallacies, Formal Logic Help
Other
The following selections were taken from letters to the editor of newspapers. Each contains one or more arguments, but the exact form of the argument may be hidden or ambiguous.
Choose one of the following, and use the argument forms to structure the selection as a specifically named argument.
1. OK, I’ve tried it for a week again this year, but I still don’t like daylight-saving time. My grass is brown enough already—it doesn’t need another hour of daylight each day. Let’s turn the clocks back to the way God intended—standard time. (Jim Orr)
2. The religious right, in its impassioned fervor to correct our alleged moral wrongs and protect the rights of our unborn “children,” may one day realize its ultimate goal of a constitutional amendment banning abortion. And what will the punishment be for those caught performing or receiving an abortion? The death penalty, of course. (David Fisher)
3. If voluntary school prayer for our children is going to make them more moral, then just think what mandatory church attendance on Sunday could do for the rest of us. (Roderick M. Boyes)
4. A country that replaces the diseased hearts of old white men but refuses to feed schoolchildren, pay women adequately, educate adolescents, or care for the elderly—that country is doomed. We are acting as if there is no tomorrow. Where is our shame? (Robert Birch)
5. Regarding the bill to require parental consent for a minor’s abortion, I would like to point out that the pious platitudes about parental authority quickly fall by the wayside when the minor wants to keep the baby and the parents say, “Don’t be silly! You have an abortion and finish your education.” If the parents can veto a minor’s abortion, shouldn’t they also be able to require one? Better the choice, either pro or con, be left to the girl/woman herself. (Jane Roberts)
