ARGUMENTS VS NON-ARGUMENTS - York University



"Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue"

1. "I am all for women having equal rights," said Bullfighter Association president Paco Camino. "But, I repeat, women should not fight bulls because a bull-fighter is and should be a man."

2. "See your eye care professional to determine which transitions lens is right for you." (spoken at the end of a television ad for eyeglass lenses called 'transitions' which darken in the sun)

1. "The World Wide Web is the universe of network-accessible information, an embodiment of human knowledge." World Wide Web Consortium

3. [Hindsight is] assuming that things happened in a certain way because the circumstances were right, while we define which circumstances were the right ones, because at such moments those particular things happened. (Fred Spier, Big History and the Future of Humanity, p.35)

1. [Sarah Palin] said she plans to write a book, campaign for political candidates from coast to coast…and build a right-of-centre coalition. "I will go around the country on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation," she said during an interview published yesterday in The Washington Times. (Globe and Mail, July 13, 2009).

1. “…some parents see [vegetarianism] as a form of rebellion, I don’t think it is, and even if it were, would they rather have their kid on the street corner with a needle in their arm?” Article on vegetarianism in the Globe and Mail.

2. “A proof is a proof. What kind of proof? It’s a proof. A proof is a proof and when you have a good proof, its proven.” J. Chretien, Sept. 2002.

2. “Art is energy. It is a privileged communication that passes between something and the spirit of a human.” (Quoted in Govier, 5th ed., p.122)

3. “Base” means that which serves as a base.

4. “Cause” means something which produces an effect.

2. “I am prepared to admit that some sort of legal arrangement between gays and lesbians has to be allowed, but to alter the old established definition of marriage is way beyond the purview of any group of judges or even Parliament. I do not subscribe to any religious group, but even so feel that the definition of marriage must remain as it has been since time immemorial.” Letter to the editor, Globe and Mail, June 20, 2003.

1. “My generation was taught about the dangers of social diseases, how they were contracted, and the value of abstinence. Our schools did not teach us about contraception. They did not pass out condoms, as many of today’s schools do. And not one of the girls in any of my classes, not even in college, became pregnant out of wedlock. It wasn’t until people began teaching the children about contraceptives that our problems with pregnancy began.” (Quoted in Copi, Introduction to Logic, p. 152). Note: is there more than one fallacy of inference here?

4. “The only proof capable of being given that an object is visible, is that people actually see it. The only proof that a sound is audible, is that people hear it: and so of the other sources of our experience. In like manner, I apprehend, the sole evidence it is possible to produce that anything is desirable, is that people do actually desire it. “ John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism

1. “We had a flaming row after I came right out and asked her whether she disliked me most because I wasn’t a Catholic or because I wasn’t Irish. I asked her which it was…she said, this horrible woman, she said that it was because I was a slut.” (A. M. Smith, The Sunday Philosophy Club, p.81)

5. …we must accept the traditions of the men of old time who affirm themselves to be the offspring of the gods – that is what they say – and they must surely have known their own ancestors. How can we doubt the word of the children of the gods.” Plato, Timaeus

5. A computer is a programmable machine.

2. A government official said today that the new gun law will be proposed in Parliament next fall.

6. A hazard is something that is dangerous.

7. A painting is a picture drawn on canvas with a brush.

8. A raincoat is an outer garment of plastic that repels water.

9. A teacher is a person who gives instruction to children.

3. Accidents occur frequently; getting struck by lightning is an accident; therefore, getting struck by lightning occurs frequently.

3. According to a spokesperson for a major on-line retailer, the future of retail business lies in e-commerce, not in bricks-and-mortar establishments.

10. According to my dictionary, ‘morality’ means ‘the code of proper conduct followed by a society’.

6. All human beings are omnivorous. Omnivorous beings eat meat and vegetable products. Some human beings are vegetarians. Vegetarians do not eat meat. (Govier, 6th ed., p. 157)

7. All of us cannot be famous, because all of us cannot be well known.

And surely this instinct of the dog is very charming; --your dog

3. Anne Coulter (a right-wing American pundit) said of John Edwards, a candidate for the U.S. presidency, “In the future, I’ll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot.” In response to the outcry, specifically from Edwards’ wife, she stated, “I’m a little sick of being brow-beaten by a bunch of harridans about why I chose this word or about why I told that joke.” (June 29, 2007).

8. Are women discouraged from excelling in sports by a lack of financial or emotional support?

11. Art is a human activity having for its purpose the transmission to others of the highest and best feelings to which men have risen. Tolstoy, What is Art

4. As the impoverished father of three, I can say it is hard for me not to buy expensive computer equipment for my children when there is so much pressure for such purchases from schools.

12. Because the essence of art is to express emotions, only objects generated by humans is art.

5. Better dead than red.

4. Bobby saw Frank leaving Anne’s shop with a file in his hand.

6. Businesses not participating in e-commerce are failing.

13. By analysis, we mean analyzing the contradictions in things.

14. By good, I understand that which we certainly know is useful to us.

15. Capital punishment is morally wrong. After all, murder is just as wrong when it is committed by the government as when it is committed by an individual.

9. Certainly there is life after death. The proof may be found in the Ouija board, since the messages the board transmits are from departed souls.

5. Drink eight glasses of water a day.

16. Economics is the science which treats of the phenomena arising out of the economic activities of those in society.

17. Education is the total adjustment of the individual to his or her total environment.

7. Either humans were created by a divine Deity or they evolved from inanimate chemicals by random chance.

4. Eugenics (creating a “better” world by improving the gene pool) is wrong because the Nazis practiced it. (Why is this not guilt by association?)

8. Every person is either wholly good or wholly evil.

18. Fan A: Pete Rose was the greatest hitter in the history of baseball. He got more hits than any other major league player. Fan B: No, Barry Bonds deserves that title. He hit more home runs than any other major league player.

6. Four Canadian soldiers died when they were subjected to friendly fire from the Americans.

19. Frank does not qualify for a war veterans’ pension because he only fought in Vietnam, and the conflict in Vietnam was not a war.

10. Government ownership of public utilities is a dangerous doctrine, because it is socialistic.

7. He is a good person.

11.  Hibernating bears sleep through the winter.

20. Honesty is the habitual absence of the intent to deceive.

21. Human language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, when all the time we are longing to move the stars to pity. (G. Flaubert, 19th c. writer)

2. Humans use intelligence to design things all the time. Is it not reasonable to conclude that the whole universe was designed by an intelligence?

8. I am nobody. Nobody is perfect, therefore I am perfect.

5. I fail to see why hunting is considered cruel when it gives pleasure to many and employment to even more.

6. I have never heard an argument for rent controls that any sensible person would accept. So rent controls are obviously a bad idea.

7. I read with dismay the column describing another corporate invasion into our children’s. classrooms. Their insidious battle plan is working flawlessly. First, we are told repeatedly that schools need more computers or there will not be enough MBAs to march forth and compete on the global economy’s battlefield. Then we are beaten into “ad complacency” by ubiquitous media bombardment. (Paraphrased from Govier, p. 123, quoted a letter in the Globe and Mail)

8. I really do deserve a few bonus marks on my last quiz, even though I did not get the answers exactly right. After all, I spent all night studying.

3. I see that the courts are being asked to rule on the propriety of outlawing video games as a “waste of time and money.” It seems that we may be onto something here. A favourable ruling would open the door to new laws eliminating show business, spectator sports, cocktail lounges, public education, and federal bureaucracy.

9. I will give you a ring tomorrow

10. I will meet you at the bank.

4. If we stop teaching spelling and grammar in the public schools, when the students get to high school they will not be able to communicate properly, admission standards at university will have to be lowered, a B.A. will become a worthless piece of paper, and even Ph.D.s will be granted to students who do not know a subject from a verb. So we should keep teaching those basic subjects.

9. If you know about BMW, you either own one or you want one.

9. If you want proof that the golden rule is true, all you need do is observe that it is used in every system of ethics ever devised.

5. If you want to ensure that a bad thing does not happen, throw salt over your shoulder.

10. In PM's 'Laggard' Effort On Africa Assailed (front page, June 9, 2007), Bono criticized Stephen Harper and other world leaders for not using our money to end African poverty. Again, root causes of this problem - corrupt African leadership - are ignored. Why is it that rock stars, whose area of expertise appears confined to noise, drugs and orgies, consider themselves experts on saving continents? (Globe and Mail, June 11, 2007)

is a true philosopher.

10. Isaac Newton was a genius at mathematics and other sciences, and he believed in God, so God must exist.

11. It is financially advisable for you to join our protective organization. Think of all the money you will lose in broken windows, overturned trucks and damaged merchandise should you choose not to join.

12. It is only when it is believed that I could have acted otherwise that I am held to be morally responsible for what I have done. For a person is not thought to be morally responsible for an action that it was not in his power to avoid.

6. It is predicted that the consumer’s price index will rise again next month. Consequently, you can expect to pay more for butter and eggs next month.

13. Joan: I think astrology is correct, don’t you? Jane: No, not at all. What reasons do you have to believe that its principles are true? Joan: The best reason of all. I’m an Aries, and Aries are very good at perceiving what is true.

22. Knowledge is true opinion. Plato, Theatetus

7. Leo horoscope: “You must make a conscious effort to avoid all forms of negative thinking today. If you let even one little doubt enter your mind it will grow alarmingly quickly and before you know it you will think the world is coming to an end.”

8. Letter to the editor, Toronto Star, June 24, 2007: “While certainly not condoning speeding and reckless lane changes on our roads, it is interesting to observe that on the highways of Europe, people routinely drive at speeds of 160 km/h or higher, and experience far fewer serious accidents that we do here. The reason? Slower drivers do not insist on clogging the passing lanes. Perhaps if drivers here were educated to stay out of passing lanes unless overtaking a slower vehicle, and police enforced this practice, there would be less incentive for faster drivers to continuously shift lanes, which is often the cause of highway crashes.”

23. Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises. Samuel Butler, Notebooks

14. Lord Boothby asked the government whether the Minister of Aviation still contemplated raising the landing fees at London airport on April 1 to the point which would make it not only the worst but by far the most expensive airport in the world.

15. Many schools provide a religious curriculum in addition to the government sponsored one. The government thus has an obligation to provide funding to such schools.

11. Mathematics is the most obscure and dismal of the sciences.

12. My father owns the department store that gives your newspaper fifteen percent of all its advertising revenue, so I'm sure you won't want to publish the story of my arrest for spray painting the college.

9. My mother always told me that if you eat a popsicle in the winter you will get a sore throat.

13. Nietzsche’s philosophy is not worth the paper it’s printed on. He was an immoral reprobate who went completely insane from syphilis before he died.

10. No one on this committee is especially outstanding in ability so it is impossible for the committee to bring in a competent report.

14. Oops, no paper this morning. Somebody in our apartment building probably stole my newspaper. So, I can take one from my neighbour's doormat.

16. Paranormal phenomena exist because I have had experiences that can only be described as paranormal.

17. Past-life memories of children prove that past lives exist because the children could have no other source for their memories besides having lived in the past.

18. People cannot help what they do because they always follow the strongest motive. And the strongest motive is the one that people follow.

11. People should keep their promises, right? I loaned Dwayne my knife, and he said he'd return it. Now he is refusing to give it back, but I need it right now to slash the tires of someone parked in my parking spot. Dwayne isn't doing right by me.

12. Peter is bald.

24. Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds.

19. Police authorities are finding the solution of murders more and more difficult because the victims are unwilling to cooperate with the police.

13. Prior to being let go, the manager was placed on administrative leave; he was now free for future opportunities.

14. She’s a good student.

12. Since I began taking the bus to my store rather than driving, my business has prospered. So my business success is based on my using the TTC.

20. Since there are many homosexuals in our society, and since it is true that gays are attracted to people of the same sex, they should seek sexual fulfillment through such relationships.

11. Stephen Hawking, the most noted theoretical physicist of our time, surmises that black holes give off radiation.

15. Steven decided to turn to the right.

16. The accused said that he should not be required to pay the parking ticket because the sign by his car said, “Fine for Parking.”

15. The Canadian government is having similar thoughts about banning seal hunting after four years of hostile publicity and occasional exaggerations about the hunt. Angry letters and petitions flood Ottawa, and demonstrations have besieged Canadian embassies and consulates. Among the protestors are Americans obviously unaware that the U.S. sanctions hunters who annually club or shoot 120,000 seals in the Pribiloff Islands off Alaska.

16. The computer is doing more harm than good. We have no evidence that stands up to scrutiny that they are helpful for learning in children under the fourth grade.

17. The DaVinci Code must be a great book. It has been on the best-seller list for more than a year, and has sold over a million copies.

18. The doctor who proposed a potential cure for diabetes should not be invited to speak at the next conference. After all, she belongs to a radical animal rights group.

17. The education client was retained instead of advancing.

19. The government has proposed increasing welfare payments for the poor. It is regrettable that the premier finds it necessary to advocate socialism. Socialism was tried for over seventy years in Russia, and it has been a miserable failure. A capitalistic free market has always been more efficient and productive, and will continue to be so.

13. The government is obligated to refrain from interfering with the free exercise of religion. The practices of the Religion of Internal Enlightenment involve the use of opium. So it would be wrong for the government to interfere with this religious practice.

18. The head of state who won the Noble peace prize and who is giving away his share of the award money is the poorest head of government in the developing world.

The matter never struck me before; but I quite recognise the truth of your remark.

20. The PM’s budget proposal is absurd. After all, no real PM would let himself be pushed around by his wife. If he cannot run his own household right, then he can hardly run the country right.

25. The taking of a human life is murder. Abortion is the taking of a human life. Therefore, abortion is murder.

19. The truth will make you free.

21. The vast majority of people in this country believe that capital punishment is wrong, so it must be.

26. The word ‘mountain’ means a large mass of earth or rock rising to a height above the surrounding land.

21. The world of the RV: A Wal-Mart atlas and freeloading in B.C.: It's a sight that RV park owner Ted McAfee hates to see -- a cluster of about 20 RVs in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Prince George on a summer night, sitting under awnings on their deck chairs, swapping stories around an artificial fireplace burning on the pavement. The next morning, he knows they'll pack up and leave to the Wal-Mart closest to the next stop on their trip… Globe and Mail, July 19, 2005

22. The world was not created by God, for matter has always existed and therefore the world must have always existed.

20. There is a pile of sand by the sandbox.

12. There’s abundant proof that God exists and is still performing miracles today. Just last week I read about a girl who was dying of cancer. Her whole family prayed for her, and she was cured!

27. There’s no reason for professors and teachers to try to cultivate independent thinking in their students. Independent thinkers would have to start from scratch, and what would be the point of that? Students should forget about independence and learn from their masters. (Govier, 5th ed., p.123)

21. This is good soup.

22. This scholarship aid proposal is calculated to exploit poor students, for it was written by a committee composed only of members of the faculty and administration.

22. Those noisy people object to racism because they believe it is discrimination. Yet even they agree that it is OK to choose carefully which tomatoes to buy in the supermarket. They discriminate between the over-ripe, the under-ripe, and the just right. They discriminate between the TV shows they don't want to watch and those they do. So, what's all this fuss about racism if they're willing to discriminate, too?

28. Thought: I use this term to include everything that is within us in such a way that we are immediately aware of it. (Descartes, Objections and Replies)

23. To be an atheist, you have to believe with absolute certainty that there is no God. In order to convince yourself with absolute certainty, you must examine all the universe and all the places where God could possibly be. Since you cannot, atheism is false.

29. To study is to concentrate very hard with the goal of remembering what you are studying for.

24. Using the term ‘creative advertising’ in that article implies that some talent is involved in selling a dubious remedy to an uninformed public. No talent is involved here, just greed. (Govier, p.122, referring to a magazine article on advertising)

30. War…is an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.

23. We do it right before your eyes. (Sign on Mr. Lube outlet, now changed)

25. We hope you will accept our recommendations. We spent the last three months working extra time on them.

31. Wealth is the absence of poverty.

26. While my old computer was perfectly satisfactory for what I need to do, the machine I bought yesterday is much better. It is the latest thing in new technology.

24. Why do I know more than other people? Why, in general, am I so clever. I have never pondered over questions that are not really questions. I have never wasted my strength. Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo

23. Why, a dog, whenever he sees a stranger, is angry; when an acquaintance, he welcomes him, although the one has never done him any harm, nor the other any good. Did this never strike you as curious?

Why, because he distinguishes the face of a friend and of an enemy only by the criterion of knowing and not knowing. And must not an animal be a lover of learning who determines what he likes and dislikes by the test of knowledge and ignorance? (Plato, The Republic)

Why?

27. Will the new tax in Senate Bill 47 unfairly hurt business? One of the provisions of the bill is that the tax is higher for large employers (fifty or more employees) as opposed to small employers (six to forty-nine employees). To decide on the fairness of the bill, we must first determine whether employees who work for large employers have better working conditions than employees who work for small employers.

32. Withholding information is the same as lying and lying is wrong in every circumstance. So withholding information is wrong. (Govier, 6th ed., p. 158)

13. Women in Islamic countries never achieve positions of power.

14. You know what happens when people take drugs! Pretty soon the caffeine won't be strong enough. Then you will take something stronger, maybe someone's diet pill. Then, something even stronger. Eventually, you will be doing cocaine. Then you will be a crack addict! So, don't drink that coffee.

24. You ought to support your partner.

15. You should never gamble. Once you start you find it hard to stop. Soon you are spending all your money on gambling, and eventually you will turn to crime for more gambling money.

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