Analogy 1: "You Wouldn't Steal Term Paper

PAGES
8
WORDS
2186
Cite

If each embryo is theoretically imbued with a soul and each soul has limitless value, then the balance shifts. Argument from Statistics #1 (total): "In 1976, Washington, D.C., enacted one of the most restrictive gun control laws in the nation. Since then, the city's murder rate has risen 134% while the national murder rate has dropped 2%. Gun control doesn't work."

This is a weak argument from statistics, because the murder rate is not limited to murders committed with guns. Moreover, a number of factors could contribute to the city's rise in murders (e.g. cutbacks in the police force) having absolutely nothing to do with guns and gun control one way or the other.

Argument from Statistics #2 (total): "Terrorist attacks worldwide have increased fourfold since the Iraq war, so the U.S. should not have invaded Iraq." middling argument. Though terrorist attacks have certainly increased in Iraq and Afghanistan as a response to American troops, terrorist attacks in other parts of the country are not necessarily linked. Moreover, the increase in attacks might be due to an emboldening of terrorists following 9/11, and not completely in reaction to the United States' reaction to 9/11.

Argument from Statistics #3 (ratio): "Four out of five of the oranges in this basket are sweet. Consequently, 80% of all the oranges in this basket are sweet."

This is a compelling statistics-based argument only if the basket contains a small number of oranges. The greater the number of oranges, the less comfortable one becomes with this ratio analysis.

Argument from Statistics #4 (ratio): "All the ducks in my pond are black, so all ducks are black."

An obviously poor and narrow-minded use of an observable statistical ratio. Just because 100% of the ducks you observe...

...

This is not to say, however, that if it was discovered that John McCain was, say, an adulterer, that it might not shift the party loyalty of Alabama voters.
Argument from Statistics #7 (distribution): "Over 90% of people believe in God, so God exists." weak argument, because the vast majority of people used to believe many things that no longer are considered true (e.g. The earth is flat).

Argument from Statistics #8 (distribution): "Blacks are overrepresented in criminal statistics, so black people are more prone to crime than white people." middling argument. Black people are statistically more likely to commit crimes, but they are also more likely to be prosecuted for crimes white people would not get prosecuted for and/or more likely to be convicted by juries. Moreover, the above statement is an indictment of the conditions many black people live in, rather than a statement about black people themselves.

Argument from Statistics #9 (average): "The Red Sox have won 2 championships in the last 4 years, so they can be expected to win half of the championships for the duration of Major League Baseball." poor argument. Sports teams rise and fall based on (in)effective management, financial resources, player injuries, etc. A successful extended run during one incarnation of a team does not necessarily equate with continued dominance.

Argument from Statistics #10 (average): "The average salary in the United States is 30,000 dollars; therefore, I earn 30,000 dollars." poor argument. I may not even be employed, let alone earning such a low or high salary (depending on perspective).

Cite this Document:

"Analogy 1 You Wouldn't Steal" (2008, May 04) Retrieved April 19, 2024, from
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/analogy-1-you-wouldn-t-steal-30110

"Analogy 1 You Wouldn't Steal" 04 May 2008. Web.19 April. 2024. <
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/analogy-1-you-wouldn-t-steal-30110>

"Analogy 1 You Wouldn't Steal", 04 May 2008, Accessed.19 April. 2024,
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/analogy-1-you-wouldn-t-steal-30110

Related Documents

Teenage pregnancy analogy The causes of teenage pregnancy are much like the reasons that teenagers drive recklessly -- teenagers have trouble seeing beyond the needs of the moment, and their immediate satisfaction. Teens feel as if they are adults, because of the tremendous hormonal and emotional shift that occurs with adolescence. They are angry when adult rules and laws attempt to hem them in. They chafe at even the most reasonable

Exegesis Hillel is "remembered not for his inspired exegesis but for his rationalistic exegetical techniques," (Brewer 219). These rational exegetical techniques have been codified into the Seven Rules of Hillel, which many claim predate Hillel himself ("The Seven Rules of Hillel"). Regardless of when, how, and with whom the Seven Rules of rabbinical exegesis emerged, it is clear that Paul relied on these rules when conveying the teachings of Jesus Christ

This researcher rejects the existence of online communities because computer mediated group discussions cannot possibly meet this definition. Weinreich's view is that anyone with even a basic knowledge of sociology understands that information exchange in no way constitutes a community. For a cyber-place with an associated computer mediated group to be labeled as a virtual settlement it is necessary for it to meet a minimum set of conditions. These are:

If this was the case, and this transformation of reasoning did occur, then that person would be truly virtuous. There are many strengths to Aristotle's argument, as well. One of the main strengths is the discussion of the two kinds of virtue - the kind that comes from habit, and the kind that comes from learning. This would work to demonstrate why some people change so much as they grow

Corporate crime is (is not) like burglary. Corporate crime is like burglary. Both crimes are about the taking of property to satisfy personal greed. Both types of crime involve using stealth to avoid attracting attention during the commission of the crime. Both often involve the use of deception to make the criminal activity appear legitimate to an observer. Both crimes often involve abusing a position of trust, such as accountant, or

African-American Literature Du Bois in The Souls of Black Folks offers the reader glimpses into the heart and mind of black men and women living in the post-reconstruction south when the splendor that had resided especially in the cotton market, had all but disappeared. The disappearance of the cotton market left in its wake thousands of black men and women the legacy of the laborers that built the place still laboring