Prompt
Using the evaluation processes detailed in the PowerPoint and in the textbook, evaluate three of the following causal arguments (which may also be found in Exercise 7-4 on p. 244-245 in Judith Boss’s THiNK). You should dedicate at least one paragraph to each evaluation:
The majority of people who die are in bed at the time of their death. Clearly, being in bed increases a person’s risk of dying. Therefore, if I sleep on the sofa, I have a better chance of living longer.
The number of people coming into the hospital emergency room for chest pains increased as the stock market dropped in August 2017. The drop in the stock market is probably responsible, at least in part, for this increase.
There are few women faculty members in the sciences at the Ivy League universities. Women are more likely than men to be discriminated against in hiring. Therefore, discrimination is probably one of the causes of the low number of women faculty members in the sciences at these universities.
“Did you know that young people who use marijuana weekly have double the risk of depression later in life? And that teens aged 12 to 17 who smoke marijuana weekly are three times more likely than non users to have suicidal thoughts? And if that’s not bad enough, marijuana use in some teens has been linked to increased risk for schizophrenia in later years.” Therefore, don’t let your teens smoke marijuana.
Hours after a devastating earthquake struck the coast of South America, a tsunami warning was issued for Hawaii.
I can’t stay home today even though I do have a bad cold because nothing would get done at work and we’ll get hopelessly behind in our project. The boss can’t get along without me.
I don’t have any problem with legalizing marijuana. We all smoked marijuana when I was in college back in the early 1970s and none of us suffered academically because of it.
That’s ridiculous. It couldn’t have been an alien abduction that caused those marks on your body, because no one has proved that aliens even exist.
Fluorine is effective in the prevention of dental decay.
My brother Mac and his wife Angela are on a 3-week Caribbean cruise. I just got a letter from him and he tells me that he and his wife have been enjoying a great sex life ever since he started putting Matico pepper – something that he bought in Panama – on his food. Whatever is in that stuff must be a powerful aphrodisiac.
Playing sports has a negative effect on intelligence. Studies show that college athletes have a significantly lower graduation rate than non-athletes.
I read my horoscope every morning. You should too. My horoscope said that I would meet an interesting stranger today, and, sure enough, I did!
Marijuana is a “gateway” drug. Therefore, you shouldn’t smoke marijuana. If you do, you’ll no doubt move on to use cocaine. According to studies, children and teens who have used marijuana are 85 times more likely to use cocaine than those who have never used marijuana.
If we allow hikers in the White Mountains to throw their perishable garbage – such as apple cores or orange peels – into the woods, the wildlife will son become dependent on humans and unable to survive on their own.
