Applying and extending analytical skills Chapter 8

Objectives Identify analogies Identify principles

Activity 6 and handout 7.1, 7.2 Homework

Pair work (5mins) New road building can have a negative social impact. Feeding our addiction to cars (which everyone knows are bad for us) by building new roads must be wrong in the same way that it has been proven that given alcohol to an alcoholic causes health problems. –Identify the situations being compared –Identify the conclusion being supported by this comparison

Identify the situations being compared The dangers or negative consequences of building roads for car addicts is compared to the dangers or negative consequences of giving alcohol to an alcoholic. (correct) Car addicts are being compared to drug addicts (incorrect) This answers had identified only part of the situation. It has missed the addiction and the consequences of this response.

It is unfair to keep teenagers in school. It deprives them of freedom, self-esteem and purpose in life. We may as well send them to prison and have done with it. What is compared here? What is the conclusion?

Difference between analogies and other comparisons A normal comparison highlights one or more points of similarity but does not claim that the 2 situations are parallel. Analogy compares whole situations and claims we should reason about them in the same way Write an example of a comparison and an example of an analogy. Work individually.

Evaluating analogy 1.What the situations being compared are 2.Consider significant similarities and differences between them 3.Decide whether the differences between the situations are significant and whether they outweigh the similarities.

Analogy A form of argument which uses parallel situations to encourage the reader to accept a conclusion Work in pairs to construct a humorous analogy. When you finish exchange your analogy with your classmates’ analogies and identify the situations being compared and the conclusion being supported by this comparison. Prepare to evaluate the analogies in class. Now do Activity 7

Take a look at the following guidelines: Companies should be run as efficiently as possible. You should brush your hair before coming to the college in the morning. Are we commenting on a specific case (a specific company or a particular morning)?

Can you think of another moral guideline that has to do with what is right and wrong or how best to live our lives (e.g. It is unfair to make war on a country which has not been aggressive)?

Can you think of a guideline that has to do with practical matters (e.g. Schools should balance their budgets)?

Are the guidelines we have been exploring verifiable or not? (Can you check if they are observable to outsiders ? Do they go beyond a specific situation?) Are the statements below verifiable or not? We must protect the environment There are 22 birds sitting on the roof.

General Principles: A guide to action which can be applied in a range of circumstances, beyond the immediate context of the argument. There are different kinds of principles (ethical principles, legal rules, medical guidelines, business or working practices). Principles may be used in an argument as reasons, intermediate conclusions, main conclusions or assumptions. You will need to copy the principle precisely when you are identifying it.

How will they test principles on the exam You are likely to be asked to identify a principle without saying whether it is a reason or a conclusion. You may also be asked to identify a principle that would support a conclusion.

Principle indicator words 1.You should…. 2.It is right to… 3.It is wrong to… 4.It is (un)fair to… 5.It is (un) acceptable to… –Check that it is a general statement which acts as a guide to action –Check that it applies to a lot of different situations –Look for indicator words

Do Activities 8 and 9 individually.