练习
回想一下你最近看的电视脱口秀，考察一个有争议的议题，描述两个或更多的有不同意见的嘉宾。（如果你对这些节目不熟悉，在电视节目单中找到一个，看一片段）。判断他们的沟通是争吵还是论证。
下面每一个问题在近年都引起了激烈的公共讨论。选择一个，并在图书馆或者互联网找到一篇文章表达一个观点，而不是仅仅报道事实的新闻。然后运用你在这一章学的内容进行评价。（看第17章的搜索策略）。
a. 少年犯应该和成年人一样对待吗？
b. 国家或者联邦政府应该给父母提供教育券，这样他们能够选择送他们的小孩去公立或私立学校？
c. 病人应该能够起诉他们的健康管理机构？
d. 在国家或联邦立法机构可以提高税率前应该进行全民公投吗？
e. 大麻可以合法地作为医疗用途吗？
f. 允许警察扣留疑似酒驾的小车吗？
g. 在家里上课能够提供和传统教室上课一样好的教育吗？当若干年前搜捕一个被称为“铁路杀手”的系列凶手时，FBI调查犯罪现场附近，可能见到行凶者的人。作为这些调查的结论，FBI公布了一个描述为“西班牙男性”的悬赏海报。在一个新闻简报会期间，一位记者询问负责搜查的FBI特工，明确嫌疑犯是西班牙人是否构成歧视。如果你是FBI特工，你会怎样回答？按照论证的格式回答。
运用你在这章学习的知识评估下面的论证。
a. 美国国防预算应该被大幅度裁减或者可以彻底取消，因为前苏联已经对美国安全没有威胁了。
b. 目前的福利体系导致人们失去了自尊和自信，让他们依赖政府。整个体系应该被强调责任和努力工作的体系代替。
c. 对于体育技能不好的孩子来说，在学校运动场上“分成两队进行比赛”是尴尬的，甚至是丢脸的。因此，应该限制或者取消体育教育课程。
d. 背景情况：在接到关于教授和学生约会的投诉后，大学当局正在讨论他们的校园政策。他们引用下面的论证：
两个未婚成年人的约会很正常，所以教授和年纪大于18岁的学生约会是可以接受的。
e. 拷贝计算机软件违反了知识保护法律。但是，我为我的软件支付了全部款项，我的朋友在课程上不仅不需要软件，而且也没有能力为自己购买。如果我给他一份我的软件的拷贝，他得到帮助，而且没有人受到伤害（因为他没有钱，所以软件公司不可能卖一份软件给他）。所以我给他一份软件是合理的。
f. 独立宣言这么说：“人生而平等”。但是很多美国人遭受贫穷和歧视，并且缺乏得到教育和职业的机会。但是富人和社会精英可以通过金钱得到普通人得不到的公正。平等是一个神话。
g. 背景知识：在美国有一部分人信仰一种古老的宗教叫做萨泰里阿教。其中一条信仰是牺牲动物来取悦天神奥洛（音）。例如，作为仪式的一部分，萨泰里阿教牧师割开鸡、鸽子、乌龟和山羊的喉咙，把他们的血放到粘土锅中；并准备吃动物的肉。很多美国人向当局抱怨这种行为，但是它的支持者这样辩论：
美国宪法保证宗教信仰自由。没有排除不符合主流的宗教。牺牲动物的仪式可能使其他公民感到不舒服，但是法律应该支持萨泰里阿教的宪法权利。
h. 背景知识：在近些年很多城市出现了越来越多的咄咄逼人行乞行为——接近行人并索要金钱。一些行乞者挡住行人的路要不然就恐吓他们。一些城市已经立法宣布行乞是非法行为。下面的论证在一些法庭判决中找到了一些表述：
行乞是一种言论的形式，言论自由受宪法保护。因此行乞是不能被剥夺的权利。
不同的意见
下面的段落汇总了一个重要的异议。阅读结束后，使用图书馆或者互联网，找到知识渊博的人关于这个议题说过什么。确保覆盖所有的观点。然后评价每个观点的优点和弱点。如果你结论是，其中一个观点完全正确，其他的都错了，解释为什么你得出这个结论。如果，更有可能的是，你发现一个观点比其他的更有洞见，但是其他的也提供有用的要点，汇总所有的观点并构建你自己的观点，并解释为什么这个观点是所有观点中最合理的。按照你导师的要求，用书面或者口头报告的方式介绍你的答复。
应当设置医疗事故诉讼赔偿的上限吗？在最近几十年，在法庭和解中，陪审团倾向于给予损害增加大额“痛苦”赔偿金。为了应对这种趋势，立法者提议设置陪审团可以提出的赔偿数额限制。支持这个观点的人相信这会减少无谓的诉讼数量，减少医疗费用，避免医生放弃有效的治疗。反对者说，这些立法对于受伤者不公平，并且会提高医疗意外的发生。
借助谷歌搜索引擎使用“·赞成或反对医疗过错赔偿金上限”开始你的分析工作。
原文：
Applications
Think of a TV talk show you’ve recently seen that examined a controversial issue and featured two or more guests who disagreed. (If you aren’t familiar with such shows, find one in the TV listings and watch a segment of it.) Decide whether the exchange was a quarrel or an argument. Explain your answer.
Each of the following questions has sparked serious public debate in recent years. Select one of them and check at the library or on the Internet for an article that presents a point of view, as opposed to a news article that merely reports the facts. Then evaluate the argument, applying what you learned in the chapter. (See Chapter 17 for research strategies.)
a. Should youthful offenders be treated as adults?
b. Should the states and/or the federal government provide vouchers to parents so they can send their children to the private or public schools of their choice?
c. Should patients be able to sue their health maintenance organizations?
d. Should a referendum be required before state and federal legislatures can
raise taxes?
e. Should marijuana be legalized for medical use?
f. Should police be permitted to impound the cars of drunk-driving
suspects?
g. Does home schooling provide as good an education as traditional class-
room teaching?When a serial murderer known as the “Railroad Killer” was being sought some years ago, the FBI interviewed people who had been in the areas of the crimes and might have seen the perpetrator. As a result of those reports, the FBI issued a Wanted poster for a “Hispanic male” of a certain description. During one of the press briefings, a reporter asked the FBI agent in charge of the search whether specifying that the suspect was Hispanic constituted discrimination. How would you have answered if you had been that FBI agent? Present your answer in the form of an argument.
Evaluate the following arguments, applying what you learned in this
chapter.
a. The U.S. defense budget should be cut drastically, and perhaps eliminated entirely, because the former Soviet Union is no longer a threat to U.S. security.
b. The present welfare system causes people to lose their self-respect and self-confidence and makes them dependent on the government. The entire system should be replaced by one that emphasizes responsibility and hard work.
c. The schoolyard practice of choosing up sides is embarrassing, even humiliating, to children who are unskilled in sports. Therefore, it should be discouraged on the playground and abandoned in physical education classes.
d. Background note: College administrators are debating their campus policy after receiving complaints about professors dating students. They endorse the following argument:
There is nothing wrong in two unmarried adults dating, so it is accept-
able for professors to date students who are over eighteen years of age.
e. Copying computer software violates the copyright law. Still, I paid full price for my software, and my friend not only needs it for his class but can’t afford to purchase it himself. If I give him a copy of mine, he’ll be helped and no one will be hurt. (The software company wouldn’t have made a sale to him anyway because he’s broke.) Therefore, I am justified in giving him the software.
f. “All men are created equal,” says the Declaration of Independence. Yet lots of Americans are victims of poverty and discrimination and lack of opportunities for education and careers. And the rich and social elites can buy a standard of justice unavailable to the average citizen. Equality is a myth.
g. Background note: The ancient religion known as Santeria is still practiced by
a number of people in the United States. One of its beliefs is that the sacrifice of animals is pleasing to the god Olodumare. Thus, as part of their ritual, Santerian priests slit the throats of chickens, doves, turtles, and goats; drain the blood into clay pots; and prepare the animals’flesh for eating. Many other Americans complain to authorities about this practice, but its supporters argue as follows:
The U. S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. It does not exclude religions that displease the majority. However displeasing ritual animal sacrifice may be to other citizens, the law should uphold Santerians’ constitutional rights.
h. Background note: In recent years many cities have experienced an increase in aggressive panhandling—the practice of approaching passersby and begging for money. Some panhandlers block people’s path and otherwise intimidate them. A number of cities have outlawed panhandling. The following argument has found expression in some court decisions:
Panhandling is a form of speech. Speech is protected by the Constitution. Therefore, panhandling is a right that cannot be abridged.
A Difference of Opinion
The following passage summarizes an important difference of opinion. After reading the statement, use the library and/or the Internet and find what knowledgeable people have said about the issue. Be sure to cover the entire range of views. Then assess the strengths and weaknesses of each. If you conclude that one view is entirely correct and the others are mistaken, explain how you reached that conclusion. If, as is more likely, you find that one view is more insightful than the others but that they all make some valid points, construct
a view of your own that combines the insights from all views and explain why that view is the most reasonable of all. Present your response in a composition or an oral report, as your instructor specifies.
Should limits be placed on monetary awards in medical malpractice lawsuits? In recent decades juries have tended to add large “pain and suffering” amounts to the damages awarded in court settlements. In response to this trend, legislators have proposed setting limits on the amounts juries can award. Proponents of this idea believe it would reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits, reduce health care costs, and keep good physicians from abandoning the practice of medicine. Opponents say such legislation would deny justice to the injured and increase the likelihood of medical blunders.
Begin your analysis by conducting a Google search using the term “pro-con limiting malpractice awards.”