Example Arguments

Say whether the following passages are arguments. If a passage is an argument, identify the conclusion, premises, including any implied premises. Sometimes the conclusion will be restated in a different way, with one version being more specific and another more general; use the more specific version or combine the two. In a few examples the conclusion is implied rather than being overtly stated.

1. It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

2. He got the last laugh. Loved ones at an Irish funeral for Defense Forces veteran Shay Bradley were shocked — then delighted — when they heard the voice of their late friend calling out from his coffin. “Hello, hello — let me out!,” they heard on Saturday at Bradley’s funeral in Kilmanagh, Leinster, as his casket was lowered into the ground. The pre-recorded message continued, “Where the f - - k am I? Let me out, let me out. It’s f - - king dark in here. Is that the priest I can hear? This is Shay, I’m in the box. No, in f - - king front of you. I’m dead.” A video of the posthumous prank, posted to Twitter Sunday, shows mourners laughing and crying as Bradley’s voice began to sing, “Hello again, hello. Hello, I just called to say goodbye.” The footage has gone viral with more than 500,000 views and over 16,000 likes. Friends and family said the good-humored officer and father made the recording because he knew he was dying of a “long illness bravely borne” — and  wanted “to make his family laugh rather than cry at the funeral.”

3. There is a difference between background beliefs and implied premises. Students should resist the temptation to discover long lists of implied premises which aren’t controversial or relevant to the truth of the conclusion.

4. Ferreting out contradictions in your own belief system and that of others is important, because if two beliefs are contradictory, at least one of them must be false.

5. Fox News pollster Braun Research misrepresented impeachment poll: analysis. When President Trump criticized Fox News' pollster, he actually had a point. The poll released last week by Fox News that claimed most Americans favor the impeachment of President Trump underrepresented Republican and independent voters, The Post has found. The poll said 51% of voters were in favor of Trump’s impeachment and removal from office, while 40% did not want him impeached. Princeton, New Jersey, pollster Braun Research, which conducted the survey, noted 48% of its respondents were Democrats. But the actual breakdown of party affiliation (in the U.S. population) is 31% Democrat, 29% Republican and 38% independent, according to Gallup. A poll weighted for party affiliation would have concluded that 44.9% favored impeachment and 44.4% opposed it, a Post analysis has concluded. The poll prompted Trump to tweet: “Whoever [Fox News’] Pollster is, they suck.” Braun could not be reached for comment.

6. I’m not in love, so don't forget it. It's just a silly phase I'm going through. And just because I call you up, don't get me wrong; don't think you've got it made. I'm not in love, no, no. I’d like to see you, but then again, it doesn't mean you mean that much to me. So if I call you, don't make a fuss; don't tell your friends about the two of us. I’m not on love, no, no. I keep your picture upon the wall. It hides a nasty stain that's lying there. So don't you ask me to give it back. I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me. I’m not in love, no no.

7. If we came from monkeys, why are there still monkeys now? Why didn’t they all turn into humans? Why are there still cockroaches? Why didn’t they evolve into something better. According to evolution, cockroaches have been here for millions of years. You know, the earth is only 6,000 years old. That’s in the Bible. But evolution says you need millions of years for all these little changes to add up to big changes. Evolution is bunk.

8. I don’t exercise. If God had wanted me to bend over, he would have put diamonds on the floor. - Joan Rivers

9. If God had intended man to fly, he would have given him wings.

10. Don’t you see it? Look around you! We are living under white supremacy right now!

11. The disease model of alcoholism is flawed. A disease is an infection, like influenza or tuberculosis, or a congenital disorder, like epilepsy. You can't catch alcoholism and you're not born with it. It's a habituated behavior that can only occur by binge drinking. At most, there is an inherited predisposition. It's more like a person with a gambling problem or someone who is never on time or who chronically procrastinates, though there is an element of physical addiction with long term abuse. Another reason it's flawed is that the model eliminates the element of personal responsibility, which is essential for the problem drinker overcoming his addiction. If you have a disease, you can't help it. You're an innocent victim who needs "treatment," not a responsible adult who needs to stop drinking and may need some support to do so.

12. You’re a Christian and you support the death penalty? What part of “Thou shalt not kill” don’t you understand?

13. Bush didn’t lie as a pretense for starting the Second Iraq War. In Plan of Attack, liberal journalist Bob Woodward reports that Bush was skeptical about Saddam Hussein having WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction - chemical, biological and nuclear weapons). CIA director George Tenant reassured him it was a “slam dunk" and showed him satellite images that finally convinced him. Virtually every other U.S. ally thought Saddam had WMDs. In fact, the bi-partisan Senate intelligence report says that this was part of Hussein’s plan: to fool America and its allies into thinking he had them in order to dissuade them from attacking. Paradoxically, after 9/11, his bluff had the exact opposite effect.

14. Almost nobody was born under the sign they think they are, as the astrological calendar has failed to be updated as our position in relation to the stars has changed. The constellations have drifted out by a whole month, it was revealed on the BBC’s Stargazing Live. Since the zodiac was created over 2,000 years ago, the wobbling effect of the Earth caused by the moon and the sun has meant that the stars that are above us have shifted. If, for example, someone was born towards the end of January, they might think they were born under Aquarius. But in fact they’d have been born under Capricorn, Dr Radmilla Topalovic, an astronomer from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich pointed out on the programme.

15. Feminists say that, because a woman has a right over her own body, then there should be no legal restrictions on abortion. But a woman doesn’t have a right over her own body - she can’t sell it for sex, sell a kidney, commit suicide, take illegal drugs or even take legal drugs without a prescription from a doctor. So, there could be some restrictions on abortion, even before the point of the viability of the fetus.

16. The reason Venezuela's economy failed was that Chavez borrowed billions on the bet that oil prices would remain high in order to dole out free goodies to the masses. Then U.S. production came on line with fracking, the world price dropped and the Venezuelan economy imploded. Blaming U.S. foreign policy is a ridiculous theory, since the oil price both rose and fell, and the Venezuelan economy with it, without U.S. help. It was the flawed centrally planned economic system, which operated on simplistic, corrupt and plutocratic principles, not the market, which impoverished the people of Venezuela. U.S. sanctions came after the economy was so bad that there was mass starvation and food riots, and the police were shooting people in the streets. U.S. sanctions were a reaction to the human rights abuses after socialism destroyed their economy, not an attempt to sabotage it.

17. Death is not an evil. For either death is an endless sleep or a transition to a better life. If it’s an endless sleep it’s not an evil (because you have to be conscious to experience something bad). If it’s a transition to a better life it’s not an evil. Who wouldn’t enjoy meeting the heroes of old and finally getting to talk to the gods? So, either way, death is not an evil.

18. Recently an NBA general manager tweeted in support of the Hong Kong pro-Democracy protestors. He was forced by the association to delete the tweet and say he was sorry. NBA officials and players did the same, apologizing for offending the repressive communist dictatorship in China, where they have a huge fan base which could be eliminated at any moment by the Chi-coms. This is the same NBA who threatened to boycott North Carolina for passing a law saying men have to use the men's room and whose owners have participated in participating in boycotts of Israel, a liberal Western Democracy where people possess full human rights. They've gotten behind "woke" causes in America popular with some of their fans, like police brutality or banning guns, but when it comes to China suddenly they "don't get involved in politics?" They're a bunch of hypocrites who only care about their bottom line. Obviously, their support for causes is empty PR and virtue signaling of the worst sort!

19. The Administration's offer of zero salary steps and zero cost of living increase is an insult to faculty. They claim they don't have the money, but after they balanced the budget, they received an increase of $2.5 million in funding from the State. Enrollment is on a slight uptick, and they're floating a huge construction bond next year. Their offer is absurd.

20. Trump cut funding to the Special Olympics! I think the American people are finally wising up on to how immoral this president really is. Nancy Pelosi is right to ditch the idea of impeachment. Let his presidency play out and we’ll trounce the Republicans in November!

21. I believe love is the answer, but I own firearms just in case.

22. This moral panic against vaping is ridiculous. When you think of the millions of people who vape and the very small number of illnesses, it makes no sense to regulate it. The people who got sick nearly all admitted to using black market THC juices, which are cut with vitamin E to save money, and are already illegal. New regulation will just drive small, independent producers out of business. Shame on President Trump for considering such a move, which goes against his general record of slashing needless regulations.

23. Fellow humans... meme