Class Notes from Friday, Jan. 9

In this class, we began developing a common vocabulary for describing argument. We began by discussing the difference between "average" and "median" in economic argument, to demonstrate how a small change in vocabulary can conceal a large change in meaning.

Claim - the point you are trying to make

Three standard categories of claims (this may not cover everything, but is a good start):

1. Claim of fact - states that something is or is not true; can deal with past, present, or future facts (i.e. predictions)
   EXAMPLE: "The Steelers will win the playoffs this year"; "Her car was stolen."
   
2. Claim of value - tries to attach a subjective value to something, to describe it as being good or bad in some way
   EXAMPLE: "Degas is a horrible painter."; "His car is ugly."
   
3. Claim of policy - states what one should or should not do; tries to direct one's actions
   EXAMPLE: "Smoking should be illegal"; "We should go to Chili's for dinner."

These claims do overlap a bit (as do the appeals below). The difference between claims of fact and value are really one of intent--is the arguer trying to simply establish that something exists or happened, or is the arguer trying to praise or blame that thing in some way. We looked at several sample arguments in class and discussed the types of claims they made.

Arguments introduce various types of evidence to support their claims. This evidence is chosen becuase it appeals to the audience in some way. The three main types of appeals (according to Aristotle) are:

1. Ethos - appeals based on the credibility of the speaker or a source of evidence
   
2. Pathos - appeals based on emotion
   
3. Logos - appeals based on logic

We are always constructing our ethos in any situation where we are attempting to persuade. So, at a job interview, we dress a certain way, speak a certain way, and act a certain way in order to convince the interviewer that we are the type of person they want to hire. Appeals to emotion and logic often work together in any text to make us both care about and consider deeply the argument being made.

We discussed Journal Entry 1 and discussed possible sources of online arguments to use for it, such as online newspaper or magazine editorials, opinion pieces, or letters to the editor, editorial cartoons, advertisements, or any other site where someone is making an argument.