Beyond Feelings

154 PART TWO The Pitfalls
with all the girls crammed into dorms,” Ann cries. Dan shouts, “Damn it,
I’m going to send a letter to the chairman of that college’s board of trustees. I
want the dean of students fired.”
6. Examine each of the following issues. If you need more information to
make an informed judgment, obtain it. Then determine what view of the issue is
most reasonable. Be sure to avoid the errors in thinking summarized in this
chapter.
a. When Alabama prisons and jails became seriously overcrowded, a U.S.
district judge ordered that more than three hundred convicts be granted
early release. The group included murderers, rapists, and repeat offenders.
The judge’s argument was that serious overcrowding in prisons and
jails is a violation of prisoners’ rights against “cruel and unusual punishment.”
6 Do you share the judge’s view?
b. U.S. law has accorded most charitable and educational groups tax-exempt
status as long as they refrain from lobbying activities. However, veterans’
groups like the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars traditionally
were regarded as exceptions; that is, they were permitted to lobby
extensively on issues such as the ratification of the Panama Canal treaties,
Alaskan national parks, national security, and Saturday mail delivery (as
well as issues more directly involving veterans) without jeopardizing their
tax-exempt status. Then in 1982 a federal appeals court eliminated special
treatment for veterans’ groups, arguing that it violated the equal protection
guarantees of the Constitution. 7 Do you agree with this court decision?
7. Evaluate the following arguments, following the approach you learned in
Chapter 7. Take care to avoid the errors in thinking summarized in this chapter.
a. Professor Wiley takes unfair advantage of his students by requiring them
to buy a textbook that he himself wrote and gets royalties from.
b. Frivolous lawsuits clog the court systems and create a burden for people
who have done no wrong. Therefore, people who lose such lawsuits
should be compelled to pay both court costs and the attorney’s fees of the
person they wrongly charged.
c. I never vote in national elections. I figure that my vote will be canceled by
someone else’s. Besides, all politicians are going to rob the public, so it
doesn’t matter who gets elected.
d. Dogfighting is a sport in which two specially trained dogs (often, but not
always, pitbull terriers) do combat until one is killed or badly maimed. It
is illegal in most states. But should it be? I say no. If I own a dog, it’s my
property and I should be able to do whatever I wish with it.
e. Whenever Americans buy automobiles, clothing, and electronic equipment
from other countries, they undermine American business and hurt
American workers. Patriotism demands that we refrain from buying
from foreign competitors even when their prices are lower and their quality
is higher.
f. It’s absurd to believe in life after death because no one has ever returned
from the grave.
g. Women in the military should be required to undergo the same physical
training as are men. They also should not be exempted from frontline duty.
h. Some years ago New York State Social Services officials directed local adoption
agencies not to reject applicants solely because they were homosexual or had a
history of alcoholism or drug abuse, a criminal record, a dependency on