Asking the Right Questions, A Guide to Critical Thinking, 8th Ed

56 Chapter 5
Value Conflicts and Assumptions
Why is it that some very reasonable people shout that abortion is murder,
while other equally reasonable observers see abortion as humane? Have
you ever wondered why every U.S. president, regardless of his political
beliefs, eventually gets involved in a dispute with the press over publication
of government information that he would prefer not to share? How can
some highly intelligent observers attack the publication of sexually explicit
magazines and others defend their publication as the ultimate test of our
Bill of Rights?
One extremely important reason for these different conclusions is the
existence of value conflicts, or the differing values that stem from different
frames of reference. For ethical or prescriptive arguments, an individual's
values influence the reasons he provides and, consequently, his conclusion. In
fact, the reasons will logically support the conclusion only if the value assumption
is added to the reasoning. The small argument below illustrates the role of
a value assumption in a prescriptive argument.
We should not legalize recreational drugs. Illegal drugs cause too much street
violence and other crimes.
Reason I * Value Assumption o
Illegal drugs I ^ 1 . Public safety is *
cause violence I ^ f ° more important than •
and other crimes. I o freedom of choice. °
^ ^ ^ H I B M H J • O » O » O » O » O «O
—7*~.—
Il Conclusion II
I Therefore: II
II Recreational I
•I drugs should not ||
I be legalized. 1
Value assumptions are very important assumptions for such arguments
because they are directing the reasoning from behind a screen.
The person trying to communicate with you may or may not be aware
of these assumptions. You should make it a habit to identify the value
assumptions on which the reasons are based.
By value assumption, we mean a taken-for-granted belief about the relative
desirability of certain competing values. When authors take a position on a
social controversy, they typically prefer one value over another value—they