PDF handout of the 32 Powerpoints - Mark Fullmer

6/5/2012Which is the better argument?1) John lied to me last month. Therefore, I cannever trust anything he says.2) John lied to me last month. Therefore, Ishould be cautious about believing everythinghe says.Just because someone lies once doesn’t mean youcan never trust him.ASenator Gomez supports theRH-Bill. He also supported atax increase last year onbusinesses, which was a badidea. Therefore, the RH-Billwill also be a bad idea.BThe values of most Filipinos,based on the teachings ofthe Catholic Church, focus onavoiding contraception. TheRH-Bill may make it easier touse contraception.Therefore, the RH-Bill goesagainst the values ofFilipinos and is a bad idea.Just because one person supported a bad idea doesn’tmean some new idea will also be bad. “B” is better.AThe RH-Bill gives morefunding to health care. Morefunding will save lives.Therefore, the RH-Bill is agood idea.BThe booming population ofthe Philippines is creatingmore poverty. The RH-Billmay help control the birthrate. Therefore, the RH-Bill isa good idea.AA recent study by UNICEFshowed that HIV/AIDS isincreasing at an epidemicrate in the Philippines.Therefore we need to actnow and enforce stricteranti-prostitution laws.BEveryone knows thatHIV/AIDS is increasing at anepidemic rate in thePhilippines. Therefore weneed to act now and enforcestricter prostitution laws.We cannot directly conclude that more funding will savemore lives. “B” is better.Any good argument needs clear, supporting evidence.You cannot simply assume that something is happening.“A” is better.AA ten-year old Filipino boyrecently walked into classand shot one of hisclassmates. The boy had anabusive father and wasknown to play shooter videogames. Therefore, shootervideo games make peoplemore violent.BA ten-year old Filipino boyrecently walked into classand shot one of hisclassmates. The boy wasknown to play shooter videogames. However, millions ofpeople play these games andare not violent. Therefore,we can’t be sure that videogames made him moreviolent.Counter arguments are evidence that goagainst your specific position. Example:I am in favor of the K-12 program, because Ithink more schooling for Filipinos will makethem more globally competitive. However, Irealize that adding two years to school requiresmore teachers, classrooms, and books, whichwe do not have.2