[a习作temp] argument188 by ilovegouding 7.27 第十二次 [复制链接]

argument188 by ilovegouding 7.27 第十二次

题目：ARGUMENT 188 - A new report suggests that men and women experience pain very differently from one another, and that doctors should consider these differences when prescribing pain medications. When researchers administered the same dosage of kappa opioids-a painkiller-to 28 men and 20 women who were having their wisdom teeth extracted, the women reported feeling much less pain than the men, and the easing of pain lasted considerably longer in women. This research suggests that kappa opioids should be prescribed for women whenever pain medication is required, whereas men should be given other kinds of pain medication. In addition, researchers should reevaluate the effects of all medications on men versus women.

字数：374          用时：0:30:00          日期：2008-7-27

In this argument, the author claims that according to a research result, a painkiller named kappa opioids should be prescribed to women to ease pains, whereas men should be given other kinds of pain medication. Besides, the effects of all medications on men versus women should be reevaluated. The conclusion seems logically reasonable on the surface, since the male and female patients tend to show different reactions to the pain killer. Nevertheless, an in-depth review would reveal the conclusion’s vulnerability in several crucial respects and render it highly unconvincing.

For one thing, the research results lack credibility. In this research, only 28 men and 20 women are sampled. The number of samples is so small that it is impossible to provide any reliability to the results of the research. Moreover, the information concerning the two groups is too vague to be informative. What are respectively the physical conditions of the two groups? Does the same dentist extract their wisdom teeth and if not, are the two or more dentists of the same skills and experiences? Do the two groups share similar diet habits? None of these crucial factors, which may play an important role in affecting the degree of pains felt and reported by the two groups of patients, are taken into consideration. There is possibility, for instance, that the women respondents are all young and healthy girls, who naturally enjoy a better recovery from wounds, whereas most of the men patients are senior people and therefore suffer more from pains due to their weaker constitutions.In addition, the author unfairly assumes that the less pain reported by women and the longer easing of pain on them are necessarily thanks to the better effect of kappa opioids on them. However, there is no evidence provided in the argument to bolster that assumption. It is entirely possible that the women respondents have felt the same pains as have men respondents and it is women's stronger endurance of pains that help them feel less painful and elongate the time of pain-easing. Or perhaps women, the gender who tends to prefer more communications with others about their feelings than do men, can better ease their pain by finding their worries, anxieties, and sufferings a vent when they talk to their friends or families. Therefore, one cannot confidently conclude that the medicine applies better on women than men.

Even assuming that kappa opioids do work better on women than men in terms of easing pain caused by the extracting of their wisdom teeth, it does not follow that this kind of medication can be effective to all of pains of women. The argument does afford any information concerning how the medication works on easing other kinds of pains. Common sense tells us that the human body is a complicate system and pains occurring on different parts of it more often than not spring from various causes. For example a headache resulting from pressure or fatigue is totally different from the pains felt on one's back after a fall on the ground in terms of their severity, influences, ways of functions, and consequently methods to cure. Therefore, there is probably not a panacea to ease all varieties of pains.

Another serious problem with this argument is that even granted that kappa opioids have different effects on men and women, this difference may not be observed in all kinds of medications. Therefore, a reevaluation of the effects of all medicines on men versus women is neither a necessary suggestion nor a practical plan. The funds may be directed to serve more useful purposes, such as finding out the side effects of the medication, for example.

All in all, in order to make the suggestions more convincing, the author has to do more researches and study to find out whether kappa opioids actually exert distinct influences on men and women, and if so, what effects this medication have on other kinds of pains and what its potential side effects are. Moreover, before recommending a reevaluation of the effects of all medications on men versus women, the author should reconsider whether it is a worthy and realistic conduct.