ARGUMENT109 AW society by billfigo

billfigoUID: 2264887

TOPIC: ARGUMENT109 - The following appeared in a letter to the editor of the Maple City newspaper.
"Twenty years ago Pine City established strict laws designed to limit the number of new buildings that could be constructed
in the city. Since that time the average housing prices in Pine City have increased considerably. Chestnut City, which is
about the same size as Pine City, has over the past twenty years experienced an increase in average housing prices similar to
Pine City, but Chestnut City never established any laws that limit new building construction. So it is clear that laws
limiting new construction have no effect on average housing prices. So if Maple City were to establish strict laws that limit
new building construction, these laws will have no effect on average housing prices."
WORDS: 484          TIME: 上午 12:30:00          DATE: 2007-3-9

In this argument , the author tries to convince us that the laws which designed to limit the number of new buildings that could be constructed in the city will have no effect on average housing prices , if Maple City were to establish these strict laws. And, the major assumption underlying the argument is  laws limiting new construction have no effect on average housing prices.To substantiate the assumption , the author provides the evidence that after Pine City established the laws to limit new building construction the average housing prices in Pine City has increased, while the average housing prices in Chestnut City has increased too without such laws. However, as it stands , the argument suffers from several fallacies ,which might seriously undermine the argument.

To begin with , based on the fact that the increasing  prices both in Pine City and Chestnut City  along with the laws which only  exists in Pine City, the arguer unfairly assumes that there is not relationship between the price and the laws that limit new building. Given that a considerable amount of factors would affect the housing price, what I want to emphasize is that prices in Chestnut City rise without the laws do not mean  the laws do not work in Chestnut City. And the price might soar more significantly ,after the laws are established in chestnut City.Moreover, it might be not appropriate to consider the situation in Maple city now with the evidences since the twenty years before,which could be extraordinarily different . Worse still, that  would be a hasty generalization without the specific scrutiny on the situations in Pine City and Chestnut City.

Further more, it is extremely insufficient to judge the argument without any more details, since we are not sure what the factors in the two cities respectively have the influences on the average housing price.And it is reasonable that different situations in each city affect the average housing prices, even possibly with effects of the laws Perhaps, the increasing average housing prices in Pine City are due to the economic boom since the twenty years ago, rather than the laws.

Finally, without taking the specific factors which might effect the housing price in Pine City and Chestnut City into account, the arguer hastily and misleadingly claims that these laws will have no effect on average housing prices. On the other hand,we have to point out that the results is still unclear, because even the laws have the real effect on the housing
price, the effects might be counteracted by  other factors that could influence the housing prices.

To sum up,  the argument lacks credibility because the evidence provided in the argument fails to substantially support what the arguer claims. To strengthen the argument , the arguer should provide sound evidence  that the situations in Pine city , Chestnut City and Maple City are mostly the same.To better evaluate the argument, we need more information regarding the all the factors that influences the housing prices in Maple City.


[ 本帖最后由 billfigo 于 2007-3-9 19:16 编辑 ]