Argument105 morallrey同主题写作

morallreyUID: 2191298

TOPIC: ARGUMENT105 - The following appeared in a health newsletter.

"According to a recent study, people with many social ties report catching colds less often than do people with few social ties. Consequently, researchers conclude that having an active social life probably helps strengthen the immune system. The researchers note that catching a cold-one of a family of highly contagious viruses-gives the cold-sufferer temporary immunity to that virus in the future, but not to the many other related viruses. Merely being exposed to a new cold virus, however, is not enough for a person to catch a cold, since a strong immune system can successfully fight off some new viruses. Thus, in order to prevent catching a cold, people should strengthen their immune systems by becoming more active socially."
WORDS: 448          TIME: 上午 12:30:00          DATE: 2006-8-18

Pity, laconic, and well-presented, the argument recommends that people should involve more in social activity so as to strengthen their immune system. While it has some merits, in light of a survey indicating that the more people become socialized, the less they suffer from colds, and given that catching a kind of cold only can prevent them from acquire this kind of cold only, but not other, the ratiocination of the argument is problematic. Considerately and cautiously examined and analyzed, the argument suffers from severe logic incoherence reflected on several critical fallacies, as discussed below.

To begin with, a major problem with the argument involves the relationship between the incidence people catch cold and the inclination to be devoted into society. In fact, the merely synchronic relationship as mentioned in the argument tells nothing more than these two phenomena occur homogeneously. And the author fails to establish, if any, causal relationship between them. It is entirely possible that people with many social ties are more likely than those with little to obtain the knowledge from their friends how to prevent them from catching cold. Or perhaps they are involved more in physical exercise, responding the invitation to their friends. Without ruling out these possibilities and providing no evidence there is a causal relation between the two phenomena, the arguer cannot convince me to accept his further assumptions.

Furthermore, the argument relies on a unsubstantiated assumption that the newly-appearing cold is not the ones people has suffers before. However, no evidence is provided to justify this assumption. Common sense tells us it takes years for a new kind of virus that is never recorded in the biological history on the earth to appear. Lacking information about whether there is, if any, new kinds of virus, the fact that exposing to a kind of cold virus is attributable to enhance immune to it lends little support to the argument's recommendation.

Last but not least, the arguer fails to take into account the negative effect of becoming more active socially. Common sense tell us that the more people contact with other people, the more they will touch people who catch cold, and thereby the more likely they will be infected. Therefore, recommending people to become more active socially will increase the probability of infection.

Summarily put, the at least three fallacies pointed and set forth expose the groundless and soundless of the argument. Should the argument provide forcible evidence that their is a casual relationship between becoming more active socially and less likely to become infected, and exclude other explanations that could account for the phenomena presented in the argument, the writing could otherwise become cogent and convincing conducing to a unassailable recommendation.


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