argument151

hlzhang431UID: 2297648

ARGUMENT151 - The following is a letter to the editor of the Atticus City newspaper.

"Former Mayor Durant owes an apology to the city of Atticus. Both the damage to the River Bridge, which connects Atticus to Hartley, and the traffic problems we have long experienced on the bridge were actually caused 20 years ago by Durant. After all, he is the one who approved the construction of the bridge. If he had approved a wider and better-designed bridge, on which approximately the same amount of public money would have been spent, none of the damage or problems would have occurred. Instead, the River Bridge has deteriorated far more rapidly over the past 20 years than has the much longer Derby Bridge up the river. Even though the winters have been severe in the past several years, this is no excuse for the negligence and wastefulness of Durant."

The arguer concludes that the Former Mayor Durant's approval of the River Bridge is the main reason that caused the damage to the River Bridge and the traffic problems on the bridge. The arguer's assertion is well-presented, but close scrutiny of his or her inference reveals that it suffers from many logical fallacies and thus is unconvincing.

To begin with, it is unreasonable for the arguer to blame Durant for the damage of the River Bridge and the traffic problems in the bridge. Since 20 years is such a long time period and no one could effectively foresee what would happen in the future. And it is entirely possible that at the beginning period after the construction of the bridge, there were few traffic on the bridge and it did have facilitate the mutual communication between Atticus and Hartley. However, due to significant increase of population in these years, there were too much cars passing through the bridge everyday, which caused the serious traffic problems on the bridge and therefore the deterioration of the bridge.

Secondly, the assertion that none of the damage or problems would have occurred if Durant had approved a wider and better-designed bridge seems almost fallacious. Every individual might share a belief that the quality of a bridge, in a large degree, depends on the engineers, who are responsible for the designing of a bridge. Consequently, with everything being equal, similar traffic problems or damages might also occur even if a wider and better-designed bridge.

Finally, the analogy that arguer establishes between the River Bridge and the Derby Bridge seem dubious in that the arguer does not provide enough similarities between these two bridges to justify his or her analogical deduction. Even if the weather conditions might be the same, other possible factors may also exert a significant influence. Perhaps the average traffic per day on the River Bridge were much larger that of the Derby Bridge. Then the problems or damages of the River Bridge might be justified as a result of frequent usage.

In a word, the arguer's inference lacks of credibility as it stands in that he or she has overlooked or chosen to ignore many aspects of his or her conclusion. To further substantiate it, more evidence should be provided to show that it was indeed Durant's approval rather than other possible factors that were the main reason for the damage to the River Bridge and the traffic problems in the bridge.

(2007-7-5 21:56:25)

[ 本帖最后由 hlzhang431 于 2007-7-6 07:26 编辑 ]

jennetrjUID: 2275453

ARGUMENT151 - The following is a letter to the editor of the Atticus City newspaper.

"Former Mayor Durant owes an apology to the city of Atticus. Both the damage to the River Bridge, which connects Atticus to Hartley, and the traffic problems we have long experienced on the bridge were actually caused 20 years ago by Durant. After all, he is the one who approved the construction of the bridge. If he had approved a wider and better-designed bridge, on which approximately the same amount of public money would have been spent, none of the damage or problems would have occurred. Instead, the River Bridge has deteriorated far more rapidly over the past 20 years than has the much longer Derby Bridge up the river. Even though the winters have been severe in the past several years, this is no excuse for the negligence and wastefulness of Durant."

The arguer concludes that the Former Mayor Durant's approval of the River Bridge is the main reason that caused the damage to the River Bridge and the traffic problems on the bridge. The arguer's assertion is well-presented, but close scrutiny of his or her inference reveals that it suffers from many logical fallacies and thus is unconvincing.

To begin with, it is unreasonable for the arguer to blame Durant for the damage of the River Bridge and the traffic problems in the bridge. Since 20 years is such a long time period and no one could effectively foresee what would happen in the future. And it is entirely possible that at the beginning period after the construction of the bridge, there were few traffic on the bridge and it did have facilitate the mutual communication between Atticus and Hartley. However, due to significant increase of population in these years, there were too much cars passing through the bridge everyday, which caused the serious traffic problems on the bridge and therefore the deterioration of the bridge.

Secondly, the assertion that none of the damage or problems would have occurred if Durant had approved a wider and better-designed bridge seems almost fallacious. Every individual might share a belief that the quality of a bridge, in a large degree, depends on the engineers, who are responsible for the designing of a bridge. Consequently, with everything being equal, similar traffic problems or damages might also occur even if a wider and better-designed bridge.

Finally, the analogy that arguer establishes between the River Bridge and the Derby Bridge seem dubious in that the arguer does not provide enough similarities between these two bridges to justify his or her analogical deduction. Even if the weather conditions might be the same, other possible factors may also exert a significant influence. Perhaps the average traffic per day on the River Bridge were much larger that of the Derby Bridge. Then the problems or damages of the River Bridge might be justified as a result of frequent usage.

In a word, the arguer's inference lacks of credibility as it stands in that he or she has overlooked or chosen to ignore many aspects of his or her conclusion. To further substantiate it, more evidence should be provided to show that it was indeed Durant's approval rather than other possible factors that were the main reason for the damage to the River Bridge and the traffic problems in the bridge.

写得不错，几个容易凌乱的逻辑错误串联的很好。