The creationists have no right to impose their mistaken, ignorant, superstitious beliefs

II. The following selections were taken from the letters-to-the-editor section of a newspaper. Each can be interpreted as expressing one or more arguments. Begin by identifying the conclusion of each. Then disengage the covert assumptions, value claims, and other cognitive assertions from the emotive language and translate them into emotively neutral premises. Use the two examples in the text as models. Finally, evaluate the restructured arguments. Some may turn out to be good ones.

3. The creationists have no right to impose their mistaken, ignorant, superstitious beliefs on others. They claim the constitutional right to the free exercise of religion. How about the rights of the majority of people who want their children taught the scientific truth about evolution-not fallacious myths and superstitions from primitive societies.

 (Andrew M. Underhill, Jr.)

Step By Step Solutions

Step 1 of 2

The statements that make up an argument are divided into one or more premises and exactly one conclusion. The premises are the statements that set forth the reasons or evidence, and the conclusion is the statement that the evidence is claimed to support or imply. In other words, the conclusion is the statement that is claimed to follow from the premises.

Terminology that conveys information is said to have cognitive meaning, and terminology that expresses or evokes feelings is said to have emotive meaning.

A value claim is a claim that something is good, bad, right, wrong, better, worse, more important, or less important than some other thing.

A vague expression is one that allows for borderline cases in which it is impossible to tell if the expression applies or does not apply.

An ambiguous expression is one that can be interpreted as having more than one clearly distinct meaning in a given context.