PHIL-1100 (Critical Thinking) Assessment # 1
Jamal Tinkov (200741908)
“This is a great business to be in. First, there are no surprises. There is nothing more to be said or
discovered about cigarettes. … Second, no new company wants to get into the tobacco business.
That’s great. Third, we have the best partners in the world: the governments. In a lot of countries,
the taxes from our product are incredibly important to the whole welfare state. … So, no matter
how you look at it, this is a great business to be in – if you can handle the fact that some people
are not going to like you.”David Dangoor, tobacco exec., in a Rolling Stone interview
1) The conclusion of this argument is that the cigarette business is a profitable business that
has a stranglehold on the market. It is however, a hard business to be in as many people
will not like the fact that you work in the business as it is cut throat and it is well known
that cigarettes cause cancer and have killed millions of people.
2) This argument is supported by several premises, the first is that there is no new
knowledge to be known about cigarettes, no new companies want to enter the market and
lastly they are partnered with the government. Three of these premises make the tobacco
industry a great business to be in.
3) This passage is an argument because it has premises that support its claims and
conclusion. The conclusion being that the cigarette industry is a good business to be in
because no new knowledge is to be known about it, no new companies want to enter the
market and government partnership. These three premises support the conclusion making
it an argument and not an explanation.
4) In order to make this passage more of an explanation the conclusion would not be
supported by premises. If this passage was an explanation it would provide information
about the cigarette industry and give background information in order for the reader to
gain a greater understanding of this business.