Lesson 8: Statements
SOCI 108 - Thinking Critically about Social
Issues
Spring 2012
1
Learning Outcomes
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Define statements
Evaluate statements
What is a Statement?
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Statements are declarative sentences that
assert or deny something
They are true or false (or some degree of
truth or falsity)
(factcheck.org)
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Candidates have a legal right to lie to voters
Why? Consumers are protected
“Truth-in-advertising” laws to protect voters do not
exist
First amendment: “Congress shall make no law …
abridging the freedom of speech”
A few states have laws against false political speech
ads
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Too hard to enforce
Statements can be:
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Possibly true – no reason to think it false
Possibly false – no reason to think it true
Probably true – more reason to think it true than false
Probably false - more reason to think it false than true
Certainly true – there is no doubt
Certainly false – there is no doubt
True/false exercise (in groups!)
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The moon is made of green cheese
Sally found a picture of a four angled triangle in her
geometry text
The next president of the United States will be
female
One day there will be a female president of the
United States
The Titanic will never be raised from its grave in the
North Atlantic
High Degree / Low Degree of Certainty
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All
Every
Never
Always
None
• Perhaps
• Possibly
• Maybe
• Seems
Examples of sentences that are NOT statements
(commands, exclamations, greetings, instructions,
proposals, questions, requests)
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What time is it? (question)
Hi Dad. (greeting)
Close the window. (command)
Please send me your current catalog. (request)
Let’s go to Paris for our anniversary. (proposal)
Insert tab A into slot B. (instruction)
Oh my goodness. (exclamation)
Position, Excuse, Advice or Inference
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People are addicted to a substance if they cannot
voluntarily stop using it. Many smokers cannot quit.
Thus, smoking is an addiction.
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You should always buckle your seatbelt when you
drive.
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advice
I can’t believe I forgot all about your birthday. What
can I say? The test for my critical thinking class was
the next day and I was nervous about it. I’m really
sorry.
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inference
excuse
Position, Excuse, Advice or Inference
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There must be something to Chinese herbal medicine. After
all, it’s been practiced in Asia for thousands of years.
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Animals have moral rights despite the fact that they are not
human beings. The short and long of it is that animals are
every bit as capable of suffering as humans are. Because of
this, they have the same rights as we do not to be subjected to
unnecessary pain and misery at the hands of another.
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inference
position
“Politics and morality are inseparable. And as morality’s
foundation is religion, religion and politics are necessarily
related.” Ronald Reagan
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inference
Statements that look like nonstatements
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Alyssa, you should quit smoking. Don’t you
realize how bad it is for your health?
Rhetorical questions appear as a question,
but speaker is not asking for an answer
He is making an assertion that smoking is
bad for health and Alyssa should quit.
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Alyssa, you should quit smoking. Don’t you
realize how bad it is for your health?
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Arguments can be plausible – apparently
believable
Or not plausible – not believable
Sometimes the wording of statements
changes the plausibility
Plausible Claims
a.
b.
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Our government is withholding information
from the public about a crashed alien
spacecraft and may have possession of
both the remains of the crash and its
occupants.
Our government has made public all the
information it has about purported alien
spacecraft and their occupants.
Plausible Claims
a.
b.
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Some people are able to pick up thoughts of
others by ESP.
There is no such thing as ESP.
Plausible Claims
a.
b.
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We only use about 10 – 20% of our brain
capacity.
We use all of our brain capacity.
Plausible Claims
a.
b.
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We use high school math in our daily lives.
Most high school math is never used in life.
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Knowledge of probability statistics makes us
less gullible
Listen to the statements people make
Are they trying to convince you of
something?
Is each statement true? False? In between?
Is the argument plausible?