Claims of Fact,

Value, and Policy

Miss Anna Kristel G. Cuevas
English 10
CLAIM
 a single statement
 the topic of the argument
 not a question
 the central argument or thesis statement of the text
 should be logical
 should be specific and focused
What is a FOR A SPEAKER
A claim is the main topic of an
claim? argument where the speaker tries to
assert on his or her beliefs, ideas or
actions.

FOR A WRITER
A claim is the central statement of a
text where the writer tries to prove in
the text by providing details,
explanations and other types of
evidence.
 EXAMPLE OF CLAIMS CHARACTERISTICS
COVID-19 is deadly. It is a single statement.

Flu and COVID-19 spread in similar way. It is being compared.

Baguio City had more than 100 cases of COVID-
It is in the past, present or future.
19.
You will have COVID-19 if you have low body
It has a cause and effect.
resistance.
You should wear mask and face shield. It has action to be taken.

People are sanitizing daily for their safety. It is what’s happening.

Tawa-tawa is the cure for COVID-19. It could be true or false.

Claims can be identified by
discovering the question the
argument answers.
CLAIM OF FACT
 A claim whether something is true or untrue but there
must always be potential for controversy, conflict and
change.
 A claim that reports, describes, predicts and shows
cause and effect.
 A claim that something has existed (past), exists
(present) or will exist (future).
Question: Can you investigate through research
or interviews?

The new coronavirus was responsible for

an outbreak of respiratory disease and
pneumonia in Wuhan, China.
Sample claim of fact
"If it is natural, it wouldn't have adversely affected the entire world like this. Because, as per
nature, temperature is different in different countries. If it is natural, it would adversely affect only those
countries having the same temperature as China. Instead, it is spreading in a country like Switzerland,
in the same way it is spreading in the desert areas. Whereas if it were natural, it would have spread in
cold places, but died in hot places.

I have done 40 years of research on animals and viruses. It is not natural. It is manufactured and
the virus is completely artificial. I have worked for 4 years in the Wuhan laboratory in China. I am fully
acquainted with all the staff of that laboratory. I have been phoning them all, after the Coronavirus
surfaced. But all their phones are dead for the last 3 months. It is now understood that all these lab
technicians have died.

Based on all my knowledge and research till date, I can say this with 100% confidence - That the
Coronavirus is not natural. It did not come from bats. China manufactured it. If what I am saying today
is proved false now or even after my death, the government can withdraw my Nobel Prize. China is
lying and this truth will one day be revealed to everyone."

Source: https://www.facebook.com/62188827209/posts/10158379823252210
Sample claim of fact
Abstract

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection caused
by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in Wuhan, China
and spread around the world. Genomic analysis revealed that SARS-CoV-2 is phylogenetically related
to severe acute respiratory syndrome-like (SARS-like) bat viruses, therefore bats could be the possible
primary reservoir. The intermediate source of origin and transfer to humans is not known, however, the
rapid human to human transfer has been confirmed widely.

There is no clinically approved antiviral drug or vaccine available to be used against COVID-19.
However, few broad-spectrum antiviral drugs have been evaluated against COVID-19 in clinical trials,
resulted in clinical recovery. In the current review, we summarize and comparatively analyze the
emergence and pathogenicity of COVID-19 infection and previous human coronaviruses severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus
(MERS-CoV). We also discuss the approaches for developing effective vaccines and therapeutic
combinations to cope with this viral outbreak.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7113610/
CLAIM OF VALUE
 A claim that gives judgment about morality, beauty,
merit or wisdom.
 A claim that compares and contrasts a problem with a
similar one in another time and/or place
 A claim that is based on preference such as likes or
dislikes, good or bad.
 Question: Is it good or bad?

Safety is more important than freedom.

Sample claim of value
CLAIM OF POLICY
 A claim that urges that an action be taken or
discontinued in specific policies.

 A claim that shows that a problem exists and it’s good

to solve it in a certain way.
 Question: What should be done?

Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance

between yourself and others.
Sample claim of policy

Source: https://twitter.com/VicoSotto/status/1338468270135906304
ARGUMENT
FALLACIES
FALLACY
 It is a common error in reasoning that will undermine the logic of your
argument. Fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant
points, and are often identified because they lack evidence that
supports their claim.

 A logical fallacy is a flaw in reasoning. Logical fallacies are like tricks or

illusions of thought.

 A fallacy is the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning, or "wrong

moves" in the construction of an argument. A fallacious argument may
be deceptive by appearing to be better than it really is.
AD HOMINEM
Poisoning the Well
Attacking the individual
instead of the argument.
An ad hominem is more than
just an insult. It’s an insult
used as if it were an
argument or evidence in
support of a conclusion.
 Of course, Marx' theories
about the ideal society
are bunk. The guy spent
all his time in the library.
 How can you argue your
case for vegetarianism
when you are enjoying
that steak?
AD BACULUM
Appeal to Force/ Fear
Use of force as a means to
irrelevantly sway a person’s
opinion.
Telling the hearer that
something bad will happen to
him if he does not accept the
argument.
 Convert or die.
 We need a strong military in
order to deter our enemies.
If you don't support this
new spending bill to
develop better airplanes,
our enemies will think we
are weak and, at some
point, will attack us - killing
millions. Do you want to be
responsible for the deaths
of millions, Senator?
AD MISERICORDIAM
Appeal to Pity
The argument attempts to
persuade by provoking
irrelevant feelings of
sympathy.
Urging the hearer to accept
the argument based upon an
appeal to emotions,
sympathy, etc.
 You should not find the
defendant guilty of
murder, since it would
break his poor mother's
heart to see him sent to
jail.
 Please accept my project.
I've been sick. That's
why I missed the
deadline.
AD POPULUM
Appeal to Popularity
The argument supports a
position by appealing to the
shared opinion of a large
group of people, e.g. the
majority, the general public,
etc. The presumed authority
comes solely from the size,
not the credentials, of the
group cited.
 Everyone else is doing
it. Why shouldn't you?
 "Do you not consider
yourself already refuted,
Socrates, when you put
forward views that
nobody would accept?
Why, ask anyone
present!" - Plato, The
Gorgias
AD IGNORANTIAM
Appeal to Ignorance
The assumption of a
conclusion or fact based
primarily on lack of evidence
to the contrary. Usually best
described by, “absence of
evidence is not evidence of
absence.”
 You seem to be a skeptic
about the idea of aliens.
Can you prove that it’s
not real?
 I don’t recall him saying
anything that might
indicate that he doesn’t
like you. He may be
interested. Call him!
AD VERECUNDIAM
Appeal to Authority
Insisting that a claim is true
simply because a valid
authority or expert on the
issue said it was true, without
any other supporting
evidence offered. Also see the
appeal to false authority .
 How do I know the adult
film industry is the third
largest industry in the
United States? Derek
Shlongmiester, the adult
film star of over 50 years,
said it was. That's how I
know.
 The Philippines is poor
because the President said
so.
APPEAL TO TRADITION
Using historical preferences of
the people (tradition), either in
general or as specific as the
historical preferences of a single
individual, as evidence that the
historical preference is correct.
Traditions are often passed from
generation to generation with no
other explanation besides, “this
is the way it has always been
done”—which is not a reason, it
is an absence of a reason.
 Dave: For five generations, the
men in our family went to UP
and became doctors, while the
women got married and raised
children. Therefore, it is my
duty to become a doctor.
 Kaitlin: Do you want to become
a doctor?
 Dave: It doesn’t matter -- it is
our family tradition. Who am I
to break it?
STRAW MAN ARGUMENT
Substituting a person’s actual
position or argument with a
distorted, exaggerated, or
misrepresented version of the
position of the argument.
Producing an
argument about a weaker
representation of the truth
and attacking it.
Alex: I think that a bigger
portion of our company’s
budget should go to customer
support, because we’re
currently struggling in that
area.
Bob: If we spend all of our
money on customer support
like you’re suggesting, we’ll
go bankrupt in a year.
RED HERRING
Attempting to redirect the
argument to another issue to
which the person doing the
redirecting can better
respond. While it is similar to
the avoiding the issue fallacy,
the red herring is a deliberate
diversion of attention with the
intention of trying to abandon
the original argument.
 I know I forgot to deposit the check
into the bank yesterday. But,
nothing I do pleases you.
 Mike: It is morally wrong to cheat on
your spouse, why on earth would
you have done that?
Ken: But what is morality exactly?
Mike: It’s a code of conduct shared by
cultures.
Ken: But who creates this code?...
FALSE DILEMMA
All or nothing fallacy  You can either get
married or be alone for
When an argument presents two
points while disregarding or ignoring the rest of your life.
others in order to narrow the argument
in one person’s favor.  If you want our country
to be safe, we must
When only two choices are presented
yet more exist, or a spectrum of increase military
possible choices exists between two presence.
extremes. False dilemmas are usually
characterized by “either this or that”
language, but can also be
characterized by omissions of choices.
SLIPPERY SLOPE
A conclusion based on the premise
that one small step will lead to a
chain of events resulting a some
significant events.
When a relatively insignificant first
event is suggested to lead to a more
significant event, which in turn leads
to a more significant event, and so
on, until some ultimate, significant
event is reached, where the
connection of each event is not only
unwarranted but with each step it
becomes more and more improbable.
 We cannot unlock our child
from the room because if
we do, she will want to
roam the house. If we let
her roam the house, she will
want to roam the
neighborhood. If she roams
the neighborhood, she will
get picked up by a stranger
in a van, who will harvest
her organs. Therefore, we
should keep her locked up in
the room.
HASTY GENERALIZATION
Drawing a conclusion based
on a small sample size, rather
than looking at statistics that
are much more in line with the
typical or average situation.
When someone says a
sweeping statement without
considering all of the facts.
 My father smoked four
packs of cigarettes a day
since age fourteen and
lived until age sixty-nine.
Therefore, smoking really
can’t be that bad for you.
 Did you see that kid
running through the red
light? Teenagers can be
such reckless drivers!