Opinions Based on Facts
Sometimes an author will use facts to strenghten or support an opinion. Critical readers look these facts to help them judge the worth of opinion.
A fact is verifiable. We can determine whether
it is true by researching the evidence. This may involve numbers, dates,
testimony, etc. (Ex.: "World War II ended in 1945.") The truth of the
fact is beyond argument if one can assume that measuring devices or records or
memories are correct. Facts provide crucial support for the assertion of an
argument. However, facts by themselves are worthless unless we put them in
context, draw conclusions, and, thus, give them meaning.
Another kind of assertion
that has no place in serious argumentation is prejudice,
a half-baked opinion based on insufficient or unexamined evidence.
(Ex.: "Women are bad drivers.") Unlike a belief, a prejudice is
testable: it can be contested and disproved on the basis of facts. We often
form prejudices or accept them from others--family, friends, the media,
etc.--without questioning their meaning or testing their truth. At best,
prejudices are careless oversimplifications. At worst, they reflect a
narrow-minded view of the world. Most of all, they are not likely to win the
confidence or agreement of your readers.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น