Mission Peak is 2,517 ft tall. It is quite easy to climb.
Madeline climbed Mission Peak in 45 min.
Mission Peak in Fremont is a local hiking destination. However to argue that it is “easy” to climb may not be reasonable. The argument is plausible but it depends on the person. If an athletic person who does a reasonable amount of exercising can handle the hike up the peak. Being physically fit is probably the best way for a hike to feel “easy” or effortless. But if you are a person who thinks exercising or working out is a challenge that climbing up Mission Peak would be a challenge. The argument would only be valid if a majority of people thought hiking was easy.
Madeline climbing Mission Peak in 45 minutes is a plausible situation. Even though I made this time up, I want you to assume that 45 minutes is what a good time when climbing Mission Peak. We can assume that Madeline is a physically fit person who considered Mission Peak “easy” to climb.
This was a good example of a bad argument. I think it is almost easier to create a bad argument than a good one in that we are good at picking people’s comments apart even though we want to believe that we are always being told the truth. In your argument we can clearly see where the faulty premise comes into play. Whenever we hear words like easy or simple, it is safe to assume that this is a personal value judgment, and values are up for debate. So we can assume that the argument is bad from the start.
ReplyDeleteCatalina,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your example and completely agree with it. It is true that everyone has different capacities when it comes to physical activities and it is therefore very hard to make such a statement. Saying that hiking is easy is not a good argument because many people could disagree and argue that hiking is not easy for them. One of my friends for example hates running while I really enjoy it. She thinks it is too hard while I find it fun and relaxing. We therefore see exercising in a different way. The fact that I do not find running hard does not mean that she finds it easy as well. Your example is therefore very good and does a great job at demonstrating what false premises are.
-Elsie
Hey Catalina,
ReplyDeleteYour example is very well described. I do agree with your statement, "the premises depends on the person." For me Mission Peak is easy an easy climb, but this is for me, my body.Hence, I do to agree with your comment and the other two comments; I also do believe that your argument is a bad argument, because your premises ( easy ) can be questioned. The easiness would depend on the person ( as you mentioned ), and thus it is not a universal fact. Nonetheless, it still is a valid argument. Good job on establishing a bad argument in a valid argument.
The example you used is very good and really does show clearly whether or not the argument is good or not. Hiking definitely is an activity that others will excel in while others could have some trouble with, all depending on their physical fitness level. Knowing this makes it a lot easier to tell that your argument is more on the bad side and invalid than being good. We all definitely need to take into account all the variables that could come into play in any argument, because just the slightest variation could change the outcome of the whole argument.
ReplyDelete