write a short (2-3 page) paper analyzing it using the methods set out in Kelley and Hutchins’ The Art of Reasoning and discussed in lectures, especially the material in chapters 2 and 3. In preparing to work on the paper, you might want to go back and review the material on Canvas from week 5 in “LECTURE: Diagramming arguments” and the lectures and handout on Fallacies from weeks 7 and 8. Most importantly, review “LECTUR

write a short (2-3 page) paper analyzing it using the methods set out in Kelley and Hutchins’ The Art of Reasoning and discussed in lectures, especially the material in chapters 2 and 3. In preparing to work on the paper, you might want to go back and review the material on Canvas from week 5 in “LECTURE: Diagramming arguments” and the lectures and handout on Fallacies from weeks 7 and 8. Most importantly, review “LECTURE: Working on writing assignment 2” from week 9. You do NOT need to do any research for this paper. You merely need to apply what you already know. There are four main tasks you need to accomplish: First, you need to identify the propositions that are actually playing a role as premises or conclusions in the argument, leaving aside irrelevant material (repetition, background context, etc.). Then number and list the propositions. Also, identify any implicit propositions you think play a crucial role in the argument, and label those too, with lower case letters. Second, you need to diagram the argument according to the method discussed in class and in the text (using numbers, arrows, plus sign, etc.). You can either use whatever graphics your word processing software makes available, or just leave a space and draw the diagram in by hand. Either way is fine. (Again, review the material in “LECTURE: Diagramming arguments” to understand what you need to do here.) Third, analyze the strength of the component parts of the argument. If it has multiple steps, which is the weakest stage? If it has independent premises, which is the argument’s strongest component? Is the overall argument strong or not? (Review the material in “LECTURE: Diagramming arguments,” especially the section on “Multiple steps and independent premises,” in order to understand what you need to do here.) Fourth, identify any fallacies you think the argument commits and explain how you think it commits them. Here are the three arguments you need to choose from. Again, choose ONE of them: ARGUMENT 1 “Don B. Kates, Jr., has not convinced me in his argument [“Against Civil Disarmament,” September] in favor of each American having his own handgun. A curious omission in his discussion is the fact that selling firearms is big business. Those against the sale have to battle powerful lobbies in state and federal government, who fight, with their enormous resources, to keep profits intact for their patron, the arms manufacturers.” [Letter to the editor, Harper’s Magazine, November 1978] LOOK AT THE ATTACHED FILES THERES AN EXAMPLE OF THE FORMAT FOLLOW IT