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Cause and Value

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Reasoning about cause and consequence in social movements ... the controversial nature of social movements, any evaluative claim about them ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Cause and Value


1
Cause and Value
  • Paths to reasoning about the past

2
Reasoning about cause and consequence
  • First lets note that causal reasoning is marked
    by uncertainty our goal should be to find a
    plausible account.
  • Everything imbedded in one or more causal chains.
    When reasoning about cause and consequence, we
    will need to establish the boundaries of our
    investigation.

3
Reasoning about cause and consequence
  • There are two basic ways to reason about cause
    and consequence.
  • We can reason about what might have caused
    something.
  • We can reason about the consequences that
    something may have.

4
Who killed the butler?
  • The butler is dead. What questions should we ask
    about what caused this? (Notice here we are
    reason from effect to causes).

5
Who killed the butler continued . . .
6
The butler died ten years ago. What were the
results?
  • What questions should we ask to determine the
    results of the butlers death? (Notice here we
    are reasoning from cause to effects).

7
The butler died ten years ago continued . . .
8
Reasoning about cause and consequence in social
movements
  • Causal reasoning can get very complicated.
  • We should look for ways to narrow our topics.
  • Explore several causes or consequences and pick
    those that seem the most plausible and
    supportable.
  • Remember that causal reasoning is highly arguable.

9
Reasoning about value
  • Reasoning about value is also highly arguable.
  • Evaluative arguments generally follow this
    format X is a good (or whatever adjective) Y
    because of A, B, and C.
  • A, B, and C are the criteria of evaluation, or
    the reasons supporting your claim of value.

10
Reasoning about value
  • People disagree about evaluative claims for
    several reasons.
  • They may disagree with the overall evaluation.
  • They may argue that the writer picked the wrong
    criteria.
  • They may argue that the criteria were not applied
    correctly.

11
Reasoning about value
  • They also may disagree about what criteria are
    more important. Recall the farm example from the
    reading. Some might argue that preserving family
    farming is more important than having cheap
    produce everywhere.
  • A claim of value McDonalds is a good fast food
    restaurant because it has golden arches and a
    clown mascot.

12
Reasoning practice
  • UT is a great state university because . . . What
    criteria should we use to support this claim, and
    how should we justify those criteria?

13
Reasoning practice
14
Reasoning about value in social movements.
  • Because of the controversial nature of social
    movements, any evaluative claim about them will
    also be controversial. Therefore, you should
    make your criteria explicit and justify them
    because your audience may not share your
    assumptions. In addition, try to narrow your
    focus.
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