Exploring Arguments
A Sample Issue:
Let’s take the issue of climate change as an example.
First we have to agree on the main issue. Some people say that global warming is a current threat and that we have to take immediate action, such as reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases, to combat it. Others say that there is no global warming, or if there is, it is part of a natural cycle and we can’t do anything about it. Others say that even if there is global warming, and it is caused by humans, reducing greenhouse gases will harm our economy, so we can’t do anything. All of these positions seem to be included in the question, “Should we take action to stop global warming?”
If we apply the levels of stasis to the issue of climate change, we might get questions like these:
Fact or Conjecture: Does it exist? Did it happen? Is the Earth’s climate changing? If so, is it warming up, cooling down, or both? How and when did these changes start? What causes these changes? Are they caused by human activity? Do they happen naturally? Can they be slowed or stopped? Can they be hastened?
Definition: How can the act or event be defined? Can these climate changes be defined as global warming or as something else? If so, how should we define global warming? How does global warming fit into the other aspects of climate change? How does it fit into the natural climate changes that led to ice ages in the past? What are the different parts of the process of climate change?
Quality: What is the character of the act? Is climate change harmful? Is it right to try to stop it? Is economic prosperity better than energy conservation? Which is more important, the short-term health of the economy or the long-term stability of the climate?
Policy: What should we do? Should we try to stop climate change? What will happen if we do nothing? Should we act to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses? Should we try to conserve energy? Should we switch to nuclear power? Will any of these actions reduce global warming? Will these actions create other problems?
Developing and answering these questions will provide a very thorough exploration of the issues related to global warming, and will provide a sound basis for a research project, a persuasive speech, or an analysis of articles and reports on global warming.
Video example
In class, we’ll look at a video or two by John Oliver and identify how he moves his audience through issues by working through the questions of stasis.