Weak Arguments Research Articles

A few or several? Construal, quantity, and argumentativity

AbstractThis study examines two seemingly similar quantifiers, a few and several, and argues that the differences between them go beyond the (slightly) different quantities they each denote. Specifically, we argue that several construes its nominal complement as composed of individuated entities, which renders them more prominent, and thus a stronger basis in support of a conclusion the speaker is arguing for. We base our analysis on two experiments and a corpus study. The experiments show that there is indeed an argumentative difference between the quantifiers, and the corpus study points to the discourse factors behind it. In comparison with a few, several is associated with a higher discourse prominence for its complement (greater individuation, significance) and with greater argumentative strength. Based on this data, we characterize the quantifiers’ prototypical discourse profiles. A typical instance of several occurs in persuasive genres, refers to a not-so-small quantity, construes the plural entity as composed of individuated entities, and contributes to a strong argument. A typical instance of a few occurs in non-persuasive genres, denotes a small quantity, construes the entities composing the plural entity as un-individuated, and contributes to a weak or neutral argument.

Online incivility, argument quality and public expression in China: Exploring the moderating role of education level and opinion congruency

Uncivil comments are prevalent in Chinese cyberspace. Many studies have explored the impacts of online incivility and argument quality on public expression, but very few studies have been conducted in authoritarian societies. We conducted two online experiments with different topics in China. The results showed that after being exposed to uncivil content, people's intentions to make comments online changed depending on their education level and opinion congruency. The less-educated people are more likely to express whereas the well-educated tend to remain silent. Besides, incivility and argument quality can work together to influence public expression. A strong argument with a civil tone can promote people's enthusiasm for expression. But a strong argument with an uncivil tone can decrease people's expression willingness. However, uncivil comments with weak arguments increase less-educated people's willingness to express themselves publicly. Besides, opinion congruency moderates the relationship between argument strength and online expression. But the pattern was contingent upon the nature of the discussion topics.

Девиантологические аспекты предупреждения половых преступлений, связанных с понуждением к действиям сексуального характера и домогательством

The article deals with socio-cultural and legal approaches to the prevention of sexual deviations related to coercion and harassment. The author believes that the criminalisation of sexual abuse (including harassment) does not meet the genesis of criminal law regulation, namely the social need for it to be prohibited specifically by criminal law, which is the state’s final argument in combating anti-social behavior.
 Introduction. The moral and cultural assessment of sexual relations outside of marriage, as well as of non-traditional forms of sexual relations, has changed over time and has had a significant impact on state-legal approaches to ensuring the security of sexual freedom and sexual inviolability of the individual. In this regard, on the modern socio-cultural platform new directions of formation of the state policy in the field of permissible and prohibited in the sexual sphere, the nature of freedom of actions of sexual nature and the degree of public danger of such deviations as coercion to actions of sexual nature and accompanying acts - sexual harassment are born.
 Aim of the criminological and sociological study was to outline the boundaries of the criminal law prevention of sexual deviations related to compulsion to sexual acts and harassment.
 Research Methodology, Methods and Techniques. The methodological basis of the study consists of general scientific and particular scientific methods of scientific knowledge, methods of empirical and theoretical research. Dialectics is accepted as a philosophical theory about the universal laws of motion and development of nature, human society and thinking, and in its original sense - as a logic and debatable search for truth related to the object of research. The anthropological approach allows us to reveal the ways in which the perpetrator’s personality is formed, as well as the motives and motivation behind deviant behavior. The axiological approach assists in verifying ways of strengthening the perceptions of sexual freedom as a moral and legal value, both at the level of mass, collective and individual consciousness and at the level of law-making and law enforcement processes systematically related to countering sexual offences. The use of the above approaches and methods ensured the study of sexual deviations, connected with coercion to actions of sexual nature and harassment, as an independent criminological phenomenon.
 The study found that general and special prevention mechanisms to prevent sexual harassment exist in our country, but are poorly used for various reasons, including the immoral behavior of the victim. The existence of organisational and legal problems for law enforcement agencies in proving reports of sexual offences should be recognised, but this cannot change the social nature of the acts and the degree of their public danger. The international experience of combating sexual harassment against the background of systematic high-profile «sex» scandals is a weak argument in favour of the effectiveness of combating social deviations by criminal law means.
 Scientific novelty. The study substantiates the author’s position that criminalisation of sexual harassment (including harassment) does not correspond to the genesis of criminal law regulation, i.e. the social need for sexual harassment to be prohibited by criminal law, which is the state’s final argument to combat anti-social behavior.
 Practical significance. The proposals formulated are aimed at the formation of effective criminal policy in the field of preventive measures to ensure the security of sexual freedom and integrity of the person.

Whataboutisms: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The rhetorical function of whataboutism is to redirect attention from the specific case at hand. Although commonly used as a rhetorical move, whataboutisms can appear in arguments. These tend to be weak arguments and are often instances of the tu quoque fallacy or other fallacies of relevance. In what follows, I show that arguments involving a whataboutist move can take a wide variety of forms, and in some cases, they can occur in good arguments. I end by considering how whataboutist arguing in social justice contexts can be harmful to arguers and to the audiences for their arguments.

Analysis of a prion proliferation model with polymer coagulation in the presence of chaperone

In the present work, a mathematical model which consists of a nonlinear partial integro‐differential equation coupled with two ordinary differential equations (ODEs) is analyzed. This model describes the relation between infectious, noninfectious prion proteins, and chaperone. The well‐posedness of the system is proved for bounded kernels by using evolution operator theory in the state space . The existence of a global weak solution for unbounded kernels is also discussed by a weak compactness argument. In addition, we investigated the stability analysis results theoretically and effect of chaperone on prion proliferation numerically.

Long-Term Analysis of Stochastic Hamiltonian Systems Under Time Discretizations

In this paper, we focus our investigation on providing long-term estimates of the Hamiltonian deviation computed along numerical approximations to the solutions of stochastic Hamiltonian systems, of both Itô and Stratonovich types. It is well known that the expected Hamiltonian of an Itô Hamiltonian system with additive noise exhibits a linear drift in time [C. Chen et al., Adv. Comput. Math., 46 (2020), 27], while the Hamiltonian function is conserved along the exact flow of a Stratonovich Hamiltonian system [T. Misawa, Japan J. Indust. Appl. Math., 17 (2000), pp. 119–128; T. Misawa, Math. Probl. Eng., 2010 (2010), 384937]. Here, we focus our attention on providing modified differential equations associated to suitable discretizations for the above problems, by means of weak backward error analysis arguments [K. C. Zygalakis, SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 33 (2011), pp. 102–130]. Then, long-term estimates are provided for both Itô and Stratonovich Hamiltonian systems, revealing the presence of parasitic terms affecting the overall conservation accuracy. Finally, selected numerical experiments are provided to confirm the theoretical analysis.

First Order Limiting Optimality Conditions in the Coefficient Control of an Obstacle Problem

AbstractWe consider an optimal control problem governed by an obstacle problem. The novelty and focus of this work will be the introduction of a control variable into the coefficients of this optimal control problem.In particular, we discuss the effects of the multiplicative coupling between control and, derivatives of, the state. This prevents the use of standard weak convergence arguments in limit arguments. As it is known, H‐convergence needs to be utilized, e.g., to prove existence of a solution to the problem. To obtain optimality conditions, we present a regularization approach to circumvent the non‐differentiability of the solution operator of the obstacle problems. We then discuss the limiting optimality conditions obtained by the proposed regularization.

LEARNING RESPIRATORY SYSTEM THROUGH MULTIPLE REPRESENTATION: CHALLENGE TO ENHANCE REASONING SKILL

This study examines the impact of implementing multiple representation method in responding to the challenge of learning science specifically in relation to enhancing students’ reasoning skill. Pre-experimental method was applied to obtain research data from participants consisted of 8th grader students at a private junior high school in Bandung, Indonesia. The effect on reasoning skill was studied from students’ arguments in answering question related to respiratory system. The arguments were then analyzed by the completeness of argument component, level of argument, and quality of argument referring to Toulmin’s argumentation pattern (TAP). The findings show that students experienced significant improvement in reasoning skill expressed in their arguments. The improvement was evident in the higher argument level and better argument quality achieved by students after the implementation of multiple representation method. In relation to quality of argument, the overall quality of argument shifted from the domination of weak arguments to the domination of strong arguments. Additionally, the use of multiple representation in learning assists students to be able to use various forms of information such as graphics, visual images, tables, scientific formula, and written expression in explaining concepts.

Committing Fallacies and the Appearance Condition.

This appearance condition of fallacies refers to the phenomenon of weak arguments, or moves in argumentation, appearing to be okay when really they aren't. Not all theorists agree that the appearance condition should be part of the conception of fallacies but this essay explores some of the consequences of including it. In particular, the differences between committing a fallacy, causing a fallacy and observing a fallacy are identified. The remainder of the paper is given over to discussing possible causes of mistakenly perceiving weak argumentation moves as okay. Among these are argument caused misperception, perspective caused misperception, discursive environment caused misperception and perceiver caused misperception. The discussion aims to be sufficiently general so that it can accommodate different models and standards of argumentation that make a place for fallacies.

Fintech as a concept of functional economic science

The article is devoted to the disclosure of the theoretical foundations of fintech as a concept of functional economic sciences (finance, accounting, economics). Nowadays, there are various approaches to the disclosure of this concept, which does not contribute to the development of an adequate economic policy of the state and legislative regulation in this area. Historical approach, content analysis, system and functional approaches were used to reveal the content of the definition. The analysis of existing approaches allowed us to conclude that there are four basic approaches to the interpretation of fintech: fintech as a technology, fintech as an innovation and a business model; fintech as an industry, fintech as a service. All of them have both weak and strong arguments in their favor, but none of them can exist without the latest technologies that form the basis of fintech. As a result of the study, it was proved that fintech is an innovative financial industry based on digital technologies, which lead to the intensification and growth of the efficiency of financial services. The statement about the emergence of a new fintech industry is grounded in the institutional part as a set of business entities that develop and implement modern innovative technologies in the financial sphere. Regarding traditional financial market intermediaries, it is worth talking about the transformation of their business models under the influence of modern innovative technologies. The latter happens without changing their functional role in the financial market.

Al-Wujūhu Al-Ḍoifaħ ‘Indal Imām Ibn Juzay Fī Tafsīr Min Sūraħ An-Nazi`at Ila Sūraħ At-Ṭariq

This study aims to determine the weak arguments according to Imam Ibn Juzay in his interpretation. This study follows an analytical descriptive approach, by following the arguments weakened by Imam Ibn Juzay in his interpretation of the facilitation of the sciences of revelation, then collecting, classifying, presenting, and analyzing them, in accordance with their origins and rules of interpretation. This study proves that the arguments weakened by Imam Ibn Juzay in his tafsir from Sūraħ Al-An-Nazi'at to Sūraħ At-Tariq number eleven places. This study reveals that the arguments weakened by Imam Ibn Juzay are not all correct, and the knowledge of the arguments weakened by Imam Ibn Juzay in his tafsir is something that should be considered and explored by tafsir teachers.

Mithridates’ Letter in Sallust’s Historiae: Roman and Pontic Propaganda

According to the author of the article, Mithridates VI Eupator’s letter to the Parthian monarch Arsaces in Sallust’s Historiae does not reproduce the genuine document from the personal archives of the Pontic king as some researchers believe. The opinion that Sallust criticized Roman politics under Mithridates’mask is rejected; many scholars consider this letter to be a condemnation of deep moral decline of the Roman society. On the contrary, the Roman writer attributes to the Pontic king the weak and vulnerable arguments based on the false facts (at least from the Roman point of view) to discredit his (and not only his) criticism of Roman foreign policy. He calls the Romans “strangers without a homeland, without parents”, but it is naturally that Romans themselves did not think in this way. The author objects to E. Adler, who believes that most of Sallust’s readers did not know history well enough to mark the distortions of facts in Mithridates’ letter. There is every reason to believe that Sallust was counting on an educated public that would be able to appreciate these distortions and their meaning. The author thinks that Mithridates’ argumentation looks like a parody of the anti-Roman propaganda and it might have been perceived as such by Sallust’s readers.

Old Canaan in a New World: Native Americans and the Lost Tribes of Israel

Old Canaan in a New World: Native Americans and the Lost Tribes of Israel

THE IMPACT OF SPECIFIC FACTORS ON THE REVENUE OF THE IT SECTORS IN POLAND AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC

This article reveals the dynamics of the development of Poland’s and the Czech Republic’s IT/ITC sectors. The following groups of factors influencing the economic component of the IT/ITC sector were identified: tax policy, factors related to education, and labor force indicators. The simplified regression models were used for each group, and the influence of elements on the economic component of the efficiency of companies in the IT/ITC sector was presented separately. As a result of the weak argumentation of models for each group, the need to create unique models for each country based on a combination of different groups’ factors was proved. Based on Var models, when conducting correlation-regression analyzes, models were derived for the dependence of the economic performance indicators of the sectors of Poland and the Czech Republic on given factors.

Stationary solutions to a compressible non-Newtonian fluid with general boundary conditions

This paper is concerned with the steady-state equations describing a motion of some non-Newtonian fluids whose viscosity has a power-structure with an exponent r. The existence of weak solutions is established through a two-level approximation procedure and weak convergence argument whenever r > 2, which is the optimal bound for the existence of weak solutions.

Logical intuition is not really about logic.

Recent research suggests that reasoners are able to draw simple logical or probabilistic inferences relatively intuitively and automatically, a capacity that has been termed "logical intuition" (see, e.g., De Neys & Pennycook, 2019). A key finding in support of this interpretation is that conclusion validity consistently interferes with judgments of conclusion believability, suggesting that information about logical validity is available quickly enough to interfere with belief judgments. In this study, we examined whether logical intuitions arise because reasoners are sensitive to the logical features of a problem or another structural feature that just happens to align with logical validity. In three experiments (N = 113, 137, and 254), we presented participants with logical (determinate) and pseudological (indeterminate) arguments and asked them to judge the validity or believability of the conclusion. Logical arguments had determinately valid or invalid conclusions, whereas pseudological arguments were all logically indeterminate, but some were pseudovalid (possible strong arguments) and others pseudoinvalid (possible weak arguments). Experiments 1 and 2 used simple modus ponens and affirming the consequent structures; Experiment 3 used more complex denying the antecedent and modus tollens structures. In all three experiments, we found that pseudovalidity interfered with belief judgments to the same extent as real validity. Altogether, these findings suggest that while people are able to draw inferences intuitively, and these inferences impact belief judgments, they are not logical intuitions. Rather, the intuitive inferences are driven by the processing of more superficial structural features that happen to align with logical validity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining Normative and Applicable Aspects of the Plebiscitary Theory of Secession

In this article, I rely on the reflective equilibrium methodology in providing a critical overview of the strongest and weakest arguments through which prominent proponents of plebiscitary secession theories defend the right to (unilateral) secession from internationally recognised states; a right that should – in their opinion – be achieved via referendums. By doing so, I demonstrate that the said right – although conceivable in the realm of normative theory – is rarely applicable in practice in a meaningful/justified manner. Instead, more often than not, it is prone to being (mis)used as an excuse for validating interest driven and unethical political conduct, either by separatist/irredentist nationalists or by regional/global powers that support such secessionist causes (as a part of their own geopolitical strategies). In fulfilling the main aim, I therefore argue that plebiscitary theories of secession do not provide answers to questions concerning the likelihood of just implementation of the said right in real-world cases, while their theoretical arguments come across as incomplete when dealing with the relationship between individual and collective rights, but also with issues concerning the nature and motives of contemporary secession movements.

A Dilemma for Sterba

James Sterba argues that a good God is not logically possible. He argues that what he calls the Pauline Principle, which says that we should never do evil that good may come of it, implies that a good God would prevent horrendous evil consequences of immoral actions. However, there are plenty of examples of such actions in our world. So, a good God does not exist. I offer an example from Derek Parfit, and one of my own, that calls the Pauline Principle into question. Sterba believes that what he calls Moral Evil Prevention Requirements (MEPRs) follow from the Pauline Principle, and that they are necessary truths which imply that a good God would prevent horrendous evil consequences of immoral actions. Whether these (MEPRs) follow from the Pauline Principle or do not, they may be necessary truths that could form the basis of Sterba’s argument. However, I argue that they are not necessary truths. If modified to become such, Sterba faces a challenge from the Skeptical Theists that can only be met by turning his argument into an evidential version of the problem of evil. I compare Sterba’s argument with my version of the evidential argument from evil that says that if God exists, there is not excessive, unnecessary suffering and whose second premise says there is. I argue that it is easier to establish that there is excessive, unnecessary suffering than to establish Sterba’s second premise (once his principles are modified). That second premise will say that there are no goods that logically require God to allow immoral actions that have horrendous evil consequences. Sterba faces a dilemma: either he has an unsound logical argument or a weak evidential argument for the non-existence of God. In either case, he does not have a good logical argument for atheism.

Is Terrorism Really a Weapon of the Weak? Debunking the Conventional Wisdom

That terrorism is a “weapon of the weak” is such deeply held conventional wisdom it has become almost a cliché. “Weak” means many different things in the literature, however, and little rigorous empirical research has tested the contention that weaker groups, however conceived, are more likely to employ terrorism. This article explores prominent weapon of the weak arguments to develop testable hypotheses about group strength and the prevalence of terrorism. Using measures of deliberately indiscriminate attacks on civilians by rebel groups in civil conflicts, as well as multiple measures of rebel strength, it examines systematically whether weaker groups are more likely to employ terrorism. I find surprisingly little empirical support for the conventional wisdom. There is no clear or consistent evidence that deliberately indiscriminate terrorism is a weapon of the weak rather than the strong.

The effectiveness of using instagram content to promote charitable crowdfunding campaign

Crowdfunding has emerged as a new form of financing. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences in empathy and trust of potential donors when they find an Instagram content promoting charitable crowdfunding campaign using different types of message appeals and different levels of argument quality. This study is aimed to test whether issue involvement moderates the effect of empathy and trust on the intention to donate. To do so, an experimental design was conducted involving 180 undergraduate students from one university in Indonesia. The participants were Instagram active users who were familiar about crowdfunding. Result show Instagram content using altruistic appeal will generate stronger empathy compared to those using egoistic appeal, but different message appeals did not result significant difference on trust. Different levels of argument quality also generated different empathy and trust. Content with strong argument tends to produce stronger empathy and trust than those with weak argument. The empathy and trust of potential donors can have a positive impact on their intention to donate. In this study, it was found that issue involvement did not moderate the effect of empathy and trust on the potential donors' intention to donate.