Exercise 2:  The Analysis of "Joshua" (Return to the Unit 2 Table of Contents)

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Instructions: 
1) Read  "Notes on Argument Basics" before attempting this exercise. You should know the difference between a deductive and non-deductive argument. 
2) Read the passage below. 
3) With the conclusion, "The sun stopped," construct the argument in standard form analysis. Be sure to include both stated and implied premises which support the conclusion. 
4) Construct the numerical analysis. (See "Analysis of Arguments in Texts" in "Notes on Argument Basics").

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Grading:
If you are able to construct only the stated claims leading to the conclusion, "The sun stopped," your grade will be a "C." If you are able to construct an argument with that conclusion which includes the correct implied premise(s), your grade will be an "A" or "B." 

The Passage: Joshua 10:12-14

Thus spoke Joshua in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hastened not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man.

Some Hints About Deductive and Non-Deductive Arguments in Texts
Most arguments are non-deductive. That is, at best, their premises make the conclusions only "likely" or "probable"--sort of like the odds in a weather forecast; no meteorologist can say with certainty what precisely the weather will do. That's why non-deductive arguments are often called "probability arguments."

Of course, every non-deductive argument--with even a whiff of pride and self-respect--is, in disguise, a "deductive wannabe!" Every non-deductive argument would like to grow up to be a deductive argument in which the premises guarantee the conclusion. And I mean just that--the premises, by the way they are worded, guarantee the exact wording of the conclusion--word for word!

In fact, many seemingly non-deductive arguments are supported by authors' implied premises which actually make the argument deductive. The implied premises usually lie behind the stated premises as reasons for the stated premises. In other words, what often appears to be a simple, non-deductive argument in stated form is, in reality, a complex, deductive-argument once the reader has identified both the stated and implied premises.

How do you tell which is which? It's often really a matter of correctly interpreting the author's intention. To get at the implied premises, you have to ask the critical question "why?" twice, once to discover the stated claims and then a second time to identify the unstated claims--these are the assumptions that the author must be making in order to justify, in his own mind, the reasons (premises) stated in support of the conclusion. Sometimes it's a matter of interpreting the author's strength of opinion in offering a conclusion. Ask yourself, "Does this writer really intend a deductive argument here? If your answer is "yes," then it is necessary for you to identify both the stated and the unstated conclusions that must be leading to the final conclusion in a way in which the final conclusion is guaranteed--word for word.
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Submission Assignments through Regular Mail
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1) Heading on Assignments
Place a heading on the first page of your essay in the upper left-hand corner.  The heading must include the following information:

First Name-Middle Initial-Last Name
DCCCD Student ID Number
Course-Course Number-Section Number
Month-Date-Year
Name of Assignment

Example:

John R. Pointer
ID 5555555
English 1302: 9543
October 20, 2004
Exercise 3

2) File Name
Save your file exactly according to this model:

JPointer-Ex3

3) Sending Me E-mail Messages
You must include your name and identify your message type in the subject line of each e-mail you send me.  For security reasons, if you fail to do so, I will delete your message without responding.

In the subject line, include your name and exercise number just as you saved your file above.
Example:

JPointer-Ex3

If you are sending me a message that needs immediate attention, then include one of the following formats in the subject line:

JPointer-Question
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Responding to Your E-mails
I always respond to your messages.  However, I always open "Question," "Comment," and "Urgent"  messages first and respond to them usually on the day I receive them. 

I will respond to your assignment messages within a day or two to let you know that I have received your work and files and whether or not I can open them.  To grade them, I open assignment messages in the order in which I received them.

Length of Time Required to Grade Your Work
It usually takes me from one to two weeks to grade essay-length papers and to return them.  Shorter papers I can grade much quicker.  I will return them as e-mail attachments to my response messages.

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This page was last modified on July 9, 2005,
and is maintained by Dr. Geoffrey A. Grimes.
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