Journal #5

Journal #5 – from Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” (p.95-6)

1. Identify the specific argument that Paine is making in each paragraph.  For each of the arguments, identify whether Paine is making an emotional, ethical, or logical appeal and suggest an effective counterargument.

1.     The argument that Paine is making that the Americans must stand up against and conquer Britain’s tyranny. The more they wait for the independence the greater the feeling will be when they win. The harder they have to work, the better it is when they gain independence.

The appeal is emotional to get the readers fired up and excited. It based more on the emotions people are feeling rather than the logical reasoning

An Effective Counterargument is that Britain is the mother country and they sovereign over them, so they have the right to tax the colonies.

Logical Fallacy is non-sequiter. It compares taxing to slavery Aphorisms. He uses an aphoristic writing style and had many short statements about life.

#2 The Argument that Thomas Pain is making is his secret opinion that God the Almight will not let the military powers destroy people who have tried so hard to avoid the war by every method that wisdom could have invented.

He is making an ethical appeal because based on his argument on his religion and the emotions of God. He hints at the Americans as being morally superior over the British and that because of that, God will support us.

An Effective Counterargument is that the British King gets his power from God to rule, why would such a God protect the Americans who are Britain’s enemy? It also says that by God protecting the Americans it is contradicting to saying that God is giving Britain the military power to destroy the Americans when he is only going to save them.

          Logical- God doesn’t chose sides.

Logical Fallacies are Ad Hominem when Paine attacks the King of Britain personally, calling him a common murderer, a highwayman, or a housebreaker. Another one is Begging the Question in that why would God help the British, if he is not going to let the Americans lose to the British forces? The British think that God is on their side.

#3 The Argument that Paine makes is that America will never be happy unless they are free from Britain. The between the two is an inevitable event. We should fight now so that our children will one day be free and not leave the war for them to fight.

The appeal that Thomas Paine is making is ethical. He is saying to fight the war now, for the children. He is telling the man to take the burden upon yourself and don’t let the children bear the stresses and losses of war. It is also a logical appeal because it is going to happen sooner or later.

An Effective Counterargument is just because you to go war for child doesn’t mean you will get the best outcome. What would happen if the next generation had no parents because they lost them all in the war?

Logical Fallacies are False Dichotomy in that not talking about any sort of options between two extremes. Also begging the question in that the assumption that they are going to win.

#4 The argument that is being is made is that it’s better to fight defensively offensively. It’s okay to fight back. We should fight the British just as we should fight a thief who breaks into our homes. He is using an analogy to relate to the thief.

Pain is making an emotional appeal because he feels as if the king of Britain is a thief and his character is appalling the dead America, will come after the king and get revenge on the king because he deserves it.

An effective counterargument would be to argue that the king is not a thief, and he possesses many effective and useful powers.

Logical Fallacies would be Argument by analogy by not using much reasoning

·          Non-Sequiter – Paine jumps from taxing, to slavery. There is no logical sequence.

·         Sentimental Appeal – Thomas Paine is trying to get the reader’s minds away from the logic of the situation, and appeal to the emotion of gaining independence.

·         Aphorism – Paine uses many clever and wise statements about what life will be like without the British.

·         Dogmatic – Paine states that God is on the American’s side, which cannot be proven.

·         Ad Hominem – Paine attack’s the King of Britain and relates him to “a common murderer”, “a highwayman”, and a “housebreaker”. He attacks the king of Britain personally. What kind of murderous person would ask God for help?

·         Begging the Question – If God will not give the Americans up to the British, why would the British ask God for help? It cannot be proven that God will not give up the Americans to the British.

·         Hyperbole – “No a man lives on the continent…” No man lives in America that does not believe that America should be free from Britain. Paine makes a very broad assumption here and cannot prove that all Americans are for the war against Britain.

·         False Dichotomy – Paine makes the assumption that either you have peace between two countries or war. There is no happy medium.

·         Faulty Analogy – Comparing the King to a thief would be a faulty analogy because it is not a fact that the king is a thief. Paine and a majority of the Americans emotionally feel that the king is a thief.