Definition

                                                                                              

 

Discuss each of the following disputes. If it is obviously genuine (fact), indicate each of the disputers’ positions with respect to the proposition at issue. If it is merely verbal (definition), resolve it by explaining the different senses attached by the disputers to the key word or phrase that is used ambiguously. If it is an apparently verbal (attitude) dispute that is really genuine, locate the ambiguity and explain the real disagreement involved.

 

 1. Daye: Pete Rose was the greatest hitter in the history of baseball. His lifetime

      batting average is higher than any other major league player’s.

     Knight: No, Hank Aaron deserves that title. He hit more home runs than any other

     major league player.

 

2.  Daye: Despite their great age, the plays of Sophocles are enormously relevant

     today. They deal with eternally recurring problems and values such as

     love and sacrifice, the conflict of generations, life and death, as central today

     as they were over two thousand years ago.

     Knight: I don’t agree with you at all. Sophocles has nothing to say about pressing and

     immediate issues of our time: inflation, unemployment, the population

     explosion, and the energy crisis. His plays have no relevance for today.

 

3.  Daye: Bob Jones is certainly a wonderful father to his children. He provides a

     beautiful home in a fine neighborhood, buys them everything they need or

     want, and has made ample provision for their education.

     Knight: I don’t think Bob Jones is a good father at all. He is so busy getting and

     spending that he has no time to be with his children. They hardly know

     him except as somebody who pays the bills.

 

4.  Daye: Amalgamated General Corporation’s earnings were higher than ever last

     year, I see by reading their annual report.

     Knight: No, their earnings were really much lower than in the preceding year, and they

     have been cited by the SEC for issuing a false and misleading report.

 

5.  Daye: Business continues to be good for National Conglomerate, Inc. Their sales so

     far this year are 25 percent higher than they were at this time last year.

     Knight: No, their business is not so good now. Their profits so far this year are 30

     percent lower than they were last year at this time.

 

6.  Daye: Ann is an excellent student. She takes a lively interest in everything and asks

     very intelligent questions in class.

     Knight: Ann is one of the worst students I’ve ever seen. She never gets her

     assignments in on time.

 

7.  Daye: Tom did it of his own free will. No pressure was brought to bear on him, no

     threats were made, no inducements were offered, there was no hint of force.

     He deliberated about it and made up his own mind.

     Knight: That is impossible. Nobody has free will, because everything anyone does is

     inevitably determined by heredity and environment according to inexorable

     causal laws of nature.

 

8.  Daye: Professor Graybeard is one of the most productive scholars at the university.

     His bibliography of publications is longer than those of any of his colleagues.

     Knight: I wouldn’t call him a productive scholar. He is a great teacher, but he has

     never produced any new ideas or discoveries in his entire career.

 

9.  Daye: Betty finally got rid of that old Essex of hers and bought herself a new car.

     She’s driving a Buick now.

     Knight: No, Betty didn’t buy herself a new car. That Buick is a good three years old.

 

10. Daye: Dick finally got rid of that old Edsel of his and bought himself a new car.

      He’s driving a new Pontiac now.

      Knight: No, Dick didn’t buy himself a new car. It’s his roommate’s new Pontiac that

      he’s driving.

 

11. Daye: Helen lives a long way from campus. I walked out to see her the other day,

      and it took me nearly two hours to get there.

      Knight: No, Helen doesn’t live such a long way from campus. I drove her home last

      night, and we reached her place in less than ten minutes.

 

12. Daye: Senator Gray is a fine man and a genuine liberal. He votes for every

      progressive measure that comes before the legislature.

      Knight: He is no liberal, in my opinion--the old skinflint contributes less money to

      worthy causes than any other man in his income bracket.

 

13. Daye: The University of Winnemac overemphasizes athletics, for it has the largest

      college stadium in the world and has constructed new sports building instead

      of badly needed classroom space.

      Knight: No, the University of Winnemac does not overemphasize athletics. Its

      academic standards are very high, and it sponsors a wide range of extra-

      curricular activities for students in addition to its athletic program.

 

14. Daye: It was in bad taste to serve roast beef at the banquet. There were Hindus

      present, and it is against their religion to eat beef.

      Knight: Bad taste nothing! That was the tastiest meal I’ve had in a long time. I think

      it was delicious!

 

15. Daye: There are less than 8 million unemployed persons in this country, according to

      the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

      Knight: Oh no, there are over fifteen times that number of unemployed. The

      President’s Economic Report states that there are 100 million employed

      in this country, and the Census Bureau reports a total population of over

      230 million, so the government’s figures reveal that there are over 130 million

      unemployed persons in this country.

 

16. Daye: The average intelligence of college graduates is higher than that of college

      freshmen, because it takes more intelligence to graduate from college than

      to be admitted to college.

      Knight: No, the average intelligence of college graduates is not higher than that of

      college freshmen, because every college graduate was once a college

      freshman and a person’s intelligence does not change from year to year.

 

17. Daye: A tree falling in a wilderness with nobody around to hear will produce no

      sound. There can be no auditory sensation unless someone actually senses it.

      Knight: No, whether anyone is there to hear it or not, the crash of a falling tree will

      set up vibrations in the air and will therefore produce a sound in any event.

 

18. Daye: I see by the financial pages that money is much more plentiful than it was

      six months ago.

      Knight: That can’t be true. I read a government report just yesterday to the effect

      that more old currency has been destroyed at the mint during the last half

      year than has been replaced. Money is therefore less plentiful, not more so.

 

19. Daye: Mr. Green is a real Christian. He speaks well of everyone and is never too

      busy to give friendly assistance to anyone who is in need.

      Knight: I wouldn’t call Green a Christian. He spends his Sundays working in his yard

      or playing out on the golf course, never showing his face in church from one

      end of the year to the other!

 

20. Daye: Don’t ask your wife about it. You ought to use your own judgment.

      Knight: I will use my own judgment, and in my judgment I should ask my wife.

 

 

 

Merely verbal (definition) disputes are numbers: 1, 5, 8, 9, 11, 14, 17, 18.

Apparently verbal (attitude) disputes are: 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 13, 16, 19, 20.

Remember the Apparently verbal seems like it is Merely verbal, but the

dispute is about different attitudes not the definition/meaning of a word.