19: 12 Angry Men- Counter Arguments- Lesson Plans and Activities

Counter Arguments

SOL’s: Summarize, analyze, and evaluate the arguments, counterarguments, and evidence in the writing of others.

Instructor will present a lecture on counter arguments, as it is a required component of this essay. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YBEKDvwvur59laseil46gNSInzJ10vwBNFqdksoJr6Y/edit?usp=sharing

Counter Argument

“Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.”

Mahatma Gandhi

“For example, I don’t disagree with Mr. Burford that the inequality suffered by the American Negro population of the United States has hindered the American dream. Indeed, it has.”

James Baldwin

Basic Structure

• Present counter argument or what “others might think”

  • “Opponents argue. . .”

  • “Critics may claim. . .”

  • “Some people state. . .”

• Present quote or evidence supporting the counter argument

• Acknowledge Validity/Concession

• Establish Common Ground

• Refute opposing viewpoint with a “rebuttal”

  • Argue why your stance is still stronger

  • Identify problems or issues with the opposing viewpoint

    • Anticipate doubts

    • Pre-empt objections

    • Another tactic for persuasion in case you can’t think of any more affirmative reasons

-Usually in a paragraph before your conclusion

Signal Phrases:

Some people might think/say. . . 

One may object that. . . 

On the other hand. . . 

Main Claim: Terminally ill patients have the right to end their own lives, and those who choose to help them should not be punished for doing so.

Critics argue that the reason why some terminally ill patients wish to commit suicide is nothing more than melancholia. Patients suffering terminal illness might tend to be negative, hopeless, and depressed. In “When Patients Request Assistance with Suicide,” Dr. Michael Maskin, an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, argues that in many cases, dying patients’ thinking is simply occupied by negative reactions to their critical condition (2). In other words, most of the reasons why terminally ill patients request doctors and/or loved ones to assist them in committing suicide might be caused by certain problems such as hopelessness, because there is no effective treatment, anxiety over expensive medical bills, and regret for being a burden to their families (Maskin 2). For this reason, opponents argue that the terminally ill patient needs psychotherapy, and that his wish to end his life should never be considered. Though it is true that psychotherapy might help the terminally ill patient confirm his decision, and that it is not a medical doctor’s job to help patients end their lives, it is, however, ultimately the patient’s decision and his life to end. No person or law should prevent or punish loved ones who assist in that choice.

 

adapted with revisions from Sourcework, by Heinle & Heinle, 2006.
 

Proposition 12 “prohibits the sale in California of pork products when the seller knows or should know that the meat came from the offspring of a breeding pig (also known as a sow) that was confined “in a cruel manner.” This means, among other things, that sows must have at least 24 square feet of living space.” (Howe)

Thesis Statement: Proposition 12 in the state of California is a necessary step in eradicating animal cruelty nationwide.

Some people claim that humanely raised pigs create significant economic issues for the state of California. Only four percent of the pork that Californians consume is raised locally, implying that the new law restricting the sale of inhumanely raised pork dictates “how out-of-state farmers run their businesses” (McCaughey). Even Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan expresses concern about how this law could cause potential tension between states, claiming, “Do we want to live in a world where we’re constantly at each other’s throats and, you know, Texas is at war with California and California at war with Texas?” (qtd. In McCaughey). 

It is true that out of state farms will be adversely affected by this law as California consumes more pork than any other state. (McCaughey) Pork producers would naturally be alarmed of potentially losing business in one of its richest cash cows while complying with this law could also ironically raise the price of pork, making it less affordable to any of their other clients. However, any farm that is at risk of losing money is a farm that is not complying with the law’s new standards, meaning they are enabling inhumane treatment of pigs for years to come. Farms like these deserve to pay the consequences for animal cruelty, and one of those consequences can be a loss of revenue.   Though it may cause tension between states, that is a small price to pay in creating a system that protects the safety of pigs without giving up the precious commodity of pork.