Types of Claims in Arguments

Types of Claims

• Arguments can be categorized into five types of claims:
• Fact, Definition, Cause, Value, Policy
• Claims are identified by the question the argument answers.
• Each type of claim invites different purposes and perspectives.

Claims of Fact

• Focuses on whether something is true or happened.
• Example questions:
  • Did it happen?
  • Does it exist?
  • Is it true?
  • Is it a fact?
• Example claims:
  • Women are as effective as men in combat.
  • The ozone layer is becoming depleted.
  • Bigfoot exists in remote areas.
  • Men need women to civilize them.
  • Note that not everyone agrees on these; they are controversial.
• Claims of fact require proof to be acceptable to audiences.

Claims of Definition

• Focuses on defining a term or concept.
• Example questions:
  • What is it?
  • How should we define it?
  • What is it like?
  • How should it be classified?
  • How should we interpret it?
  • How does its usual meaning change in a particular context?
• Examples of Claims:
  • Marriage needs to be redefined to include modern variations on the traditional family.
  • Some so-called art exhibits are actually pornography.
  • "Just" wars are defined differently than "unjust" wars.
  • Sexual harassment is defined by behavior, not desire.
• Often, entire arguments center around the definition of a term.

Claims of Cause

• Focuses on identifying causes and effects.
• Example questions:
  • What caused it?
  • Where did it come from?
  • Why did it happen?
  • What are the effects?
  • What will probably be the results over the short and the long term?
• Claims often describe a cause-and-effect relationship. Example Claims:
  • Overeating causes disease and early death.
  • A healthy economy causes people to have faith in their political leaders.
  • Sending infants to day care results in psychological problems later in life.
  • Inadequate funding for AIDS research will result in a worldwide epidemic
  • Clear-cutting forests leads to their destruction.
• Supporting evidence for causal claims often include factual data, examples, and statistical analyses of past parallel cases

Claims of Value

• Focuses on judging the worth, goodness, or badness of something.
• Example questions:
  • Is it good or bad?
  • How bad?
  • How good?
  • Of what worth is it?
  • Is it moral or immoral?
  • Who thinks so?
• Example Claims:
  • Public schools are better than private schools.
  • Science Fiction novels are more interesting to read than romance novels.
  • Dogs are the best pets.
  • Computers are a valuable addition to society.
• Often, value claims establish criteria for judging worth and apply them to the subject in question.

Claims of Policy

• Focuses on suggesting solutions and courses of action for a problem.
• Example questions:
  • What should we do about it?
  • How should we act?
  • What should our future policy be?
  • How can we solve this problem?
  • What concrete course of action should we pursue to solve the problem?
• Example Claims:
  • We should stop spending so much on prisons and spend more on education.
  • Children in low-income families should receive medical insurance from the government.
  • Social security should be distributed on the basis of need rather than as an entitlement.
• Policy claims often describe a problem and suggest ways of solving it.

Explore the different types of claims used in arguments, such as claims of fact, definition, cause, value, and policy. This quiz will help you understand how each type of claim answers specific questions and serves various purposes in discourse. Test your knowledge on identifying these claims and their implications.