4A and 4B Assumptions, Causal Claims, and Persuasion - Winter 2025

Underlying Assumptions, D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R Presented by Causal Claims, First Name Last Name & Techniques Lectures 4A &of...

Underlying Assumptions, D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R Presented by Causal Claims, First Name Last Name & Techniques Lectures 4A &of 4B Persuasion WINTER 2025 Learning Outcome 2: Using current and complex business topics, explain and apply critical thinking and its following five dimensions: D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R  claims Presented by First Name Last Name  evidence  underlying assumptions and values  causal claims  techniques of persuasion Topic Resources D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R Presented by First Name Last Name What are underlying assumptions? “what must we believe if we are to see the evidence as relevant to the claim being Suppositions upon D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R made?” Presented by which an First Name Last Name argument is based Implicit or unstated Why are they underlying? What are the implications? Why underlying? Author believes reader holds same assumptions Why? deeply engrained D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R part of tacit belief system Presented by taken for granted First Name Last Name Implications? Different people have different assumptions If underlying assumptions are Assumption Club by Amii James questionable, argument may be weakened even if it includes quality evidence How do you find underlying assumptions? What must be What general true if the claim principle might is to follow from link this claim to this evidence? D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R this evidence? Presented by First Name Last Name Could someone What beliefs believe this might I expect evidence and Clipartmag.com from the author? still not accept the claim? Why?  Sample Argument – Free University Tuition in Canada University tuition should be free for students in Canada D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R -- Assumptions & values-- -- Assumptions & values-- Presented by (because) First Name Last Name (because) (because) it benefits the economy as students can graduate (because) it opens access to higher an educated workforce without the burden of any developed country education and fosters a drives innovation, debt, allowing them to that prioritizes education more equitable society. productivity, and economic contribute positively to the should pay for it. growth. economy sooner.  Underlying Assumptions Example Developed with ChatGPT 4, 2023 CLAIM: University tuition should be free for students in Canada. EVIDENCE: ASSUMPTION(s): REALIT DATA Y/ VALUE It opens access to Free tuition will increase # of students Reality Research countries where higher ed is free and higher education (ed) enrolling and graduating. compare enrollment before and after. and fosters a more equitable society. Free tuition will not change the quality of Reality Research countries where higher ed is free and D AT E higher | M O Ned. TH | YEAR compare education quality to countries where it is not free. It benefits the Presented by economy as an First Name Last Name educated workforce drives innovation, productivity, and economic growth. Students can graduate without the burden of debt, allowing them to contribute positively to the economy sooner. Any developed country that prioritizes What are two types of underlying assumptions? Reality assumptions Value assumptions Beliefs about what events Ideals, standards of right have taken place, what and wrong, the way things exists, how things work in SHOULD be the world Shaped by family, Shaped D AT E | by M O Nfirst-hand TH | YEAR teachers, friends, religion, experiences, Presented by culture conversations, First Name Last whatName we Often resistant to change read/see How can we evaluate the How can we evaluate the accuracy of a value accuracy of a reality assumption? assumption? we can’t Use data/provide new information What are causal claims? Claims that argue that certain events or factors (causes) are responsible for creating other events (effects) Example: Collecting customer feedback makes companies successful Commonly used to understand the world D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R BUT…difficult Presented by to accept as effects may have rival causes First Name Last Name How do you identify plausible rival causes? Cautiously consider the cause-and-effect relationship and consider if there might be an alternative cause due to one of these three reasons: D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R Presented by First Name Last Name CORRELATION POST HOC, DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ERGO S BETWEEN CHARACTERIST PROPTER GROUPS ICS HOC Rival Cause Identification: Differences between groups other differences between groups that may be relevant Example 1: (Dyer, p. 72): Students who major in technical degrees (business, Tech engineering, etc.) should be encouraged to add D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R Degree + humanities courses (English, history, philosophy, Humanities Presented byuniversity programs. Courses in the Minor = etc.) to their Successful First Name Last Name humanities broaden student viewpoints and improve Career and their communication skills. As a result, these Greater students end up having more successful careers and Sense of will develop a greater sense of well-being compared Well-Being to students who do not take humanities courses. What is the claim? What is the causal explanation? Rival Cause Identification: Correlation between characteristics Correlation does not necessarily indicate causation Direct causation A is causing B Reverse causation D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R Is it possible that B is causing A? Third factor causation Presented by First Name Last Name A is not causing B, C is causing A and B Example: Direct causation: Collecting customer feedback makes companies successful. Reverse causation: All images from FreePik, 2024 Third factor causation: Rival Cause Identification: Post hoc, ergo propter hoc (fallacy) Reasonable direct causal relationship Such due to arguments chronological After this only focus Cause due succession (post hoc), on one D AT E | M O N Tto H | YEAR therefore factor; fail chronologi (ergo) Presented by to take cal because of First Name Last Name into succession this account Unreasonable alone (propter other direct causal hoc) causally relationship relevant due to factors chronological succession Causal Claim Example Adapted from BBC article written by Jessica Brown, November 2024. If your morning mantra is “But first, coffee”, you are about to receive rejuvenating news. Humans have been drinking coffee, a natural source of caffeine, for centuries, but until recently, there have been mixed messages around its effect on human health. "Traditionally, coffee has been seen as a bad thing," says Marc Gunter, professor of cancer epidemiology at Imperial College London and former head of the section of nutrition and metabolism at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). "Research from the 1980s and 90s D AT Econcluded | M O N T H | that Y E A Rpeople who drank coffee had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. However, studies over the last decade with data from hundreds of thousands of coffee- Presented drinkers show different byresults." Cue the happy dance and fire up your Starbucks app, coffee lovers! First Name Last Name In 2017, Gunter published the results of a study that looked at the coffee-drinking habits of half a million people across Europe over a period of 16 years. Those who drank more coffee had a lower risk of dying from heart disease, stroke and cancer. Skeptics might say that the health benefits are dependent on the way you brew your coffee, but that argument is flatter than a flat white cappuccino. Whether you lovingly craft it from bean to cup - or sloppily throw instant powder into a mug in a sleepy state - the association with better health appears unchanged. There’s an old saying that behind every successful person is a substantial amount of coffee. It’s time to perk up and boost the saying: behind every successful and healthy person is a Can we ever be sure about causal relationships? Challenging but possible by conducting experimental research PrimaryD AT aim E | M O Nof T H |an experiment YEAR is to rule out by Presented rival causal explanations First Name Last Name Key elements of research design: Random assignment https://mrctcenter.org Control of extraneous variables What are techniques of persuasion? Contestable claim Quality evidence Reasonable assumptions and sound causal argument Now what? D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R Anticipate Use Presented by Limit claim and rhetoric First Name Last Name if you have counter appropriat no rebuttal objections ely Know your audien ce How do you anticipate and counter objections? destructive testing of ideas discussing and rebutting objections INCREASES your Debatable credibility Assumptions? Reality D ATNegative/ E | MONTH | YEAR Assumption: provide Contrary Presented by Rival Cause? explicit data Evidence? First Name Last Name Show why it is Value Show why it is unlikely Assumption: misleading Show why your values are worth consideration  Sample Argument – Free University Tuition in Canada University tuition should be free for students in Canada (because) (because) (because) students can (because) it opens access it benefits the graduate without to higher economy as an any developed D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R educated workforce the burden of debt, country that (but) education and allowing them to drives innovation, fosters a more Presented prioritizes education by productivity, and contribute should pay for it. equitable society. positively to the First Name economicLast Name growth. economy sooner. (however) How do I limit my claim if I have no rebuttal? Acknowledging limitations makes your writing/speaking more persuasive Limit your generalizations (use a qualifier) D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R Often, mostly, probable Presented by Acknowledge level of probability is First Name Last Name not 100% Refine or redefine your terms Show your reader that you understand the complexity of Wifhclosedeyes.tumblr.com the issue Also helpful to address sub- What is rhetoric and how do I use it effectively? Rhetoric isn’t bad, empty LOGOS: rhetoric is Logic, Evidenc e Persuasive, appropriate D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R Comb o is rhetoric is: by Presented best complete First Name Last Name using full and ETHOS: Credibilit PATHOS : y, clear detail Authorit Emotion, written with appropriate y Feeling tone vivid and concrete, not vague or cliché Techniques of Persuasion Example Adapted from BBC article written by Jessica Brown, November 2024. If your morning mantra is “But first, coffee”, you are about to receive rejuvenating news. Humans have been drinking coffee, a natural source of caffeine, for centuries, but until recently, there have been mixed messages around its effect on human health. "Traditionally, coffee has been seen as a bad thing," says Marc Gunter, professor of cancer epidemiology at Imperial College London and former head of the section of nutrition and metabolism at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). "Research from the 1980s and 90s D AT Econcluded | M O N T H | that Y E A Rpeople who drank coffee had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. However, studies over the last decade with data from hundreds of thousands of coffee- Presented drinkers show different byresults." Cue the happy dance and fire up your Starbucks app, coffee lovers! First Name Last Name In 2017, Gunter published the results of a study that looked at the coffee-drinking habits of half a million people across Europe over a period of 16 years. Those who drank more coffee had a lower risk of dying from heart disease, stroke and cancer. Skeptics might say that the health benefits are dependent on the way you brew your coffee, but that argument is flatter than a flat white cappuccino. Whether you lovingly craft it from bean to cup - or sloppily throw instant powder into a mug in a sleepy state - the association with better health appears unchanged. There’s an old saying that behind every successful person is a substantial amount of coffee. It’s time to perk up and boost the saying: behind every successful and healthy person is a More practice D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R Presented by First Name Last Name More practice The Doug Ford government is Bike lanes do not increase traffic But just because a certain reportedly planning to introduce congestion, they reduce it. Full segment of the Tory base legislation that would ban stop. thinks bikes are too woke municipalities from building new It's not as though there isn't real- doesn't mean they are the bicycle lanes that reduce the world evidence of this. Major cities problem. This is government by space for motor vehicles. that have committed to bike-lane vibes. If there is one north star that expansion - Paris, London, Madrid, Ford could look, for example, to has guided the premier in his Seoul - have reduced vehicular the east, where Montreal has policy-making, it is an absolute traffic over time, for the dead been expanding bike lanes for devotion to the automobile. simple reason that more humans years in an effort to reduce Road tolls removed. Licence- can fit on a bike lane than in a lane vehicular traffic on the island. D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R plate fees waived. Highways of traffic while in their cars. Some It has worked as designed. In widened. Four wheels good, two studies estimate that 10 times as one example, the installation of wheels bad. Presented by many people can commute on a protected bike lanes along First Name And yet, even amid Ford's Last Name protected bike lane as compared to historic Saint-Denis Street has relentlessly pro-car agenda, this a typical lane of motor-vehicle helped transform it from a is something else. Leaving aside traffic. thoroughfare for commuting the heavy-handedness of That's not to say there won't be motorists into something closer Queen's Park dictating to complaints, as it takes time for to its original purpose as a municipalities what they are commuting behaviours to change commercial centre. Vehicular allowed to do with their own after bike lanes are implemented. traffic is down, bike trips have road infrastructure, as though Motorists grumble about the sky rocketed, pedestrian traffic the Premier's Office knows reduced space for their is up and the commercial better than the elected officials unnecessarily large vehicles, occupancy rate has steadily of towns and cities that each bringing negative headlines. This increased. have unique travel and seems to be basically what the. commuting patterns, a ban on premier is responding to: To practice further... Critical Thinking for Business Students Exercise 4.1 (pg. 53) o Questions 3, 5, 7 (answers are at back of textbook on pg. 116) Exercise 4.2 (pgs. 54-55) o Questions 1, 3, 5 (answers are at back of textbook on pgs. 116-118) o Question 2 will be done in Lab 4 Exercise 4.3 D ATand E | M4.4 ONTH | YEAR Exercise 5.1 (pg. 70) Presented by o Questions First1,Name 3, 5, 7, 9 (answers Last Name are at back of textbook on pgs. 118-119) Exercise 5.2 (pgs. 71-72) o Questions 1, 3, 5, 7 (answers are at back of textbook on pgs. 119-121) o Question 2 will be done in Lab 4 Exercise 6.1 (pg. 91) o Question 1 (answer is at back of textbook on pg. 121) Use Gen AI as a learning tutor D AT E | M O N T H | Y E A R Presented by First Name Last Name