Kaufman's Flaws Through Fallacies Of Argument example essay topic

Money, power and political influence are some of the many things that follow all professional athletes. Throughout the article 'Tigers Burden', King Kaufman, the author, utilizes a number of rhetorical appeals and tones to draw the readers into his argument. Through the use of these appeals he brings you into the political aspects of The Masters, one of Golf's biggest tournaments, and the pressures that society places on minority athletes to help aid in other people's struggles. Throughout this paper I will discuss some of the strong points Kaufman delivers and why it's no always the role of the minority athletes to get involved even if they have benefited from another's burden or hardship. A well positioned rhetorical appeal is great way for authors to establish his or her creditability and support for there argument. The author effectively utilizes the rhetorical appeal of Ethos in the following passage"; Burk has a point in her argument that the Masters is such a public event that regardless of Augusta National's private status, it ought not exclude entire classes of people.

It looks bad, sets a bad example, gives off a bad vibe. It forces ordinary fans to tacitly approve of a policy that looks uncomfortably like garden-variety discrimination if all the want to do is enjoy a favorite sporting event", (619). By the inclusion of this statement into the article the author further establishes his creditability because he is effectively balancing out the argument by giving both sides there just due. Another valuable way the author uses the rhetorical appeals is by including the Logos appeal in finishing off the previous statement", If this argument has no merit, then why did Augusta National finally begin admitting black members in 1990", (619)? This statement further supports the opposition by the inclusion of facts.

After further reading I was unsuccessful at finding any use of the appeal of pathos. In my opinion if he had included the use of this third appeal it would further strengthen his opinion and persuasiveness to this article. Drawing on human emotions is in my view one of the strongest ways of persuasion in any argument. There are many different ways in which an author can influence the way in which his audience tends to lean toward in any multiple sided arguments, one of which is by the use of tone. One of the ways in which Kaufman utilizes tone to add to his persuasiveness is that he doesn't just single any one person out with criticisms, but instead he attacks everyone at one point or another. He does this either for something they " ve done or for something that they " ve neglected to do.

One thing that he could have done better with his tone would have been to go just the opposite direction of what he had done and; instead of criticizing everyone, simply say what he would have done differently if he were placed in the situation himself. There are a few mistakes that an author can make that overall lessen his persuasive effect to any argument. One of theses so call mistakes is committing logical fallacies. Starting with the initial passage in this article I found that the author had committed the logical fallacy of appeals to false authority. "The New York Times says Tiger Woods should boycott the Masters Tournament to protest Augusta National Golf Club's policy of excluding women from membership. 'Jesse Jackson agrees", (617).

In my opinion believing in something just because people or companies of importance say to or believe in it themselves is no reason for all people to have the same beliefs. Also, Kaufman uses the bandwagon fallacy, playing off the widespread belief that discrimination is wrong. Regardless of individual opinion of the reader, Kaufman pressures the reader into sympathizing with his argument by force-feeding them the notion that it's wrong to bar anyone from anything because of discrimination. He makes the reader overlook the matter at hand and restricts their ability to form logical opinions by plugging the more p. c. social cry. In conclusion Kaufman's flaws through fallacies of argument can be off set by his appeal of Ethos, Logos, and the use of tone. Kaufman commands Ethos by balancing the scales and presenting both sides of the argument.

Though sticking to his side, he imagines and presents other opinions in his own argument to establish his credibility. He employs the use of Logos in introducing facts to the argument to further add strength. Facts are undeniable and present and degree of difficulty in poking holes in an argument. Like in most arguments though, Kaufman is not perfect. There are examples of fallacies of argument present which could be interpreted as weakness to an argument. He appeals to false authority, suggesting that one should believe him because The New York Times and Jesse Jackson feel his side is right.

He also uses Bandwagon appeal, to coax the reader into joining the crowd on an implied consensus opinion. Kaufman could have made his argument stronger if he had used Pathos in his argument to appeal to the emotions of the reader, but uses a persuasive tone to attain his desired affect. In the end however, these types of issues are not always up to the minority to wrestle with. The fact remains that all people should be held responsible and the major burden should not solely rest on the minority's shoulders.

All people are accountable for issues like this one and should be expected to act accordingly. It really breaks down to the fact that one small and distinct group holds no more responsibility than the overall population.

Bibliography

1.) Lunsford, Andrea A., Ruszkiewicz and Walters, Everything's an argument 3rd Edition. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2004.