Thursday, July 21, 2011
Facts, Opinions, Claims, and Arguments--Kantz
In the "Getting Ready to Read" section before Kantz's article, Downs and Wardle asked us to write down our own brief definitions for fact, opinion, claim, and argument. They did that because they assumed (I think) that Kantz might challenge, or at least complicate, our ideas about what these terms mean. In one of their questions after the article, they write that Kantz says that Shirley "believes that facts are what you learn from textbooks, opinions are what you have about clothes, and arguments are what you have with your mother when you want to stay out late at night" (76). They then ask you to explain what Kantz says these terms mean; I'd like you write about that here. What does Kantz say that facts, opinions, and arguments are? What are claims? How do her ideas compare to your own ideas about these words? [Due: end of day Thursday]
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According to Kantz, argument is the discourse that fuels discussion. The claim is the facts and opinions that support the argument. The difference between the facts and opinions are as she says is how the audience receives them. Kantz's ideas are similar to mine.
ReplyDeleteKantz defines facts, opinions and arguments as what makes the discussion. The difference between these is the way that the audience takes them. The claim is how the writer uses the facts, opinion and their argument to support their objective in the research paper. I agree with Kantz and feel it was useful to read this because it changed my opinion on how I look at a 'claim'.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, Kantz believes that the way you understand and how you see what facts, opinions, and arguments mean when your reading is to believe what you comprehend in the article. When people read they sometimes don’t always get the same information as someone else does. The claim is the evidence in which the audience is given to support the arguments.
ReplyDeleteKantz says that the majority of facts are claims, because majority of the time the facts aren’t necessarily true. We believe them to be true because majority of our audience has agreed with this “claim” that we have made. I consider a fact to be something true that many of us know is true, it’s not what we think is true but what we can prove is true. I consider my “age” to be a fact, because it’s something that I can prove right, and something that I know is true. I would consider a claim to be something that someone is saying, but there’s no evidence to prove it, because if you would be able to prove it then it would be a fact. An opinion is seen in two different ways you can either see it a rhetorical way or in general. If you see it in a rhetorical way, “it’s a claim that an audience will not accept without proof.” Even though the person that thinks rhetorically believes that a fact and opinion are both claims. An argument according to Kantz is questioning the facts, and by questioning them you need to see them as claims. If you believe the facts, then you probably wouldn’t consider making a counter argument.
ReplyDeleteKantz defines facts as statements that aren't necessarily 'true', but rather claims that the audience has accepted and agreed upon. Facts represent a general consensus, without requiring proof.
ReplyDeleteOpinions are like facts, but the key difference is that the audience may not accept it as 'true' without further proof, and if proof is provided, the audience can choose to accept it as a limited truth, in which the 'opinion' may only be true in some instances.
An argument describes the scenario in which the audience is trying to be convinced of something, in this case being being convinced of accepting whether a claim is factual. This is not anywhere near what we regularly associate an 'argument' to be, it is more a process in this sense.
Claims are defined as statements a writer has made, whether factual or opinion. It is generally up to the audience to argue the validity, and it is encouraged to.
As to how these definitions compare to my own, I'd say they are parallel to my own. Not necessarily the same, but close enough to where my acceptance of these new definitions is not a problem. Just minor differences, like the idea that an opinion is not necessarily fact(as Kantz has stated) but that there is a driving force behind the opinion, one that draws from the writers previous experiences, thoughts, and beliefs.
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ReplyDeleteKantz says that an argument is that when people are trying to persuade others of something. Like when Kantz talks about what an argument is she must learn to use a variety of conflicting sources like different ways. Katz defines a fact as a declaration of something true and can have proof.
ReplyDeleteLastly, an opinion is something that people think differently.
A claim is is an assertion that a writer tries to convince his or her reader of. I think they compare because meaning are very straight forward.For example, last semester i took a philosophy class and they explained what a claim , argument, and what it true or not and i can relate to those words.
In the article Kantz believes that facts are statements made by the writer where there can possibly be "true". It all matters on who believes them to be true make them a fact.
ReplyDeleteOpinions are ideas that the writer assumes to be facts, but the readers need to proof to agree with them.
Claims are a mixture of opinions and arguments because a claim is something that the writer states as true fact, but the readers argue not really yell in fact discuss if they agree or not
and an argument is when the readers questions all the claims and facts that the writer has presented.
These definitions are pretty similar to my own and that I can agree with her ideas too for an example to facts I never thought of it they way she did saying that facts is just the authors opinion that majority of people agree with.
Kantz states that facts are much like claims in the fact that they are considered mostly true by the audience, not necessarily a statement backed up by "sufficient proof". In other words it might not be necessarily true but is considered true if a majority of the audience agrees with it.
ReplyDeleteOpinions are statements that the audience may or may not agree with.
Argument is a situation where the writer has to persuade or convinced of a claim. The author has to work to convince the audience that a claim is "true".
A claim is a statement that the writer comes up with. It is often left to the audience to decide whether it is a "fact" or more of an opinion.
For me I had never thought of a fact as something that could be necessarily untrue. I had always thought that it was something proven to be true.
In Kantz's article she defines opinions, facts & arguments as the main point that make up a discussion. She believes that the way you see facts, opinions and arguments is how you comprehend them. Kantz in her article claims that all research is made up of 'claims.' It is information that we've gathered that others believe is true. We cannot prove it is right, we only assume it is right because others tell us that it is. When something is said to be true, once it is believed by someone else to be true is it considered to be. Kantz article offers me a new view on facts, opinions, and arguments.
ReplyDeleteKantz defines facts as statements that are not so much inherently true, but rather claims that the audience has agreed to be true because sufficient proof has already been given to them. On page 76 paragraph 29 it says that “In a rhetorical argument, a fact is a claim that an audience will accept as being true without requiring proof, although they may ask for an explanation.”
ReplyDeleteOpinions is also a claim, but the audience does not accept as true without proper proof; and even after the proof has been given the audience still has the option to accept it or not accept it as truth, or they might accept it as “limited truth”.
Claims are statements about which people haven’t reached a consensus, and which can be arguable.
Arguments arise when the audience/readers questions the facts, opinions, and claims that are being presented to them.
Well, in comparing these definitions to my own I would say that we agree on some of them. I just had a different perspective of “facts” since I thought that facts were ALWAYS true; and “opinions” since I believe that an opinion was just that, an “opinion” and not something that could become a fact (well, hope that makes sense).
Kantz defines facts not as how “true” the statement is but how much everyone agreed that it’s true. Opinions and arguments go about the same as facts, you believe what you comprehend. When reading I feel that the person next to me might not feel the same as I do about certain things, they might have different opinions or different arguments. The claim is the facts and opinions that we have agreed upon with the rest of the audience, meaning that they might not be true. With this I feel as if I’m around the same lines as Kantz. The only thing that I feel I know understood better are the way claims are defined as.
ReplyDeleteFacts: A claim that an audience will accept as being true without proof.
ReplyDeleteOpinions: A claim that an audience will not accept.
Argument: May be questioned by audience and must then be supported with further argument.
Claim: Assertion that most of a given audience has agreed are true because for that audience sufficient proof has already been given.
I always thought facts were alway the right answer because I never thought of questioning it.
I kinda understood the opinion part and argument part, but with the claims, I thought it was just someone stating something, not a consensus of a certain idea.
Kantz definition of Facts are things that are "true". Opinions are what we choose and what we like. The way he explains the clothes is that it is our opinion if we like or dislike a certain outfit. Arguments are things we tend to disagree on. Example: Mom wants me home by 10 but I want to be home by 12. Claims can be related to facts in many because claims are things we see or do and tell people about it. The difference between facts and claims are that facts are true and claims can sometimes be false.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading Kantz, my general idea of a fact, opinion, claim and argument are as follows: A fact is something that is deemed as true based on our understanding. Opinions is a self expression of what you hold as a belief or value. A claim is statement that is positioned as a premise. An argument is a claim you defend, usually against authority. According to Kantz, "the truth" is "seeing texts statisticaly, as descriptions of truth" (pp 73). Additionally both facts and opinions are essentially claims. An argument is held together will all of the above as a means to provide proof and offering an explanation to the reasoning and logic of what is being stated.
ReplyDeleteA fact is something that is known without proof.
ReplyDeleteAn opinion is something that changes from person to person according to their likes and dislikes.
A claim is something that has to be proved true.
An argument is something you can claim and argue for.
I agree with these definitions.