Exercise 9-3
Analyzing Assumptions (9d)

1. Murders should pay for their crimes with their lives.
Assumption: Each murder was incidental.
Support needed? Yes this does need support because you don't know why they murdered them.

2. To vote for capital punishment is to vote for killing people.
Assumption: If you vote for capital punishment you're automatically killing someone when you do so.
Support needed? No, it's self explanitory.

3. Capital Punishment is murder; it is the taking of human life.
Assumption: Capital punishment is bad.
Support needed? No, it's self explanitory.

4. Spanking is not an appropriate way for parents to discipline their children.
Assumption: The children did something bad.
Support needed? Yes, they need to explain why they children need to get spanked.

5. Spanking as a means of discipline gives children the message that hitting is okay.
Assumption: Hitting is okay since their parents hit them too.
Support needed? Yes, they need to explain why they are going to hit them.

6. There are better ways of disciplining children than spanking.
Assumption: Spanking children is not the only way.
Support needed? No

7. By donating to the Open Your Heart fund, you will ease the plight of hungry and homeless people in your locality.
Assumption: You will help others by donating.
Support needed? No

8. Helping the hungry and homeless is a serious business.
Assumption: The homeless needs all the help they can get.
Support needed? Yes, they need to explain what is serious about it.

9. We must act quickly to end the slaughter of dolphins.
Assumption: They are hurting dolphins.
Support needed? No, it's self explanitory.

10. No one knows how many dolphin kills have gone unreported.
Assumption: They are hurting dolphins without getting caught.
Support needed? No, it's self explanitory.