Arguments
You can never totally prove an opinion is true, but you can sometimes use facts to show that one opinion is more convincing than another. This is called making an argument.
For instance: “We should build a base on the moon” (opinion)
- Because “there are many minerals on the moon that we could use on Earth” (a fact).
How good an argument is that?
It depends on two things:
First, are the facts correct?
- Are there really valuable minerals on the moon? We’ll need to find out.
Next, do the facts really support the opinion?
- To answer that, we’d have to ask questions like:
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- How hard would it be to mine the minerals on the moon?
- How hard would it be to get them back to Earth?
- How hard would it be to build and maintain a moon base?
- What could go wrong?
We’ll probably need to find a lot more facts to answer those questions!
Building Arguments
Take a look at the facts below.
Which of those could you use to support the opinion that “Going to the moon was humanity’s greatest achievement?”
Which could you use to support the idea that “Going to the moon was a waste of money?”
Which wouldn’t support either opinion?
- The first moon landing cost about two and a half billion dollars.
- The moon’s gravity is one-sixth as strong as the Earth’s.
- Photos of the Earth, taken from the moon, made many people more aware how fragile the Earth’s environment is.
- Many technologies we use today were developed as part of the space program.
- Chemicals in the rockets that sent astronauts to the moon contributed to climate change.
- 400,000 people were involved in the space program and the moon landing.
- People have been imagining trips to the moon since at least the 2nd Century CE.
- Spending time in space is bad for astronauts. It weakens their bones and increases the risks of several diseases.
An opinion that is supported by relevant facts.