Definitions in my terms:
1. Claim – an idea or a belief that one follows in all aspects.
a. A claim in the use of an argument is when someone is claiming something that they believe in and are fighting for in that argument.
2. Support – the ideas and/or thoughts that follow someone’s belief.
a. The support in an argument is the evidence or ideas in which the person uses to get their point across about their claim.
3. Evidence – facts about a certain subject and/or idea.
a. The evidence in an argument is the facts in which the person will use to over justify their idea and/or claim.
4. Explanation – someone’s definition of what them believe in or claim to have evidence for in their own words.
a. The explanation in an argument is the ideas of the person themselves in their own words and thoughts.
Michael Crichton Questions:
1. My immediate response to his argument is that he is right in many different ways and that he has thought out everything that he has to say and is supporting it with evidence and examples. I feel very compelled to learn more about what he has to say and how he believe and feels towards different subjects. The one main thing that stuck with me when reading this article was his ability to stay focused and on topic.
2. Crichton’s tone throughout this entire article is very direct and to the point. He does this to get the readers attention and make them aware of his beliefs and his ideas because on the grand scheme of things he is right about a lot of stuff. Therefore he makes the reader feel way in order to let the reader feel how he feels and hopefully get that reader to start acting on the problems in which he mentions.
3. Crichton’s main claim is environmentalism and along with all of that he makes supporting claims yet while he does this he manages to stay on topic and always refers back to the main claim.
4. In the article Crichton supports his claims by using facts, such as statistics, he also uses a lot of philosophies to support his claims. He also refers to and explains the comparisons to the different religions and how they are so similar. Overall though his claims and the support that he provides brings a great amount of understanding which is a big plus in the end.
5. In the article Crichton states that he doesn’t cite his sources because though some seem very valid they are all mostly related to the religious factor, which really isn’t based on fact yet more on faith. Personally I do agree with his wise choice to do this because he is ultimately correct. Granted one can go and cited things from the bible or any other religious book yet what is the point when all of that is merely based off of faith and not ultimate fact.
6. Yes, I do ultimately believe the Crichton’s argument is a strong one because of the way he wrote the article and how explained his thoughts. He, in an overall sense, created an article that was easy to read and understand yet at the same time had a valid argument and claim in which he wanted to be heard.