Unit 1 Text麦克阿瑟演讲 A
Love and logic: The story of a fallacy
1 I had my first date with Polly after I made the trade with my roommate Rob. That year every guy on campus had a leather jacket, and Rob couldn't stand the idea of being the only football player who didn't, so he made a pact that he'd give me his girl in exchange for my jacket. He wasn't the brightest guy. Polly wasn't too shrewd, either.
2 But she was pretty, well-off, didn't dye her hair strange colors or wear too much makeup. She had the right background to be the girlfriend of a dogged, brilliant lawyer. If I could show the elite law firms I applied to that I had a radiant, well-spoken counterpart by my side, I just might edge past the competition.
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3 "Radiant" she was already. I could dispen her enough pearls of wisdom to make her "well-spoken".
4 After a banner day out, I drove until we were situated under a big old oak tree on a hill off
the expressway. What I had in mind was a little eccentric. I thought the venue with a perfect view of the luminous city would lighten the mood. We stayed in the car, and I turned down the stereo and took my foot off the brake pedal. "What are we going to talk about?" she asked.
5 "Logic."
6 "Cool," she said over her gum.
7 "The doctrine of logic," I said, "is a staple of clear thinking. Failures in logic distort the truth, and some of them are well known. First let's look at the fallacy Dicto Simpliciter."
英语语法网8 "Great," she agreed.john sculley
9 "Dicto Simpliciter means an unqualified generalization. For example: Exerci is good. Therefore, everybody should exerci."
10 She nodded in agreement.
11 I could e she was stumped. "Polly," I explained, "it's too simple a generalization. If you have, say, heart dia or extreme obesity, exerci is bad, not good. Therefore, you must say exerci is good for most people."
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12 "Next is Hasty Generalization. Self-explanatory, right? Listen carefully: You can't speak French. Rob can't speak French. Looks like nobody at this school can speak French."
13 "Really?" said Polly, amazed. "Nobody?"
14 "This is also a fallacy," I said. "The generalization is reached too hastily. Too few instances support such a conclusion."
捎口信15 She emed to have a good time. I could safely say my plan was underway. I took her home and t a date for another conversation.guava
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16 Seated under the oak the next evening I said, "Our first fallacy tonight is called Ad Miricordiam."
17 She nodded with delight.
18 "Listen cloly," I said. "A man applies for a job. When the boss asks him what his qualifications are, he says he has six children to feed."
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19 "Oh, this is awful, awful," she whispered in a choked voice.
20 "Yes, it's awful," I agreed, "but it's no argument. The man never answered the boss's question. Instead he appealed to the boss's sympathy — Ad Miricordiam."
21 She blinked, still trying hard to keep back her tears.
22 "Next," I said carefully, "we will discuss Fal Analogy. An example, students should be allowed to look at their textbooks during exams, becau surgeons have X-rays to guide them during surgery."
23 "I like that idea," she said.
24 "Polly," I groaned, "don't derail the discussion. The inference is wrong. Doctors aren't t
aking a test to e how much they have learned, but students are. The situations are altogether different. You can't make an analogy between them."
25 "I still think it's a good idea," said Polly.
26 With five nights of diligent work, I actually made a logician out of Polly. She was an analytical thinker at last. The time had come for the conversion of our relationship from academic to romantic.
27 "Polly," I said when next we sat under our oak, "tonight we won't discuss fallacies."
28 "Oh?" she said, a little disappointed.
29 Favoring her with a grin, I said, "We have now spent five evenings together. We get along pretty well. We make a pretty good couple."
30 "Hasty Generalization," said Polly brightly. "Or as a normal person might say, that's a little premature, don't you think?"
31 I laughed with amument. She'd learned her lessons well, far surpassing my expectations. "Sweetheart," I said, patting her hand in a tolerant manner, "five dates is plenty. After all, you don't have to eat a whole cake to know it's good."
32 "Fal Analogy," said Polly promptly. "Your premi is that dating is like eating. But you're not a cake. You're a boy."
33 I laughed with somewhat less amument, hiding my dread that she'd learned her lessons too well. A few more fal steps would be my doom. I decided to change tactics and try flattery instead.
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