13. Statements – Arguments | Sakshi Education

Sakshi Education

Introduction:
Such problems have a statement, with two arguments, one ‘favour’ and other ‘against’. Therefore, we have to analyze the statement and decide which argument holds strong to the statement. In making decision about important questions, it is desirable to be able to distinguish between ‘strong’ arguments and ‘weak’ arguments.

EXERCISE:
Directions: In making decisions about important questions, it is desirable to be able to distinguish between ‘strong’ arguments and ‘weak’ arguments. ‘Strong’ arguments are those which are both important and directly related to the question. ‘Weak arguments are those which are of minor importance and also may not be directly related to the question or may be related to a trivial aspect of the question.
Each question below is followed by two arguments numbered I and II. You have to decide which of the argument a ‘strong’ argument is and which is ‘weak’ argument.
Give answer (a) if only argument I is strong
Give answer (b) if only argument II is strong
Give answer (c) if either I or II is strong.
Give answer (d) if neither I nor II is strong
Give answer (e) if both I and II are strong.

Statement: Should the parents in India in future be forced to opt for only one child as against the two or many at present?
Arguments:
I. Yes. This is the only way to check the ever-increasing population of India.
II. No. This type of pressure tactic is not adopted by any other country in the world.
Statement: Should the admission to professional courses in India be given only on merit without any concession to any particular group of students?
Arguments:
I. Yes. This will improve the quality of the professionals as they will be able to complete the courses successfully.
II. No. This will keep a large number of socially and economically backward students out of the reach of the professional courses.
Statement: Should all the practicing doctors be brought under Government control so that they get salary from the Government and treat patients free of cost?
Arguments:
I. No. How can any country do such an undemocratic thing?
II. Yes. Despite many problems, it will certainly help minimize, if not eradicate, unethical medical practices.
Statement: Should luxury hotels be banned in India?
Arguments:
I. Yes. They are places from where international criminals operate.
II. No. Affluent foreign tourists will have no place to stay.
Statement: Should India engage into a dialogue with neighboring countries to stop cross border tension?
Arguments:
I. Yes. This is the only way to reduce the cross border terrorism and stop loss of innocent lives.
II. No. Neighboring countries cannot be relied upon in such matters, they may still engage in subversive activities.
Statement: Should system of offering jobs only to the wards of government employees be introduced in all government offices in India?
Arguments:
I. No. It denies opportunity to many deserving individuals and government may stand to lose in the long run.
II. No. It is against the principle of equality. Does not government owe its responsibility to all its citizens?
Statement: Should the sex determination test during pregnancy be completely banned?
Arguments:
I. Yes. This leads to indiscriminate female feticide and eventually will lead to social imbalance.
II. No. People have a right to know about their unborn child.
Statement: Should there be only one rate of interest for term deposits of varying durations in banks?
Arguments:
I. No. People will refrain from keeping money for longer duration resulting into reduction of liquidity level of banks.
II. Yes. This will be much simple for the common people and they may be encouraged to keep more money in banks.
Statement: Should all refugees, who make unauthorized entry into a country, be forced to go back to their homeland?
Arguments:
I. Yes. They make their colonies and occupy a lot of land.
II. No. They leave their homes because of hunger or some terror and on human grounds, should not be forced to go back.
Statement: Should there be a maximum limit for the number of ministers in the Central Government?
Arguments:
I. No. The political party in power should have the freedom to decide the number of ministers to be appointed.
II. Yes. The number of ministers should be restricted to a certain percentage of the total number of seats in the parliament to avoid unnecessary expenditure.
Statement: Should the persons below the age of 18 years be allowed to join armed forces?
Arguments:
I. No. Persons below the age of 18 do not attain both physical and mental maturity to shoulder such burden.
II. Yes. This will help the country develop its armed forces which will serve the country for a longer time.
Statement: Should there be a ban on product advertising?
Arguments:
I. No. It is an age of advertising. Unless your advertisement is better than your other competitors, the product will not be sold.
II. Yes. The money spent on advertising is very huge and it inflates the cost of the product.
Statement: Does India need so many plans for development?
Arguments:
I. Yes. Nothing can be achieved without proper planning.
II. No. Too much time, money and energy is waster on planning.
Statement: Should all the infrastructural development projects in India be handed over to the private sector?
Arguments:
I. No. The private sector entities are not equipped to handle such projects.
II. Yes. Such projects are handled by private sector in the developed countries.
Statement: Should cottage industries be encouraged in rural areas?
Arguments:
I. Yes. Rural people are creative.
II. Yes. This would help to solve the problem of unemployment to some extent.
Statement: Should Indian scientists working abroad be called back to India?
Arguments:
I. Yes. They must serve the motherland first and forget about discoveries, honors, facilities and all. II. No. We have enough talent, let them stay where they want.
Statement: Should the vehicles older than 15 years be rejected in metros in India?
Arguments:
I. Yes. This is a significant step to lower down the pollution level in metros.
II. No. It will be very difficult for vehicle owners to shift to other parts in country because they will not get suitable job their very existence.
Statement: Should the tuition fees in all post-graduate courses be hiked considerable?
Arguments: I. Yes. This will bring in some sense of seriousness among the students and will improve the quality.
II. No. This will force the meritorious poor students to stay away from post-graduate courses.
Statement: Should India encourage exports, when most things are insufficient for internal use itself?
Arguments:
I. Yes. We have to earn foreign exchange to pay for our imports.
II. No. Even selective encouragement would lead to shortages.
Statement: Should children be legally made responsible to take care of their parents during their old age?
Arguments:
I. Yes. Such matter can only be solved by legal means.
II. Yes. Only this will bring some relief to poor parents.
Statement: Should there be a cap on maximum number of contestants for parliamentary elections in any constituency?
Arguments:
I. Yes. This will make the parliamentary elections more meaningful as the voters can make a considered judgment for casting their vote.
II. No. In a democracy any person fulfilling the eligibility criteria can contest parliamentary elections and there should be no restrictions.
Statement: Should all the drugs patented and manufactured in Western countries be first tried out on sample basis before giving license for sale to general public in India?
Arguments:
I. Yes. Many such drugs require different dose and duration for Indian population and hence it is necessary.
II. No. This is just not feasible and hence cannot be implemented.
Statements: Should the railways in India be privatized in a phased manner like other public sector enterprises?
Arguments:
I. Yes. This is the only way to bring in competitiveness and provide better services to the public.
II. No. This will pose a threat to the national security of our country as multinationals will enter into the fray.
Statement: Should the practice of transfers of clerical cadre employees from government offices of one city to those of another be stopped?
Arguments:
I. No. Transfer of employees is a routine administrative matter and we must continue it.
II. Yes. It involves lot of governmental expenditure and inconvenience to many compared to the benefits it yields.
Statement: Should ‘computer knowledge’ be made a compulsory subject for all the students at secondary school level?
Arguments:
I. No. Our need is ‘bread’ for everyone, we cannot follow western models.
II. Yes. We cannot compete in the international market without equipping our children with computers.
Statement: Should the railways immediately stop issuing free passes to all its employees?
Arguments:
I. No. The employees have the right to travel free.
II. Yes. This will help railways to provide better facility.
Statement: Should all the colleges in India be allowed to devise their own curriculum and syllabus for the vocational courses promoting self-employment?
Arguments:
I. Yes. This is an important step to generate employment opportunities.
II. No. This will affect the quality of education due to lack of uniformity in syllabus.
Statement: Should the council of ministers once appointed be kept the same for the entire period intervening two elections?
Arguments:
I. No. Shuffling of ministers and portfolios is a healthy democratic process.
II. Yes. The ministers do not get a hold on their portfolio unless they are kept for a longer duration.
Statement: Should the education at all levels be offered only in vernacular medium?
Arguments:
I. Yes. This is the only way to enhance performance of the students.
II. No. This will severely affect acquiring knowledge for want of good text books in vernacular medium.
Should all the foreign banks immediately be asked to close down their operations in India?
Arguments:
I. No, this will have an adverse impact on Indian economy.
II. Yes, this is the only way to make the Indian banks survive and prosper.

Directions: In making decisions about important questions, it is desirable to be able to distinguish between ‘strong’ arguments and ‘weak’ arguments. ‘Strong’ arguments are those which are both important and directly related to the question. ‘Week’ arguments are those which are of minor importance and also may not be directly related to the question or may be related to a trivial aspect of the question.
Each question below is followed by two arguments numbered I and II. You have to decide which of the argument is a ‘strong’ argument and which is a ’weak’ argument.
Give answer (a) if only argument I is strong.
Give answer (b) if only argument II is strong.
Give answer (c)if either I or II is strong.
Give answer (d)if neither I nor II is strong.
Give answer (e)if both I and II are strong.
Statement: Should the parliament elections in India be held on a single day throughout the country?
Arguments:
I. Yes, this is the only way to handle such elections.
II. Yes, this will help the commission to concentrate on a single day for election related issues.
III. No, some other countries hold such elections spread over several days.
(a) None is strong
(b) Only I is strong
(c)Only II is strong
(d)Only III is strong
(e)Only I and II are strong
Should all those who are arriving from other countries and are suffering from communicable diseases be sent back to the countries which they came from?
Arguments:
I. Yes, this is the only way to curb the spread of communicable diseases.
II. No, this is just not advisable.
Should all those secondary schools from which less than fifty percent students pass the SSC examination be closed down?
Arguments:
I. No, instead these schools should be advised to take corrective measures to improve the pass percentage.
II. Yes, this will deliver a strong message to all the secondary schools.
Should there be a total ban on giving new licenses to open liquor shop throughout the country?
Arguments:
I. Yes, this will help decrease in consumption of alcohol in future,
II. No, the Government will earn additional taxes by way of giving new licenses as this will increase the sale of liquor.

Directions: Read the following statements carefully and answer the questions which follow.
Statement: Should the government deregulate the retail prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas and allow the prices to be driven by market conditions?
Arguments:
I. Yes, this will largely help the oil companies to sell their products at competitive price.
II. No, the general public cannot afford market driven prices of these products.
III. Yes, government needs to stop subsidizing these products and channelize the money for developmental projects.
(a) Only I and II are strong
(b) Only I and III are strong
(c)Only II and III are strong
(d)All I, II and III are strong
(e)None of these
Statement: Should the government take over all the private passenger transport companies across the country.
Arguments:
I. Yes, this should be done as the government runs the railways.
II. No, government does not have expertise to handle such operations.
III. Yes, this way general public can be taken out of the clutches of the private transport companies.
(a) Only I is strong
(b) Only I and II are strong
(c)Only II and III are strong
(d)All I, II and III are strong
(e)None of these
Statement: Should the institutes of higher learning’s in India like IITs and IIMs be made totally free from government control?
Arguments:
I. Yes, such institutes in the developed countries are run by non-government agencies.
II. No, government needs to regulate functions of these institutes for national interest.
III. No, these institutes are not capable to take policy decisions for smooth functioning.
(a) Only I is strong
(b) Only II is strong
(c)Only III is strong
(d)Only I and III are strong
(e)None of these
Real estate builders have refused to bring down the property prices as proposed by the government this year. Which of the following arguments would strengthen the stance taken by the builders?
(a) Very few people ventured into buying properties this year owing to exorbitant prices set by the builders.
(b) With the ever increasing cost of basic materials such as cement and steel, the profit of the builders has gone down by 48 per cent this year.
(c)The builders have earned huge profit in a governmental scheme for building low cost housing societies.
(d)In a report published by a national daily, the margin of profit earned by a builder per square foot is as much as eighty percent of its cost price.
(e)The builders have to necessarily abide by the decree of the government which controls the prices of the real estate.
The ministry of sports has been advised by a committee to take the highest award in the field of sports back from two players who ' were allegedly-involved in match fixing. Which of the following statements would weaken the argument put forward by the committee to the sports ministry?
(a) A good conduct in the past and a lack of evidence against the players make the case against them very weak.
(b) The ministry of sports has never declined the recommendations made by the committee earlier.
(c)Taking the award back from the players would set a good example to other players for, avoiding such actions in the future.
(d)There have been past cases where the award had to be taken back from the players owing to some misconduct later on.
(e)The committee is constituted of some of the most respected and esteemed members from the fields of sports and politics.
Many organizations have been resorting to recruitment based upon performance at graduate/ post-graduate level exams rather than conducting exams for the same purpose. Which of the following statements would strengthen the argument given in the above statement?
(a) A recent study shows no link of past performance with the performance in recruitment exams.
(b) The graduate/post-graduate exams are considered to be severely deficient in training in job related environment.
(c) Organizations which had undertaken recruitment on the basis of graduate/post graduate exams report a significant drop in the quality of the recruited employees.
(d)Such policies would add to unemployment among students having below average performance in graduation or post graduation.
(e)Such policies could save time,
According to a recent government directive, all bank branches in rural areas should be computerized. Which of the following statements would weaken the government's argument ?
(a) Computerization of bank branches in urban areas has helped in making their performance more efficient and fast.
(b) Lack of skilled and qualified manpower has been suitably substituted by computers in banks.
(c)Non-computerized bank branches in the rural areas have been proved to be as efficient as their computerized counterparts.
(d)The government has introduced a special test for computer knowledge in all recruitment exams for banks.
(e)Unemployment in the rural areas could be controlled by training more and more professionals in computers.
Read the following information carefully and answer the question which follows. ‘Parents should make strong efforts to curtail the extreme fad for fashion from their children’s minds.’ A research report. Which of the following would weaken the argument presented in the report most appropriately?
(a) Excessive craze of fashion is detrimental to development of a youngster’s personality.
(b) Following fashion is not harmful but only till it is done to certain reasonable limits.
(c)More fashionable the person, greater are his/her chances to succeed in life.
(d)Fashion takes away the time spent in constructive activities by the youngsters.
(e)Many schools and colleges have uniforms for their students so as to discourage the craze of fashion amongst them.
Statement: It has been reported in a recent study that intake of moderate quantity of milk chocolate reduces the risk of suffering from central nervous system related illnesses. Which of the following would weaken the findings of the study reported in the above statement?
(a) People generally prefer to eat chocolate when they are young.
(b) Majority of those not diagnosed with diseases related to central nervous system have stayed away from eating chocolates in their lives.
(c)Chocolates contain certain elements which strengthen the functions of the central nervous system
(d)Majority of those suffering from central nervous system related diseases are middle aged.
(e)Many of those who suffer from diabetes also suffer from other major ailments.