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Prejudicial Language
Definition:
Loaded or emotive terms are used to attach value or moral
goodness to believing the proposition.
Examples:
- Right thinking Canadians will agree with me that we should
have another free vote on capital punishment.
- A reasonable person would agree that our income
statement is too low.
- Senator Turner claims that the new tax rate will reduce
the deficit. (Here, the use of "claims" implies that what
Turner says is false.)
- The proposal is likely to be resisted by the bureaucrats
on Parliament Hill. (Compare this to: The proposal is likely
to be rejected by officials on Parliament Hill.)
Proof:
Identify the prejudicial terms used (eg. "Right thinking
Canadians" or "A reasonable person"). Show that disagreeing
with the conclusion does not make a person "wrong thinking"
or "unreasonable".
References:
Cedarblom and Paulsen: 153, Davis: 62
26 May 1995
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