Inuit:
Here we see a concrete relic of the Russian fur-trader's oppression of the
Native People of Alaska. This kayak was made with three seats. Stories handed
down by the survivors tell how the Russians enslaved the Aleuts and then
brutally conquered the Eskimos. They also tell how Kayaks were built like
this so that the middle seat could be occupied by a Russian who would carry
a rifle to force the two Eskimos in the other seats to keep hunting for many,
many hours.
Tourist: That can't be right, because the Russian culture
values freedom, and so Russian fur traders wouldn't do something like that.
A
Russian-era Alaskan kayak was made with three seats.
Native witnesses
claim kayaks were built like
this so a Russian with
a rifle to force two Eskimos to keep hunting for many,
many hours.
(These facts would only make sense if the Russian fur-traders oppressed
the
Native People of Alaska.)
C. Russian fur-traders oppressed the
Native People of Alaska. (explanation - direct argument.)
(Nobody ever
does anything that violates the values of his culture.)
The Russian culture
values freedom (svoboda).
C. Russian fur-traders didn't oppress the
Native People of Alaska. (deductive - opposing argument.)
It's
true that "culture" is basically a word meaning "the way people
generally act," but that doesn't help Tourist. Even if Russia has a freedom-loving
culture in the sense that most Russians value freedom for other people,
that doesn't mean that these fur-traders weren't an exception. Tourist commits
the fallacy of accident (if you take "value freedom" as
a rule governing Russian people's behavior towards others) or red herring
(if you take culture to just mean what people tend to value for themselves.)
Use your browser's "back" key to return to your place in the reading.
This Site is Proudly
Hosted By: