General claims are a statement or statements that entail a discussion in a general way about a part of or all of an entire group of subjects. But these types of claims are not always true. For example, if one were to say, “I love Red Bull. Red Bull gives me energy and keeps me awake. Therefore, I am a healthy person.” This is quite a stretch. Just because Red Bull does what is stated, and an individual drinks Red Bull, does not automatically mean the person is in good health. There is not enough evidence to support such a claim.
Precise generalities are often seen with stereotypes. This occurs when a general statement is made that lists a quantity, but is not necessarily true. Let’s take a common stereotype: “70% of Asians are bad drivers. I am Asian. Therefore, I am a bad driver.” Regardless of whether or not the statistic is true, this is a general claim. Is it possible that I do not fall into the 30% of Asian drivers that may be deemed a good driver? This is not a strong claim.
I really like how you explain about the concept of general claims and precise generalities, especially the examples you made. It helped me a deeper understanding about those two concepts.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the claim about the Red Bull and healthy person, I was thinking huh? Those two words do not correlate with each other. It is an indeed a stretch because not only Red Bull makes you mentally awake, but in high doses of caffeine, it can be dangerous for people with high blood pressure or anxiety. However, I think that if you do not drink it often, then it is not so bad. Everything in moderation!
I also thought your example about Asian stereotypes about their driving skills is amusing. I am Asian. I failed my driving test 7 times and no I am not exaggerating. I fall in those 70 percent statistics. Hahaha.