Flaws in Argument
Ehrenreich (2000) makes several fallacies in her argumentative essay, Maid to Order published in Harpers Magazine. Her main argument is that no self-respecting, independent woman would or should submit to doing domestic housework the old-fashioned way (p. 1). The fallacies Ehrenreich commits start with personal incredulity, followed by bandwagon fallacy and appeal to authority fallacy. This paper will discuss each of these three fallacies in turn and how they are flaws in Ehrenreichs article.
The personal incredulity fallacy occurs when someone disbelieves a claim simply because they find it hard to believe. This is often due to a lack of understanding or familiarity with the topic. For example, someone might dismiss the theory of evolution because it seems impossible that complex life forms could have developed from simpler ones. However, personal incredulity is not a valid reason to disbelieve a claim. Just because something is difficult to understand does not mean that it is not true. In order to judge the validity of a claim, it is important to look at the evidence rather than relying on gut instinct. Only by careful examination can one hope to find the truth. But when one relies on personal incredulity to argue, one is relying essentially on personal bias without realizing it. Personal bias prevents one from seeing beyond ones own narrow frame of view. It is human nature to see the world through ones own eyes and filter out information that does not fit with ones preexisting beliefs. This phenomenon, known as confirmation bias, can lead people to search for information that supports their existing views while ignoring evidence to the contrary (Kelley, 2013). In some cases, it can result in a self-reinforcing cycle in which people only exposure ourselves to information that reinforces their biases. This in turn can prevent them from seeing the world as it truly is and make it difficult to find common ground with others. Ehrenreich (2000) reveals this bias to some extent through her personal incredulity every time she implies that housework being womens work is demeaning and degrading. It might be demeaning and degrading in her eyesbut has she never talked to women who actually find housework to be rewarding? Her negative view of housework as womens work colors her entire article on Merry Maids and domestic equality. It is the old playing field of a 3rd wave Feminist, who cannot imagine that some people actually like that there are differences between men and women, that they have different roles in society, and that this is a good thing. Her personal incredulity prevents her...
…avoid this fallacy, it is important to always question claims made by authority figures and to evaluate them based on evidence, logic, and reason. Thus, when Ehrenreich (2000) argues that housework was not degrading because it was manual labor, as Friedan thought, but because it was embedded in degrading relationships and inevitably served to reinforce them (p. 2), there is no justification for this statement other than that this is what the cohort of radical, post-Friedan feminists has said on the matter and that is that. All one would have to do to challenge the argument is challenge the premise propping up radical, post-Friedan feminism.In conclusion, Ehrenreichs article contains flaws in her argument that are based on personal incredulity, bandwagon fallacy, and the appeal to authority fallacy. The ways to correct these flaws in the argument would be to remember (1) that just because someone cannot wrap his or her head around something doesnt mean it isnt valid; (2) just because something is widely believed does not make it automatically truethere may be other factors at play that the person is not aware of; and (3) firstly, even experts can be wrong; and, secondly, even if an authority figure is correct about something, that does not mean their opinion cannot be challenged. As Chaffee (2012) explains, it is important…
References
Chaffee, J. (2012). Thinking Critically. Boston: Wadsworth.
Ehrenreich, B. (2000). Maid to Order. Harper’s Magazine, April 2000, 1-2.
Kelley, D. (2013). The art of reasoning: An introduction to logic and critical thinking. WW Norton & Company.
Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich is a writer and journalist who decided to conduct an experiment and find out for herself what it is like to live on the minimum wage. For one month at a time she entered various communities, taking on minimum wage positions and trying to stay ahead. Ehrenreich detailed her experience in the book Nickel and Dimed. This books offers insight into the real
Rent, gas, utilities, food, and clothing become a burden because the market is not set up for those who make the least but those who make more than that and it really does not matter how much more because at a certain level, it is all too much and the low earners are simply left out of the system altogether. Nickel and Dimed also taught me that social responsibility
For example, Ehrenreich tamed her naturally assertive nature into a more tame and likable demeanor: one that corresponded with gender norms as well as with norms for prospective employees. Working with one career coach in Georgia, the author presented a confident, convincing sales pitch. She marketed herself and her work skills admirably for a whole hour before the coach bluntly told her without humor that she seemed angry. If
As such, she fails to address the central problem of feminism in the Pontellier perspective, namely the impossibility of female individuality and independence in a patriarchal world. It is only in isolation that Edna can find any happiness, and she must make this isolation more and more complete in order to maintain her happiness, as the patriarchy has a means of encroaching on all populated areas, and Wollstonecraft's feminism
Feminist Movement of the 1970s Ending the "The Problem with No Name" The Golden Age of marriage and family, the 1950s, was statistically a time when most women married and few divorced (Smith, lecture notes). On the surface, American society seemed to be content with the status quo; however, the existence of pervasive racial and gender inequality was preventing the oppressed from fully taking part in the Golden Age, let alone enjoying
Feminist Art as Evolution Rather Than as a Movement Feminist art as a named movement evolved in the context of the late 1960's early 1970's political climate. The movement contextually cannot be separated from larger civil rights movements and specifically those relating to women; like the sexual revolution, the women's liberation movement, and the formation and growth of groups like the National Organization for Women. Strictly speaking there can be no
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now