MODR 1730 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Kyle Lowry

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MODR Reasoning About Social Issues Lecture
Conceptual Analysis 1
1. Conceptual analysis is a method or technique, consisting of certain steps, for getting clear
about our ideas.
2. The nine steps of conceptual analysis we will study are a) model cases or good examples of
the concept/s at issue, b) contrary cases or examples which are NOT instances of the concept/s at
issue, c) borderline cases or examples which are instances of the concept/s at issue in certain
respects but not in others, d) invented or make-believe model cases of the concept/s at issue, e)
related cases or good examples of BOTH concepts at issue, f) social context or situations in
which the conceptual question at issue would likely arise, g) underlying anxieties or concerns
that form part of the subtext of the conceptual question at issue, h) practical results or the
feasibility of answering the conceptual question at issue in certain ways, and i) results in
language or the most appropriate way to answer the conceptual question at issue, given the
results of the previous eight steps..
3. For example, if we have the conceptual question, "Are games sports?", a model case of games
would be when I play checkers with my friends while a model case of sports would be when
Kyle Lowry plays basketball for the Toronto Raptors. Given these examples, the answer to our
conceptual question at this step is "no" because the two examples are not mutually
interchangeable between the two concepts (checkers is a game but not a sport, even though
basketball is a sport as well as a game).
4. A contrary case of games would be when I wait for the bus while a contrary case of sports
would be when I take notes in class. The answer to our conceptual question at this step, given our
examples, is "yes" because waiting for the bus is also a contrary case of sports and taking notes
in class is also a contrary case of games.
5. A borderline case of games would be when my soccer team plays for the fun of it but just as
much as in order to win while a borderline case of sports would be when my friends and I play
hoops in the driveway primarily in order to win but secondarily to have fun. Since the former
example is also a borderline case of sports (sports should be played primarily in order to win and
secondarily for the fun of it) and the latter example is also a borderline case of games (hoops in
the driveway played primarily in order to win is more like a sport than a game because a) it is
hoops, not basketball, and b) the fun factor in playing it continues to be of some importance), our
answer to the conceptual question at this step, given these examples, is "yes."
6. An invented case of games would be when my siblings and I play Snakes and Ladders where
the snakes are ladders and the ladders are snakes. while an invented case of sports would be
when two teams play soccer-baseball where the baseball diamond is the soccer field, and each
team has a runner/s who can run from one base to another and even score runs if the opposing
team cannot gain possession of the soccer ball and tag out the runner/s before they reach base.
Given these examples, our answer to the conceptual question at this step would be "no" since
Snakes and Ladders would not be a sport though soccer-baseball would be a game.
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