The Political Use of Evidence and Its Contribution to Democratic Discourse

Schlaufer, Caroline; Stucki, Iris; Sager, Fritz

doi:10.1111/puar.12923

Cited by 30 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…This should ensure that political decisions are "well informed" and made on the basis of "what works" (Nutley et al 2010: 133). Direct-democratic campaigns challenge this rationalist view of the use of evidence and call for an interpretative view (Schlaufer et al 2018). In making their decision, voters need to take into account ethical and moral concerns.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aristotelian framing: logos, ethos, pathos and the use of evidence in policy frames

Stucki

Sager

2018

Policy Sci

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In this research note, we propose to complement the analytical toolbox for framing analyses with the categories of Aristotelian rhetoric. As our case, we analyse the function of the use of evidence in frame building in the context of Swiss direct-democratic campaigns preceding votes on smoking bans. Based on rhetoric, a frame can be considered to contain three interrelated elements: (1) political arguments (logos), (2) cultural symbols (ethos), and (3) emotional appeal (pathos). By comparing evidence-based arguments with arguments that do not refer to evidence, the research note illustrates that backing arguments (logos) by evidence increases their trustworthiness (ethos) but not their emotional appeal (pathos). We consider the Aristotelian categories a fruitful tool to enlarge existing framing research with regard to the use of evidence.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aristotelian framing: logos, ethos, pathos and the use of evidence in policy frames

Stucki

Sager

2018

Policy Sci

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“…Structure-based argumentation enables students to build up their thoughts in a reasonable organization, but this should include analysing the relevance of the considerable number of components, whether the case is supported soundly by the evidence, to guarantee the general quality of argumentative writing (Malpique and Veiga Simão 2019). Recognizing the significance of utilizing evidence to support one's claim in a satisfactory, applicable and sufficient manner is a fundamental part of judging argumentation (Stucki 2018); (Schlaufer, Stucki, and Sager 2018). Without well-organized evidence, the argumentative writing is circular of different repetitions of the claim without explicit purposes (Zhang 2018).…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship between Critical Thinking, Frequency, Informal Fallacy and Evidence in Argumentative Writing

2021

JJMLL

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The present study was an investigation of the relationship between the EFL learners’ critical thinking, their frequency, and types of informal fallacy and evidence in argumentative writing. Few studies have been conducted to investigate these issues. To this end, 356-second grade female senior state high school students from four schools in Zanjan were selected through multistage cluster random sampling (MCRS) method and based on Cambridge placement test (2010); 130 students proved to be upper-intermediate and participated in this correlational study. The main data collection stage took place for one month. Then, the informal fallacies based on Johnson's definitions and four types of evidence categorized in Hoeke and Hustinkx were identified and counted within language learners' argumentative writings. The evaluation of the arguments was also conducted based on Walton, Reed, and Macagno. Based on the results achieved from the first research question, there was a significant negative correlation observed between the participants' critical thinking and the frequency of use of informal fallacies in their written argumentation. Based on the results achieved from the second research question, there was a potential and significant correlation between the participants' critical thinking and the frequency of use of informal fallacies. Keywords: Argumentative Writing, Critical Thinking, Evidence, Informal Fallacy.

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“…Similarly, scholars repeatedly argue that particularly in the US context voters associate direct democratic processes with greater political information, knowledge, and voter interest (Smith and Tolbert ; Donovan et al ). However, these studies also reveal that the overall share of evidence‐based arguments in referendum campaigns is extremely low (Schlaufer et al ) and that the share of voters who are actually able to justify their decision is small (Colombo ). Moreover, this share does not dramatically increase when governments provide information.…”

Section: Voting In Referendumsmentioning

confidence: 99%

EU referendums in context: What can we learn from the Swiss case?

Heidbreder

Stadelmann‐Steffen

Thomann

et al. 2018

Public Administration

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The rising number of referendums on EU matters, such as the Brexit and the Catalonian independence votes, highlight the increasing importance of referendums as a problem‐solving mechanism in the EU. We argue that the Swiss case provides essential insights into understanding the dynamics behind referendums, which are often lacking when referendums are called for in the EU. Referendums in EU member states on EU matters differ substantially from those in the Swiss context. Nevertheless, proponents of more direct democratic decision‐making regularly cite the Swiss example. Our systematic analysis of why referendums are called, how they unfold and their effects in the EU and Switzerland reveals that the EU polity lacks the crucial conditions that embed direct democracy within the wider political and institutional system. The comparative perspective offers fundamental insights into the preconditions required for direct democracy to function and its limitations in the EU.

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The Political Use of Evidence and Its Contribution to Democratic Discourse

Cited by 30 publications

References 35 publications

Aristotelian framing: logos, ethos, pathos and the use of evidence in policy frames

Aristotelian framing: logos, ethos, pathos and the use of evidence in policy frames

The Relationship between Critical Thinking, Frequency, Informal Fallacy and Evidence in Argumentative Writing

EU referendums in context: What can we learn from the Swiss case?

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