Definitional Arguments - Essay Example

Notably, definitions appear in almost every argument, though sometimes they are hidden or tacitly accepted. But they rarely appear in isolation; the challenge in definitional arguments is for an individual to find the definitional claims that underlie other claims in academic, civic or other types of arguments. Pier Jennifer and Pattakos Alex provide a deeper understanding of definitional arguments through their respective articles “The Reprehensibility of the White Lie” and “The Meaning of Friendship in a Social-Networked World”.

In each article there is a central issue or argument, which has been developed through a series of steps. In the article “The Reprehensibility of the White Lie”, the central issue is the white lies. In this article, Pier uses various examples that are familiar to provide an understandable definition of white lies. For instance, Pier uses daily conversations to define the concept of white lies. Amongst the aspects that Pier uses to define white lies include of course, it was a blast, and it wasn’t me.

Pier’s main concern is the evasion of responsibility in as far as white lies are concerned throughout her article. In order to support her definition, Pier uses various criteria. . Another claim that Pier uses to justify the definition of white lies is the creation of the distinction between white lies and other forms of duplicity. Thirdly, Pier claims that white lies are destructive. The second criterion that Pier uses to justify the definition of white lies is crafting of definitions. One of the definitions crafted by Pier is the operational definition of white lies.

Pier tries to find a common ‘perfect’ lie capable of fitting all the mentioned claims or qualifications. Lastly, Pier used the criterion of mapping the formulated claims and crafted definition to come up with a convincing conclusion in regards to definition of white lies (206-209). In the second article, “The Meaning of Friendship in a Social-Networked World”, Pattakos’ main or central issue is friends and how their acquisition contributes to a meaningful life. Just like Pier, Pattakos uses familiar examples and concepts to help in defining friends.

In addition, Pattakos uses ideas from different stakeholders and scholars such as Aristotle and Mark Zuckerberg to try and establish the definition of friends and its relationship with meaningful life. In a bid to justify the definition, Pattakos employs various criteria. The first criterion employed by Pattakos in the article is the use of claims. Pattakos has employed various claims in a bid to justify the definition of friends. The first claim is that friends significantly contribute to meaningful life.

Another claim that Pattakos makes in relation to finding the definition of friends is that various reasons prompt the search for the meaning of friends. For instance, the intrinsic motivation of persons and the fact that it is a megatrend within the 21st century to understand and