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Allan Quan
Professor Jerry Voltura
PHIL 102
Argument Evaluation Essay
No Kidding? By Rose Kemp
In Rose Kemps article No Kidding, she expresses major concern for the US Chapter, No
Kidding. This chapter contains a group of people who are primarily against the idea of having
children. The chapter feels that children bring a lot of inconvenience to everyday life. This
chapter has expressed intolerance for paying taxes of other children and questions the flexibility
of other colleagues at work who gain through having children. Kemp also mentions that this
chapter is very driven and aggressive in expressing their views even by using offensive language.
Kemps main argument and conclusion is that society is dependent on children and that some
sharing of the workload and the price of raising and educating children is absolutely reasonable.
The structure of the main argument in Kemps article is a combination of linear, linked
and convergent structure. The main argument can be found in the beginning of paragraph six.
Kemps premise If nobody has children, thirty or forty years from now, there will be no one to
provide medical and dental care, hospitals, roads---or even opera and restaurants--- for aging
people, including those who now label themselves child-free. This argument is convergent of
paragraphs four and five. Paragraph fours premises are: Society is spread over time and
requires more than one generation. We just wont have a society unless some people have and
raise children. We wont have a social world unless some people get pregnant and give birth, and
they---many others---go on to love, care for, and educate children. These premises are all linear
to each other because each succeeding statement expands upon the previous statement. In

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paragraph five, Kemp uses the illustration of the past where in the Middle Ages; Christians
believed celibacy was a virtue. Kemp used the nineteenth century Shaker sect as the example
practicing celibacy and in practicing celibacy illustrated how a society can become extinct. This
argument is linked to paragraph four and both paragraph four and five are convergent to the
argument in paragraph six.
I believe that the statement in paragraph six: Because society needs children, some
sharing of the work and costs of raising and educating them is perfectly reasonable is the main
argument because in the first paragraph of the article, the author introduces the No Kidding
Chapter and shows us that they believe that children are an inconvenience to their lives.
Therefore, I believe the purpose of the article is Kemp persuading the No Kidding chapter to
think positively towards the idea of having children. Even though paragraph four and five are
strong arguments; they are sub-arguments to the main argument stated in the beginning of
paragraph six.
In applying the A condition, all the premises used in the paragraphs are all acceptable and
plausible. The premises stated above in paragraph four all seem to stand independently from each
other and all are acceptable, therefore, the A condition passes. The R condition passes as well
since there is definitely evidence in the premises that could support the conclusion and main
argument well. A good reference and example of this is present in the premises of paragraph four.
In paragraph four, Kemp states, Society is spread over time and requires more than one
generation. We just wont have a society unless some people have and raise children. We wont
have a social world unless some people get pregnant and give birth, and they---many others---go
on to love, care for, and educate children. Having children is not a matter of egoistic selfindulgence but rather a condition of life. In this collection of premises in the fourth paragraph,

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there is already some evidence that will support her main argument that society needs children
and that some sharing of the work and educating them is a reasonable endeavor. I believe that the
G condition passes because there is much efficient evidence and support from the premises we
have analyzed. With all the premises stated in paragraphs four, five and six linked together, the
conclusion that society needs children and that all the work and costs are a reasonable endeavor
is well supported overall. By passing all of Goviers ARG conditions, this is indeed a cogent
argument.