Elements of Argument
10 Types of Claims
by Jim Marteney
There are three types of claims: claims of fact, claims of value, and claims of policy. Each type of claim focuses on a different aspect of a topic. To best participate in an argument, it is beneficial to understand the type of claim that is being argued.
Claim of Fact
A claim of fact asserts that something quantifiable has existed, does exist, or will exist. The center of controversy in a factual claim is over the reasonableness of the fact in question. In other words, a claim of fact debates whether the statement of the claim is correct or incorrect, valid or invalid, true or false. In making such implications, we reason from something that is known to something that is unknown. Claims of fact also focus on cause-to-effect relationships.
The goal in arguing for a claim of fact is to gain audience acceptance that something that is currently not accepted as fact or that something that is currently considered a fact should no longer be considered as such. The goal in arguing against a claim of fact is to get your audience to deny acceptance of some proposed new fact or to defend the status quo that something that is a fact should remain so. Claims of fact may be assertions about the past, present, or future.
Past claims of fact tend to deal with the assigning of motive or responsibility for historical actions. Examples are “General Custer was responsible for the massacre at the Battle of the Little Big Horn,” or “Democrat policies caused the rise of terrorism.”
Present claims of fact tend to deal with events of current importance. Examples are “There is a God,” “Divorce is causing increased juvenile crime,” “Video games lead to the increase of violence among teens,” or “Climate change is exacerbated by people.”
Future claims of fact deal with making predictions about the nature of future events; such as “Tuition at community colleges will be increased next year,” “Oil prices will continue to rise” or “The Tesla Model 3 will become the best-selling sedan in the United States.”
Claims of fact are quantifiable. That is, establishing the correctness of factual claims depends heavily on empirical verification. Such verification, or evidence, usually consists of using some combination of sensory data (sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste).
Claim of Value
A claim of value asserts qualitative judgments along a good-to-bad continuum relating to persons, events, and things in one’s environment. If you construct a position claiming that something is good or bad or one thing is better than another, you’ve made a claim of value. Examples of claims of value are “The Wizard of Oz is the greatest movie of all time,” “Snowboarding is the greatest way to spend a vacation,” or “Indian food is the best food of all.”
The center of argument in a value claim is over the criteria used in making the judgment. Value claims call into question a standard of comparison: bad as compared to what, good as compared to what,