A topic at stood out to me in this week's reading, is when Epstein mentions vague generalities in Chapter 8. Vague generalities occur when we make claims without making exact specifications. Epstein believes that these combinations of words or claims are too vague to form a valid argument, and can be too ambiguous to use in a claim. Some words that can make a claim vague include words like: all, almost, many, most, a lot of, some, a few, and very few.
Example:
Most women like men with a lot of money.
Jen meets James. James is a doctor.
So James has a lot of money and Jen likes him.
The premise gives us good reason to make the claim. The problem is that the conclusion is using the word "a lot" which can have several definitions. A lot could mean $5 million or a lot could mean $5. We also don’t know that Jen likes James because of his financial success, she could like him because he is handsome and has a good personality.
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