Relevance, Conduction and Canada's Rape-Shield Decision
- Resource Type
- article
- Authors
- Derek Allen
- Source
- Informal Logic, Vol 15, Iss 2 (1993)
- Subject
- Canadian Supreme Court decision
Canada's 1982 rape-shield legislation
informal logic class
relevance
conductive argument
"argument from 'unchasteness"'
Logic
BC1-199
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0824-2577
2293-734X
I examine a Canadian Supreme Court decision concerning the constitutionality of Canada's 1982 rape-shield legislation, and suggest how material from the decision might profitably be used in an informal-logic class in connection with the topics of relevance and conductive argument. I also consider theoretical matters related to the decision: first I develop two analyses of what I call an argument from 'unchasteness' and connect them to George Bowles's theory of propositional relevance; then I present Trudy Govier with a problem in response to which she might revise her account of a conductive argument in a way I describe.