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Baron-Cohen: example of a claim

Here’s page 1 of Baron-Cohen’s book, The Essential Difference: Male And Female Brains And The Truth About Autism

Note how explicit he is with his claim, which he calls a theory. For our purposes, we can think of it as a rhetorical claim. Note also how he establishes a direct and respectful relationship with his readers, not all of whom are inclined to agree with his claim. 

From Baron-Cohen’s New York Times Op-Ed essay, “The Male Condition”:

“In my work I have summarized these differences by saying that males on average have a stronger drive to systemize, and females to empathize. Systemizing involves identifying the laws that govern how a system works. Once you know the laws, you can control the system or predict its behavior. Empathizing, on the other hand, involves recognizing what another person may be feeling or thinking, and responding to those feelings with an appropriate emotion of one’s own.”