Assignments

I really enjoyed both the first and second assignments. My group members made it so it was easy to come together and make the assignment that was well written. I actually enjoyed the second assignment a little more because we did it on an actual organization and had the opportunity to look at it and see the claims they made. We did our paper on the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving or MADD. The organization was founded by two mothers that use the concept of dysphemism to emphasis the problem of drunk driving. The organization also uses emotional claims to help bring attention to their cause such as the two founders daughter being either killed of severely injured because of drunk drivers. The stories as well as the statistics help give credit to their mission statement as well as give the organization a reason to continue in their fight against drunk driving. Overall I enjoy writing this paper and ready for the next one.

Vague Generalities

Vague generalities are when we discuss a part or even all of a group without specifying the precise number (Epstein). An example of this would be when you say all Camaros are fast, almost all Camaros are fast, and a few Camaros are fast. Words like all we can figure out, if we have enough detail to go on. But words like few maybe to vague to be put into an argument. They may not be generalized enough to be said in your argument because we cannot tell if just a few Camaros are fast is a valid statement of not. These words make it so the argument is too vague and unbelievable so it is not valid. You can usually make these arguments stronger by specifying the statement so the audience can understand it this will make your premise better and your argument stronger. Vague statements can weaken your argument and make it more difficult to understand, but if you specify then you can make your argument stronger as a whole.

Chapter 8

All, and, no are words that can that mean more then they imply. These words can specify things in your argument and often missed by others. All means “Every single one, no exceptions.” (Critical Thinking). This means when you say all you mean every single one. So in turn when you say all Ferraris are fast or every Ferrari is fast, you mean that every single Ferrari is fast. The opposite of all would be no. No is defined as “not even one” (Critical Thinking). A example of this would be No Mustang is faster then a Ferrari, or All Ferraris are faster then Mustangs you are saying that no Mustang that can beat any one Ferrari. These are things you must watch out for when you argue you don’t want make a claim that is untrue or one you cant back up, so you must use these words carefully and be sure to think about the meaning of the word.

Counterarguments

Chapter seven taught me about counterarguments and how to properly use them in an argument. One of the concepts I learned in chapter seven is refuting an argument. Refuting a argument directly is” when you show that at least one of the premises is dubious, or you can show that the argument isn’t valid or strong, you can also show that the conclusion is false” (Epstein).   A example of this would be when someone says “Cars are better then motorcycles because they are safer and faster”, you could refute this argument by saying that more riders of motorcycle are aware of they soundings and are more carful compared to drivers who are more careless, and you can also refute the argument by saying that though cars have higher top speeds then motorcycles, motorcycles have faster acceleration and can “split lanes” in and go right through traffic getting to their destination faster. Another thing I learned in chapter seven was refuting indirectly. Refuting indirectly is when you don’t actually have to refute the argument; you just show that their argument leads to an unwanted conclusion. A example would be like when someone says “ you say that we waste electricity and that we need to put up more dams to save the environment, but with more dams more ecosystems would be destroyed and you would ruin the environment just so you would have more electricity. These counterarguments are useful tools that I will use in later arguments.

Claims

Chapter six I learned a lot about the dynamics of claims and how they can help or hinder your argument.  One thing I learned this chapter is compound claims. “A compound claim is composed of other claims but has to be seen as just one claim “(Epstein).  An example of this would be when someone says “Either all cars have four wheels or a moped is now a car”.  It is a compound claim because it has two clams be view as one big claim.  Another concept I learned in this chapter is the concept of a contrapositive. A contrapositive is when a claim is made and you say a statement equal to the claim but in a different way. An example of this would be if someone said “ If you drove a Camaro before your life you are awesome” then the contrapositive would be “ Your life must be awesome you drove a Camaro”. These concepts helped me better understand claims and the types of claims there are witch will be useful in arguments later.

Implying and Inferring

Inferring and implying can be easily confused as the same thing but are actually two different ideas or concepts. Implying is when you say something without actually saying the thing you were implying.  An example of this would be when you say, “Adam looks like Brad Pitt” you are implying that Adam is good looking or handsome like Brad Pitt without actually saying it. Inferring is different in the at is saying a idea or premise and having your audience mistake it for something else and inferring its something you never said in the wrong way.  This could make the audience believe you are saying something you are not and infer a argument that is not there. An example of this would be when you say “ Jeff sees that people coming in with shorts on so he automatically thinks infers that it’s hot outside without actually having anything stated verbally.  Inferring and implying can happen in any claim you must jump the gun and keep your audience with you so you can present a clear and correct argument.  

Advertising Dodge Challenger

We have all seen commercials that try to convince you that the product they are selling is something you need or must have right now! A good advertisement can make you want to go out and buy the product right then and there but a bad one may make you not want any thing to do with that product. A commercial I recently watched that I believe was well thought out and executed well was the new Dodge Challenger commercial. It starts out with a black Dodge Challenger on an open road spinning its tires in slow motion, when a monotone voice comes in and says “ That’s a Dodge Challenger, it was designed by people who really really love cars for people who really really love cars to drive past people who really don't care about cars at all.” (Dodge Corporation). I love this commercial because it simple and shows you everything you want to see and hear you want a big black Challenger on a open road and you love to hear that your car was designed by people how love cars to go past the people who don’t! That is why to get a Dodge Challenger and that is why this commercial is perfect for its audience. Here is the link if you wish to watch it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOukB0_5sEs 

Repairing a Argument

Arguments can be good or bad depending on the way they are presented. If your argument is not effective and not presented well it will be hard to convince your audience of your view of the argument. To correctly convey your argument you may need to repair it and fine-tune it so your arguments and premises make sense so your audience will follow your ideas and understand your arguments.  An example of an argument that needs to be repaired would be “I love listening to music, so Joe must get a iPod”. This argument doesn’t make any sense because just because I like music doesn’t mean that Joe should get an iPod. A way to make the argument and premise make sense would be if I said “I love to listen to music so Joe should get a IPod so I can share my love of music with him”. This argument makes more sense and allows the audience to follow what I say and where my argument is going.