Mission Critical

This week our teacher assigned our class to look at two websites. One of the websites we looked at was called the Mission Critical Website. In this website it goes over the basics and breaks them down into five main points. The 5 main points are: the parts of an argument, basic relations, analysis of arguments, fallacies and non-rational persuasion, and other common fallacies. Of the five I think the one that was most important and interesting was the fallacies and non-rational persuasion. Fallacies and non-rational persuasion discussed the appeals such as the emotional appeals like fear, pity, spite, loyalty, prejudice, and vanity. It also talked about the misdirected appeals like the appeal to authority and common belief. The appeal to authority is when we feel we need someone or something to help us prove our point and give us credibility like a book or specialist. The appeal to common belief is when statements of common belief is stated a fact but may not be so such as Audi makes cars much better then Dodge because more people I talked to think so. Audi could make better cars but it can’t be proven by people’s opinions. Overall I really enjoyed this website and will reference later.

Universal Syllogism

This week we learned about many concepts in the websites and the readings, one concept I found that was important was Universal Syllogism. The concept of universal syllogism is made up of claims that are universal or universal claims. The first claim is the major premise that describes the entire group. The second claim is the minor premise and places the third group (Mission Critical Website). An example of this concept

If all jellybeans in the bag are juicy pear
Then a jellybean I pick out will be juicy pear

Or

If all the jellybeans are in the bag is juicy pear
If I have a jellybean that is not juicy pear then it’s not from the bag

The concept was a bit confusing at first but after the website gave some examples and went more in-depth into the concept it became easier to understand. This concept is very interesting and I will defiantly try to use it in later arguments and discussion.

Introduction to Causal Arguments

This week we visited two website to learn more about arguments. One of these websites was called the Introduction to casual arguments. In this website it discusses the concept of casual reasoning. Casual reasoning is similar to the idea of Cause and Effect, or when something of importance occurs and then something else happens because of it.
An example of this concept is

A man walks in and sees a woman.

The woman then sees the man.

They meet and start to talk.

The website also talks about the key points of Casual Reasoning such as how likely a case of causation can seem to be, also how acceptable or demonstrable the implied comparisons are, and how credible the significant commonality or significant difference claims are. This web site had a lot of information that helped me though it may have been confusing at times overall it was a website that I will reference at later times.

Casual Reasoning

There are many types of reasoning and one that I particularly liked and found interesting was Causal Reasoning. I found this reasoning particularly interesting because of all the people who use it and the fact that I use it everyday. Everyday we see people using this reasoning especially on television and radio. A example I recently saw on TV was this show on ESPN talking about Kobe Bryant and how he is so good in games and makes impossible shots so they reasoned that in practices he shoots those shots a lot so he can make them in the game. I also often use casual reasoning and not even know that I do, such as when I wake up late I know that I wont have time to eat breakfast before my first class so I reason that I will be hungry during my first class. Casual reasoning is used everyday by everyone and thanks to this class now we can see it, hear it, recognize it, and use it in our everyday statements and arguments.

Reasoning by Analogy

There are many types of reasoning from reasoning from examples to reasoning from sign to even casual reasoning. The reasoning that I found the most troubling to understand was the concept of reasoning by analogy. Reasoning by analogy is the concept of taking a analogy like Andrew likes video games and plays video games and reasoning that if Brad likes video games then Brad will play video games. This concept gets more confusing when you are arguing it because you can say that Brad is not Andrew so he wont play video games. Brad is his own person so just because Andrew likes games and plays games does not mean Brad will play games. You may also argue that since both Brad and Andrew like games they can play games together making it so that they play games together not separate so if Andrew likes and plays games then Brad likes games he will play them with Andrew. Both of these statements are contrary to each other but can be true based on the analogy making explaining the concept very in-depth.

Examples of Reasoning

There are many different kinds of reasoning. In this post I will discuss the different kinds of reasoning and examples of each different type

Casual Reasoning
Premise 1:I came late to work
Premise 2:I didn’t have time to shave
Conclusion: I had large bread at work

Reasoning by criteria
My brother wants something fast and expensive for his birthday. I should get him a car.

Deductive
Premise 1: There are many cars to buy on this lot
Premise 2: There are Lamborghinis on the lot
Conclusion: Lamborghinis are one of the cars to buy on the lot

Inductive
Premise 1: Every Saturday cartoons come on the television
Premise 2: Today is Saturday
Conclusion: Today cartoons are coming on.

Reasoning by Example:
You should work out with me, my friend works out everyday and he is ripped

Reasoning by Analogy:
Andrew likes video games and plays video games
Brad likes video games
Brad will play video games

Sign Reasoning:
When its raining outside, it must be wet outside.

Appealing to Spite

There are many types of Appealing to emotion. One of the types that the book talked about was appealing to spite. Appealing to spite is when you make two wrongs into a right! This is a complicated principal because it involves making to actions that are both wrong and making them cancel out just so to make the actions equal or right. Though this could be a fallacy at times sometimes this concept can be used in an argument or in real life. An example of the appeal to spite concept would be.

Boy: Dad can I buy a motorcycle

Dad: No you cant it’s to dangerous I am already going to buy a new car for myself, and your get nothing

Boy: Well to Bad for you I just spent all the money on a gambling trip to Vegas

The boy and the father both did wrong things that eventually ended up with two wrongs that eventually canceled each other. We see this concept happen everyday with our overseas relations and military reactions, as well as with movies where a bad guy kills someone and the hero has to get revenge and kill him to make everything even again.

Apple Polishing

There are many way to manipulate an argument one of them would be apple polishing. Apple polishing is when your flattering or sucking up to the audience to get them to buy your product or side of the argument. With apple polishing you are appealing to the emotions of happiness, vanity, and maybe even insecurity to get the audience to believe that your side of the argument or your product will help or improve on your already well off life. An example of this would be like in the Dodge Charger commercial shown during the Super Bowl where they say all the things men do but don’t want to. The ad says all the things that men do and at the end say because men do all these things they deserve to drive the car they want which is the Dodge Charger. They used apple polishing to say in that ad “you do all these things shouldn’t you drive the car you want?” which flatters you and appeals your happiness and vanity to say “yeah I do, do a lot of things I don’t want I should be able to drive this car.” This ad used apple polishing very well convincing the viewer in a unique and fun way to get this car because they deserve it.

address to the ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RyPamyWotM

Appeal to Emotion

Emotions are major factors in an argument. Our emotions affect the way we argument by affecting our points of view and choices in our word we use in the argument. Appeal to Emotion in an argument is the concept of appealing to ones emotions such as anger, sadness, happiness, vanity, ignorance, and even flattery. You can appeal to these emotions to make your point or improve your argument. An example of a argument that involves a appeal to a emotion like sympathy would be “I wanted to recycle every bottle I saw after watching the movie Ocean and seeing all the pollution that the animals in the sea have to deal with.” An example of an organization appealing to emotions would be when an organization uses sympathy to bring attention to there cause such as M.A.D.D or the American Red Cross they appeal to the emotion of sympathy to bring attention to there cause and prove their arguments. Emotions can be a powerful tool to use in a argument, by using emotions you can show your audience your views and how you feel about those views.

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.  

Slippery Slope

The slippery slope fallacy is a tricky one because it is a fallacy that is an assumption fallacy. It is a fallacy that has someone assumes that something will happen directly from another statement. A slippery slope fallacy can be when you assume something after a statement is said whether it is your own or someone else’s. An example of this would be when someone says “Dude if you get this job, then you will end up losing yourself in the work”. This is a slippery slope argument because just because this person gets this job the person who made the statement automatically directly assumes that he would end up losing himself in that job. This shows that a slippery slope fallacy is one that is hard to describe because it comes directly from the statement made so a reaction to a statement said in turn leaving you down a slippery slope of action and reaction.   

Argument Structure

Every argument needs a basic structure to keep the argument ordered and understandable. A good argument has an introduction and a conclusion, premises, and maybe some sub arguments. The structure of argument is an important. It allows you to set the basics of your argument up in an understandable way for the listener to understand the main points. This is good because it allows you to set up sub arguments and go more in-depth into your argument without worry that the listener will not understand or lose track of the argument. An argument structure is not only good for the listener but for the speaker to it allows you to keep track of your argument and make it so you are clean fluent transitions which allows you to be more confident and precise when you present your argument. An example of a argument and its structure would be   “BP is a horrible company, they spill oil all over the gulf and do nothing to clean it up. It’s bad for the industries in the gulf as well as the environment itself.” This argument has a clear premise with the idea of BP being a bad company and a clean ending with their option on what the oil is doing to the environment.