Week 16 – Post 3: Generalizing & Representative Samples

After reading chapter fourteen, I have a much greater understanding of generalization. According to Epstein, “We are generalizing if we conclude a claim about a group, the population, from a claim about some part of it, the sample. To generalize is to make an argument.” The problem with generalizing is that certain people are not representative of an entire group that is otherwise very similar. When coming up with samples it is very important to insure that each subgroup is represented in the population as a whole. In Critical Thinking, Epstein also states, “A sample is representative if no one subgroup of the whole population is represented more than its proportion in the population.” If the sample favors one subgroup more than the others, it is said to be a biased sample. Representative samples are important when gaining population opinions. For instance, if mostly women were asked if abortions were ethical, the statistics of this study would be biased. However, if men and women of many ethical backgrounds were asked the same question, the study would be much more representative of the general opinion of the population.

Week 16 – Post 2: What was your favorite thing about class? What was your least favorite thing about class? How can class be improved?

My favorite thing about this class was the freedom of being able to complete the weekly assignments anytime between Sunday morning and Saturday night. This is my first online class, and I definitely enjoyed the window our class had to complete the assignments. Furthermore, I liked that we were able to vote on whether or not to stay in our groups. I was very happy with the people I worked with. It was also nice to receive responses to my questions very quickly from the professor. My least favorite thing about the class was that the group projects were back to back throughout the semester. It would have been nice to have perhaps a one week break before having to start the next project. I also disliked that our online quizzes were timed. I personally become especially anxious when I must complete a task in a short amount of time. People are already nervous when taking tests without making the tests timed as well. If I were to improve the class, I would increase the time limits on quizzes to relieve students of the anxiety. I would also remove the 12 hour restrictions between posts. Students already must have their posts submitted by 11:59pm on Saturday night. Dragging out these due dates only makes the work more difficult for students to complete with their already busy schedules.

Week 16 – Post 1: What have you learned in this class over the course of the semester?

Over the course of the semester, I have learned a great deal about arguments and reasoning in the class. For instance, I was not aware that valid and strong arguments existed based on the definitions provided in Critical Thinking. I simply thought that there were good or bad arguments. I did not know that strong arguments were based on the slim probability that the premises of an argument could be true, and the conclusion false at the same time. I just thought that an argument was strong if it made sense and had evidence to support it. I was aware that many advertisements and politicians used emotion to gain support for their arguments, but I did not know that there were so many forms of Appeal to Emotion. After learning about Appeals to Pity, Appeals to Fear, and Appeals to Spite, it is much easier to see which angle these people are using emotion to try and gain my support. In addition to Appeals to Emotion, I learned about various fallacies such as Slippery Slope, False Dilemmas, Bad Appeals to Authority, Bad Appeals to Common Belief, and more. Learning about these fallacies has helped me to construct stronger arguments as well as distinguish between effective and poor arguments in my everyday life.