Week 12 - Post 2: Sign Reasoning

            After reading over the various forms of argument on the instructor’s blog, one of the types of reasoning that I found a bit more difficult to understand was sign reasoning. Upon doing more research on the topic, I found more information on a set of lecture notes from the University of Washington. The notes stated, “Inference says that one thing is a sign of another. It’s usually used in an argument that something is.” In other words, if one thing is present, the other thing is present. For instance, studying for several hours insures that a student will retain information. Furthermore, retaining information insures that the student will do well on their test. When looking at this example as a whole, it is clear to see that the good test score is associated with adequate studying. Without studying, the student would not have gotten such a good test score. Thus, A is only present if B is present. After doing further research, I have a much better understanding of sign reasoning.

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:e4-BvGsHmz4J:courses.washington.edu/com234ce/Day%25204%2520Argument%2520Types.pdf+argument+by+sign&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi-hDRXJ281aQoAP06DPMoT6KC-5qp1CaGLpVi_KIUn8zqvWo6ANFMH8UyYRujsWvU9_5L0N1CTTOmD_6Kg1p0_ti66gxMPhtCAymmnrtBjDFsJ_SKfFFpSkY6ruENxOGoB1dSu&sig=AHIEtbQS1XwNL_0AxClP06syjbUknxIknA

Week 12 - Post 1: Forms of Reasoning

As mentioned in Professor Perez’s post, there are several forms of reasoning one can use to construct a good argument. Reasoning by analogy is when someone compares the argument in question to a similar argument. An example of reasoning by analogy would be, “The Psychology Department should offer online classes to accommodate more students. The Nutrition Department’s online classes have proven to be very successful in accommodating a larger amount of students.” Another type of reasoning is sign reasoning. Sign reasoning is a form of reasoning in which two objects are so closely related that when one is missing, the other is missing as well. An example of this would be a storm without any rain. Storms do not exist without intense weather conditions like rain, and sometimes even lightening. Another type of reasoning is casual reasoning. Casual reasoning is when the cause of something is altered or changed to prevent its proven effects. An example of this would be a teenager gaining weight from eating excessive amounts of fast food. In order to prevent the weight gain, the teenager would need to stop eating junk food and return to eating healthier foods. Another type of reasoning is reasoning by criteria. An example of this would be, “I know you’re trying to eat healthier. I’m told the salads are very good here.” This statement highly suggests that the person should eat a salad without directly saying that to them. Another type of reasoning is reasoning by example. Reasoning by example is when an example is used in an argument in order to successfully make a point. An example of this would be, “You should go to college. My friends without college degrees had a much harder time finding jobs.” Another example of reasoning is inductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is when someone makes all assumptions about something based on past experiences with that object or circumstance. An example of this would be, “There was traffic last Monday on my way to work. I should leave earlier next Monday because there will probably be traffic again.” Another type of reasoning is deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is when an argument is made and then followed by a premise that deduces the reasoning to one final circumstance. An example of this would be, “College students have to pay tuition. Ryan is a college student. Therefore, Ryan has to pay tuition.” Clearly, each of these arguments can prove to be very effective in the proper situation.

Week 11 - Post 3: Apple Polishing & Appeals to Vanity

In chapter ten of Critical Thinking, Epstein also discusses the emotional appeals known as Apple Polishing and appeals to vanity. Apple Polishing, in itself, is an appeal to vanity. An example of an appeal to vanity would be a make-up commercial. For instance, a commercial for Maybelline mascara will go over the aspects of their product extensively to show their viewers that their product will make them look beautiful. The part of the commercial that talks about how longer lashes will make you look prettier is an appeal to vanity. Discussing the “new formula”, how it separates lashes perfectly, and refuses to clump is an example of Apple Polishing. Apple Polishing allows companies to thoroughly present why their product is the best. Naturally, every detail they mention is not going to be completely true because other companies with the same product say the exact same thing in their commercials. Nonetheless, these appeals help companies succeed in advertising and selling their product.

Week 11 - Post 2: Chapter 10 Exercise #3

Exercise #3: Find an advertisement that uses an appeal to fear. Is it a good argument?

            One type of ad that I constantly see using appeals to fear is the car insurance advertisements for Allstate Insurance. Rather than simply stating that their rates are lower than other insurance companies, they rely on footage of accidents or scary facts about auto-related deaths. I found an example of one of Allstate’s advertisements for teen driving on YouTube. The teenagers are all in cars lined up and driving along a dark road. They look happy at the start of the commercial, but at the end they show the sad look on one teen’s face from the back window of the car as they drive off into the distance. The commercial states, “Every year nearly 6,000 teenagers go out for a drive, and never come back.” They end the commercial by telling their viewers to sign up for Allstate’s “Parent-Teen Driving Contract.” In this case the argument is a bad because a contract with an insurance company is not what is going to make your teenager drive more carefully. Instead, teens should be taught safe driving methods by their parents or a driver’s safety class. However, insurance companies will try to scare parents into thinking that their teen is more likely to get into a fatal car accident if they do not have a service offered by the company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JAV-_PXSck

Week 11 - Post 1: Appeals to Emotion

In chapter ten of Critical Thinking, Epstein goes over appeals to emotions and how they are used in arguments. He states, “An appeal to emotion in an argument is just a premise that says, roughly, you should believe or do something because you feel a certain way.” There are also several different types of appeals discussed in this chapter. Three of these appeals are appeals to pity, appeals to fear, and appeals to spite. An appeal to pity is an appeal used to get people to do something by making them feel sorry for someone. An example of such an appeal is the ASPCA commercials that show beaten and homeless animals with sad music playing in the background. These commercials are unstated claims trying to get people to donate to the organization by making them feel sorry for the animals shown in the commercial. Appeals to fear are those usually used in advertisements that are commonly used to scare people into doing something or buying something. For example, car insurance companies often show accidents taking place in their commercials before they begin discussing their low rates. Another type of appeal is the appeal to spite. Appeals to spite are those that reject an idea or action in hopes of obtaining revenge. An example of this appeal would be if one employee refused to take their co-worker’s shift because the co-worker refused to take the employee’s shift last week. The appeal to pity is the type of appeal that makes me fall for these types of arguments. When I feel sorry for people or animals, I am much more likely to give in and help them. While these are not proper ways to construct an argument, they usually prove to be fairly successful in advertisements.

Week 9 - Post 3: Proof Substitutes & Shifting the Burden

As I was reading through the concealed claims section of Epstein’s Critical Thinking, I realized that proof substitutes and shifting the burden were a bit more confusing to me than I had originally anticipated. A proof substitute is when the person presenting the argument pretends to have proof or statistics on the topic they are presenting, when in fact, they really have no clue themselves. A site I found for Bellevue Community College also states, “If the speaker does not actually cite any study, and does not give any supporting evidence, then they have not offered any evidence for the claim.” Looking into this topic a bit further helped me understand the idea of proof substitutes more.

            Another topic I wanted to research further was shifting the burden. Shifting the burden is when a speaker turns their argument over to the audience in such a way that the audience feels obligated to complete their debate with evidence. The Kennesaw University website states, “If someone claims to know a fact, always look at its source. If the arguer cannot validate or justify his own remarks, then they probably are not valid (and cannot be considered valid anyway until proven otherwise).” Understanding these argument tricks is important when evaluating whether or not someone is making a strong argument in the future.

http://bellevuecollege.edu/lmc/ilac/Curric/kint/phil7.htm

http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~shagin/logfal-distract-shiftburden.htm

Week 9 - Post 2: Usefulness of First & Second Course Projects

The first course project, “Critical Thinking in News and Politics” was helpful to my studies in many ways. When my group divided up the project sections amongst us, my job was to complete section “D.” This section required me to find a description in the editorial as well as describe the difference between a description and an argument. After completing this section, it was easy to distinguish between general descriptions and actual arguments being made in editorials and other articles. In addition, I was able to practice these concepts for the midterm as well as practice my writing skills when I completed my individual paper.

            The second course project, “Critical Thinking and Social Organizations” is proving to be effective to my learning as well. The organization my group chose to investigate was PETA. By studying this organization, I have learned how group use devices such as concealed claims and appeals to emotion to gain support for their cause. Furthermore, I have learned how to investigate the social issues the group claims to support. These skills will undoubtedly be effective later in my education when I need to research different social groups for other papers or projects.