Generalizations

One section that I thought was interesting in Epstein’s text was the section on generalizations. Individuals generalize when they conclude a claim about a collection of ideas, which is called the population, from a statement about one of the ideas, which is called the sample. Additionally, when individuals make a general claim the conclusion to an idea it can be called a generalization. Just about everyone generalizes on a daily basis. I think that this is interesting because this is done without knowing and is not thought and planned out. After taking this class, I was able to see that concepts like these are used in everyday life. Now that I know these concepts, I can not only apply them, but better educate others who might not know how to make a better argument or may not know how to communicate something effectively. It is times like these where I feel grateful for being fortunate enough to have a good education behind me.

Favorites and Least Favorites about Comm41

One of my favorite things about this class was that I was required to do the work on my own. Granted it was very hard at times to balance going to class, doing other homework, and going to work, it was nice to know that I did not have to go on campus to complete a homework assignment or walk to class for lecture for this particular course.  If I wanted to, which I did most of the time, I did the work in the comfort of my own home while I was waiting for dinner to be cooked or just had to focus on completing the assignments for the week. I did not really enjoy doing the group projects because it was very difficult to collaborate for an online class however it was doable. Maybe one improvement that could be made would be to take the projects and make smaller and only assign one other person to work on the project with you because it was difficult at times to collaborate with a group of four other students.

What I have learned throughout the semester...

There were so many different things that I had learned in this class throughout the entire semester that I do not even know where to begin. I think the most important things that I know I will use from now on is how to have a good argument. Before, I would just bring up an argument or participate in one because I might have felt passionate about the issue. Sometimes I would not know how to support my argument or phrase it in a way that made it sound good and would cause the other individual to respond in a positive way. Now I know that I must have support before getting into an argument because without it, it does not make me look good if I argue with a point that is not valid or strong. This class made me realize that details are also key to communication because without them, it is very hard to get your point across.

Criteria for Cause and Effect

One concept that I found interesting in Chapter 15 of Epstein’s text was the criteria for cause and effect. First and foremost, the cause and effect of the argument must have occurred and must be true, otherwise this concept cannot be applied. Second, the cause must come before the effect and cannot be reversed. It is also not possible for the cause to be true and the effect to be false (and vice versa). Additionally, “the cause makes a difference” (pg 307). In other words, if the cause had not occurred in the past, there would not be an effect resulting in no cause in the first place. Finally, the last necessary factor is that “there is no common cause” (pg 307). All of these need to be applicable to the argument in the current situation otherwise the concept of cause and effect cannot be used and applied in the scenario.

Mission Critical Website

Along with the Cause and Effect website, the Mission Critical website was another outside source that was extremely useful because it had so much valuable information on just about every topic we had discussed throughout the semester in this class. The organization of this website was also very helpful because it laid everything out and made it simple for students to find the topic that they needed more information on whatever topic they found to be a little confusing or not clear. Just like the Cause and Effect website, the Mission Critical website also came along with different exercises for every single concept that was explained. Having the exercises there made it so much easier because they also were given a detailed explanation as to why that was the answer and how come it was a better choice than any other one. I am very glad that there are sites like these out there on the web because they help out students a lot more than a simple textbook can. They also encourage students to try to use other resources outside of the text so that they can understand the concept from different perspectives.

Usefulness of the Cause and Effect Website

I thought that the Cause and Effect website was extremely helpful. It makes it so much easier for me and perhaps a few others to understand something when it is organized and that is exactly what was presented on the website. Everything was explained in simple terms and in great detail so just about anyone could understand the material and take something from it. I also really liked how the author of the website took the examples that he or she gave and broke them down and provided reasoning behind each one of why it would be better or worse and whatnot. Additionally, the exercises that came along with the website were very useful and beneficial to the reader. They were a good variety of questions that asked each reader about what they had learned in the passage and challenged them to think about what would be the right answer instead of what most exercises do by making it so simple that the answer is obvious.

Fallacy of Composition

One concept that I had found in Epstein’s text was towards the end of the chapter. The concept fallacy of composition is when the truth of an individual is also true for a group of individuals in an argument. This concept could also ring true if the truth for a group of individuals is also true for one individual. This concept can be seen in reasoning by analogy because most individuals come up with their analogies from groups and individuals. However, since the groups and individuals are so different it sometimes is too good to be true for the analogy to be valid. Although this concept is not discussed in detail in the text, I still thought it was interesting because I have not been able to find an example in my life because throughout this entire course, I have always been able to find an example in my life however this is the one time I have not been able to.