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.

Reasoning by Criteria

The type of reasoning that I thought was a little difficult to understand was reasoning by criteria. After doing additional research, I was able to fully understand the definition of this concept. Reasoning by criteria is when you come to a conclusion or premise that is backed up by certain information or facts that are related to the argument. In other words, you make your conclusion based on the given information that you have about the person or situation at hand. One example could be that your best friend loves sports and in particular football. You tried really hard to think of the perfect Christmas gift for him that he has not gotten before, but you cannot find anything. You rely on the information that you know about him (the fact that he likes sports especially football) in order to narrow down your options for possible gifts. After coming up with different ideas, you result to giving him an authentic jersey of his favorite player.

Examples of the Different Types of Reasoning

Reasoning by Analogy- Students are like worker bees because they are constantly studying and doing work for their classes.

Sign Reasoning- When the fire alarm is going off in the kitchen, something is burning.

Casual Reasoning- The girls all got food poisoning when they were at the restaurant. They all ordered different entrees but had the same appetizer so they must have gotten sick from the appetizer.

Reasoning by Criteria- My friend likes giraffes so I sent her a giraffe birthday card.

Reasoning by Example- You should really learn how to cook. My dad never learned so now he has to rely on my mom for just about every meal throughout the day.

Inductive- Every morning I wake up and make my bed before I do anything else so tomorrow morning when I wake up, I will make my bed before anything else.0020

Deductive- All students must take English 1A/B and pass the WST in order to enroll in upper division courses. Julie is a student at SJSU therefore she must take English 1A/B and pass the WST in order to begin her upper division courses.

Appeal to Emotion Continued

One idea that I thought was interesting that I found in the reading was the box on page 194 at the very bottom that stated “An appeal to emotion in an argument with a prescriptive conclusion can be good or can be bad.” On the next page, the box in the middle states that “Any appeal to emotion with a descriptive conclusion is bad, if the appeal cannot be deleted as premise.” I found this to be very interesting because in previous chapters, we have learned that we are supposed to elaborate in communication, yet in this chapter, it is telling us to avoid giving as much detail as possible in order to use the concept of appeal to emotion correctly in a discussion. Although what the textbook is saying makes sense, I found it very interesting because I sometime catch myself not giving as much detail as I normally would in order to make a good argument.

Page 195

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

Although I could not find the example online, I saw a commercial on TV a few days ago for Allstate Insurance. It showed a someone who was in a car accident all alone and then all of a sudden, someone else comes to help them along with a police officer, tow truck, and then their insurance agent. As the commercial continues, there are images of the individual who was in the car wreck being supported by all who had arrived on the scene and at the close of the commercial, it says something along the lines of “Aren’t you glad that you’re in good hands?” This is a perfect example in regards to the concept of appeal to fear because it shows the other side of the concept that could be seen positively. Even though it does not directly put viewers into a fearful state, it does urge them to change their insurance policy from whatever it was before to Allstate because their customers “are in good hands.”

Appeal to Emotion

The concept of Appeal to Emotion is an argument that is greatly affected by one’s emotions regarding the idea. If the argument brings up a point that results in affecting an individual’s feelings, this concept could be applied. There are many different subtypes to this concept. One is appeal to pity which is when an individual feels sympathy for a certain individual or cause and makes them want to reach out and help. Another type is appeal to fear which is commonly used in campaigns. This type makes individuals feel like they have to do whatever the speaker is saying or else everything could be their fault. An example could be found in the campaign ads for the upcoming election. Many advertisements leave individuals fearful for the future if they do not cast their vote. Because of this, many voters consider what the advertisement says in order to avoid whatever could come in the future. Appeal to spite, another subtype to the concept of appeal to emotion, is all about revenge and the common belief that two wrongs make a right. The Appeal to Emotion that strikes me is appeal to fear because I have seen so much of it recently especially in on TV and radio in regards to the election. Many advertisements left me feeling uneasy about the way I was going to vote and caused me to constantly be thinking if I was making the right decision.

Shift in the Burden of Proof, defined

One concept that I thought could use further research was the shift in the burden of proof claim found in Chapter 9 of Epstein’s text. In the textbook, there is no actual definition of the shift in the burden of proof, however, online the following definition is given: the burden of proof principle is when the individual who is challenging the argument as the individual who is supporting the argument to give them evidence to support their argument. In return, the supporter should give the other individual the information he or she wants in order to prove their point. However, when the individual does not respond with proof to the statement, the concept of burden of proof is applied because there is no proof given in the argument. After reading the website definition, everything made much more sense than before and I was able to fully understand the examples and everything else in that section of the book.

http://www.limbicnutrition.com/blog/resources/a-code-of-conduct-for-effective-rational-discussion/#toc-the-burden-of-proof-principle

Chapter 8

One major concept that I found interesting in Chapter 8 was generalities. According to Epstein, there are two types of generalities: precise and vague generalities. Precise generalities are exact and to the point; there is no guessing made in the statement. However, in order to be a precise generality, not one part of the statement can be false; the entire thing has to be true. Vague generalities are generalizations that do not indicate the number; instead they use words such as all, almost, many, most, and much more. Generalizations using these particular words would be considered vague generalities because they do not specifically state exactly how many and it also leaves individuals to analyze whether the statement is true or false. Although the statement may be vague, it gives individuals a good reason to believe whether or not each statement is true or false. I thought these two concepts were interesting because I personally use a lot of precise generalizations, however, I never thought that they could have the possibility of being false. After reading this, can now see my mistakes and can communicate more clearly than before.

Usefulness of Course Assignments

Even though the projects have been a little challenging, I overall really enjoyed them. I thought that the topics were pretty interesting having the second project be my favorite so far. I like how we had to choose an organization and completely pull it apart and analyze it according to the different topics that we have been discussing in our blogs and reading about in the textbook. It was a little challenging working with a group online, it was still a great learning experience because it is always nice to have an idea of what it might be like if I were to have to do a project completely online in the work world. I hope that I can use everything that I am learning in this class in the future for my other classes that I have to take and in whatever career path I choose! Thanks for reading :)

Refuting Directly and Indirectly

One concept that I found interesting was in Chapter 7, refuting directly and indirectly. There are three direct ways of refuting an argument according to Epstein:

1. Show that one of the ideas is doubtful.

2. Show that the argument is neither valid nor strong.

3. Show that that conclusion is completely untrue. 

By following these three steps, an individual can refute the argument directly at the source. These steps show that the argument cannot be fixed and therefore needs to be completely reconstructed in order to become a strong argument. At times, individuals may know that the argument is wrong but do not have the proof to show others the other side of the argument that is true. However, there are times where individuals are able to see that the argument that the other individual is trying to make is not true at all which leads to absurdity. Reducing to the absurd is where one or several claims are shown to be as false leading to the entire argument being false as well.

Chapter 7

In Chapter 7 of Epstein’s text, I learned that by raising objections in an argument, you are pointing out that the reason is invalid and therefore bad. By raising objections, individuals are creating another argument which is either calling the idea doubtful or is showing the other individuals who are involved in the conversation that the argument presented was extremely weak. If an individual “knocks off” an objection to your argument, it can be seen as smaller argument within the bigger argument that was first brought up. I found this very interesting because everyone does this on a daily basis without even knowing it. I personally do this countless times throughout my day and it goes unnoticed. After doing the reading and posting this blog, I was able to see how this really does ring true in arguments, both strong and weak, valid and invalid, that surface in everyday life.

Chapter 6: Consider the Alternatives

In the first part of Chapter 6 in Epstein’s text, he focuses on the alternatives in arguments. A compound claim is when two or more claims are linked together by a certain word, however, the claim is still seen as one idea. The word that links the claims together is known as an alternative. Alternatives can be both strong and weak; the stronger the alternative is, the stronger the argument will be. A good alternative would be or or therefore because they follow the same criteria for a valid argument. Contradictory of a claim, also known as negation, is when the claim “has the opposite truth-value” (Epstein 114). Along with the contradictory of a claim comes the contradictory of an or claim. In this type of claim, one idea and another idea are linked and contradicted by the word or. On the other hand, contradictory of an and claim is where one idea and another are linked and contradicted by the word and. Finally, Epstein talks about false dilemmas which are claims that have a bad use of not including the chance for the ”or” in the claim to be unbelievable.

Principle of Rational Discussion

The principle of rational discussion is used in conversation by all individuals who are partaking in the conversation going on. The first condition is that the participants know and understand the subject that is being discussed, are able and willing to come to a mutual decision, and are telling the whole truth. By sticking to these guidelines, the individuals who are participating in the conversation will be able to stick to the topic and idea on hand and will not veer away to a tangent.

Every time she orders a hamburger, she always says no tomato. Therefore, she does not like tomatoes.

Analysis: Because she ordered her hamburger without tomato does not automatically mean that she does not like tomatoes. She could possibly not be craving a tomato on her hamburger or might not like tomatoes on her hamburger but likes it on her salad. Instead of coming to a direct conclusion, individuals should get to know the person before making a direct decision.

Internet Advertisement

http://www.stanford.edu/class/linguist34/advertisements/43aveda/43aveda.jpg

I found this advertisement online and I found it very interesting. I have never used this brand before; however, I found that the advertisement had said all the right words to motivate someone to purchase their products. Within the description, they had used terms that any woman who is reading the advertisement in a magazine or whatever other reading source that they happen to be flipping through. In reality, the person who purchases this product might feel exactly how the paragraph describes how each user is going to feel when they use the product for only the first few uses. After a week or two of using the product, the individual will become accustomed to the “feelings” that are given by the product. Additionally, the individual who purchases this product will not actually feel the feelings that are portrayed; they will be thinking those feelings because they feel that they have to after buying the product.