Assignment #2

The second course assignment, Critical Thinking and Social Organizations, was very useful in my opinion. It was useful to me because it helped increase my knowledge of the topics we’ve been learning about. It also helped give me a better understanding of the concepts and how they are used and seen in common aspects of life. It helped expand my knowledge on concepts such as, concealed claims, fallacies, and the use of emotion to appeal. I found out that many websites and organizations use the concept of emotion to appeal. This concept is used by organizations who want to get a person’s attention and maybe influence them to do something, such as donate, or help spread awareness about an issue. They could also want the viewer to help promote something such as a product. In the case with the American Cancer Society, the concept of emotion to appeal was used to help gain support for breast cancer and to donate money to support the cause.

Chapter 8

I learned a few different things from Chapter 8 from the “Critical Thinking” text which talked about General Claims. One thing I learned was that there are key words involved when dealing with claims and their contradictories. The key words are; all, some, no, and only. An example that uses “all” is; "All animals can swim."Its contradictory would be; "Some animals can swim." An example using some is; "Some birds can swim." Its contradictory would be; No birds can swim. An example using No is; No women play hockey. A contradictory would be; "Some women play hockey." An example for only is; "Only Russians like vodka." A contradictory would be; Some Russians don’t like vodka. Another concept I learned about was precise generalities. In the text it states that, “If the percentages are very high or very low, though, we can get a strong argument, assuming we know nothing more about the people or things involved.” An example of a precise generalization is; “27 out of 30 people who take the Alabama driving test passes. Cheryl took the Alabama driving test. So Cheryl passed the Alabama driving test. In this case, the percentage of passing is very high; therefore, it is a strong argument to say that Cheryl passed.

False Dilemma

One concept that I found useful or interesting is the concept of false dilemmas. This concept is found in Chapter 6 in the critical thinking book. According to the book, “a false dilemma is a bad use of excluding possibilities where the ‘or’ claim is false or implausible. Sometimes just the dubious ‘or’ claim itself is called a ‘false dilemma’.” I notice a lot of examples of false dilemmas on television shows, specifically, ones based around comedy. An example of false dilemma is the following common statement; “You’re either with us or against us.” This seems like an extreme point to make. What if you were the only one who declined to go on a ski trip for your friend’s birthday party and he said this to you. Just because you don’t want to go doesn’t mean you’re against them. What if you can’t afford the trip or have a fear of mountains and there being an avalanche. There are many possibilities excluded.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 titled “Counter-arguments” was a short chapter which discussed “Raising Objections” and “Refuting an Argument.” What I first learned when I began reading the chapter was that, “raising objections is a standard way to show that an argument is bad.” By raising an objective, you are creating another argument that can prove a premise to be false or show how a premise can be weak. Take for instance the premises;

Everyone should use public transportation.
Using public transportation will decrease traffic.
Using public transportation will be safer and reduce the amount of drivers on the road that uses their cell phone while driving.
Public transportation is cheaper and will reduce pollution from cars.

An objective would be; “Public transportation doesn’t travel as fast as a person would driving a car.” Another objective that could be raised is; "Some people would rather carpool than pay a bus fare and also busses, trolleys, and trains don’t run 24/7 for those who work at night or early mornings."

Another concept I learned about is strawman. This is where a person tries to refute a claim by putting words in the person’s mouth that made the claim. An example would be; Mike is against the legalization of marijuana. Clearly he does not like people who smoke weed.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6, titled “Compound Claims” mentions many concepts. I leaned that when it comes to compound claims, it is simpler to view each claim independently. Also in an argument, “but” works the same way as “and,” it is just a stylistic variation. When considering valid arguments with two claims, and one claim is not true, then is known as disjunctive syllogism. An example of this form of argument is; “Either I will go to the store now and miss the beginning of the baseball game, or I will stay home and watch the whole baseball game first, then go shopping.” I can’t miss the first pitch of the game. Therefore I will stay home and watch the entire baseball game then go to the store. Another concept that I learned about was claims and their contrapositives. An example is; “If I get a tooth pulled out, then I went to the dentist.” The contrapositive is, “If I didn’t go to the dentist, then I didn’t get a tooth pulled.” Both claims in the example are equivalent.

Bad Appeals to Authority

A concept that I found interesting in the Critical Thinking book was, Bad appeals to authority. The definition of appeal to authority is stated in the book as, “when we accept a claim because of who said it.” When we “accept claims from people who aren’t authorities on the subject or who have a motive to mislead,” then it is a bad appeal to authority. I know sometimes I’ve treated my friends and relatives as authorities sometimes. I accepted their claims because they were older than me; therefore you would think they would have more knowledge and information on a subject that you don’t know too much yourself. I have found them to be wrong sometimes. Many times I felt like I should have gone with my way of going about something or using my logic. A person can sound like they know what they are talking about but can also be completely lying. That’s what I have learned.

Advertising and the Internet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O0gNlZFymM

The piece of evidence I found for this discussion question is the product by the name of iRenew. It is a bracelet that has been and is currently being advertised on television. The iRenew bracelet has many claims. One claim that it makes is, that “it uses natural frequencies to promote strength and balance.” It is said that, “every iRenew is programmed with a natural frequency that your body responds to.” I have wondered if products like these really work. There has been a similar product on the market before called the Q-Ray bracelet that made many of the same claims iRenew has. The video can be very convincing, especially with the demonstrations shown and the testimonials they have. However, much information is not given in support of the claim. What natural frequencies are used? How are they made? So every person’s body responds this way? This product is known as a pseudoscience. There is actually no scientific evidence proving that this product works.

Advertising and the Internet

The piece of evidence I found for this discussion question is the product by the name of iRenew. It is a bracelet that has been and is currently being advertised on television. The iRenew bracelet has many claims. One claim that it makes is, that “it uses natural frequencies to promote strength and balance.” It is said that, “every iRenew is programmed with a natural frequency that your body responds to.” I have wondered if products like these really work. There has been a similar product on the market before called the Q-Ray bracelet that made many of the same claims iRenew has. The video can be very convincing, especially with the demonstrations shown and the testimonials they have. However, much information is not given in support of the claim. What natural frequencies are used? How are they made? So every person’s body responds this way? This product is known as a pseudoscience. There is actually no scientific evidence proving that this product works.