Example #5

Example number one, My neighbor should be forced to get rid of all the cars in his yard(1). People do not like living next door to such a mess(2). He never drives any of them(3). They all look old and beat up and leak oil all over the place(4). It is bad for the neighborhood, and it will decrease property values(5).

Argument: Yes this is an argument.

Conclusion: The neighbor should be forced to get rid of all his unused cars because they are decreasing property values.

Additional premises needed: No additional premises are required for the argument.

Identify any sub argument: There happens to be no sub argument for this argument.

Good argument: Yes, I believe the argument is good because the premise are true, and the conclusion is true.

I believe this exercise helped because it helped me to understand what parts to look for when an argument is presented. Also it helped to identify each part of the argument.

Rational Discussion

The Principle of Rational Discussion as stated by Epstein says that"sometimes it seems the other person doesn't understand what's involved in rational discussion or is intending to mislead. And sometimes there's not even an argument." What Epstein means by that is sometimes when a person comes into an argument or presents one other with an argument, they may not always know enough information about the topic or is intending to give false information. There are four main ways to tell if the person is violating the principle of rational discussion; they are begging the question, using strawman, shifting the burden of truth, and/or using relevance. The most common method being used in the violation of rational discussion that I have noticed is either strawman or shifting the burden of truth. People who sometimes argue about football or any kind of sports mostly use shifting the burden of truth. People find it easier to let someone else tell them why it the argument is true or false because they either cannot think of a truth or false statement about the argument or they're just too lazy to find one.

Example- My friend came up to me and told me that Italy's national soccer team was going to be horrible this year when they come to play for the world cup. I asked him why they would and he just kept saying that they had sucked last year(even though they won) and they were gonna suck this year. He also kept saying that they had no real hood players. So when I had asked him about it again, he told me to come up with why they were gonna do good this year.

Sexual Harassment Or Not??

Sexual harassment is an "unwelcome and unsolicited behavior of a sexual nature" according to Hair and Wiemann. Many people mistake certain looks or acts of kindness for a possible advancement in a sexual way. The differences in how we interpret each others actions and ways of speaking are sometimes mistaken for advances as well, when in reality it could mean the exact opposite. Attraction is another reason that sexual harassment occurs. If someone of certain power is attracted to another person, that the status or authority of the person with certain power abuses it to gain sexual favors. The abuse of power can go on for as long as someone lets it, although people are afraid of saying something because of the person's power and or status. Sexual harassment usually goes over looked due to the fact the the victim does not want to confront their "attacker", instead the victim either changes companies, work areas, or jobs.

Strong Versus Valid

Epstein states that a good argument can either be strong or valid. He says that an argument can be both strong and valid but the argument may beg the question if one tries to use both. Epstein states that "a strong argument with true premises is sometimes better than a valid one with the same question" (48). I believe this to be true because the way each one is presented can mean the same thing but end up being different. An everyday life example of a valid argument would be that San Jose city does daily street cleaning. Therefore, all the streets in San Jose are clean. An example of a strong argument would be that Scott visited San Jose. He had never visited San Jose before and really liked it. Scott really likes San Jose.

Group Communication

In the Essential Guide to Group Communication by Dan O'Hair & Mary O. Wiemann, I found that the part about dealing with time pressures in groups was very interesting. As a hall government member, I see more than my share of wasted time. I found it interesting how the book gives specific leadership styles is dependent on time. I noticed that if more time is used in questioning each other within the group and each group member challenges the other, then more will get done. This is due to the fact that once an idea is challenged and all other alternatives have been brought up, then if the idea is still standing, it should be the one to run its course. Three possible possible ways that groups can do to work around time and produce a quality decision are 1)”a group may begin a discussion by taking a nonbinding poll, 2) the leader may impose time limits on certain components of a discussion, and 3) the group may not make any decision at all” (Wiemann, 45). I found it very interesting that the last way to produce a quality decision was to not come up with one at all. I guess no decision is better than a bad one.

An Argument: Good or Bad?

There are many everyday examples of of good valid argument. One argument could be about shoes for instance. My friend Christine has seven pairs of shoes. There are seven days in a week. Therefore she has a pair of shoes for everyday of the week. This is a good valid argument because both premises are true. Also, both premises eliminate the fact that the conclusion cannot be false. Therefore this is a valid argument.

My friend Alex does not study for his final exams and does horrible. The final exams are based on the readings in the book. Therefore due to Alex not studying, he fails his final exams. This is a good valid argument because both premises are plausible and are more plausible than the conclusion. Also, both premises eliminate the thought the conclusion is not false. Therefore this is also a good argument.

More About Claims

In the book Critical Thinking by Richard Epstein, Epstein discusses prescriptive claims and value judgments. He states that a "claim is descriptive if it says what is. A claim is prescriptive if it says what should be" (Epstein, 24). What he means by a descriptive claim is that when someone states something like they are hot or that Obama is the United States first African American president, then the subject that is being said is something that is usually a fact. When Epstein discusses a prescriptive claim it is something like Obama should reform health care or if someone is hot then they should go swimming.

As part of the prescriptive claim, there are words that make the claim more effective. Words such as bad, wrong, worse, good, better, and best are words that help with the claim to make us feel that we should or should not do something. This is what makes the prescriptive claim more of a moral claim or value judgment. Sometimes though, the moral claim or value judgment is too vague to be a claim. Someone could state something that is non debatable or the standard could be personal.

Vague/Ambiguous Sentence

Vague sentences are something that we use in everyday conversations without even realizing it. Just the other day I heard one of my friends tell me that he was very tired and worn out from the day. He did not mention what exactly exhausted him or what he did that was so strenuous, which makes his sentence vague. Another example of a vague sentence would be an advertisement I saw on television. The television ad I saw was about a depression pill that could help with depression. The ad stated that if depression was a problem in your life it could help. This ad is vague because it did not state how the medicine could help but rather just stated facts about depression and other things about the side affects of the medication. The ad would not have been vague if the company who made the ad/the medicine would have said how it could help treat one's depression problem.

Subjective and Objective Claims

Subjective claims are more along the lines of personal feelings and ideas. If someone believes or feels that what they say is true or even false then it is a subjective claim. A good example of a subjective claim would be my friend saying that the New Orleans Saints are better than the Indianapolis Colts. Now because he said this and it is not a fact, his statement becomes a subjective claim.

Objective claims are more along the lines of impersonal, meaning it has more to do with fact. If someone says something and it is factual then it makes the claim objective. An example of a objective claim is that my dog Marlon, he is a Maltese and does not shed a great amount of hair. This is objective because my dog is in fact a Maltese and when someone looks into dogs that do not shed, Maltese come up on the list.