Liked and Disliked

I found this class very informative and enjoyable at the same time. Mainly because all the stuff I learned in this class can be applied to the real world. What I liked about this class the most was that it was online and I did not have to show up to class. I was able to work on multiple stuff and still get my online stuff done. My least favorite thing about this class was that every post had to be at least 12 hours apart from the other post. I would always be busy with school and work that I just wanted to post everything at the same time. But if there wasn’t a time span I probably would have done everything in the last minute and stress out about it. I really like how this class was set up so I really would not change anything about it. :)

Cause Effect Website

This website is an introduction to casual arguments. The website states that arguing causation if extremely important for inductive reasoning. Lawyers use casual arguments all the time because they are always trying to prove what caused something and how that caused something else which proves their point. There must also be a commonality in the argument for it to be inductive. The website goes on explaining the three factors that the strength of casual arguments rely on.
1). How acceptable the unspoken judgment is.
2). How likely the causation is
3). How trustworthy the "only significant difference" is
The website also states that a strong correlation is not enough to prove causation.
I found this website useful and the example of the driver and the bicyclist useful but a bit confusing at times. The exercises were very helpful though because they explained why I was correct or incorrect, which helped me understand the concept better.

Mission Critical

When I first went on the Mission Critical website I was alarmed because there were so many links and I didn't know where to start. I then started reading through everything and the website was very helpful and I wished I knew about this website earlier. The website goes over the basics, analyzing arguments, and fallacies. There were many good examples and explanations that gave me better understanding on those subjects. The website went into further detail on common fallacies, for example straw man. The questions asked in the end were very helpful because they explained why I was correct or incorrect. The website also went into further discussion on deductive and inductive arguments. Using this website and Critical Thinking by Epstein together helps me see more examples and see what I do not understand and what I do. This website is useful as an extra explanation guide to Epstein.

Reasoning by Analogy

Reasoning by analogy is when a comparison becomes an argument. The things being compared must be similar in a way so long that the differences do not matter. Arguments by analogy seek to set up relative identity. We draw a conclusion on one side and on the other side we infer the same. The comparison help our argument so we can draw a conclusion out of it. You need to note that not every comparison is an argument. This can be very good for legal analysis because it can be used to prove or disprove something easily. When done appropriately it can increase the knowledge of the reader. However reasoning by analogy can be used immorally, such as propaganda. We use reasoning by analogy all the time and they are a great way to start a discussion.

Sign Reasoning

Sign reasoning was the most difficult type of reasoning to grasp for me. I read a summary on it but that did not help at all. I found this link to a powerpoint and it turned out to be very helpful:
http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/rgass/HCOM%20235%20Fall%202008/Sign%20reasoning.ppt
This powerpoint shows a lot of real life examples of sign reasoning including one that I thought was funny, signs of your significant other cheating.

Sign reasoning is when the existence of one thing indicates another event, but does not mean it causes the other event. The website uses the phrase "Judging a book by its cover" is exactly that. The cover of a book has nothing to do with the actual reading content of the book.

Other examples:
"That girl is stick skinny, she probably is anorexic."
"He hasn't been picking up his phone, he is probably ignoring me."
Both of these examples are judgements and opinions which have to do with a sign that makes them believe something.

Reasoning Examples

1. Reasoning by Analogy
Premise 1: At 18 years of age you are allowed to smoke and vote
Premise 2: You are also considered an adult.
Conclusion: 18 year olds should be allowed to drink alcohol legally as well.

2. Sign Reasoning
The girl in front of me always comes in with baggy sweats and a tshirt. She probably doesn't have anything else to wear.

3. Casual Reasoning
Premise 1: I woke up late this morning.
Premise 2: I ended up being late to work.
Conclusion: Which caused me to be in a bad mood all day.

4. Reasoning by Criteria
In order to be done the work needs to be colorful, visual, and easily read. I see that you are not quite finished yet.

5. Reasoning by Example
You shouldn't go out and party too much. I have a friend who partied at least two times a week and got bored of that life easily.

6. Inductive
It has been raining for the past two days and the sky is still cloudy. It will rain tomorrow as well.

7. Deductive
Premise 1: All mammals need to consume water.
Premise 2: I am a mammal.
Conclusion: So i need to consume water.

Apple Polishing

Appeal to vanity is a type of flattering. Apple polishing is an appeal to vanity. Many advertisements use appeal because many people care about their physical appearances. Apple polishing is a strategy when compliments are used in order for a person to agree with them. In order for some of these kid or arguments to work the person being complimented must be very vain but then sometimes they make a person feel good. My mom knows that when I want something I tend to compliment her. I laugh about it know because I use apple polishing all the time.

An example is:
Mom sorry that I left a mess but I noticed that you been working out lately. I complimented her so I can avoid her getting mad at me. It works sometimes when I present a good argument must most of the time it does not work because she notices what I try to do.

Page 195 Problem Number 3

The first thing I think about when I heard the phrase appeal to fear Hitler and Nazis. This is because they use many persuasive tactics that had to do with fear. They also used propaganda, which can be considered exactly that, advertisements persuading people with fear. Appeal to fear is when a person tries to create support for an argument by creating support. This fallacy is mainly used for politics and marketing.

This advertisement I found is an example of appealing to fear. Specifically because the image is of a dead person. The point that they are trying to give across is if you would rather get your cholesterol level checked or die because you never got it tested. This is considered a conditional claim because it is using or. Or is being used as a scare tactic because they want the person reading the argument to decided one or the other.

Appeal to Emotion

I have heard many people use the quote "think with your brain and not your heart," but emotions should fit into our reasoning. That doesn't mean that your emotions should decided everything. Appeal to emotion can be a fallacy and instead of facts, persuasive language is usually used for the foundation of this type of argument. Appeals to emotion are intended for the person reading the information to have intuitive feelings. The person then is convinced by the arguments because of the feelings they are feeling, like joy and sadness. It does not mean that all appeal to emotion-based arguments are true.

Here is a list of some Appeals to Emotion: appeal to pity, appeal to fear, appeal to spite, and appeal to vanity.

Appeal to vanity stood out to me because I see it all the time especially in advertisements. It is sometimes call apple-polishing and it is usually by paying compliments.