Post 3

Chapter 15 was all about cause and effects. A cause is the reason for things happening. An effect is the result of the cause and the two go hand in hand. So much of our lives are about cause and effect. One concept I found interesting was the normal conditions. Normal conditions "are the obvious and plausible unstated claims that are needed to establish that the relationship between purported cause and purported effect is valid or strong." Another concept that was interesting is the "post hoc ergo proper hoc" meaning after this, therefore, because of this. Much of argument has to do with this saying. The book used a good example in explaining how we use this saying in our everyday arguments. Overall, the chapter was helpful for learning about how cause and effect is used in our everyday life. Chapter 15 used good examples and had great ways of explaining everything.

Post 2

What was useful about this website?

This website was not very useful. First, there was too much information for such a subject that does not seem to be of much importance. Also, the makeup of the website is kind of funky. It seems to be almost just another wikipedia style of information. Why can not there be an educational website that is not so boring. Wow, it was hard to get through all the excersises. The excersies are just testing our knowledge of things we should know. The most helpful statement was "Many people distinguish between two basic kinds of argument: inductive and deductive. Induction is usually described as moving from the specific to the general, while deduction begins with the general and ends with the specific; arguments based on experience or observation are best expressed inductively, while arguments based on laws, rules, or other widely accepted principles are best expressed deductively. Consider the following example:

Adham: I've noticed previously that every time I kick a ball up, it comes back down, so I guess this next time when I kick it up, it will come back down, too.

Post 1

What was useful from the cause and effect website?

Of course, the website was helpful. Anytime, we can get away from using the book, I learn. From the book, I barely learn anything so a website is useful in trying to educate. I liked the example of the bicyclist and his/her scenario. The website also not only used just cause and effect concepts, but used concepts from previous chapters, which is always helpful. Then, it had some very useful information about arguments. "These causal arguments, then, follow the form of an inductive argument with one important exception: whereas an inductive argument carries as part of its second premise the implication that there is otherwise no significant difference, these causal arguments carry the implication that there is only one significant difference: for the bicyclist, the truck; for the first driver, the bicycle; for the second driver, the first car. " This was by far the best part of the website. It had the most useful information.

Post 3

This chapter was about the different types of reasoning using analogy. I did not see the necessity of this chapter when compared to the last. This cheaper did not seem much different. Reasoning is not something we are born with, it is a learned behavior just like language. It is just whether we choose to exercise our ability to reason to the fullest. When we really truly begin to use reasoning and logic, we are all smart people. But, it just many people do not use reasoning. Many people make decisions on the fly/use their first instinct. I disagree that this is a good way to make decisions. Reasoning is important to being able to see the consequences of a certain action. However, using reasoning, I see that sometimes our plans can backfire. We sometimes may make the wrong decision because of our over thinking. Over thinking can lead to more problems but not thinking is also a problem.

Post 2

The most difficult reasoning to use was inductive. First, I did not have any clue what it meant to reason by induction. I could not find the difference between reasoning by deduction and induction. It seems both are just about reasoning using rationality. But, shouldn't all reasoning be rational? Of course, if we want to reason with someone and get something done, rationality would be the best way to approach it. Rationality should always be a part of every argument/reasoning.

Reasoning is a part of human nature. Reasoning is what defines human versus the animals. Reasoning is logic. Reasoning encompasses all sorts of forms. But, the best form is using fear. Is fear rational? I would argue yes. Fear is a normal part of the human condition. Fear is a big part of life, so if someone wants to tap into fear as a way of reasoning, that is logical.

Post 1

1. Reasoning by analogy - I want to save money on their energy costs, so I reason that solar power is just as effective as electricity, and solar is a cleaner energy form.

2. Sign Reasoning - A person should not drink coffee because it stains teeth so a person should also not drink soda because it stains tooth also.

3. Casual reasoning - We need to be prepared for a tsunami because California has earthquakes and is on the coastline.

4. Reasoning by criteria - My religion says I need to feed the hungry, so I should give money to charity.

5. Reasoning by example - We need to fix our debt problem or we will end up like Ireland.

6. Inductive Reasoning - People should not overspend or else they will go bankrupt.

7. Deductive Reasoning - People need to get out more to experience the world.

Post 3

Fear is the greatest intimidator. It is how many people (including myself) live their lives, out of fear. Fear is what has caused some of history's greatest and most forgetful moments. Wars were started over fear, fear of terrorism, nuclear wars, and religion. It is no wonder that politicians use fear to further their political agenda. Fear is a motivating factor to actually go out and vote. For example, just for reference both political parties use fear and demagoguery, it is just Republicans use more blunt scare tactics; their fear mongering is much less subtle. Republicans try to scare Americans into saying Obama is a socialist who wants to spread the wealth. First, my argument to that is America is already a socialist nation already. We have Medicare, Medicaid, social security, and so on. How do people fear socialism when hello, it is here in America that we redistribute money? We take money from the working people and give it to people who already worked. We take money from the young people and give it the elderly so they can have healthcare.

Post 2

If an officer of the law were to pull me over, of course I would try to get out the ticket. I would make up some excuse like "please do not give me a ticket because I just found out my wife cheated on me." Appealing to emotion or pity would be the most effective strategy for avoiding the ticket. No person should try to appeal to fear with an officer of the law. Nothing really scares an officer of the law, and it is not really a good idea to try to scare the officer into doing something, like not giving out a ticket. Hopefully, the officer would understand be sympathetic to my situation of my wife cheating on me. "See officer that is why I was speeding. I had to go home and confront my wife. Plus, I was angry so my driving was a little fast."

Post 1

An appeal to emotion is an argument in which you try to convince someone using emotions to have the person convinced because of a certain way he or she feels. Of course using emotions in making decisions is a good thing. We should never make a decision based on something we do not feel will help us emotionally. Appealing to emotions has many forms. Appealing to pity is when we want someone to do something based on feeling sorry or helpless to something. The book uses charity as an example, which helps clarify what appealing to pity is. Appealing to fear is what politicians use to get things done. Appealing to fear is using fear to scare people into doing things or buying things. Appealing to fear is the biggest and best appeal to emotion. It has the best track record of emotion appealing. What drives the world is fear. Fear about global warming, war, and nuclear weapons leads us to build the biggest military. Fear about the economy has caused us to dip into our retirement to have money. Oil speculation has caused a spike in global prices. An appeal to spite is when someone tries to appeal by having two wrongs to make a right.