Criteria by Reasoning

There were seven types of reasoning that were discussed in the first question. Out of the seven, I found reasoning by criteria the hardest to provide an example for. Each type of reasoning was clear in the definition, and I had no problems interpreting each of them (that is, if my understanding of each subject is correct). Reasoning by Criteria is quite simple – it occurs when comparisons are used against established criteria to prove a point. In my first question, the example I used was: “How do we know which restaurant is good? Let’s read some online reviews.” I think the most important aspect of this type of reasoning is the fact that you must have an appeal to a common value for the criteria. If the listener can easily relate to the criteria or even share a similar opinion, then it is easier for the argument to be accepted.

Reasoning

1. Reasoning by Analogy – A) The 9/11 hijackers were terrorists. B) The terrorists currently are of Muslim faith. C) All Muslims are terrorists.
2. Sign Reasoning – If you hear a siren, there is most likely some type of emergency near by.
3. Casual Reasoning – The phone rings. Melissa gets up and runs to answer the phone. Melissa trips over the dog and breaks her ankle. Melissa’s injury was caused by the phone call.
4. Reasoning By Criteria – How do we know which restaurant is good? Let’s read some online reviews.
5. Reasoning by Example – I have a dog exactly like yours. He would not stop licking everything in sight when he was young. The solution was to punish him when he was wrong and reward him when he was right.
6. Inductive Reasoning – Every morning, for the past 10 years, my coworker has always neatly covered his car after he arrives in the morning. Tomorrow, he will cover his car.
7. Deductive Reasoning – A) All SUVs are gas guzzlers. B) The Ford Escape is a SUV. C) The Ford Escape is a gas guzzler.

Apple polishing

Apple polishing is an appeal to vanity. It is essentially a negative type of an appeal. In these types of cases, it usually occurs when a reaction or decision is made because of another person’s actions, which usually involves some type of positive aspect towards the person making the decision. In essence, it is basically known as brown nosing, or kissing someone’s behind in order to get the praise or feedback that you want or desire. This happens all of the time in the working world. Many may have experience a situation similar to the one that I am going to describe. “Eddie is a coworker of mine. He is lazy, sloppy, and always late. But he is always complimenting the manager, pointing the blame at others, and making him stand out as a good worker. As a result, he received the largest Christmas bonus and will most likely receive a promotion.” Eddie’s actions have caused the manager to move him up the ladder, because of appeals to vanity.

#6: Appeal to Spite

An appeal to spite is usually used to reject what someone believes has been seen in all the past elections with advertisements that rally against an opposing party. For example, Jerry Brown’s campaign used a brilliant advertisement on television that made the current governor and the Republican candidate, Meg Whitman, seem very unappealing. Jerry Brown’s campaign used an advertisement that contained many audio and visual clips of both Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Meg Whitman separately, but each audio segment dictated phrases and sentences that were uttered by both individuals during both of their campaigns. They were 100% matched, word for word. The advertisement then questioned the public if this is what they desired. This was a brilliant smear move towards the Republican campaign – it demonstrated their lack of ability to fix California’s issues, and in essence, broken promises. This argument is an excellent argument, with a very convincing message. Due to the election results, I would say the advertisement did the job it was meant to do.

Appeal to Emotion

An appeal to emotion occurs when a premise dictates that because you feel a certain way, you should believe or do something as a result of that feeling. There are a few different types of appeals to emotion in arguments. These include appealing to pity, appealing to fear, and appealing to spite. Today, appealing to fear has struck me. A friend posted about how he was able to reach speeds of 90 mph on Highway 17. Someone instantly replied and commented about how that could result in his funeral. Car accidents and death are both very serious issues, so it definitely struck my attention. This demonstrates an appeal to fear, because the consequence for the action of speeding could result in an accident, and Highway 17 is notorious for these incidents. Not only that, the road is a dangerous when excessive speeds are reached. This type of driving will only leave more of a chance for possible deaths in the event of an accident.

Blog #3

Common mistakes in evaluating premises is a topic that I found quite interesting. There are a few different major points to this topic: arguing backwards, confusing possibility with plausibility, bad appeals to authority, mistaking the person for the claim, and mistaking the person for the argument. These mistakes happen all the time in every day arguments. Often times, phony reputations are among these types of mistakes. Hypocrisy is also found in arguments. Through personal experiences, one may have met a doctor who has advised against being overweight, and suggested exercise for a patient due to obesity. However, after taking a second look at the doctor, the man making these suggestions is not entirely in good shape himself. Of course, the patient should heed the doctor’s advice as it would be in the patient’s best interest to do so. But how can the doctor set a good example if he cannot follow his own advice? This may make it harder for an argument to be convincing.

Usefulness of First and Second Assignment

Both course assignments are very helpful projects that will aid in our individual futures. By discussing the validity, strengths, and weaknesses of claims, we are introduced to new tools that will help us to evaluate statements that we may come across in our lives. Our group project for assignment #2 discussed the World Wildlife Fund’s latest mission – saving the tiger. The research we have conducted over our project has allowed us to decide whether or not the organization has a reasonable cause to make the claims on their website, and whether or not we should support their claims and their overall mission.

Additionally, both assignments have actually helped with communication skills. With technology playing such a large role in communication for current times, many of us have elected to take an online class for various reasons. But sitting behind a computer screen and communicating to another individual sometimes creates a communication block. There is no physical interaction. By assigning group projects for an online class, it forces the students to communicate effectively and efficiently, for many of us have busy schedules that may be tough to accommodate for one another. This can be carried into future careers, where many large corporations contain many locations in different parts of the world. This group project can give a similar real-world experience on how to work in a team in such an environment.