Week 9: Objective 5

Pertaining to page 195, complete objective 1, 2, 3, 6 or 7. (Please choose only one to complete).

5. Share a "calling in your debts" argument you've heard.


ive heard alot of "calling in your debts" argument. Today as a matter of fact, my sister tried to pull one on me.. She prepared dinner for me because she noticed i was super tired and i said thanks and that was that.. but then today, she asked me to cook for her also and i was so tired that i asked for a raincheck she then brought up the fact that she did me that favor the night before.. this is an example of "calling in your debts." (i didnt give in though, she got punked) =]

Week 9: Appeal to Emotion

Discuss the idea of Appeal to Emotion. There are different aspects of Appeal to Emotion, which type of Appeal to Emotion strikes you, and why?

Appeal to emotion referes to a reaction based on feeling to something that happens; so acting based on how you feel or what your opinion is. An example of this can be easily seen on our day to day lives ill use and example that one might see in a work environment. So if an employee has a really good relationship with his or her manager and the team is very easy going, it is less likely for the manager to be strict with the employee or call them to attention for attendance issues, performance, etc. because they have a tight bond. I had a customer recently who told me she had recently gotten pulled over by a cop, she showed the cop her drivers license and he noticed she had a police sticker on it. He asked if he worked for a county and she responded that her son did.. the cop smiled and gave her the ID back and let her off on a warning. this is also an example of appeal to emotion. But, there are different levels of appeal to emotion, appeal to fear is one that stands out to me the most. This is something i come across alot and everyone for that matter. With the way laws are worded to start off. the "click it or ticket" i completely agree with using a seatbelt but people buckle up not only for safety but because they fear the ticket price! this manipulates people into wanting to "click it."

Week 8: Response 3

Pick one concept in the class that we have covered so far in the class that you think needs further discussion. Please do some additional web research on that particular topic and discuss what you have found. Include weblinks in your blog post so the class can see what you have researched, and so the class can gain greater understanding of that particular topic.

A topic that i found very important to understand was the topic of Principle of Rational and the concept of Repairing Arguments. Since this topic is so commonly practices, i think we should have more exercises to practice this. I was able to tell apart a few different principles of arguments and i was also able to repair a few but they were all very simple examples. a more complex example i think would be harder for me to resolve. having more practice i think would benefit us. more guidance would also be good! i likes this topic a lot. i could not provide with a link to support what i would like to have more practice on. I was unable to find a strong example that would be complex, any suggestions?

Week 8: Useful tips

Since we are almost finished with assignment #2, please discuss the usefulness of the first or second major course assignment. Use specific examples.


Well, the first assignment was very difficult to get started in my group. We did not seem to have mutual free time to get together in person or chat about the assignment. Once everything fell into place, my team was very efficient about meeting the deadlines that we had set for ourselves. It also helped that we constantly asked each other questions and they were always answered. The way we organized our essay was simple. Whoever started the essay (intro) passed it on to the first body paragraph and so one until the conclusion was finished. at that point, we then sent the essay to everyone and we all edited what needed to be edited. This allowed the essay to flow well. This is what we used for the second assignment and the fact that we stayed in the same group was extremely helpful because we already had a a game plan. The communication was very efficient.

Week 8: Chapter 8

1.Please discuss, in detail, what you learned from reading Chapter 8. Discuss at least 2 things you learned.
Please explain the concepts and give a personal example or personal story for each.


In chapter eight of Critical Thinking, i read about both General claims as well as valid and invalid forms. general claims simply refers to claims that state something general about a part or all of the statement. its bit confusing but basically a general claim refers to a general thing that is not fully accurate or true. an example of this that happened in my personal life today actually is as follows; "all my cows produce alot of milk. my first cow, daisy, produced alot of milk. she was a great cow." (i was talking to a farm owner about something very random aha) im not sure that this FULLY falls into general claims but i THINK it does? if i understood the lesson correctly. The other part of what i read referred to valid and invalid forms. this part of the reading basically explains how to notice if whether a general claims is valid or invalid. using the same example i mentioned earlier, the elements i used were: a. all cows producing milk, b. producing alot of milk, and c. being a healthy cow. making this a general valid would rewuire the sentence to be structured a different way. im just still somewhat confused as to how, any suggestions?

Week 6: from Dan O'Hair

In this blog, i will be writing about "group communication in cultural perspective." This is coming from the Essential Group Guide to Group Communication. i read this while back and was simply reviewing it. this section is about norms basically. It explains how not all groups view norms the same way as other cultural groups. it is described through increased group optimism in the face of obstacles with is a sub title for the description that a group with more confidence will have less problems. this tends to create a steady environment making the work efficient. also, special significance to group membership, this is a subtitle to the description that when someone is part of a group, people somehow look up to them. people always want to fit in. when in a group, you are part of a family with a lot of friends and people can sometimes envy that.

Week 6: Chapter 7

Please discuss, in detail, what you learned from reading Chapter 7. Discuss at least 2 things you learned.



Chapter 7 of the Epstein book talks about "Counterarguments" and how they are broken down into categories. This chapter goes over raising objections and refuting an argument. refuting an argument is broken down into the following lessons: refuting directly, refuting indirectly, and attempts to refuse that are bad arguments. the two main things that i will be focusing on in this post will the the direct and indirect refuting. Directly refuting an argument would mean that the counter claim would prove that the argument is not valid by both pointing out that a premises is dubious and that the conclusion is false in a straightforward manner. refuting indirectly would refer to an error in the argument without really stating weather the premise is false or dubious. this can be pointed out when there is no consistency in an argument or the conclusion makes little to no sense. i dont really know what kind of example to use to prove this, i found it a bit confusing to provide. :/