Argument or not?

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

This is clearly an argument; in conclusion to this argument, it is not necessary for the neighbor to forcefully remove the cars that are in the yard.  Possible additional premises that would be needed would be if the neighbor had no intention of driving any of the cars, driving all of his cars which causes more pollution to the environment, or if the cars were taking up space from other neighbor's property. Statement number 5 is whats leads the connection of statements 2 and 1. Statement number 1 is being supported by 2 and 3. This is not considered to be a good argument.

I found this argument useful because it is an example that is very relatable.  Many situations like this happen when the premises do not all actually support a conclusion.  Some of the premises do not relate to or affect the conclusion at all.  Some people like to pick fights and bring in support that has absolutely nothing to do with the argument; it happens all the time and arguments become endless and useless.

"I've got you in the palm of my hand"

Manipulation of one's mind is what is happening once another is using the "Appeal to Emotion" fallacy in order to change the opinion of an individual.  Not only is the mind being manipulated, but the emotions.  In the terms of Epstein, the fallacy is committed to change one's opinion into accepting a claim to be true. When a person's emotions are being played with, the mind no longer has control or even functions clearly due to the way a person is feeling.  This fallacy is used everyday and people do not even realize it; they don't realize that they are under a spell.  Advertisements and commercials use this fallacy to get buyers to purchase their products all the time.  I would think that this is the most used fallacy in the media.  Advertisements that present products to help change or better an individual's outside appearance is what gets to one's emotions.  People feel that their outside appearance is not good enough or up to par with the media, which is why they turn to these products in order to feel better about themselves.  Another example where this fallacy is committed is when people in relationships argue.  One end of the relationship can tell the other that they are still in love with them keeping an invisible hold on them but at the same time this end is hurting them physically.  The feelings and the love that the person who is being abused has is overpowering their true thoughts and thinking.  Emotions are very powerful.  If one cannot control their emotions, they can be controlled by anybody.

Communicating in Organizations

In chapter 4 of the Group Communication book, the functions of an organization is broken down and described in detail.  I can personally relate to this topic due to the fact that I am an officer of a cultural organization on campus.  Although I know the basic ways of running an organization and working with others in a cabinet, I have learned the specific terms and reasons why an organization is run in a specific manner.  Of course, in all organizations there is a hierachy in which is a group of people that work in a chain according title or status.  For example. the head of a hierarchy would be the President and next in the chain of command would be the Vice President, then the Secretary, and so on.  In order for an organization to work well and become successful, the communication between the hierarchy and the other groups that make the organization must be clear.  Amongst the little groups that make up the organization are usually team leaders and general members, or in other terms superiors and subordinates.  These people, from my opinion, are the foundation of the organization. Without them, there would be no purpose for the hierarchy; therefore, their ideas and needs must be communicated with the hierarchy.  Between all of the people within the organization there needs to be an openness, which will allow the group to avoid 'imbalances' or discrepancies.

The Three Tests

There are three ways to test out an argument to determine whether or not the argument is considered to be "good".  From reading Epstein's "Critical Thinking", the three tests that were mentioned are: 1. The premises are plausible, 2. The premises are more plausible than the conclusion, 3. The argument is valid or strong. An example of a good argument must fulfill the ideas of these tests.  The thing about good arguments is that they can either be considered strong or valid as well.  Sometimes arguments that fall under "strong arguments" can be seen as a better argument than a "valid argument".  This is true because strong arguments are based on pure opinion and feeling.  Although strong arguments are only plausible and not completely true, they can seem that way.  An example of a good argument is: "Top Gun is one of the most sought after rides at Great America." This is a good argument because it is plausible and an opinion which can lead to a possibly conclusion of "Top Gun is the best ride at Great America".

Time Pressures

Every assignment, task, or duty given is never sent out without a due date.  Without due dates, situations become unorganized and work becomes worthless.  Time management is a skill that an individual must work on in order to become successful.  But when it comes to working in a group, time management is more difficult to achieve.   Some problems that can possibly occur when working in a group are: 1. Nobody takes initiative; whereas everyone in the group is afraid to take charge or step over each other and the never-ending waiting begins. 2. Time is wasted; the group can become uncontrollable because there is no organization or understanding.

Leadership establishment is a must when working in groups.  In "The Essential Guide to Group Communication" book, three ways are presented to teach and guide students in groups towards working against time pressures: 1. A group may begin a discussion by taking a nonabiding poll. 2. The leader may impose time limits on certain components of a discussion. 3. The group may not make any decision at all. With these guidelines, groups are working together in a structured manner and will successfully meet their quotas.

These guidelines were very helpful when it came to our class group work.  One of the members of our group quickly emailed all of the members and asked us what we thought was the best idea on how to meet, contact each other, etc.  Somebody took the initiative to get things started.

Strong vs Valid Arguments

Arguments occur all the time due to the face that people have different opinions and feelings towards certain situations.  If people had the same ideas then everyone would just agree on everything and arguments would not exist; life would be boring! After reading chapter 3, we learn from Epstein that arguments are valid or successful when the conclusion is false, in which there is no possible way for the premises to be true. To determine an argument to be strong, its premise has a possiblity of being true, but its conclusion is still leading to be false.

An example of a strong argument is: "People are more successful when they go to college."
In a lot of cases its premise is true.  There have been many students that have graduated college and have become successful in their careers.  On the other hand, college is not for everyone; therefore, the conculsion of the argument is false.  Some people that have not attended college, still manage to become successful in life as well.

An example of a valid argument is: "I am not allergic to chicken." This is personally something I have just learned; I absolutely love to eat chicken, but my body has been rejecting it.  I can always try to eat it but the conclusion will alway be true and lead to breaking out in rashes. :(

Subjective vs Objective Claims

Claims that are made, whether fact or fiction are based on personal standards or opinions as known to be subjective.  Claims that are made without personal basis and are solely facts are known to be objective. 

When a subjective claim is made it is based on personal opinion or feeling; therefore, it would only be true towards the person making the claim and it would be false towards other people who do not agree on the other's claim.  A subjective claim that I have a lot recently was: "Dancing to choreography is not easy."  From my perspective, this claim is true due to the fact that I have not been dancing for a very long time and that I have not trained long enough to have mastered the different techniques in dancing choreography.  In other perspectives, this claim can be false to dancers who have been dancing for years and are able to adapt to choreography easier.  There are many different people that can disagree with this claim; therefore, it is subjective.  To convert this subjective claim to an objective claim, detail must be added in.  For example one way to see it as objective: "Practice makes perfect."  This is based on a factual claim; when you practice you are closer to perfection.  Everyone can agree on this claim and it is universal.

Vague.

Many words and phrases in the English language are ambiguous, meaning that they are able to fit many different possible meanings and are subject to change meaning depending on how it is used.  I personally hate that, because it causes a lot of conflict and confusion in my daily life.  When people say things or ask questions that are very vague, I'm left to do more work in my mind trying to figure out 'What is it exactly that they want or asking for?' I NEED MORE DETAIL! An example of a vague question that I recently encountered was: "What are your strengths?" It was understood that I was being asked about my leadership skill strengths due to the fact that I was in a leadership conference, but this is an overall vague question.  An answer given could be based on someone's physical strength which would be completely off topic.

Relationships is also an area in which people are very vague.  There is a song by Mike Posner entitled "Ambiguous".  In this song, Mike is confused with what his girl wants, whether she wants to stay as friends with benefits or move on towards a relationship.

Inception? No, Perception.

First impressions are very important and are the jumpstart to any relationship or communication.  First impressions are what affect our perception on others.  When we first have our perception on somebody after meeting them or in this case reading what someone has to say, we then judge that person based on our observations.  Perception on a person is also affected by our own personal background. For example, if I read an idea from someone the wrong way, I could make an unfair judgement; or if someone comes off too outgoing to another person, they can see the other person as loud and obnoxious when in reality, they are just trying to adjust to a new environment.  Before people make their perceptions on anyone in a group, they must first stay open-minded because everyone in a group is a different individual.  As an individual, people come from all different backgrounds and have different thoughts.  In order for a group to work well together, everyone must have a positive attitude and good understanding so that conflicts do not occur.