Category Archives: Reading Reflections

Reading Reflections for HONS250

Reading Reflection #6: Logical Fallacies

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1. Which of the fallacies described in this chapter have you heard/seen used the most often? In what kind of situations have you heard the fallacy used?

I think I most often hear ad hominem fallacies, especially when it comes to politics. If you listen closely to debates, there are a lot of times in which the attack is on a person as a whole rather than the message they are defending.

2. Describe a time when you may have used one of these fallacies (either consciously or subconsciously) to argue your point of view. How did the person you were talking with respond?

I probably use the Searching for a Perfect Solution fallacy the most. When I think I am right, I always subconsciously start knocking down any other solution besides the one that I think is right. So, if someone offers a solution, but there is a small flaw, I will advocate to not move forward with that solution.

3. Identify the fallacies in the following passage:

The main fallacy in this second paragraph is a Slippery Slope Fallacy. It is trying to convince the reader that if gay marriage is legalized, there will suddenly be all of these other things that are legalized afterwards. I also can sense a little bit of ad hominem against gay people by the verbiage “infiltrated the legislative body”. Appeal to Emotion is present in the form of appealing to the reader’s sense of patriotism. They are trying to say that gay marriage is an attack on our nation and are therefore building their argument on patriotism.

4. Identify the fallacies in the following passage:

This fallacy is definitely ad hominem. You can sense the hatred throughout the entire argument and the personal attack on those who want to ban fraternity parties. There is not a lot of reasoning for the argument, instead it is just trying to (poorly) discredit anyone who holds ideas different from theirs. It is most clear when the words “only an idiot”, “antisocial loners”, and “pointless action”. This is followed up with slippery slope in which they convince the reader that if frat parties are banned, then every social event with alcohol will also be banned.

5. Choose one of the passages above and make three suggestions for how the argument could be stronger.

For the frat party passage, there are many ways it could be improved. First, there needs to be statistics. For example, statistics on all the good that fraternities do across the nation including things like volunteering hours or fundraisers. Also, there needs to be less emotionally charged words like “idiot” or “loner”. It comes across as immature and uneducated. This discredits their argument. Finally, they need to focus on concrete reasoning rather than playing the blame game. At this point, it is not an argument, but rather a personal attack.

Reading Reflection #5: Census 2020

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1. Why is it important to be counted in the census?

 

It is important to be counted for the same reason it is important to vote. This is one of the major ways you can have your voice heard. The numbers counted are what decide the dividend of funding for the next 10 years. It also affects the number of seats in the government. If you want your surroundings to be improved, a huge step in that is being counted in the census.

 

2. Who are often uncounted in the census? Why might some people wish not to be counted? What are some personal and societal impacts of not being counted?

 

There are a lot of different groups that are not counted as accurately as others. There are those who do not trust the government with their personal information and therefore will not be counted. It is also hard to count homeless people since they do not have a permanent residence and it is difficult to locate every homeless person to count.

 

3. What is one new thing you learned during the session?

 

I learned what the census even was. Last time it occurred I was 10 years old, so this was all new information to me. I was very inquisitive and learned a lot, so I could share that information with them. One of the bigger things I took away from it is the impact it had on the next years of my life and all the funding that depended on the census.

 

4. Describe one of your passions (i.e. something important to you) and how it connects with federal or state funding.

 

While discussing with the table, I explained that my passion was anything that had to do with the medical field. I was told that the census will decide where new hospitals are needed depending on the fluctuation in populations surveyed. So, the census can affect where this is job availability.

Reading Reflection #4: Ambiguity and Assumptions

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Chapter 4

 

How does the book define “ambiguity” and why is it important to identify any ambiguous terms before evaluating an argument?

 

Ambiguity is summarized as having multiple possible meanings for one work. For example, the word ‘freedom’ can take on many different forms. It is important to identify these terms before you evaluate an argument because you could come to conclusions that completely missed the point of the author’s writing.

 

Why are dictionary definitions of key terms and phrases used in an argument often not sufficiently helpful in determining their meaning?

 

Dictionary definitions are not always completely accurate. When you are searching for what the author meant by a term, the dictionary you are using has no clue as to what the context of the word was. Therefore, it may pull up many different correct definitions of the word itself but might lack the definition that the author was intending to use.

 

ARQ stresses that not all ambiguous terms or phrases are equally important. How do you determine which ones are the most important to identify?

 

The most important ones to identify are the ones in the reasoning. They are the statements that are supposed to be supporting their main point. If it is impossible to understand a phrase in context, then it may be the author’s wrongdoing by not writing clear enough. In that case, it would not be the job of the reader to come up with a reasoning for the author.

 

Chapter 5

 

How do value and descriptive assumptions differ?

 

Value assumptions are unique to each person. They are the assumptions that are made based on the values we hold important. These value assumptions are, at their core, a intrinsic belief that your values are more preferred over that of another value. In contrast to this, descriptive assumptions are not so much based on personal values, but a belief in how the world was or should be. I believe that the “why do you think that?” component is much more important in descriptive assumptions. In value assumptions, it is clear that the reason in variation is because of differences in personal values. However, in descriptive assumptions there is usually some sort of back story as to why they concluded what they did about the world around them.

 

Why is it important for people to be aware of what values they and others are assuming (a.k.a. of their value assumptions) when they argue about a social issue? Provide an example.

 

By taking the time to identify and understand the author’s value assumptions, it will increase the chance of a productive argument. What I mean by this is, if you can “put yourself in their shoes”, you might be more open to their viewpoints no matter how much they differ from your own. The example provided is that Republicans and Democrats could have more productive and helpful arguments if they would try to understand the values of each other first before defending their own points of view.

 

Why do so few experts (such as politicians, scientists, professors, and television pundits) make value priorities explicit? Should individuals expressing their opinions on a social controversy make their value priorities explicit? Why should or shouldn’t they?

 

By being explicit about their own values, they are automatically going to form a divide in their listeners. Those who match their values will listen, and those who do not agree might jump to conclusions about the speaker’s argument and disregard it before the claim is made. I believe that individuals should make their values a priority to an extent. You should explain your values enough so that the reader can understand your perspective on the topic in order to give it a chance. However, your values should not seem so preached that you deem other values unimportant.

 

 

Look at the table of “Typical Value Conflict and Sample Controversies” on page 57 of ARQ. Try to think of one more to add to this list, and an example of when the two values conflict. Write it down here and be prepared to share it in class.

 

Dependability-Autonomy

Should you promise to pick up your friend at the airport at 2a.m. if you have a huge exam the next day?

Reading Reflection #3: Issues, Conclusions, and Reasons

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  1. In order to figure out how reliable a person’s reasoning is, you must first be able to identify the issue they are presenting. What are the two primary types of issues discussed in the book? How can you tell the difference between these two types of issues?

There are two main types of issues discussed in the book: the descriptive issues and the prescriptive issues. Descriptive issues are the questions that are asked in response to what is happening in the World around us. This may be things like a pattern or a topic someone becomes curious about. This is in contrast to prescriptive issues in which questions are asked regarding the ethics and morality of a certain action or situation. It is not always a clear-cut answer as to which of the two types of issues a writing piece is.

  1. You must also be able to identify the conclusion that the person is presenting. What are some questions you can ask yourself to try to determine the author’s conclusion? Describe the clues to can help you locate the conclusion.

There will not always be a clear, stated conclusion. It sometimes takes some piecing together to understand. There are a couple of questions that can be asked in order to really understand what the whole purpose of a piece was about. First off, you must ask what the issue is being discussed. This is important for knowing what realm your conclusion is about and what it may or may not state. You must also ask if there are indicator words that will point you to a conclusion. If there are words that signify wrapping up, the conclusion may likely follow. This is not a question, but it is important to understand that the conclusion will never present new information but will draw a conclusion from the information already provided. The last question to ask would be to understand what the author’s background looks like. This not only will confirm credibility but may give insight into what side the author may take. If you know what side they will likely have, you can locate the conclusion more easily.  Most of these questions should be asked alongside an active effort to look in common spots. This could be the purpose summary at the beginning of a long text, or at the very end when the piece is wrapping up.

  1. How does the book define an argument? What are the necessary components of an argument? What are some characteristics of an argument?

There are three main components of a strong argument presented by the book: intent, varying quality, and the inclusion of a conclusion and reasonings. The last one is most central to being considered an argument as it is defined as being a combination of a conclusion and reasoning. These allow others to gain perspective not only into what topic you are arguing for or against, but also what your stance on it is. Without valid points or evidence, there is no basis for an argument. Intent is very important because you need to be able to have others who can produce a reaction, whether it is agreeing with you or not. A certain amount of quality is necessary in order for others to personally validate what you are saying. If my argument is “the sun is not necessary for life”, I have no facts, no evidence, and overall a very poor-quality argument. If my argument is “I believe that there is no other life in space” and proceed to give facts from various, credible source, I may have a quality argument then.

  1. What is the main question to ask yourself when you’re trying to find an author’s reasons that support a particular conclusion? What are some indicator words (words that suggest a reason) to look for?

The main question (although simple), is very effective. That question in its simplest form is “why?”. Why does the author believe in what they are advocating for? This will help you to identify the reasonings. If you understand what their conclusion is, you can begin looking for any evidence in the writing that supports that conclusion. It is important to keep an open mind when determining this and to give the evidence a chance to actually make a point instead of dismissing it right away. There are a couple of identifying words that will help point you in the right direction. These include “is supported by”, “for the reason that”, “studies show that”, and more that indicate a following statement of evidence.

5. Identify (a) the overall issue discussed, (b) the author’s conclusion, and (c) the author’s reasons that explain why we should believe the conclusion.

The general issue discussed is how important intellectual humility is as a functioning person in society. The author believes that intellectual humility can make interactions between people more constructive and positive. This is based on many reasonings they list that are meant to support this conclusion. These reasonings include scholarly studies about arguments between gun victims and advocates and a study on self-rated bias. There are also other reliable evidence sources including Google’s VP in charge of hiring and a Stanford psychologist.

Reading Reflection #1: Critical Thinking

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Asking the Right Questions

1. A critical thinker is always asking questions. They have an inquisitive attitude about the World, but always a cynical one. In order to critically think properly, you need to be asking the questions and then seeking out more information to determine if your opinion is based on knowing every side to things.

2. Strong sense critical thinking is arguing in a way that you are open to adjusting your own opinion if the other brings up new information. Weak sense critical thinking is arguing only to defend your opinion that you already believe is 100% right. It is had to have our own ideologies up for criticism. However, you can use that criticism to help rethink your opinion and whether you believe it needs adjusting.

3. An argument is another way of saying that we will be constructively criticizing other classmates’ opinions as they will for us. Then all of us can readjust our opinions based on the feedback we received. This is different from arguing with parents in which it is fueled by anger and defensiveness.

4. Finding the “right answer” is so hard, most likely because there are so many different answers where there can’t be one that trumps the rest. There will always be new ideas and opinions that seem better than the last.

 

Why Questioning?

1. I think this chapter has to relate to everyone’s life. A majority of people who read this chapter are most likely guilty of not asking questions as often after they began to grow up. Asking questions has, more often than not, lead me to an answer. For example, in class, it sometimes feels embarrassing to ask the professor a question, but when you do, you then get to understand the answer.

2. Children stop asking questions as often because knowledge seems to be power in our society. If you always sound vulnerable, or like you don’t understand something, you put yourself up for criticism. If you ask a question in class, everyone then knows that you don’t understand the content. It all is societal pressure. Some people do not stop asking questions, though, because they let their curiosity grow stronger than their worry of fitting in.

3. As a college student, asking questions is crucial. You need to be able to fully understand the content, because at this level, it will move on before you understand. This is when I have learned that I need to let my inquisitive side shine through in order to get the education I need. Being in the medical field in the future will mean I will never stop asking questions. We don’t know even close to everything there is to know about the human body. Research is always taking place and I will have to continue to ask questions in order to properly diagnose patients, as well as understand different injuries and diseases better.