Relevance

I found the relevance in an argument very interesting. In the book "Critical Thinking" by Richard L. Epstein, he discusses about the relevance in an argument. Relevance is when a person is able to connect with the matter of the argument. As stated in Epstein's book, a premise is irrelevant when a part of the argument can be deleted and the argument has no or little effect, meaning taking away does not weaken the argument. Irrelevant saying in an argument only creates a bad argument because it can make the premises irrelevant to the conclusion. Epstein explains that when a person tries to make a argument relevant bu adding more premises to link to the conclusion, the premises are not obvious to the other person. I think this reading was very helpful because when people argue, many tend to lean towards a different direction and add in irrelevant statements. Section d. relevance was very useful and I think it can useful for others as well.

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Accepting and rejecting claims do not have any rules. There are three choices that a person can make to decide whether they believe a claim. The three choices consist of  accepting the claim, rejecting the claim or to suspend judgments. Although there are three choices, there are two exceptions as well, If we have good reason to doubt our memory or if our claim oppose. As stated in the book, "Critical thinking" by Richard L. Epstein, he states that our most reliable source of the world in from our own experience. In this advertisement, we can accept the claim from our own experience. I can relate to this advertisement, though I have not tried Quick Trim, other dieting products can compare very similarly. Many dieting advertisements usually try to convince a buyers that a product will help many pounds instantly, but most advertisements do not mention the list of things people have to do as well or what the products may effect.

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Repairing Arguments

When violating the Principle of Rational Discussion, writers tend to mislead the argument and do not understand what they are talking about. With the guide of the Principle of Rational Discussion, we can distinguish whether an argument is strong or valid; if the writer understand the argument and if the argument begs the question. There are three steps to an argument needs to do to repair an argument. The steps consist of creating an argument stronger or valid, have plausible premises and have the premises more plausible than the conclusion. An example of an argument that may need repair may be...

All Filipinos can box because Manny Pacquiao is Filipino.

The premises is missing and unstated. Manny Pacquiao is a great boxer, but the argument is not plausible because not all Filipinos can box. The argument cannot be repaired because the needed premise to make the argument strong or valid makes the argument weak.

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Organizational Relationships

In this weeks reading, I found many concepts interesting. One concept that caught my attention was one that I can relate to. In the book, "The Essential Guide to Group Communication" by O'Hair and Wiemann, discusses different types of communication that exist in organizations. Whether it is a relationship between superiors or subordinates, team leaders or team members and organizational departments, each person still communicates about different situations in the workplace. In my experience, working at Kaiser Permanente taught me many work ethics which consisted of communication within different departments. I worked with the Nursing Administration department, but was able to communicate other staffs from Health and Wellness, and Staff development. We had discussion on different issues, projects and how each day at the facility makes each one of us anxious to come back to work every day. Communication helps staffs work in good teams. Communication is an essential tool, especially in the workplace.

Violating the principle of rational discussion

Fallacies are bad arguments that are usally unrepairable or violate the Principle of Rational discussion. There are three types of fallacy types. The three fallacies consist of content fallacies, structural fallacies and violations of the principle of rational discussion. There are different content fallacies. Many arguments provide confusing objective and subjective claims, false dilemma, slippery slope and etc. Some of the fallacies with violating the principle of rational discussion happen when an argument begs a question, cover claims that are dubious and etc. I will provide an example of when an argument begs a question.

DMV works hours are on Monday-Friday. DMV is open every third Saturday of the month as well. Today is the third Saturday of this month. Therefore, DMV is open this Saturday.

The premises are plausible and the premises are more plausible than the conclusion, but there is no reason to believe the statements are true. DMV opens every third Saturday and today is the third Saturday, but how do we know if the electricy shorted out. Is this Satuday a holdiay?

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Complex arguments for analysis

I'm on my way to school. I left five minutes late. Traffic is heavy. Therefore, I'll be late for class. So, I might as well stop and get breakfast.

Argument: Yes.
Conclusion:So I might as well stop and get breakfast.
Additional premises needed: I will be late for class if I am leaving for school five minutes late and traffic is heavy as well. Since I will already be late for class, I would rather be extra late or just miss class.
Identify any subargument: 1, 2 and 3 supports 4 and 4 supports the conclusion.
Good argument: It is a good argument if "I left five minutes late" is true, otherwise, the argument is weak.

The exercise was very useful. The exercise breaks down the argument making it much easier to understand. I think this exercise is another method that students can use when he or she is stuck with identifying each category. The usefulness of this exercise is also to help one think, analyze, regroup and come to a conclusion.

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The role of leadership

Leadership is the effective towards a certain goal. It is the social influence and support for accomplishment. In the book, "The essential guide to group communication" by O'Hair and Wiemann, states that leadership can be defined as interpersonal influence, directed towards the communication process. O'Hair and Wiemann list four different types of leadership which consists of authoritarian, consultative, participative and laissez-faire. An authoritarian leader is strict, controlling and leads without any consideration from the other members of the group. Authoritarian leaders states his or her opinions, but does not make them open for discussion in a group effort. Consultative leaders is a bit more considerate because a consultative leader lets the group members participate, then makes a final decision after considering the members idea and opinions. Participative leader is most considerate. A participative leader works in a group and supports them to accomplish the task. A laissez-faire leader makes very little effort. I think I am a Participative leader. Although I work well independently, in group work, I like to hear and involve everyone's input.

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Strong vs. Valid Arguments

An argument is strong if it is possible for the premise to be true but have the conclusion false. An argument is valid when the premise is true as well as the conclusion. A valid or strong argument does not depend on one's judgment on whether he or she thinks it is valid or strong. An argument is bad if there is no reason to believe the premises. An argument is also bad if the premises is not plausible than the conclusion.

Strong argument
Every si , rsx, and gsr manufactured by Honda that I know of has a dohc v-tech motor.
Therefore, all manufactured Honda si, rsx and gsr's has a dohc v-tec motor.

Valid argument
Honda only manufactures dohc v-tech motors for si, rsx and gsr.
Therefore, all manufactured Honda si, rsx and gsr's has a dohc v-tec motor.

Both of the premises are true and the conclusions follows the arguments.

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Testing for a good argument

There are three steps to validate a strong argument. For an argument to be good; the premise should be reasonable; more reasonable than the conclusion. The argument must be valid or strong as well. The more reasons a claim can be true, the more it is plausible.

Excellent video games players spend many hours playing video games, and Ivan spend hours playing video games. Therefore, Ivan is an excellent video game player.

The premises of the argument are true. The conclusion of the argument is true as well, but it does not necessarily mean it is a good argument. Although both premises and conclusion may be true, it is a weak. Ivan spends many hours playing video games, but he can still be bad at video games. Being an excellent video game player takes technique, skills and hand and eye coordination. We can conclude excellent video game players may or may not spend hours playing video games; the hours spent is not relevant to the performance of the game player.

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Explained concept

Critical thinking involves determining the meaning of what is expressed. Critical thinking helps see things in a different perspective in which we learn, evaluate and communicate. In the book, "The Essential Guide to Group Communication" by O'Hair and Wiemann, it explores certain steps on how to be effective and successful when working in a group. There are four steps in this process. The four steps consists of participating, interpreting, overcoming public speaking and taking an assignment into depth. When applying critical thinking in groups, good critical thinkers should learn how to expand their ability to strategize. You should clarify, summarize and identify the main ideas. when making attributes, it improves communication skills and public speaking fears. In group work, when each member provides different ideas, it shows various perspective of how one views a certain matter. Finally, the last step to work effectively in a group is overcoming your fear of speaking in front of others. I think this is the biggest and most challenging step for me. I, myself, do not present so well speaking in front of others, especially if it's a presentation, but in my experience, I learned that overcoming public speaking helped my communication skills in class, at home and in a professional environment.

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