LINE DRAWING FALLACY

I think that the Line Drawing Fallacy is a really important concept to fully understand. In any kind of argument, it is very important to get your point across in a clear manner. Your side of the argument has to be able to stand against the other side in a fully visible line. Some people make their argument weaker when they do not make a clear argument that draw a line against the opposing side. The Line Drawing Fallacy is a claim that is dismissed because it is unclear and pointless and is unable to draw a line in an argument. You must always be able to get your claim across in a clear and effective way. To fix the Line Drawing Fallacy, you have to include precise and detailed claims in your argument. With enough detail and support a claim can easily draw the line in an argument. The Line Drawing Fallacy is very important to understand because it is very crucial in an argument to draw your line.

http://www.class.uidaho.edu/mickelsen/Media%20Readings/Fallacies%20Handout.htm

www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/ct/ch06/glossary.htm

Group Assignment

I think the group assignments were useful even though this was an online class. For the two group assignments, we actually got to use the concepts we learned in class. We had to pick an editorial and analyze it. An editorial is an opinion piece so we go to see how they made their claims and arguments. For the second group assignment, we picked an organization and analyzed it. We analyze different techniques they used to get people to support their main claim.  Some of their techniques were using celebrity endorsements or appealing to ethos. I prefer the second assignment to the first. It was easier to see find the support and claims. These assignments were useful because we're actually seeing how the concepts would work outside of class in other peoples opinions. The second assignment helped me learned more about the organization we picked, PETA. The second time around we are also more comfortable with each other so the assignment worked out better.

Chapter eight

One thing I learned from chapter eight was general claims.
General claims are literally general. General claims are pretty much vague. A general claim can be stated and the actually meaning of the claim can be conceal and misinterpret. General claims can usually be found in advertisements, to make the product seem more beneficial to the consumer then it really is.

An example of a general claim would be "Tyler ate some of the cookies on the table."
This is a general claim because the word "some" can be interpreted in different amounts.

Another thing I learned from Chapter eight was precise generalities. "Precise generalities" is the opposite of general claims. Precise generalities are claims or statements that are more detailed.

An example of Precise generalities would be "Tyler ate four of the cookies on the table."
It is opposite of the general claim because it goes into more detail, describing the amount the person actually ate.

Raising Objections

In chapter 7, Raising Objections was one of the ways to counter an argument. To raise objections in an argument is to find claims against an argument. When you raise an objection, it counter with new claims by pointing out their weak premises or conclusion. Basically raising objections is simply pointing out claims against an already established argument.

If this was the argument:
"Britney Spears is such a bad role model for young teens because of her recent troubles with drugs and her bad image with the Media and public."
Then an example of raising objections would be "But Britney Spears in the recent months showed that you can conquer your trouble and get your game back. She is an excellent example of someone has troubles but has overcome them and promote a sense of self esteem in teens."

The argument is countered by raising objections. Because it raises objections to why the original argument is weak. The original argument states why Briney Spears is a weak role model because of her problems but in the counter claim, they show that her problems helped her become a good role model.

Chapter 7

One thing I learned in chapter 7 was Counter Arguments. A counter argument is an argument or claim against an already established argument. So basically it's the other side of the argument. If you disagree with an argument or claim, than you would want to establish a counter argument to debate it. One may want to have a counter argument because he or she may disagree with the argument. Counter argument can set off a chain reaction of counter arguments, with each side countering, like they do in a debate.

Another thing I learned in chapter 7 was ways to counter an argument. Since chapter 7 was all about counter arguments, there are different ways to counter an argument.  One of them is "Refuting Directly." Refuting directly is one of the easier way to counter an argument. This method is simply to find and point out problems with an argument. Like false premises or conclusions.

Chapter 7 was an interesting chapter. Since before we learned about building arguments. This Chapter was about countering them.

Chapter six

One thing I learned in chapter six was Compound Claims. A compound claim is a claim made up of multiple other claims. Basically a claim with two components. The two components claims can be connected with words like "or" or "and."
     An example would be "The movie had a real interesting plot and cool characters!"
This is a compound claim because it "compounded" that the movie had an interesting plot and cool characters.

Another thing I learned was contradictory of a claim. Contradicting claims are claims that contradict each other. Contradictory means like the opposite, so claims that have opposite meanings.
     An example would be "The movie had a real interesting plot but was really boring." It is contradicting because first it was stated that the movie had a interesting plot, but then it was stated that it was boring,


When using Compound Claims, it's important to use claims that do not contradict. If a compound claim has contradicting claims, it would make the claim ineffective.

Mistaking the argument and the person

Ever heard of the sayings "don't attack the messenger, attack the message" or "don't hate the player, hate the game?"  It's the same concept when it comes to judging an argument based on the arguer. People, when listening to an argument, often decides their sides based on the person presenting the argument. An argument should be based on it's premises and claims rather than basing it on the "messenger."

An example would be with celebrity endorsed advertisement and products. One may already form an opinion based on the celebrity in the piece of advertisement.
In the Proactive ads, they use a lot of celebrities ranging from Katy Perry to Justin Bieber to Avril Lavigne.
Someone might mistake the person for the argument because of their opinion on the celebrity. They might think that "oh celebrities have enough money to go out and buy more expensive and effective products than proactive."

Basically in mistaking the person for the argument is when someone focuses more on the person than the actual argument.

Advertising

This advertisement I chose is a commercial for Sony's TX7 cyber shot camera featuring Taylor Swift.
The commercial shows that this specific camera has the ability to take panorama pictures, so you can include a wide range of people or objects.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhHMWLjL77U

You can either accept the claims of the commercial or you can reject it, based one personal experiences or other sources input. You might of tried the camera and find it difficult to use the special panorama function or found that the camera is amazing. You might also want it because one of your friend told you about how good or bad it is. Or even because of the person advertising it to you. Since Taylor Swift is the person advertising the camera, her fans might be inclined to buy the product.
Every advertisement is some sort of argument. This one has a conclusion is that you should buy the camera. Premises can be the fact that Taylor Swift uses it and that it has a new panorama function.