Chapter 14: Generalizations

Generalizing is when we make a claim about a group or population to generalize an argument. The chapter is about how to correctly use generalizations and how to identify when they are used incorrectly.

On page 289 there is a box titled “Premises need for a good generalization”:

• The sample is representative
• The sample is big enough
• The sample is studied well

Basically, for a generalization to be good, the sample has to represent a good amount of the population being generalized about with enough data to support the generalization.

There should also be a small margin of error for the population sample (about +/-2%) and a larger confidence level for the population sample (about +/-95%). Both give strength to the generalization given and have more reason for it to be accepted.

Variation is also important in a population. If the number of people who own motorcycles is being tested for the state of California, the sample should be testing a more or less equal amount of men and women.

My favorite thing

My favorite thing about this class was the group assignments. The group assignments related well to the readings and lectures. We could use what we discussed in our blogs and apply them to what we were writing about. It also helped identified the most common arguments used in the real world: fallacies. I did not realize how much we were learning in class could be applied to organizations and group communication. The things we learned in class could also be applied to what we discussed in groups. For the second assignment especially, our group had a disagreement over which organization to focus on and we argued about it back and forth until coming to a decision. I also got to know my group members better. Because this class was online they were the few people in class I could connect a face to a blog to. We were able to discuss the class and assist each other. Communication is the focus of this class and that is exactly what we did in our groups.

This Semester I Learned!

There are many things I have learned in the last few months. This class is titled Critical Decision Making and I think I have learned the basics of how to make any decision.

First and foremost, I learned the many types of arguments on can make. Whether it is arguing to get a certain brand or if it were more serious in regards to business decisions. I now know how to effectively listen and decide.

Second, I have learned how to counter-argue. Because I have learned the types of arguments and parts of arguments one can use to argue I can effectively counter-argue if I chose to do. If I am agreeing or disagreeing with an argument I am able to look at both sides of the argument better now I believe.

Third, I have learned how to work in groups. The three projects/essays assigned were completed in groups. In our group we were able to designate jobs and break down the assignment. By breaking down the assignment we could figure out when to do what and create deadlines and meeting times to complete the assignment. I think that is why our group did so well together we knew when to help each other out.

Cause

Chapter fifteen discusses What is the Cause? This section was about looking at the root causes an argument could have it was divided into sections to clarify each part of a cause. First, causes and effects discussed the statement “Spot caused me to wake up”. The relationship between Spot and Dick is what the cause was. The second part was about the normal condition which is the unstated claims that are obvious and plausible. The third part is about particular causes, generalization, and general causes. Particular causes happen in correlation: every time this happens that happens. There was also the section about the cause that precedes the effect. This part pointed out the preceded part of the cause that Spot barked and then Dick woke up. The cause makes a difference was the fifth section. This discussed how sometimes the correlations is not enough there needs to be an “if” involved. The sixth section is overlooking a common cause. The seventh was about tracing the cause backwards which was looking at what caused the dog to bark. The eighth section gave criteria for cause and effect which summarized what is necessary for cause and effect. The ninth section was about what mistakes could be made when evaluating cause and effect: reversing cause and effect or looking to hard for a cause.

Critical Website

The Mission Critical web site was a very good review for what arguments are. Defining in detail what claims are, allowed me to review the different types of statements: universal, qualified, specific, non-specific, comparative, fact and opinion, verifiable, evaluative, and advocatory. There were also exercises that asked students to identify what type of claims they are.

The web site also discussed how “and” or “or” are used. “And” (and “but”) words affirm all and negate one. “Or” is used to affirm one and negate all. The examples in this section wer clear about what you would need for effective arguments using the words “and” or “or”.

In the section about Inductive and Deductive Reasoning, I learned that arguments used inductively are usually based on experience and observation. While argument that are deductive are made based on laws, rules, or widely accepted principles. The web site emphasized that “any inductive argument can also be expressed deductively, and any deductive argument can also be expressed inductively.” By knowing whether or not an argument is inductive or deductive is important because it will help one make valid and sound arguments

Cause and Effect Website

The website provided by our professor gave an introduction to Casual Arguments. At first I was confused as why the site was titled so because our professor called it the Cause and Effect Website. But upon further reading of the web site, I under stood that the site explained what casual arguments were. Basically casual arguments are made when something occurs because of something else: a cause and a effect.

Casual arguments are similar to inductive arguments. Both use cause and effect. The premise and the claim have no significant difference. However, casual arguments have a significant difference for each party involved.

The web site provided three key factors of a casual argument:
1. how acceptable or demonstrable the implied comparison is
2. how likely the case of causation seems to be
3. how credible the “significant difference” or “only significant commonality” claim is

The web site and its excercises proved to help me understand casual argument/cause and effect better and make it easier to identify and use.

Reasoning by Analogy in the Law

In our Epstein Critical Thinking text books, Chapter Twelve discusses how Reasoning by Analogy is used in the law. The section in the chapter explained that in law these type of arguments are the most used because lawyers can provide details, that are carefully analyzed arguments. Because laws are vague and not specific it is difficult for judges at all levels: Supreme Court, federal courts, state courts, county courts, and local courts.

The most common Reasoning by Analogy used in the law is reasoning by example. Because it is used based on a case for case basis. The excerpt from Edward H. Levi’s An Introduction to Legal Reasoning discusses how any case sets a precedent for other cases. By setting a precedent with any law the law becomes more specific based on the ruling of the judge.

Of course there are always cases that are later over ruled. The most important case in which this occured was Brown v. The Board of Education. The case allowed the “equal but separate” precedent for many cases until nearly a hundred years later when the case was considered wrong.

Argument By Analogy

Argument by Analogy is one of the types of reasoning that we studied that I had a difficult and challenging time learning. I think I was over thinking what it could mean so I was missing the simple meaning of argument by analogy.

If one were to argue by analogy one would claim that certain things share similar characteristics in common.

The following web site:
http://info-pollution.com/analogy.htm
gives a number of examples and key parts of a argument by analogy.

It gave a number of points that helped one determine if the argument was valid, strong, and relevant. The site was meant to counter argue against the statement:

“Pork, the other white meat.”

The web site points out what is weak within the argument and what is strong. It gives other analogies we can look at and think weather or not the number and quality of similarities is good.

Reasoning Examples

One. Argument by Analogy
Premise #1: My friends all dance.
Premise#2: My sisters all dance.
Conclusion: Everyone I know are dancers.

Two. Argument by Sign
Parent: You have to be home tomorrow to clean the house.
Child: I can’t tomorrow I have work all day.
Parent: All right, just make sure it’s clean by Saturday.
Child: Okay, I have time to clean Friday.

Three. Casual Reasoning
Premise #1: I woke up late for school.
Premise#2: I did not have time to eat breakfast this morning.
Conclusion: I was hungry all morning after arriving late to school.

Four. Reasoning by Criteria
Your mom would like something meaningful and thoughtful. Why not get her an engraved locket?

Five. Reasoning by Example
Kayla can play several pieces on the piano. If you want to be play as well as Kayla, you should practice more.

Six. Inductive
Premise #1: Every Thursday, my family eats dinner together.
Premise#2: Today is Friday.
Conclusion: We are not having family dinner tonight.

Seven. Deductive
Premise #1: There are many attractions at the San Diego Zoo.
Premise#2: There are pandas at the San Diego Zoo.
Conclusion: The pandas are one of many attractions at the San Diego Zoo.

Apple Polishing and Appeal to Vanity

In the exercise section of chapter 10, number two asks us to find an ad that uses apple polishing. I could not think of an example of apple polishing because I still do not understand what apple polishing is. I reread the couple sentences about it in the chapter and was hoping for more examples of it.

When I googled “apple polishing”, this website: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-apple-polishing-mean.htm
provided some very useful information and more examples. I did not realize apple polishing was equivalent to sucking up or brown nosing. It is an appeal to vanity, complementing viewers of ads to get them to feel a certain way if they buy this dress or those shoes.

The following ad is meant to appeal to a girl’s inner princess. http://talkingcosmetics.com/pics/vera/vsample2.jpg
By appealing a girl’s child dream of marrying a prince and becoming a princess. This could be one of the many examples of appealing to vanity by apple polishing.

Appeal to Fear Excercise

For exercise number three we were told to find an advertisement that appealed to a person’s emotion of fear. The following link is to an ad I found online that did invoke fear in me when I saw it.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2WDIvk3tDjabAJcSCU74FXaJcr8-BQ4qXBWzG1SMCTC0LkNTcJfYyRHiLRoPgfCJu-vY3P0RIaL3ErqDNciVPOoTXtswVm5bAFJYU60vVc_X4uk4rSr-36KemAVDdHXZtMLHE_lkRRfo/s1600/Fear+ad+a+real+one.jpg

The ad appeals to one’s fear of death. By doing so, it makes you want to read the fine print the ad places on the left side of the ad. Probably found in magazines regarding one’s health or fitness, these ads would get a lot of attention. The photo of the ad also emphasizes the fear of death. It becomes a good argument for those looking at the end because its effective in sending the message.

Many ads appeal to the emotions of shoppers because emotions drive decisions we make. For example if you saw a PETA ad of animals being abused, you might want to donate to PETA to protect some animals.

Appeal to Emotion

Emotions play a large role when reasoning. Whether we are arguing for or against something our emotions drive our arguments. By appealing to emotion it allows an argument to be good. It is possible to appeal to a person’s fear, consequences, flattery, pity, vanity, ridicule, spite, or ignorance. There are many emotions one can appeal to.

An example of appealing to consequences would be like the following:
If Laura practices the piano everyday, Laura will become a great pianist. Laura wants to be a great pianist, so she practices everyday.

This argument appeals to Laura’s consequence of practicing the piano every day. It could also be used in the opposite way like the following example:

If Laura drives to work everyday, her car wastes a lot of gas. Laura wants to save gas. Therefore, she uses the bus to work almost everyday.

These type of arguments are all pathos arguments because they appeal to the emotions. This is

A Look Back at Group Communication

For this blog, I decided to look back to the book that we read at the beginning of the semester: The Essential Guide to Group Communication. Specifically what we read on page 46 in chapter three: The Process of Decision Making in Groups and Teams.

There are EIGHT parts to making decisions in groups:
1 Identify the problem
2 Conduct research
3 Establish guidelines and criteria
4 Generate alternatives
5 Evaluate alternatives
6 Select the best alternative
7 Implement the solution
8 Evaluate the Results

By knowing how to effectively make group decisions, groups includes companies and organizations.

The following website gives the advantages and disadvantages to groups making decisions.
http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Gr-Int/Group-Decision-Making.html
Knowing the best and most effective way to make decisions in a group will prove advantageous to everyone as a whole. It makes planing and work smoother at real companies or in small-scale organizations.

Decision Making individually or in a group is key to communicating what is happening to everyone.

Class Assignments

Our second writing assignment was interesting to research and write about for our class. By looking at social organizations we were able to address how groups communicate with non-supporters and supporters. By looking at how the organization communicates we can better understand how groups of all kinds get their message across to people. Reasoning, objective, and argument validate the groups efforts in every way. Without knowledge of how to do these things groups would be unable to move forward and successfully become well known or do some good for those they are trying to help out.

For our second assignment my group chose to discuss PETA. The PETA group was easy to analyze because of the amount of information readily available online. This helped us understand PETA better as well as be able to analyze how PETA works. Communication is key for all social organizations to rely their message to the unaware. PETA does so through controversial ads and using the faces of famous people to get awareness up.

Valid and Invalid Forms

These type of arguments use words like: all, some, or no. These words are used to reason valid arguments.

There were many ways of doing so. The two I will be discussing is:
- The direct way of reasoning with all

The valid argument goes like this:
All cows moo. Larry is a cow. So Larry moos.
The invalid argument goes like this:
All cows moo. Larry moos. So Larry is a cow.

These arguments were hard to understand but I enjoyed reading the examples because that’s how I was able to understand it. The chapter uses diagrams to prove the validity of the arguments. Checking the validity means making sure the parts of the diagram of over lap and it draws a picture that gets the point across to the person trying to understand the argument.

http://www.thinkingshop.com/Clarion/logic/images/AProp-4-6.jpg

The above would be what an argument daigram that would be used to check the validity.

Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

On page 124, in chapter 6, necessary and sufficient conditions are explained. It is for when two claims are equivalent to each other.

For a contrapositive argument, the following has to happen:
1.) If A is necessary for B that means If not A, the not B is true.
2.) If A is sufficient for B that means If A then B is true.

This confused me at first but I by looking at examples like the following it is more comprehensible.
1.) If you do not pass the driver’s test, you do not have a license.
2.) If you are 21, you can legally drink alcohol.

This type of condition depends solely on whether or not the first part of the argument is true or false. If the first part is true therefore the second part is true. If the first part is false therefore the second part is false.

Refuting an Argument

I am going to discuss how to refute arguments directly. In the book, in chapter seven on page 149, it states that to do so the following has to occur:

• Show that at least one of the premises is dubious.
• Show that the argument isn’t valid or strong.
• Show that the conclusion is false.

An example of this action would be like the following:
It’s useless to drive the freeway. The freeway is always busy. The fastest way to use the freeways is by using the carpool lane but you need two people at least in the car. Therefore, when driving only short distances use the side streets.

This argument can be refuting by pointing out that freeways are not always busy. The argument is not very strong because its premises and conclusion are weak. The conclusion itself is false. Because of all of these factors the argument can easily be refuted.

Reasoning with “OR” claims

Here is my example:
The family decided it was either going to have a party in their backyard for the last summer celebration or have a bonfire on the beach depending on how warm it was. But because the beach was 30 minutes away and the weather was the coolest it had been all summer, the family decided to have their last summer celebration at home.

By reasoning with “OR”, the argument is valid because there is no way the premise to be true and the conclusion false. The premise was the first sentence about where the party should occur. The conclusion stated that the party would be celebrated in their backyard.

No matter how many “or”s are in the argument, only one may be the right conclusion. A reader must narrow down all the possibilities to get the correct conclusion. By determining which ones are most valid, it makes it easier to find the conclusion.

Inferring and Implying

I had to reread this section of chapter 4 to understand it completely.

By inferring and implying someone could be leaving out information that could make or break your argument. Implying in the conclusion means that you say something without saying it. Inferring is saying something and letting the mind understand it in the wrong or right way. By inferring and implying meaning can be lost in the argument.

In a normal conversation saying, “Brittany drives like she is in the Grand Prix” implies that Brittany is a fast driver.

In a normal conversation saying, “Brittany is not a suitable role model for young girls” is infers ideas like “Brittany is a slut”.

If we were to imply or infer, the information provided must offer a conclusion that is obvious. You assume that the person reading your argument has an equal understanding of the subject or has the ability to not jump to conclusions.

Advertising on the Internet

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/messaging-internet/mobile-tv/index.jsp

The above link is promoting AT & T Mobile TV. I found the advertisement with the link to this site on latimes.com.

AT & T Mobile TV claims to guarantees crisp clear video and audio TV straight from your phone. Using the summary of when to accept and when to reject a claim on page 90 of our text I figured that I can accept this claim.

We accept or reject claims from personal experiences. I can accept this claim to be true because I have a friend who has a phone that TV is available and it does stream video and audio. It does not contradict any claim I know to be true.

We also accept or reject claims from other sources. The claim is made by AT & T, a large corporation considered to be one of the best in the nation. If I were to be a loyal customer of AT & T, their claim would be accepted because of their expertise. However we would reject the claim if the reputable authority has reason to mislead consumers. The ad was not found in a reputable journal or reference, so we could reject the claim based on the fact it does not come from a dependable source. We can also reject the claim because advertisements are not usually reliable and have only one motive which is to get a contract with AT & T.

An Argument Needing Repairing

Here is my example of an argument that isn’t a rational argument:

Birds fly. Birds are Winnie’s favorite animals.

Analysis: There is no rational argument in these statements. The premise is birds fly and that birds are Winnie’s favorite animals. There is no conclusion to this argument. If we were to add, “Winnie wishes she could fly.” A conclusion would be given that makes the first two statements more understandable. We could also delete the first sentence because this premise is not significant to the confirming the conclusion.

Being able to recognize an argument that needs to be repaired and knowing how to repair it is important. That is how we are able to make more effective arguments without but called out on being wrong. The argument can become strong or valid by repairing the argument. A premise or conclusion is added. The premise has to be plausible and would seem plausible to others. Also, the premise is more plausible than the conclusions.

Culture and Group Communication

In our Essential Guide to Group Communication book, on page 55, there is a section titled “Group Communication in Cultural Perspectives: Cultural Diversity in the Workforce”. This section caught my eye because it has a lot to do with the work force today.

The segment gave an example of a work place that included a variety of people. Race, age, and experience defined the group. Each person was individually unique from the others. What connects them is their work at Universal Industries. Because the group is so diverse the segment asks some questions about what problems and benefits this situation creates for the company.

The questions the segment asks at the end brought a lot of more questions to my attention. It made me realize how important communicating and communicating effectively impact a person’s work life. Sometimes working with such a diverse group can bring up situations that must be handled in the right way. Cultural differences can be good because you learn about other people and their lives and histories. If I were the director in charge, I would make sure that everyone talked about things that may not be appropriate to say or do out of respect for each other. Communication prevents dilemmas and will benefit everyone by openly communicating.

Straw Man in a Rational Discussion

Sometimes when someone is having a ration discussion with another person, a statement can be said that can easy be changed to sound or mean something else. By misrepresenting what the person says, it can lead to confusion and then agreement. The book on page 91 states, “It’s easier to knock down someone’s argument if you misrepresent it…” which is exactly my example.

Lily: We should water the plants every day.

Rose: We water the plants every week. There is no point in watering it every day.

Lily: Are you saying you want our plants to die?

Rose: Are you saying you want to waste the earth’s precious water?

Rose and Lily argue about how many times a week they should water the plants. Lily thinks that Rose wants to kill the plants by watering them only once a week. Lily “put words in Rose’s mouth” and Rose did the same to Lily. Both Rose and Lily question each other to justify their arguments.

This type of argument is common in everyday discussions between two people. You pretty much try to justify what you are saying by rewording what the other is saying.

Analyzing an Argument

Number 2.
I’m on my way to school. (1) I left five minutes late (2). Traffic is heavy (3). Therefore, I’ll be late for class (4). So I might as well stop and get breakfast. (5)

Argument: Yes.
Conclusion: I will be late for class, even if I stop for breakfast.
Additional premises needed? Before sentence 5, I would add a statement that would explain why being late class after eating breakfast is no different from going straight to class already late. By doing so it would, add another justification to having breakfast.
Identify any sub-arguments: Sentences 1, 2, and 3 are independent sub-arguments.
Good Argument?
This argument was good because it was pretty straight forward. The premise was clear and it validated the conclusion. It may have been an illogical due to the fact that it justifies it with a weak premise.

This exercise was useful because you break down the argument. By breaking it down, you identify the key components every argument should have. And then analyze the validity and effectiveness of the argument.

Leaders and Decisions

When reading about Leaders in groups I got a better understanding of what it means to be an effective leader. The different types of leaders influences the group dynamic significantly. The leader controls the whole group by making decisions and having the most influence over group members. The type of leader though determines how the group is.

It was easier to understand the different types of leaders by applying them to world leaders today. You can recognize the type of leader by the type of government.

The United States (democracy) President Barack Obama would have a mix of consultative and participative leadership. He works with his Cabinet to determine what direction he wishes the government to move in. While also working with leaders in the Senate and House to achieve a desired goal.

In Britain, the Queen (constitutional monarchy) has a laissez-faire leadership. She is more of a figure head than a political leader. Though she has some authority in her land, she does not directly make laws or enforce them.

In the case of China (communist), it’s more authoritarian leadership style by President Hu Jintao, more or less. Making decisions and having the most control over the government and its people.

All leaders have their own personal ways of leading but they all take some shape or form of one of the types of leaders mentioned above.

Strong and Valid Arguments

Strong arguments have stronger roots in the truth than valid arguments. Harder to prove wrong, strong arguments are more certain with better reasoning. Valid arguments are also true however differ due to the fact that they are more than one-sided. The person making the argument also has to believe that their points are valid and strong. If there isn’t a reason to argue there is no need for a strong or even valid argument.

Strong Argument: I can grill chicken. You can make parmigiana chicken. You cook dinner tonight.

Valid Argument: I cooked dinner for the whole family yesterday. You cook dinner tonight for the two of us.

These two arguments are valid but I think the example for a strong argument is indeed stronger. By describing what I can cook and what you can cook you can see which one is better, the preferably meal between the two. While the valid argument is just a justification as to why you should cook dinner.

A Good Argument

Mission Peak is 2,517 ft tall. It is quite easy to climb.

Madeline climbed Mission Peak in 45 min.

Mission Peak in Fremont is a local hiking destination. However to argue that it is “easy” to climb may not be reasonable. The argument is plausible but it depends on the person. If an athletic person who does a reasonable amount of exercising can handle the hike up the peak. Being physically fit is probably the best way for a hike to feel “easy” or effortless. But if you are a person who thinks exercising or working out is a challenge that climbing up Mission Peak would be a challenge. The argument would only be valid if a majority of people thought hiking was easy.

Madeline climbing Mission Peak in 45 minutes is a plausible situation. Even though I made this time up, I want you to assume that 45 minutes is what a good time when climbing Mission Peak. We can assume that Madeline is a physically fit person who considered Mission Peak “easy” to climb.

Perspective Claims

Perspective claims use one’s judgement when making claims. They do not describe what something is, they describe how it should be. Perspective claims make statements determining whether it is right or wrong. I found this interesting because it makes a distinction between a person stating “I want candy” and someone replying, “You have too much candy.” It is similar to subjective claims which are also based on personal opinion. However perspective claims focus on whether or not something is right or wrong and is more broad in subjects.

For example, “Chocolate is better than vanilla”, is a subjective claim. Because it focuses on a person’s preferred flavor. It is also a perspective claim because someone is judging and rating its value. Value Judgement means doing more of what’s right and less of what’s wrong.

When reading about perspective claims I thought that parents must often use when teaching their children right and wrong. “You should put more sunblock on”. “You shouldn’t pick at your food.” These type of claims help parents teach their children right from wrong.

Vague Sentences

“The freeway is faster than side streets.”

I heard this vague sentence when driving to LA, through La, and driving away from LA. Los Angeles has some of the worst traffic in the United States. Being from the LA area, its always about how to get to your destination the fastest. There are over 50 highways, freeways, interstates, and state routes in LA. Determining the fastest route to your destination you have to think of many factors. So the vague statement above has many factors influencing its truthfulness.

When you’re driving, the distance you’re driving, and how fast you drive are the major factors. Because of the many factors the statement becomes vague due to the fact there will be times taking the side street is faster then the freeway or vice versa. And when you’re not in Los Angeles, are there even freeways? This is claim that causes too many disagreements between drivers.

Subjective and Objective Claims

Both subjective and objective claims use standards to justify their conclusions. Standards created by society or our culture if it concerns someone’s physical appearance and even one’s attitude towards others.

At lunch today my friend said, “This chile colorado isn’t spicy.” But upon trying it I felt that it was a bit on the spicy side. Coming from a family where none of the food is “hot” or “spicy”, I am sensitive to foods that are very “hot”. Unlike my friend who grew up eating plenty of chile and pepper in her food. The claim she made at the restaurant was subjective because she used her personal standard to determine the spiciness of the food. I think that when it comes to conclusions concerning food they are usually subjective to every individuals favorites or dislikes when it comes to food.

This summer I spent a lot of time at my cousin's house and every day we would watch Filipino Tagalog soap operas on TV. We both would claim that everyone on the show is lighter-skinned. Both being tanner, dark browner, chocolaty colored girls (at least that's the color we call our skin tone). This claim is objective because it is the reality of it and not about how we feel or think. Nearly every person we see on Filipino television has a lighter skin tone the less common skin tone of Filipinos. The color of their skin has no influence on our watching.

About Me

Hello!

My alias name is Catalina because I love Catalina Island off the coast of Long Beach, CA where I am originally from. I am a second year at SJSU and my major is Advertising with a minor in Anthropology. This is my first comm course and I hope to learn a lot from this class. The class is called Critical Decision Making so from that I think I want to learn how to effectively make decisions. By doing so, it would benefit me in the future. I hope to also learn how to blog creatively. Blogs have a lot of influence today especially in society's culture. This is my third online class and I have come to enjoy the convenience of having an online class. I love to dance and take pictures both of which are my hobbies. My favorite season is summer and though its coming to an end I look forward to what this semester lies in store for me.