Inferring and Implying

Located in Chapter 4, under section E, on page 74 0f Critical Thinking

I found this topic both interesting and very informing. A lot of times, people confuse inferring and implying as synonyms, including myself. As I learned, inferring is used in the context when someone decides that an unstated claim is in fact the conclusion. While on the other hand, implying is when someone leaves a conclusion unsaid, and leaves the other person to come up with the conclusion based on what they already know.

When reading about this topic, A good example of inferring popped in to my mind... Back when I lived at home, my mom would make me do chores every Wednesday and Sunday. Being the rebel that I am, I would always try and put off from doing them in hopes that my mom would forget. However, every time I tried, she would always tell me, "Son, do your chores." Even though she did not tell me what chores to do, I knew exactly what she meant. So in this case, my mom would imply that I had to do my already assigned chores. And I would infer what she meant.

Internet Advertising

http://www.payless.com/store/

Here I looked online for advertising and I found an interesting subject. I looked for shoes and saw that Payless was advertising that they have designer shoes and clothes at a cheaper price than all of their competitors. I must admit, their prices are very affordable. However, Payless has no way of knowing that their prices are in fact the cheapest out their for the products they sale. For all they know, their products are being sold in some random town for even cheaper. I know this argument is a little hard to believe, but it does not change the fact that it is a possibility.

Payless also offers a few deals that encourage potential buyers to buy their products. For example, they offer deals on free shipping if you spend a specific amount of money. Also, they offer a flat rate on ground shipping, no matter what the size of the package. These small techniques are great tools for advertising.

Repairing Arguuments

Example: Michael has a Bic lighter. So Michael can produce a flame.

Analysis: We can't make this valid by adding "All lighters produce fire," because that is false.

It is false because once a lighter runs out of lighter fluid, then it will not produce a flame. We could make this argument stronger by adding "Michael's lighter is new and has plenty of lighter fluid in it." This way it would rule out the possibility that the Bic lighter has ran out of lighter fluid. When you have an argument that leaves room for debate, than it is not a strong argument. However, you can't just make up anything in order to make an argument strong or valid. For example, you can't say "Michael is an outdoors man" or "Michael knows everything there is to know about fires." Because even though these two claims would add to Michael's credibility, an outsider has no reason to believe that they are true.

The only premise that we can add here is one that rules out lots of possibilities without specifying any one of them. "Michael's lighter is new and has plenty of lighter fluid in it," because that statement links the premise to the conclusion. Then it would be a good argument.

What is Leadership?

Leadership can be defined as the exercise of interpersonal influence toward the attainment of goals. There are two main types of leaders: direct and influence. A direct leader is the type of person that will get in your face and tell you what to do. While on the other hand an influential leader is the type of person that leads by example. Me personally,I consider myself to be a leader by example. Neither type of leadrership is better than the other. People often mis inturpret the jobs of a leader. A leader is not a person who you have no respect for. In order to be a leader, you must have the respect of your peers.

Think of the last group you were in... Was there a leader in the group? And if so, what types of decisions were made? A leader should look out for the better of the group. Furthermore, in order to be an effective leader, you must put all of these qualities together. It will not help if a person knows everything their is to know in the world, if nobody wants to listen. And the same goes the other way; even if a person has the respect of all his or her peers, he or she still may not be capable in leading a group.

Violating the Principle of Rational Discussion

On page 202 of Critical Thinking, Epstein illustrates that Violating the Principle of Rational Discussion is pretty much an argument that is intended, or not, to mislead another person. The principle of rational discussion is that we want to try to use all of our reasons for and against a theory, when talking about a theory that is definiteyet able to be criticized. But VIOLATING this principle, refers to an argument that is not entirely true. This fallacy relates to people who sometimes say a premise or premises that are not relevant to the conclusion. This particular person may not have purposely misguided the other person he or she was talking to. However, there are certainly times where a persons intentionally violates the principle of rational discussion.
For example, When I play baseball, there are always guys who talk bad about a Coach. They often say that this Coach is dumb, or doesn't know what he is talking about, or even that he deserves to be fired. But the funny thing is that more times than not, it is the player who is out of line. He will say a Coach is bad only because he can't handle the pressure a Coach puts on him. And he may say a Coach doesn't know what he's talking about; when in reality, the player is just capable of doing particular drills the right way. So this player is actually sending out the wrong message about a Coach being bad, when he really is the "bad" one.

Structure of Arguments

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

Argument? (yes or no) Yes.
Conclusion: My neighbor should be forced to get rid of all the cars in his yard.
Additional premises needed? If people do not like to live next to a mess, with beat up old cars that never get driven, then the neighbor should be forced to get rid of all the cars.
Identify any sub argument: 2, 3 and 4 are independent and support 1. And 5 supports the conclusion, 1.
Good argument? Yes I believe it is.

I think this exercise was useful. It helped me identify all the components of the argument; which also helped me understand it better. I think it's important to be able to depict the structure of an argument because it will allow me to analyze more complex arguments.

Good or Bad Argument?

All men are mortal. Michael Angelo is a man. Therefore, Michael Angelo is mortal.

Analysis This is a valid argument. As long as the premises are true, the conclusion must also be true. This is a good argument because the premises leave little room for debate. It would be extremely tough to argue that certain men are not mortal, because that would mean these specific men would be immortal, which we all know is not true. Furthermore, the premises are more plausible than the conclusion. There is no way the premises could be true and the conclusion false, therefore, this is a good argument.

Introduction

Hello class! My name is Caleb. I know I am a little late introducing myself, but here it goes.. I am in my 2nd year and I am still undeclared with my major. I am a student-athlete on the Baseball team so I stay pretty busy with that, as well as school.. I come from a big family, which has made me humble. Being the youngest of four kids taught me to stay grounded, and that there is always somebody out there who can teach you something. I normally am not a very good public speaker. I hope to learn from this class how to began the process of becoming a better speaker. I also hope to get better on getting my thoughts out. I feel that an online comm class is a perfect way to help me do that. First by writing it out, and then I will eventually be able to speak with more confidence. I am excited to get started on this class, and I can't wait practice on my communication skills!