Generalizing

I found the concept of generalizing in chapter 14 to be both interesting and useful. The chapter explained that we generalize when we conclude a claim about about a group, the population, from a claim about some part of it, the sample. When one generalizes, they are making an argument. The term generalization was also defined in this section. It is the general claim that is the conclusion. This term can also be used to describe the entire argument. Inductive evidence was also explained in this section. Inductive evidence for the generalization is the plausible premises about the sample. The only way we can determine if a generalization is good is to see it as an argument. The examples in the section were very helpful and they allowed me to better understand generalizing. An example that was given showed that just because a study taken in one city shows that people are not satisfied with a type of SUV, it does not mean that people everywhere are not satisfied with their SUV's.

Favorite and Least Favorite Things About Class

Overall, I feel that this class was very informative and interesting. One of my favorite things about this class was the fact that it was available online. This was my first online class and I enjoyed having the luxury of being able to have an online class. Another one of my favorite things about this class was the textbooks that we used. I found both of the textbooks to be very helpful. They both explained concepts in great detail and they provided excellent examples that helped me grasp the concepts. Another thing I enjoyed about this class was that all of the students were able to view their classmates blogs and share comments with them. This helped me look at some of the concepts in a different way and understand them better. One of my least favorite things about this class was that we had to post on our blogs twelve hours apart. Another one of my least favorite things about the class was that we never had the chance to meet up as a class and discuss the concepts we were learning about. One way I think this class can be improved is by removing the time restrictions on the blog posts.

What I Have Learned

I have learned so many new concepts this semester. Some things that stood out to me this semester were arguments, fallacies, counterarguments, claims, repairing arguments, and how to effectively communicate within groups. Arguments were a very interesting area to me. I learned that the basic definition of an argument is, "an attempt to convince someone, using language, that a claim is true." This section definitely taught how to write better arguments. I also learned a lot about counter arguments in this class. A counter argument is basically refuting an argument. I learned about the different ways to write a counter argument. Fallacies were also one of the most interesting things I learned about in this class. There are so many different fallacies that I learned about. In the future I will be able to avoid fallacies in my writing. The different types of claims that I learned about were also interesting. I learned a lot about general claims and concealed claims. I also learned techniques for repairing arguments which are very useful. The Group Communication book taught me a lot of information too. I learned how to effectively communicate in small groups and organizations. I also learned about the importance of leadership and decision making in groups and teams. I can use many of the skills I learned from this class in the future.

Two Mistakes in Evaluating Cause and Effect

I found the section of Chapter 15 that discussed the two mistakes in evaluating cause and effect to be both interesting and useful. The first mistake that this section discusses is, "Reversing Cause and Effect." The example that was given showed how Tom reversed cause and effect in the statements that he made. The second example that was given also helped me to better understand this concept. The second example showed how Suzy reversed cause and effect. The next concept that was discussed in this section was titled "Looking too hard for a cause." I found this concept to be very interesting. "Post hoc ergo propter hoc" was also discussed. This means "after this, therefore because of this." This tends to occur when people overlook a possible cause. There can definitely be more than one cause for many events, so it is not right to jump to a conclusion so quickly. This section explained that we look for causes because we want to understand things, which makes sense. Another thing I found interesting was that for many things we will not be able to figure out a cause because we do not know enough.

Mission Critical Website

The Mission Critical Website was very useful. This website was helpful for me because it contained many links to a variety of different concepts. Under "The Basics" heading of this website, I found the links to be very informative. I especially found the page about Universal Statements to be useful. The Conjunctions and Disjunctions page also helped me get a better understanding of the concept. There were also many informative links under the "Analysis of Arguments" heading. One of the links that I found very useful was Deductive arguments because the concepts were explained in great detail and the exercises were helpful. The "Fallacies and Non-Rational Persuasion" heading also contained some interesting links. The fallacy review exercises and the quiz were extremely helpful as well. The Misdirected Appeals and Emotional Appeals sub-headings were very useful. Overall, this website was definitely useful to me and it helped me better understand many concepts.

Cause and Effect Website

I found the cause and effect website to be very helpful and interesting. The first example that was on the website was very interesting. When I first read the example, I immediately thought that the truck was at fault for the accident. The explanation of the differences in the arguments that the website gave was helpful to me. It was helpful that the difference between a causal and inductive argument was explained. The two rules of causation were explained very well and they helped me grasp the concept better. The explanations of post hoc, reverse causation and common cause were also extremely helpful. It was very helpful that this webpage focused on one example and throughly analyzed it. I think if there was more than one example I would have not understood this concept a fully. The three factors that were at the bottom of the webpage also help out. I also completed the exercises and they definitely helped me understand this concept.

Analogies in the Law

I found the section about Analogies in the Law in Chapter 12 to be very interesting. According to the textbook, analogies in the law are presented as "detailed and carefully analyzed arguments" that have the "important similarities pointed out and a general principal stated." Many of the laws that we have are not very specific. It is very important that all of the laws we have be applied consistently. In most instances, judges usually make their ruling based on a previous case or cases that were similar. One example of a case when a judge said all past rulings were incorrect was Brown vs. the Board of Education. This case dealt with segregation in schools. Another example of this is the Roe vs. Wade case, which dealt with abortion. When a judge is in a situation in which he does not know what to decide, he will look for differences between the current case and previous cases.