Counter Arguments

Counter arguments are arguments towards another argument. By making a counter argument, it says that the argument is not correct in your opinion and that you would like to change the claim of the opposite person. By creating another argument that is against the previous argument, shows that the previous argument is weak. Arguments can be made. but just because you make an argument, does not mean that you will always be right. That is why some people create counter arguments to correct these false claims.

For example: My brother will try and argue that he did all of his chores already. I will then counter argue him by stating that he did not and by supplying him wit reasons why his argument was not fully thought out.

As you can see, counter arguments occur everyday. They are very important parts of our lives. If we want something our way or something in the correct manner, then we must counter argue the wrong side of arguments.

Conditional claims

Concept- Conditional Claims

This type of claim that is conditional if the claim included the words: if and then. This means that if a claim was said and the first part of the claim was said, the second part must be the consequence or the after math of the first part of the claim.

It's sort of like Mathematics. If A is greater than B then B is less than A. As you can see I used the words "if" and "then". These two words are two key factors when it comes to the idea of conditional claims.

For example: My mother would always tell me: "If you behave right now, then I will buy you anything that is worth one dollar."

So if I was to behave at that time, then my mother would reward me anything that was worth a dollar. But if I was not to behave, then my mother would not be obligated to reward me.

Lying when arguing with another person

What I found interesting in the reading was about how people sometimes lie just so that they can win their arguments. Many people today do not really know that much when it comes to general knowledge. To back up their claims, people would usually lie or pretend to know what they are talking about.

I'm happy there was a reading for this, because sometimes it would be difficult for me to tell whether or not the person I'm talking to is telling the truth. Lying towards others is a little annoyance that I have. I never really like people that pretend that they know what they are talking about but in reality, they don't.

When talking to others, people should try to know what they are saying. So be prepared whenever you talk to someone important. Because if you are lying to a person that can tell you lies, then you will get in trouble. Your dignity and how others look at you would be at stake if you were caught. So hopefully everyone that reads this try not to lie when talking to others.

Clever Advretisement

Link to the advertisement: http://www.shwedarling.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/clever-advertisement-3.jpg

In this advertisement, the company is advertising their condoms. Unfortunately, the picture is too small and I do not know the name of the company. Anyways, the picture is basically saying that their condoms can fit any size and to an extent a person's head.

Not only that, but this advertisement is very unique. The colors within the picture contradicts with one another. The company choosing these type of colors were no accident. They chose these colors so that everyone can see the color of the condom clearly; which is the color yellow.

Now how can we believe this advertisement? Is it reliable? Is it true their condoms are the best?

Well we can tell back up these claims by looking at the picture. Since the condom can fit on a person's head, that would imply that it can fit any size. Also, since the condom is not breaking even though it's on a person's head, that would mean that it is reliable when being used.

How can we be sure that this is a good condom though? Well we can also ask people that we trust if they have used their products before. Or we can also try and see the company's history on their sales.

Violating the Principle of Rational Discussion (page 202) and Content Fallacies (page 201)

Fallacies are arguments that are not very well supported or lacking of support. Fallacies are also basically false reasoning. These arguments can also be seen easily true even though they are sometimes not.

Bad appeal to common relief - definition:

If most of the group members of a certain group believe in a certain action to be good for them, then it is true. (Even though it is false)

Bad appeal to common relief - example:

When I went to college, people began to tell me that marijuana was much safer than alcohol. Everyone believed that rather than damaging the liver, marijuana only makes you hungry afterwards and that’s it. But even though everyone believed that marijuana was much safer, the argument was not very strong. Marijuana can damage you lungs and also damage your senses. You will begin to have a hard time remembering things as well as damage your sense’s in the eyes.

So even though mostly everyone believed that marijuana was safer than alcohol, their reasoning wasn't well thought out and everyone believed in it because everyone else did.

PROCESS OF DECISION MAKING WITH A GROUP

Chapter 3 of "The essential guide to Group Communication"

• Identify the problem: make sure you know what your trying to answer. Be sure to know all aspects of what is trying to be solved. Also know what your team mates think about the problem so that when all of you guys are trying to solve it, everyone will not feel left out.

• Conduct Research: Use tools and your team mates when researching. Internet is a good place to conduct research. Not only the internet, but also the library. Distribute the work load evenly to each member of the team and make sure everyone is doing there part.

• Generate, Evaluate Alternatives: Make choices and solutions that you can choose for the problem to be solved. Once you have choices it will expand your thinking on how to solve the problem.

• Chose the solution and evaluate the results: apply the best solution towards the problem and evaluate the results. Did you solve the problem? What were the set backs?

Valid and Strong arguments

Valid arguments: are arguments that are always true. Since all evidence is true, the argument can never be false.

Example: when I argue that my brother is younger than me, this is a valid argument. This is a valid argument is because, after I was born, I remember seeing him as a baby. We also have his birth certificate to prove his date of birth.

Strong Arguments: are arguments that may have a true conclusion, but they may have inadequate evidence to support their claim.

Example: I claim that my asian friend Anthony is smart when it comes to Math because of his ethnicity. It may be true that he is very intelligent when it comes to the subject of Math, but it is not because of his ethnicity. Even though he is asian, that does not make him smart in Math. From his hard work of studying, that is what makes him smart in Math.

Subjective and Objective Claims

Objective Claim: an assertion on a factual subject that can either be proven true or false by . It is made up from factual evidence and not through the opinions or beliefs of others.

Example:

Yesterday my brother stated that he did not have school the next day. My parents did not believe in his statement so they called the school to confirm. By doing so, they realized that he really did not have school. This is a perfect example of an objective claim because it is a true fact that he did not have school the next day and it can be proven with factual evidence.

Subjective Claim: is a claim that is not based on facts. It is based on someone else’s beliefs, opinions, or some non factual evidence. This type of Claim can not be proven either right nor wrong.

Example:

Today my friends claimed that the LA Lakers are going to lose the Championship to the Boston Celtics. This claim can not be true or false because the series has not ended yet. This claim was based on my friend’s opinion instead of actual fact.

Introduction to Christian Velasquez or beaver4973

Hello, this is for the class comm41.

My real name is Christian Velasquez.

My display name or nickname that y'all might know me as is: beaver4973

I'm a current student of SJSU and I just finished my freshman year.

I'm majoring in civil engineering and I love math.

For the summer I am currently in Yokohama Japan. I've lived here for almost 14 years of my life. After I graduated from high school, I moved to the states(California).

I love to play basketball and I'm a Lakers fan!!!!

Hopefully I get to know everyone in our class and at the same time have a fun summer!