Argumentation

Great Job Cristina 4pts I. Argumentation

When argumenting you defend and justify your thoughts and you also argue about different solutions to given problems. Your arguments might be favoring something or against something. People might justify their ideas by using facts or opinions. Your job is to distinguish among facts and opinions and to be able to use them properly.

II. Assignment:

a. Please visit the following web page and read all about argumenting. Please answer the following questions in your wiki http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/659/01/

The following blue text was extracted of the link. // “The most famous logical sequence, called the syllogism, was developed by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. His most famous syllogism is: Premise 1: All men are mortal. Premise 2: Socrates is a man. Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is mortal. In this sequence, premise 2 is tested against premise 1 to reach the logical conclusion. Within this system, if both premises are considered valid, there is no other logical conclusion than determining that Socrates is a mortal. This guide provides some vocabulary and strategies for determining logical conclusions.” //

1. What is a "syllogism"? Think of an example and write it down. Syllogism is the most famous logical sequence which was developed by Aristotle and tests one or more premises to arrive to a genera logical conclusion. For example: Premise 1: the rain is water. Premise 2: the water wets Conclusion: the rain wets The syllogism is: if the rain is water and the water wets, therefore, the rain wets.

2. Then click on the link "using logic" and write a list of all the important words (key words) used when writing an argumentative paper. The following blue text was extracted of the link “using logic”. The orange words are the key words used in each form that are write by me.

// "Logical Vocabulary Before using logic to reach conclusions, it is helpful to know some important vocabulary related to logic.

Premise: Proposition used as evidence in an argument. // Premises are affirmative or negative sentences, then the key words used in premises are: verb to be (am, are, is, was, were), auxiliary time forms as did, have, had. // Conclusion: Logical result of the relationship between the premises. Conclusions serve as the thesis of the argument. // Then, like, may, could, should, would, if, probably, possibly, and verbs such as: think, assume, hypothesize, imagine, suppose, guess, believe, etc. // Argument: The assertion of a conclusion based on logical premises. // The key word of conclusion that was mentioned. // Syllogism: The simplest sequence of logical premises and conclusions, devised by Aristotle. // The key word of premises and conclusions that was mentioned. // Enthymeme: A shortened syllogism which omits the first premise, allowing the audience to fill it in. For example, "Socrates is mortal because he is a human" is an enthymeme which leaves all the premise "All humans are mortal." Induction: A process through which the premises provide some basis for the conclusion. Deduction: A process through which the premises provide conclusive proof for the conclusion. Reaching Logical Conclusions // // Reaching logical conclusions depends on the proper analysis of premises. The goal of a syllogism is to arrange premises so that only one true conclusion is possible." //

3. Now click on "logical fallacies" and mention the types of logical fallacies that exist. Write an example of each one. a) __Slippery slope:__ If nobody can eat in class, then I can’t eat in class, so everybody should can eat in class. b) __Hasty Generalization__: I went for first time to a primary school. All Children are a nuisance. c) __Post hoc ergo propter hoc:__ The crying woman appeared after the light went down. Then when the light goes down, a crying woman appears. d) __Genetic Fallacy:__ McDonalds’ food is bad because is empire’s food. =-) ja. e) __Begging the Claim:__ The intelligent child must be passed. f) __Circular Argument:__ This home is hygienic because is clean. g) __Either/or:__ We must either eat the dog or die by hunger. h) __Ad hominem:__ The Mary’s ideas are unfeasible because she isn’t a high School graduate. i) __Ad populum:__ If you really exist, you have ‘face book’. j) __Red Herring:__ We must remove the delinquency; bud how will polices hold up their house? k) __Straw Man:__ The people that study in the garden no understand the class. l) __Moral Equivalence:__ To say bad words is as bad as to fight with the mom.

4. "Logic in Writing" is an esencial link for you to use when writing your argumentative essay. Please keep it in mind and revise it when possible. b. Fact or opinion. Please do the following exercises As I said before it is very important for you to determine if something is a fact or an opinion. Go to the following link and do the exercises. Please check your answers.

http://www.teachingandlearningresources.co.uk/factoropinion.shtml // Literacy Fact or Opinion?

Decide which of these statements are fact or opinion from the drop-down list, then click on the "Finished" button to obtain your score out of ten. 1. Smoking is a nasty habit. // (Opinion) **V** // 2. Smoking is an unhealthy habit. // (Fact) **V** // 3. Daffodils are the prettiest of all the spring flowers. // (Opinion) **V** // 4. Summer is the best season of all. // (Opinion) **V** // 5. London is the best city to visit when touring in England. // (Opinio) **V** // 6. London is the capital city of England. // (Fact) **V** // 7. Mary is the best shot in the netball team. // (Opinion) **V** // 8. John scored the most goals this season. // (Opinion) **X** // 9. Football is better than netball. // (Opinion) **V** // 10. Swimming is a good way to keep fit. // (Fact) **V** My score is 9/10

c. Read the text "Special Relativity" in: http://users.powernet.co.uk/bearsoft/SpRel.html read it and extract the arguments the author gives, paste them in your wiki. Explain if the arguments are in favor or against the relativity of time theory.

* //“Not least is the poor way in which the theory is taught and expounded.”// He wants say that the theory is rejected because is it insufficient explained.


 * //“ Such arguments will never come to a successful outcome and future generations of protagonists and advocates will still be repeating the same old dogmas, half truths and misconceptions for decades// //to come.”//

* //“ Many I suspect hold both views from time to time depending on the context within which the subject comes to mind.”//. This argument is again the theory because he attaches the notion of time to the idea of the subject.

* //“Einstein's fundamental error to be that he confuses the measurement of time with the passage of time. Einstein would say that relative motion and gravity both have the effect of slowing time.”// Obviously the author is refuting the Einstein theory. He say s that Einstein was equivocated in his notion of time. The author is again disproving the argument of who sustain the theory. Then he is refuting the theory.

* //“I believe Einstein's theories of special relativity and general relativity to be wrong because they describe the universe as having a fourth dimension of time in addition to the three dimensions of length width and height.”// This is an argument in against the theory. Because he clearly says that it is a mistake (to be wrong).

* //“The fact that the equations of relativity are so strongly supported by experimental evidence is no grounds for accepting the validity of the theory.”// Mr. Bruce Harvey is refuting the way in which the theory is supported. Then he concludes that theory would be wrong.

* //“Whithout a physical cause, authors of books on relativity must use other method s of deriving the transforms.”// This argument refutes the theory because. The author declares that the ways to deriving relativity theory used the equivocate technique.

* // “In relativity, the magnetic field is stationary in the reference frame of an __observer__ who __observes__ it because it is an artefact of their __observation__ .” // Que ridicules…

The last is no an argument but…. 8-0!! =-).