Chapter 7: Refuting An Argument

In chapter 7, Epstein talks about refuting an argument. He shows that there are 3 direct ways of refuting an argument directly:
1. shows that at least one of the premises is doubtful
2. shows that the argument isn't strong
3. shows that conclusion doesn't connect, or false

An example of refuting an argument:
During this past weekend, me, my boyfriend and our friends went to LA for EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival). The weather was extremely hot and humid that I was drinking water nonstop. But my boyfriend only drank a bottle of water when I know he is thirsty. I asked him how come he isn't drinking more water, he said that he doesn't want to use the restroom during the rave. His conclusion doesn't make sense because under the crazy hot/humid weather, all the water you drink will sweat out by itself. That's why it's so important to keep your body hydrate under the heat.

Chapter 6: Compound Claims

One interesting concept that I found useful in chapter 6 is called "the contradictory of a claim". That means a claim has the opposite truth views in a certain situation. I find this claim to be useful because I always catch people who contradict themselves because I'm a good listener and have a good memory that I just know when someone is trying to lie their way out. I think lying for the most part always end up to be contradicting because the liar could never keep their story straight.

For example, my boyfriend and I got into an argument last week. He knows that whenever we get into an argument, I always need a day or two to myself just to cool down and think. He agreed to give me some time alone but within three hours, he gave me a call just to check up and see how I am doing. Now, in this situation.. my boyfriend is contradicting himself because he promised to give me a day or two some time alone but yet, he calls me after three hours. From this, it is obvious that his claim is contradicting.

Interesting Concept.

A concept that I found interesting is in chapter 5 “Is that true?” Section A: Evaluating Premises:

In this section, it talks about what kind of choices are needed in order for the claim to be believable -
1) accept the claim as true
2) reject the claim as false
3) suspend judgment
I found these three choices to be useful because usually when people want to make their claim believable, they lack one of the three or everything in general. In my advertisement post, I chose covergirl waterproof mascara as my example. It’s true that according to the label, it’s waterproof. However, after I tested it out, it was false so therefore, the claim that was supposedly true is not true. I found that evaluating premises is interesting because many people believe that every claim should be backed up with an argument. But in truth, we can’t do that. We need justification for every claim or else the claim can go on forever and ever. It is entirely up to us if we want to believe the claim or not.

Advertisement.

Advertisement is a way to let the customers know what and how the produce is. They often try to advertise their products as "oh my god, this is a must have!". I'm sure many of us get suck into advertisement anywhere via tv, online, magazine, etc. But regardless of that factor, we can't always be bias until we try the product for ourselves. The advertisement I want to share today is the Covergirl waterproof mascara. *click on the image to enlarge*

The other day, I stopped by walgreens because I left my mascara temporary back at home in San Francisco. I walked around the isle of walgreens with my best friend and I came across to covergirl. I asked my best friend if she knows anyone that actually used the covergirl waterproof mascara and if it works since I'm going swimming with some high school friends. My best friend told me that she seen advertisement in magazines about the covergirl mascara and she also told me to read the label of the mascara. I read it and it says "waterproof, does not clump lashes!" So I thought... what the heck. I'll just buy it since it was only $6. When I wore the mascara next day at the pool while swimming, my high school friends were laughing at me. I checked myself in the mirror and saw that my mascara did indeed smear. So obviously, the covergirl advertisement is false because it says "waterproof".

According to chapter 5, it says there are three choices in order to make the advertisement (claim) valid:
1. accept the claim as true
2. reject the claim as false
3. suspend judgment

By reading the label, it clearly says "waterproof" so I accepted the claim to be true. However, when I wore my mascara at the pool, it smeared on me proving the advertisement to be false. Therefore, regardless of what the advertisement says, it didn't matter so I had first hand experience with the mascara.

Violating the Principle of Rational Discussion

Fallacies: A bad argument that has been said to be unrepairable.

Mistaking the person (group) for the claim - definition: Any argument that someone gives about another person is bad.

Example of mistaking the person (group) for the claim: During my high school days, there was a girl named Joanna and she loved to talk about everyone. If she finds out something small about someone, she would exaggerate what she knows into something more. I remember she spreaded a rumor about me because she heard things from others. When my best friend Carolyn confronted Joanna, she told me that Joanna's argument about the rumors she spreaded about me was bad because she didn't have any facts or evidence to back it up. The only thing she said "oh I just heard things from people so I'm just telling it how it is."

From this example, we can see that Joanna's argument about the rumors she spreaded about me was bad because she didn't have any evidence and facts to back it up. Instead, she just based it on things she "heard".

One Concept that I found interesting/useful.

Chapter 3 of Epstein: What is a good argument?

The concept that I found interesting/useful would be "The conclusion follows from the premises". I thought it was interesting how the author emphasize that even if an argument has a plausible premises, it is not enough. Usually when I try to argue with someone, I always think if I have a plausible claim, it is enough to validate an argument. But after reading this chapter, I learned that in order for the plausible claim to be strong/valid, your conclusion that follows the premise must have a connection. I remember this one time when I argued with my best friend, I made no sense at all. I told her how I don't like one of her friend because she seems high maintenance so therefore, she has a slobby attitude. Just because someone might has nice material possession doesn't mean her attitude is slobby. With this example, the next time when I argue with someone, the premises and conclusion must go together in order for the argument to be effective.

Valid & Strong Argument.

Valid Argument: an argument that is valid. All premises are true and conclusion are false at the same time.

Example:
A) Mimi is allergic to cats (premise)
B) As a result, she gets itchy skin and red eyes from the fur. (conclusion)

In this example, we can see that Mimi is allergic to cats is valid. This leads to triggering her allergies for fur.

Strong Argument: Premises that are true at times than a valid one with the same result

Example: Two weeks ago, I was with in the same car as my friend Jay when he got into a car accident. The person who hit Jay’s car kept saying it’s not her fault. I was the witness and luckily, we had another witness who happened to saw the whole accident and plus there was a security camera in the busy street of downtown San Francisco. This is a strong argument because the lady who hit my friend’s car might think she felt the accident was not her fault when in reality, there were witness and the camera to justify her thinking.

Subjective & Objective Claim.

Subjective Claim: A claim that is not proven to be true or false but rather based on someone’s thinking, feeling, and beliefs.

Example of a subjective claim:
When I went shopping with my best friend yesterday, we saw a girlfriend and boyfriend arguing in front of everyone. She automatically assumed the guy is a bad boyfriend due to seeing the girl crying. This is a subjective claim because my best friend can’t prove that this is true. Maybe the girl done something to her boyfriend to trigger the angry emotions that he expressed by yelling at each other or the guy is fed up with the girl because she is too annoying and needy.

Objective Claim: a claim that is not subjective but rather impersonal standards.

Example of an objective claim:
When I went to the gym with my brother today, he told me that he weighs 170 pounds for being 5’10”. This is an objective claim because how much he weighs and how tall he is does not affect me.

Introduction!

Hi everyone,

My name is Anny and I'm going to be a 3rd year in SJSU this fall. I'm currently majoring in Hospitality management and minoring in Psychology. I'm a very bubbly person because I like to always have a smile on my face and stay positive in life. I love animals; especially cute little puppies! I have a small yorkie and he is everything to me. I can honestly say that I have built my communication skills through my job at Banana Republic. I always have to communicate with customers in a positive/professional manner and it's really challenging if the customer has a negative attitude. My hopes for this class is that I get to achieve a more effective way in communication through writing and speaking. This summer, I hope I get to go to Vegas again :) I love the buffet and shopping there!