Lab 5

http://blog.faithinpubliclife.org/2011/06/logical_fallacies_and_radical.html

This article talks about a statement from Marjorie Dannenfelser regarding the fact that because the abortion rate went up at the same time contraceptive use increased, contraceptives are not useful and should not be used. This is considered a fallacy because the two facts do not necessarily have anything to do with each other. There is no evidence to prove that because abortion rates went up, contraceptive use is not useful. Dannenfelser is using the facts to come up with her own opinion in the issue to make it fit with what she wants to do–abandon the use of contraceptives. In fact, the article even states that an actual study was done on the issue, realizing that desired family size was the factor that linked increased contraceptive use to increased abortion rate.

Blogs

Blogs have taken over society by storm in the past decade. Most blogs are often written about updates of a person’s life, but a portion of blogs are political blogs. These political blogs tend to have “a real influence on people’s beliefs and judgments”. There is always new information to be learned from the blogs, with many different opinions and perspectives on various issues. So, blogging does enhance democracy because it allows for community involvement and discussion backed up with facts as well as beliefs. Information can be collected by reading blog posts, leading to new knowledge gained by the people who read the posts. If diverse people all share their ideas then a multitude of knowledge can be learned by others because each different idea can contribute to the whole process of learning.

Despite the fact that bloggers often times read posts that pertain to their beliefs, there is still the chance for the learning of new knowledge. Ideas are being shared that could cause a person to see something in a new perspective. And other times, people may decide to branch out and investigate a topic that they do not know about or may not fully support. Also, blogs have contributed to helping to find out about political scandals and false credibility of political figures, such as in the “Rathergate” scandal and incident with John Kerry’s false accusations. Various blog posts led the media to bringing to the public light what was really going on in those circumstances with political figures. This is a good thing because people are able to discuss the real evidence and help bring out a scandal going on in government.

People are able to network and make connections to real life that they may not have otherwise known about without blogging. Also, the sense of community discussion is enhanced when people are able to express all of their opinions and feelings on an issue. Blogging sites are a place where people can come together to do this. For the most part, people are able to freely express their ideas without too much fear of being ridiculed because there are bound to be other people who agree and are there for backup. This does allow for a heightened sense of democracy in people because they are all able to equally share what’s on their mind or talk about politics in a way that was never available before blogging took off.

Lab 4 part 2

Argument map on the annihilating arguments for abortion.

http://www.equip.org/articles/annihilating-arguments-for-abortion

Lab 4

Argument map for the section entitled legal arguments against abortion.

http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/arg-abor.html

Lab #4

Argument:

Many murders were committed in the bible. Moses was a murderer. David was a murderer. Why are we any different? You can murder another with your tongue. A liar is a murder. So why are people so down on abortion. Murder comes in many forms.A thief will lie,steal and kill. How many people(including Christians)(do this daily. We need to have compassion and understanding towards those who may really be in need of an abortion. I do not condone abortions for birth control purposes and just to be ridding oneself of an unwanted baby. It special cases(lifethreatening)(rape)(incest) I would opt for abortion,perhaps. I would rather see an unwanted child aborted than brought here to be used and abused. Then grow up and be a serial killer,rapist etc…

An Analogy and an Ideal

Sunstein writes that communication technologies today are changing how we look at politics. He does this by discussing about “the public forum doctrine” and the “republican self-government”. He describes the public forum doctrine as “a right of speakers’ access, both to places and to people.” It is the freedom of speech in public places such as on the streets and in parks. Three goals of the public forum include that speakers can have a wide array of people, speakers have access to heterogeneous people as well as specific people and institutions with whom they have a complaint, and it increases the likelihood that people generally will be exposed to a wide variety of people and views. The republican self-government is described not as one which is run by a king or queen but one where a representative speaks on behalf of the public. It is a system of checks and balances within the government to choose an elected official, thus creating a stable society.

 There are some risks, however, with these two ideas. One is that means of technology such as the Internet have become very important in sharing and communication between people, more important than the traditional streets and parks. The Supreme Court is worried that if they expand the public forum doctrine then it will hard to stop it from continuing to expand. Some people argue that other public places should be considered public forums as well, but in order to shut down these ideas, the Supreme Court claims that it wants to follow in the footsteps of historical practices. It is also stated that a lot of our ideas are shaped by technology and the media. So if the Supreme Court does not want to change their minds about this issue, private and public institutions are able to allow for more diversity in their activities. Another risk Sunstein argues is that the interests of the people should be similar, but they need to allow for diversity in their opinions. Also, there is a conflict between that of consumer sovereignty and that of political sovereignty. There needs to be a distinction between the two so the other is not compromised.

 In order to possibly solve this problem, Sunstein says that “society’s general-interest intermediaries can be understood as public forums of an especially important sort”. They expose people to different ideas and opinions such as the public forums do. We have the right to “active citizen engagement” because we have rights as citizens and consumers to promote democracy. But even still, Sunstein describes three problems he sees with the use of new communication technologies. He says there is fragmentation, which causes problems in communication and understanding between diverse groups. Secondly, it involves a distinctive characteristic of information so informative information can be spread throughout the public. Finally, there needs to be a proper understanding of freedom, where preferences are made after being exposed to information about a certain idea.

Lab #3 Persuasion and Language

The following is an example of an equivocation on the topic of abortion:

It is wrong to kill innocent human beings. Fetuses are innocent human beings. Therefore, it is wrong to kill fetuses.

Critique:

Equivocations are when words are ambiguous and can have various meanings. In this example, the term ‘innocent human being’ is what is considered to be ambiguous. In the first sentence an innocent human being is one who is considered to have done nothing wrong, giving this person no reason to be killed. In the second sentence fetuses are being called innocent human beings because they haven’t had the opportunity to be capable of doing anything wrong. The first one assumes that the person in question is able to distinguish between right and wrong, whereas a fetus cannot even survive on its own let alone be able to make bad decisions. There is a distinction between the two that people often do not see, so they often just consider it to be the same thing. Because this difference is questionable, it falls into the category of an equivocation. Since the meaning of the words can be indistinguishable, one cannot assume that it is wrong to kill fetuses based on this argument.

Turkle Chapter 13: Anxiety

In chapter 13 of Turkle’s Alone Together, Turkle claims that “anxiety is part of the new connectivity”. In saying this, she means that in our society today we have continuous resources and advances in technology in which we are able to instantly connect with the rest of the world. However, with this ever increasing sense of connectedness comes anxiety for a lot of people. There can be an anxiety to keep up with technology as it continues to grow more widespread, but there is also the anxiety of the privacy issues that come with technology.

There is a constant worry by people about being stalked online, or even hacked, or the fact that what they post online can never be removed even if you do ‘delete’ it. A girl also commented on the fact that people judge you based on your interests or what you may say online. People want to appear ‘cool’ on Facebook, thinking that the amount of wall posts determines their popularity. In some cases adolescents have admitted to writing on other people’s walls just so they will get a response back on their wall to make themselves look better to others.

 Another anxiety faced by people today is that any conversation can be saved for years or sent to anybody else, sometimes with the conversation being edited before it is sent off to the next person. This makes people stop and think before they say any harsh words online because they never know if it will come back to hurt them. Julia, for example, “fears disconnection” and feels that she has to always have some way to be in contact with her friends and family. This can also be an example of anxiety because she is always thinking of her phone if it is not with her at all times. She feels like she always has to be available to talk if any of her friends may have an ‘emergency’ situation.  

This claim by Turkle relates to Michel Foucault’s discussion of the panopticon because in both situations there are people who know that they could be watched at any time, but they are unsure when someone will be looking. This forces them to behave themselves all the time. In order to be safe and stay out of trouble, this idea of anyone potentially watching encourages people to avoid doing anything wrong. In Turkle’s case, people are not sure who sees what they post online so they need to make sure that everything is appropriate. In the case of the panopticon, the prisoners do not know when the guard is on duty so they do not want to do anything that could get them in even more trouble if the guard were to see. Hopefully this idea of always being watched will take an effect on people in either situation.

Survey Questions for Polldaddy

Partners: Alise McNutt, Emma Rixham, Jenna Hall

Scale questions: (1 being the least, 5 being the most.)

Claim 1: Kids today are constantly tethered to technology. (chapter 9.)
Question: On a scale of 1-5, how dependent are you on technology?

Claim 2: Being immersed in online games, such as Second Life, can make you want to mirror that personality. (chapter 11.)
Question: On a scale of 1-5, how easy do you find it to break away from your online self?

 

Agree/Disagree with the claims. (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree.)

Claim 3: Texting makes you less obligated to make conversation. (chapter 10.)
Claim 4: Online, it is easier to be a bully. (chapter 12.)

 

Multiple Choice:

Claim 5: After you upload pictures, and then decide to delete them, the picture has already been archived on the internet, where it will stay forever. (chapter 10.)
Question: Have you ever submitted a picture, or statement to a social networking site, that you later regretted and deleted?

a.      Yes, a picture.
b.      Yes, a statement.
c.       Both.
d.      Neither.

Claim 6: While texting, or on the computer, you aren’t pressured by expectations to hold up the other end of the conversation. (chapter 10.)
Question: When you are talking on the phone, do you find yourself searching for something to say because of an awkward silence?

a.       All the time.
b.       Occasionally.
c.       Rarely.
d.      Never.

Claim 7: The telephone is not efficient anymore, and it is almost a bother to take a call from someone. (chapter 10.)
Question: How many times in the last week have you talked on the phone with a friend?

a.      None.
b.      1-2
c.       3-4
d.      5 or more.

Claim 8: We are joined together in one big network of technology, and yet we still feel alone. (chapter 8 )
Question: While using technology, do you ever feel alone despite the fact you are in communication with other people?
 
a.     All the time.
b.     Occasionally.
c.     Rarely.
d.     Never.

Yes/No:

Claim 9: Things that should happen face-to-face, now take place mostly online. (chapter 10.)
Question:  Have you ever given bad news to someone over a message that you knew would upset them, just to avoid giving sympathy in person?

Claim 10: People use the virtual world to express conflicts going on in their own life. (chapter 11)
Question: Do you use online life as a way to let out emotions you are feeling in your real life?

Lab 2: Argumentation, Statements and Inference

Example of deductive reasoning:

http://www.elroy.net/ehr/abortionanswers.html 

Analysis:

This article is pointing out a few different standpoints on why the author believes abortion is a moral choice for women. So, technically it shows a few different examples of deductive reasoning within this one particular article. The one I am going to point out is the fact that the author says that the fetus is not a physically independent person. Because it is not independent, it is not considered murder. Therefore, abortion is considered moral, according to this author. The author says that a fetus is not independent before it is born because it relies on the mother for nutrients to survive. So this author is giving a few statements to support that abortion is not murder, including that the fetus is ‘merely a potential person’ and not a full person. Some of his statements though are not completely black and white and can be argued, which is why the topic of abortion is such a hot issue right now. The author ends the article by saying that women don’t need to be hearing that abortion is murder after it happens. But maybe if people start to see it as murder, they would think about the potential person they are hurting and the number of abortions would decrease.

 

Example of inductive reasoning:

http://dougbenscoter.blogspot.com/2009/11/inductive-argument-against-abortion.html

Analysis:

This author seems to have a standpoint against abortion, and he is pointing out that pregnancy has universal value. He comes to this conclusion by stating that we mourn the loss of something that has value. Mothers mourn the unexpected loss of a baby through miscarriages, therefore pregnancy has value. He tries to convince his readers that despite the fact the some mothers do not value a baby, the pregnancy still holds intrinsic value. If asking people from all over, they could hold different opinions on this issue. It is probable that most people would agree and feel the same way, but others could have differing opinions on the issue. Some people could very well argue that since they do not mourn the loss of their fetus, it has no value, and is considered an okay thing to do. This all depends on the standpoint of the particular person being surveyed because it changes the whole argument depending on if pregnancy is considered to have value. Again, because there is no clear cut answer on this issue, people continue to argue over what is considered correct and morally right.