Structure of Arguments

I picked number 2 for the structure of arguments.1. I'm on my way to school. 2.I left five minutes late. 3.Traffic is heavy. 4.Therefore, I'll be late for class. So I might as well stop and get breakfast.
Argument: yes
Conclusion: So I might as well stop and get breakfast.
Additional premises needed: Yes, The person does not state why they are even running late in the first place. They also don't mention whether it is a accident on the freeway that's why there is traffic or if it just always like that.
Identify any subargument: That the person thinks they could go get breakfast because they are already late.
Good argument: its a good argument but it is not strong.
The exercise was a little useful to me. Even after I finished it I still find some things kind of hard to get. This is one thing that I am going to have to really work on to be able to really understand it.

Something I found Interesting

I found chapter 4 of the small group text to be interesting and helpful. Chapter 4 talks about communicating in organizations. I talks about the need for effective communication. I found that kind of interesting and to be true. We as a people need to learn how to communicate effectively in an organization. We need to know how to communicate because organizations are everywhere. There are many different organizations you could be apart of in this world. In the small communication book they state that organizational communication is a process that involves the exchange of messages between organizational members or among members of different organizations. Throughout the chapter I found it useful that they talked about organizational culture, organizational systems, and organizational relationships. It also talks about how when you learn about organizational communication you will improve your chances of success. I think the whole chapter 4 was useful because it was something that everyone needs to know. Everyone at one point in their lives will be in some type of organization. So it would be very helpful if they knew some ways to communicate will in that organization.

Violating the Principle of Rational Discussion

I am choosing to discuss begging the question. In ch 11 Epstein states that Begging the question is "The point of an argument is to convince that a claim is true. So the premises of an argument have to be more plausible than the conclusion. " Begging the question means that your first statement has to be true so the argument can be strong and valid. The premises have to be plausible so the conclusion can be true. If the premises are not plausible then the argument is going to be weak. And nobody is going to believe a weak argument.
An example of begging the question in my life is when I was trying to convince my mom and grandma to get me my first cell phone. I told them that I needed a cell phone for when I had to walk home from school just in case something happened to me and I needed to call somebody. I also said that I needed a cell phone for when I went out with my friends and may have needed to get in contact with them. I also argued that a cell phone was quick and reliable and made it easy for me to keep in touch with them. My argument was strong and believable. The premises of my argument were true and I explained to them why it would be better and safer for me to have a cell phone.

Strong v. Valid Arguments

In ch 3 Epstein talks about what a strong and valid argument is. A valid argument is a argument were both the premises and conclusion are true. There is no way for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false. As Epstein had stated before "the conclusion follows from the premises" which means the argument is valid or strong.
For example: Adam just turned 8. He got a lot of gifts. So Adam just had a birthday.
Adam just turned 8 so that means he would have had to have had a birthday. He would not have turned 8 and got gifts at the same tie if he did not just have a birthday. A argument can be strong if the premises are true and the conclusion false. But that usually doesn't happen.
For Example: Adam had a party and got a lot of gifts. Therefor Adam just had a birthday. The premise is true but the conclusion could be false. It could have been Christmas and Adam could have had a party and received a lot of gifts. 

Test for A Good Argument

In chapter 3 Epstein talks about the three test for a good argument. The three tests to determine whether the argument is good or not is.
 1. The premises are plausible. This means that the argument gives you a good reason to believe the premises are true.
2. The premises are more plausible than the conclusion. This means that if the premises are strong and true than the conclusion should more than likely be true.
3. The argument is valid or strong. This means if the premise are false or week then the argument is not valid or strong.
For Example: Its summer and the sun is out. When the sun is out its hot outside. Therefor its hot outside so the sun is out.
In this example the premise are plausible. The second premise could be false because the sun can be out and it not be hot outside. With both premises being true then the conclusion is true. But with the second premise also being able to be false then the conclusion can also be false. This is a good argument, but not very strong.

Subjective and Objective claims

Subjective and objective claims are very different from each other. A subjective claim is ones opinion about something. Its how you feel not really what you know is true or a fact. An objective claim is a factual claim. It's a claim that has an answer. We as people use subjective and objective claims all the time. I used a subjective claim the other day when talking to my roommate. We were talking about basketball teams. My roommate is from San Francisco and she likes the warriors. I am from Los Angeles and prefer the Lakers. "So I was like the warriors suck". That right there was a subjective claim because I was just giving my opinion about the warriors. An objective claim would have been "when was the last time the warriors won a championship" because you can get a factual answer for that question.  That is the difference between subjective and objective claims.