Thursday, December 9, 2010
What I learned
I have learned a lot from this class. I have learned many different concepts. Some that were hard and some that were not so hard. This class was way more easier than my other critical thinking class. One thing I will remember from this class was the appeals to emotion section. Appeal to emotion in an argument is just a premise that says roughly you should believe or do something because you feel a certain way. When I watch TV now I point out when a commercial is trying to make you feel a certain way. I have realized that a lot of commercials and advertisements make you appeal to pity. They always want you to feel bad about something. Another appeal to emotion that will stick with me is appeal to fear. People are always trying to make you scared so you could do something. Politicians and advertisers always appeal to fear because they want to manipulate you. They will sometimes use arguments that don't even link the fear to the conclusion. So in general they are bad arguments. I have also learned about many different fallacies. Some of them are still a little hard to understand and recognize.
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I agree that after taking this class I had a better understanding of all the different types of concepts. The part of your post that stood out to me the most was the appeals to emotion section, simply because I thought the exact same thing after we read that section. After reading that section, it seemed like everywhere I went I was seeing an advertisement on the internet or on tv or on a poster and I would pick out right away the appeal to emotion. Whether it was an appeal to pity, appeal to fear, a feel good argument, an appeal to spite, or even calling in your debts, I would notice it right away. This class and reading this book has also help to recognize bad arguments whether I hear one or see one. Now, I am able to not just give in, I will have a better understanding and won’t be convinced unless they have a valid and strong argument.
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