Discussion 1 (Inductive Arguments)

Your instructor will choose the discussion question and post it as the first post in the discussion forum. The requirements for the discussion this week are a minimum of four posts on four separate days including responses to at least two classmates.. The total combined word count for all of your posts for this discussion, counted together, should be at least 600 words. Answer all the questions in the prompt, and read any resources that are required to complete the discussion properly.

In order to satisfy the posting requirements for the week, complete your initial post by Day 3 (Thursday) and your other posts by Day 7 (Monday). We recommend that you get into the discussion early and spread out your posts over the course of the week. Reply to your classmates and instructor. Attempt to take the conversation further by examining their claims or arguments in more depth or responding to the posts that they make to you. Keep the discussion on target, and analyze things in as much detail as you can.

This week we are learning about the power of inductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is not only extremely common, but it can also provide very good evidence for conclusions. This discussion prompt allows you to present an inductive version of the argument that you have been developing in this course.

Prepare: To prepare to write this discussion, read Chapters 5 and 6, focusing especially the section on “Strengthening Inductive Reasoning” in Chapter 5. Take a look as well at the required resources from this week, including What is a Strong Argument? 

Reflect: Create a new (and improved) version of the argument that you have been developing throughout this course. Try to make sure that all of your premises are true and that your reasoning is inductively strong. Again, consider how someone with the opposite point of view might criticize your argument and see if you can improve it to avoid those objections.

Write: Present your argument in standard form and explain any weaknesses that might remain. A weakness could mean a premise that many might disagree with or questions about the strength of the inference. Indicate briefly how you might address those weaknesses to strengthen your argument further. What further information might strengthen your argument the most?

Guided Response: Read the arguments presented by your classmates and analyze the reasoning that they have presented. Comment on the strength of their reasoning. Help them out by pointing out any respect in which a reasonable person might disagree with the truth of their premises or with the strength of their reasoning. Give suggestions for how the argument might be improved. If someone presents good suggestions for your own argument respond with an improved version of the argument.

responce 1: Bryan Mosley    

• Tuesday Jul 4 at 1:04pm

  Topic:  Is it ethically acceptable to raise animals for food on factory farms? Premise 1:  Chickens, pigs and cows have behavioral needs to roam, walk, lie down and play. Premise 2:  Animals at animal factories require them to live their lives in tight confinement, pain and suffering. Premise 3:  Anything that requires chickens, pigs and cows to live in small cages, tethered and in pain is inhumane unless it serves a purpose that outweighs the suffering involved by these animals. Premise 4:  Placing animals in small cages, tethered, limited mobility, in pain and suffering does not outweigh the suffering involved, numerous meat recalls, manure spills and illegal waste dumping. Conclusion:  Therefore, the treatment of chickens, pigs and cows at animal factories is wrong. To strengthen my argument, I modified premise 4 to include meat recalls, manure spills and illegal waste dumping.  There is overwhelming evidence available that demonstrates the short cuts corporations take to make a profit.  The United States Humane Society and other animal rights organizations have presented this mistreatment of these animals to the public forefront with undercover investigations and legislative reform and change.  There is also overwhelming evidence supporting the mistreatment of these animals resulting in human illness and even death due to contaminated meat, manure spills and illegal waste dumping.  These factors help to strengthen the premises and the conclusion.

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  Topic:  Is it ethically acceptable to raise animals for food on factory farms?

  Premise 1:  Chickens, pigs and cows have behavioral needs to roam, walk, lie down and play.

  Premise 2:  Animals at animal factories require them to live their lives in tight confinement, pain and suffering.

  Premise 3:  Anything that requires chickens, pigs and cows to live in small cages, tethered and in pain is inhumane unless it serves a purpose that outweighs the suffering involved by these animals.

  Premise 4:  Placing animals in small cages, tethered, limited mobility, in pain and suffering does not outweigh the suffering involved, numerous meat recalls, manure spills and illegal waste dumping.

  Conclusion:  Therefore, the treatment of chickens, pigs and cows at animal factories is wrong.

  To strengthen my argument, I modified premise 4 to include meat recalls, manure spills and illegal waste dumping.  There is overwhelming evidence available that demonstrates the short cuts corporations take to make a profit.  The United States Humane Society and other animal rights organizations have presented this mistreatment of these animals to the public forefront with undercover investigations and legislative reform and change.  There is also overwhelming evidence supporting the mistreatment of these animals resulting in human illness and even death due to contaminated meat, manure spills and illegal waste dumping.  These factors help to strengthen the premises and the conclusion.

responce 2 Rochelle Rothstein

Wednesday Jul 5 at 1:09pm

Topic: Can social media enhance or hinder an interpersonal relationship? Premise 1:       Social media allows users to connect with more people faster. Premise 2:       Social media allows users to stay connected with family, friends and business partners. Premise 3:       Social media allows users to connect and unite with people on a common platform to achieve a common goal. Premise 4:       Social media allows users to stay connected 24/7.   After reflecting and reviewing, I can strengthen and improve on Premise 1 to ensure my reasoning is inductively strong. Opponents of my Premise 1 may state that social media can only connect users quicker if they actively engage on social media.  Otherwise, other methods of communication would be faster than social media. Users need to engage on social media frequently to provide this claim to be stronger. Per our textbook, (Foster, Zuniga & Postigo, 2015) to strengthen an inductive argument, we need to intensify our claim and provide evidence to support our conclusion. The stronger the evidence, the stronger the premise will be (para 5.1). My revised Premise 1 would read: Premise 1:       Users that frequently and actively engage on social media connect quicker with more people.    References: Hardy, J., Foster, C., & Zúñiga y Postigo, G. (2015). With good reason: A guide to critical thinking [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/    

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Topic: Can social media enhance or hinder an interpersonal relationship?

Premise 1:       Social media allows users to connect with more people faster.

Premise 2:       Social media allows users to stay connected with family, friends and business partners.

Premise 3:       Social media allows users to connect and unite with people on a common platform to achieve a common goal.

Premise 4:       Social media allows users to stay connected 24/7.

After reflecting and reviewing, I can strengthen and improve on Premise 1 to ensure my reasoning is inductively strong. Opponents of my Premise 1 may state that social media can only connect users quicker if they actively engage on social media.  Otherwise, other methods of communication would be faster than social media. Users need to engage on social media frequently to provide this claim to be stronger.

Per our textbook, (Foster, Zuniga & Postigo, 2015) to strengthen an inductive argument, we need to intensify our claim and provide evidence to support our conclusion. The stronger the evidence, the stronger the premise will be (para 5.1).

My revised Premise 1 would read:

Premise 1:       Users that frequently and actively engage on social media connect quicker with more people. 

References:

Hardy, J., Foster, C., & Zúñiga y Postigo, G. (2015). With good reason: A guide to critical thinking [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/