Tag: Philosophy

This assignment is about writing a potential paper. There are two parts:
Part 1: Paper Proposal (~500 words)
Please imagine a possible paper that you could write for the class. We are not writing whole papers. But if you were to write one, what would it be? Please write a 400-500 word abstract (summary) of this potential paper. Try to imagine vividly and express what the thesis would be, as well as the main points of your argument. A useful idea is to connect themes from different modules to each other. Be sure to address these points: What further questions might be inspired by the paper? What texts from the course would you use? (The texts are attached and you are not allowed to use outside source, they are The Art of Thinking and Logic Made Easy).
Things to possibly consider: Some sample ideas to consider incorporating in your theme. (Please use these as inspiration – remember, the aim is to explore a topic of your choosing – these are suggestions to help you choose a topic, but remember not to answer these questions. Come up with your own original theme/topic/thesis): What is the nature of thinking?; How is understanding and recognizing cognitive errors helpful in thinking more clearly?; What are some methods of proof or logical argumentation and how can they help to avoid logical mistakes?; What are some common mistakes in reasoning and why do we make them?; What is the negative (not) and its role in argument and thinking?; fuzzy logic; What are intuition pumps and how do they help us to think more clearly?; how mistakes help us to think or are useful in other ways; themes in artificial intelligence; determinism and free will; computing, large numbers, evolution, and information; computation and consciousness.
Part 2: Annotated Bibliography (~1000 words total, ~300 words per text)
Please choose one text/chapter from “The art of thinking” and two texts/chapters from “Logic Made easy” , for a total of 3 texts, and write for each a summary that expresses some of the main points, and explores how they connect to your paper topic for each text. More instructions/hints: This is like writing an annotated bibliography that could be part of the background for your imagined paper. The annotated bibliography should include summary of the text, reflection, criticism, analysis, etc. Each of the 3 entries should be between 300 and 350 words. Use any style of citation. For the annotated bibliography in Part 2, you’re writing brief summaries and discussions of three texts that you choose, and you will relate each of the texts back to the topic of your overall project. Indicate the chapter/text you selected for each entry.
Final Note: Please follow the instructions carefully. You are not asked to write an whole essay. Please separate part 1 and part 2. Each entry of part 2 should be separated as well.

Identify the fallacy of ambiguity committed in each of the following arguments and mention the Name of the fallacy committed in each sentence: 1. I have no regrets for what I did. God told me to kill your children. Psalm 137 clearly says, “Happy is he who shall seize your children and dash them against the rock”. 2. Our town hall says it is giving out parking permits to fish at Warden’s pond. But that’s ridiculous. Why would a fish need a parking permit? 3. Stanford is academically one of the best universities in the United States. Therefore, Claude, who is a student at Standford, is academically one of the best students in the country. 4. The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal. But that’s not certainly the case. Studies show that people are born unequal in intelligence and athletic ability. 5. Both sodium (Na) and chloride (Ca) are dangerous to humans. Therefore, table salt (NaCl), which is a combination of these two chemicals, is dangerous and should be avoided altogether.

1. No dogs are cats All Mindies are dogs Therefore, no Mindies are cats. a. Use the letters, PSM, to re-wright the above syllogism. b. What is the Figure of the above syllogism? c. How do you prove the validity or invalidity of the syllogism? 2a. What are the Letters of the Alphabet used to represent the four standard-form categorical propositions? b. What items do you see exist in a Square of Opposition? 3. How does a Deductive argument differ from an Inductive argument? 4. What do these terms mean: Fallacy, syllogism, proposition.

PROMPT: In modern society, what are the strongest reasons to validate and invalidate the legitimacy of natural law and legal positivism?

First, state what is natural law and legal positivism as well as the differences, similarities, and possible interdependent relationship between natural law and legal positivism.

Then, demonstrates the legitimacy of natural and legal positivism. Compare and Contrast through time and period. (MAIN PROMPT)

Finally, argue why one overlaps the other and how it affects law in general.

Please cite at least one book. Use the Bibliography List for reference. Use as many sources from the Bibliography list.

Discussion Prompt Find an example of a fallacy used in popular advertising or any persuasive text. Upload the image/words or provide a link. Identify the fallacy and why you think that this particular type of advertisement represents the fallacy that you have chosen. In addition to your initial post, respond to at least two of your peers’ posts. These responses should address questions, problems, or issues presented in their ad analysis. Please remember to be respectful and appropriate with your analysis of their work. Don’t just agree or disagree; continue the conversation! ============================== Kickoff Message Welcome to the Week 5 Discussion! This week we continue to apply the concepts we’ve learned from the course more deeply to analyze the claims and arguments made around us, and, just as importantly, practice identification and analysis of these concepts for your upcoming draft. And there are few arguments more ubiquitous than advertising, which is constantly making claims about why we should buy a particular product or service, and why everybody’s going to laugh at us or avoid us and why nobody’s going to love us if we don’t (or, conversely, why everyone’s going to think we’re super cool if we do). A classic tone-deaf argument made in an infamous Pepsi ad from 2017 offers a particularly prominent example: In the commercial, which features Kendall Jenner and a host of symbols and images that borrow from the Black Lives Matter movement and the wave of protests and counter-protests that have grown increasingly prominent in the U.S. over the last few years, there’s growing unrest between protesters and police at a public demonstration – until Kendall Jenner comes over and offers one of the policemen a can of Pepsi, at which point the tensions break, everyone smiles and celebrates, America is one again and we can all go home happy and safe in the joy that Jenner and Pepsi have restored the spirit of unity in our nation. Or maybe not. But, aside from clumsily trying to play upon popular cultural and social symbols and themes, what exactly is the argument that the ad’s making? Admittedly it’s hard to tell, or hard to put in precise argument terminology, but I think it’s something like this: Premise: Pepsi brings everyone together Premise: Kendall Jenner was able to dispel tensions at a public protest by giving a police officer a can of Pepsi. Conclusion: Therefore, to save America, you should buy Pepsi. There are several things wrong with this, but let’s focus on two: We’ve got a hasty generalization – we’re asked to move from the single instance of Jenner bringing joy to the demonstration being used to support the broad claim that Pepsi brings joy. Thus, we’re being asked to generalize from a single case (keep in mind that reasoning refers to the movement from premise to conclusion to build an argument, and critical reasoning refers to the analysis and critique of that movement – that is, is the movement well supported, or is it based on flaw in reasoning or some enormous assumption that needs a lot more evidence before we can take that leap too?). We’ve also got an appeal to popularity – this is going to be a common fallacy used in advertising, where we’re being asked to listen to an argument simply because Kendall Jenner is popular (and I support that conclusion with the premise that she has 139 million followers on Instagram, and I’m assuming at least some of those 139 million are not bots), and therefore she’s able to bring joy through Pepsi because she’s very popular and thus her popularity should justify our belief. Now, if Jenner had won the Nobel Peace Prize, or had brokered peace in the Middle East, or were a prominent and influential thinker on matters of global peace, I would be inclined to listen to her argument on this matter. But, from what I understand of her, her expertise seems to lie more in the areas of modeling, marketing, and branding, so I’ll look to her if I need input on those items, but on matters of how to address and resolve social unrest, I’m not sure she’s the most credible source. There’s so much else to unpack in this overlong commercial, but that’s enough of Pepsi and Ms. Jenner for now – now I’m interested in what examples you’re seeing where these concepts help us identify problems in the arguments that are thrown at us constantly on TV and the web! 300-400 Word Count

Please respond to the following questions in full. Please provide arguments in standard form (premise/conclusion format) when asked, and in prose form (just written out) when asked. Prose answers ought to be roughly 4-5 complete sentences. Standard form arguments ought to include a minimum of 3 premises and a concussion and ought to provide a logical connection through each premise as it builds to the conclusion. Each response should make at least one textual reference with page numbers or section titles (if you do not have pg #s) included in the response (unless otherwise noted). Questions worth 20 points each. TRY THE BEST YOU CAN. EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE BOOK TRY TO FORM AN ARGUMENT. THANK YOU

In this brief (4-6 page) paper hypothetically describe and explore the punishment that you received (the hypothetical situation will be below this). What did you do to earn this punishment? What form did the punishment take? What were its effects? Given what you now know about punishment history and theory, how did that punishment fit into the larger scheme of things–what was the theoretical rationale for the punishment, if any? Hypothetically you are a junior in high school. You go to a Christian private school that is pretty strict. Despite being a Christian school, many of the students were wild (always drinking, doing drugs, having sex). In this particular situation, there was an infamously annoying kid in your school who always likes to play around and would constantly try to wrestle and horseplay with you. On this particular day, you had a very stressful exam that you spent a lot of time studying for and you think that you failed it. Being very upset and frustrated as soon as you leave the classroom this annoying kid comes from behind you and puts you in a headlock. Although he was just playing around, you got fed up and lashed out at him and tackled him into the lockers. It starts to get serious and as soon as you are about to throw the first punch the principles and teachers come and split you up. You get an in-school suspension for the next week for fighting. They tell you that if you would’ve thrown a punch your penalty would’ve been much worse even potentially expulsion. They still suspended you even though you technically were defending yourself and they understood that, but needed to make you an example so that everyone else in the school knows fighting will not be tolerated.

please edit this summative research for your primary text #1: Plato: the republic book VII (Allegory of the cave) summarize how it applies to your topic quotes your topic is “human rights issues in Uganda against political oppositions” and include this in your research notes do the same thing for your Primary Text #2: Thomas Hobbes, 1651:leviathan chapter xii of the natural condition of mankind as concerning their felicity and misery Summarize how this applies to your topic quotes and include it in your research notes also for the claim word it differently and make it straight to the point an idea to make it straight to the point would be how Most people fixated on ideal of current President – that he is good – but he is not – leading Uganda backwards – not fundamental path to freedom and for your research notes organize them under subheadings the subheadings could be Context, Philosophical approaches, Hobbes, Rawls, Plato and Aristotle provide a plagarism report for the research notes because they have be in my own words get the information from Scholarly Database’s not articles

There are 3 sets of questions. Each set should have a 1-page response. For each set of questions, I have attached the associated coursework. Anything that references our textbook can be accessed via my Chegg account.

If you have issues accessing it, let me know. I can copy and paste the pages into a word document for you.

I will upload the documents per unit assignment. There are three in total for a total of 9 questions If you would like, once you complete one unit you can send it to me. Or you can send them all at once. Either way is fine.

Below are the guidelines for each question:
Total 100 points possible (34 points per question). Worth 25% of your final grade.
Answer questions 1 through 3 in approximately 1 – 2 pages each (thus 3 – 6 pages total, double-spaced, 1 inch margins, reasonable font such as 12 point Times). For each question, grading will be based on the following considerations:
• Did you answer every part of the question completely?
• Did you define key concepts and describe the arguments and views you discuss?
• Did you provide cogent reasons in favor of your answers?
• Did you express yourself clearly?
Remember, your goal is to demonstrate that you understand the topics. Make sure you include enough detail, in your own words, to show that you understand the topics.
You can use information from articles we have read for class, as well as outside sources. If you do rely on a source for anything you say, cite that source clearly using a standard citation format (my favorite is Chicago, but you can use others if you prefer). See the articles at the “Avoiding plagiarism and citing sources” link, found on Moodle under the Exams section.

Week Four: Weekly Russell Round Up/Commentary

After completing this week’s assigned chapters of Russell’s The Problems of Philosophy as well as the other required readings, do the following:

First, briefly summarize what you learned from reading the Russell chapters this week. Then, set about achieving your main goal in this assignment, beyond the summary, which is to tie together any theories, themes, concepts, important ideas, arguments, important observations, etc. you discover in Russell’s work and the particular philosophical views and the general content covered in the other readings.

For example, in Week Four, you will be summarizing Chapters XIII-XV in The Problems of Philosophy, and then you will look for how what he says there links up with, adds to, or even conflicts with the philosophical views and ideas of James, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. Chapter XV will likely be the focus of the comparative part of your commentary.

Please take a moment to review the detailed Russell Round Up Guidelines before completing this assignment. Also, don’t forget to review the scoring rubric for this assignment: Russell Round Up Grading Rubric.

This brief, informal essay should be in the 400-500-word range. You may submit your “Russell Round Up” as a file attachment or simply write it directly into the text editor (but best practice is always to save your work in a file so you don’t risk losing it if your computer shuts down). Please pay careful attention to grammar, spelling, word use, and writing style; this means you need to proofread your work before submitting it. This assignment is worth 10 points (weighted at 10%), for a total of 40% of your course grade for all four Round Up essays. Please see the course calendar for assignment due dates.