One thing I learned in chapter 6 is the contradictory of a claim, which is a claim that, in any circumstance, will end up being entirely opposite of the original claim. I didn't know there was an official term that signified opposite claims, but it is a pretty easy concept to grasp. Here are some examples:
Bob is sleeping --- Bob is not sleeping
Bob will go for a run later --- Bob will not go for a run later
Another thing I learned about in chapter 6 is the concept of slippery slope arguments, which is a bad argument that piles on conditions after conditions, which might be false, and eventually collapses the argument on top of itself. Here's an example:
Kevin: Don't buy a BMW!
Bob: Why not?!
Kevin: Their reliability is horrible!
Bob: But newer BMWs are just as reliable as Hondas if maintained properly!
Kevin: No they're not. You'll end up broken down in the middle of nowhere and probably have to drop a ton of cash into fixing it. Not to mention it'll probably blow up a week after you get it fixed! Trust me, get a Honda!
Bob: *sarcasm* Your argument was very convincing Kevin...
As you can see, Kevin piles on a bunch of conditions that just continue to make his argument weaker and weaker, which shows a perfect example of what a slippery slope argument is!
Contradictory of a claim was a very interesting concept form chapter 6. I agree with you that this concept is fairly easy to understand. The examples that you used were very clear and showed just how simple this concept is. Slippery slope argument was another interesting section of this chapter. The example that you used for slippery slope argument was definitely an example of this because it contained false conditions that ruined the argument. Kevin has no reason to say that you will end up broken down and that your car will blow up. These conditions obviously weaken his argument. Overall, this was a very informative post with great examples.
ReplyDelete