A.T. THINKS

Blog Prompt : Explain the characteristics of a belief that is live, forced, and momentous. Give examples for each. What kind of belief fits all three? Has James found an exception to Clifford’s standard for belief? Do you agree more with Clifford or James?

James portrays a belief as stemming from a hypothesis. He describes a hypothesis to be options, either live, forced, or momentous. Based on these three options in which a hypothesis is proposed to one, forms a belief.

"Let us give the name of hypothesis to anything that may be proposed to our belief; and just as the electricians speak of live and dead wires, let us speak of any hypothesis as either live or dead. A live hypothesis is one which appeals as a real possibility to him to whom it is proposed." (Page 1) 

"They may be—1, living or dead; 2, forced or avoidable; 3, momentous or trivial; and for
our purposes we may call an option a genuine option when it is of the forced, living, and
momentous kind." (Page 1)

A live option is one that provides choices relevant to the chooser, in which they are aware of. An example of this would be saying to someone, “be a follower or be a leader.” One can pretty much define what a follower is and what a leader is, therefore, they are capable of selecting a belief. Where as, if you said to someone, “be a door or be a mat,” this statement would be irrelevant.

A forced option leaves one with no choice outside of the given choices. Such as a parent saying to their toddler or teen child, “either follow my rules or be without me.” This leaves them with no choice, because the parent is their responsible caregiver and they can’t do without them.

A momentous option is one such as an opportunity that if passed upon, may not come around again. An example of this could be given the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to the moon and back. A chance like this is rare and probably wouldn’t occur just any time.

A belief that James states to accommodate all three options is that of a “genuine option.” He uses religion as an example of a genuine belief, because we all have beliefs whether or not we follow a certain religion, and it is forced in the sense that we cannot escape it. Religion is a live option because it may hold true.

Comparing and contrasting James outlook on beliefs versus Clifford’s, my standpoint is geared towards James. I do believe he found an exception to Clifford’s standards to belief. Clifford solely believes that a belief is either right or wrong and must provide sufficient evidence if right, and that is that. However, a belief is a belief whether right or wrong, as James states there are many forms of beliefs that take place. My mom’s belief that I am not smart if I don’t get good grades is a genuine belief that has been proven wrong otherwise by studies, grades don’t determine a person’s actual intellect. However, it is still a belief even though wrong, because school is hyped up as the road to success.

489 words

Blog Prompt :

Reconstruct one of his arguments (not the examples) in standard form. Then evaluate that argument for soundness and validity. What practical significance does Clifford’s thesis have? Do you see any fallacies in Clifford’s reasoning?

Premise 1: It is wrong to blindly form a belief.
Premise 2: The actions which stem from beliefs with insufficient evidence result in consequences for mankind.
Conclusion: Therefore, all beliefs must be followed up with evidence and supported by mankind, in order to proceed with action.

“And no one man’s belief is in any case a private matter which concerns himself alone. Our lives are guided by that general conception of the course of things which has been created by society for social purposes. Our words, our phrases, our forms and processes and modes of thought, are common property…” (Page 4)
“Belief, that sacred faculty which prompts the decisions of our will, and knits into harmonious working all the compacted energies of our being, is ours not for ourselves, but for humanity… it helps to bind men together, and to strengthen and direct their common action.” (Page 4)

The practical significance of Clifford’s thesis is that beliefs influence ones actions, and if that belief happens to be wrong or lacks evidence to back it up then the action that follows it may be one that stimulates danger. The two excerpts above, from Clifford’s reading suggests that belief’s stem not from ourselves, but from the beliefs of others which in return influenced us, and we pass that belief on. Hence, Clifford argues that it is the job of society to differentiate between a justified and unjust belief, and put an end to the belief’s which are not backed up with sufficient evidence, in order to prevent future occurrences.

Clifford’s examples of the shipowner, and the false accusation of higher-standing citizens, demonstrates his argument that beliefs without evidence should be suppressed. The shipowner relied on his mere belief that because his ship never failed him before, it shouldn’t fail him this time. And because of his belief that he need not repair his ship, he caused the death of men. And the members of the agitating society who accused the innocent men also based their assumptions without any support of proof, and in the end only built a bad reputation for themselves.

Clifford analyzed these situations by stating that regardless of whether or not their beliefs had turned out to be correct, in both scenarios, the shipowner and accusers would still be guilty of wrong beliefs. Clifford implies that ones belief, wrong or right, without sufficient evidence is still wrong.

When Clifford describes both situations he uses the slippery slope fallacy to examine how the result of the men’s beliefs would result in their actions, and further result in their guilt.

Based on Clifford’s examples to back up his thesis, his argument can be said to be valid but not sound. Although his premises are true, his conclusion that a belief should be eliminated if not backed up by evidence is something that realistically doesn’t happen in the real world.

474 words

Blog Prompt 3: ((This particular blog will not be 300 words or follow the general checklist)

Give your own, original examples for the following ten fallacies, plus two additional fallacies of your own choice (for a total of 12): 1) Begging the Question 2) Ad Hominem 3) Equivocation 4) Slippery Slope 5) Straw Man 6) Tu Quoque 7) Non-sequitur 8) False Dichotomy 9) Argument from ignorance 10) Red Herring

1) Begging the Question

Everyone is entitled to like what they want, but men can’t like flowers because only women do.

2) Ad Hominem

Joanna says anyone can be become a fashion stylist, but have you seen her wardrobe?

3) Equivocation

My husband tells me I should work hard for what I want. I work hard by not doing my homework so I can enjoy movies on Netflix. Therefore, my husband should be proud of me.

4) Slippery Slope

Honey, you know the consequences of not doing your homework. If you don’t do your homework you’re going to get bad grades. And if you get bad grades you won’t graduate. If you don’t graduate you won’t be able to get a job. And if you don’t get a job you will just have to stay with me forever. Then, when I am no longer here one day you won’t have a roof over your head. So, start doing your homework!

5) Straw Man

Mary: Lions may be labeled as kings of the jungle, however, logically speaking, if a lion and a tiger were in a fight it is most likely the tiger would win by far.

Leonard: That’s is the most absurd thing I’ve heard. So, you’re saying that lions are weak and tigers are the greatest animals on the earth?

6) Tu Quoque

You’re always nagging me about looking after my health but would you look at yourself. You eat McDonald’s any chance you get, like 10 times a week. You telling me to look after my health is a little ironic, don’t you think?

7) Non-sequitur

Swimming in the ocean can be risky, as you could be eaten by a shark. But, so is driving without working headlights with the chances of being hit by a car. If you’re willing to be hit by a car then you should be should be willing to be eaten by a shark.

8) False Dichotomy

Do you go to the gym twice a week, twice a month, or twice a year?

9) Argument from Ignorance

No one’s ever told me I’m a bad cook, so I must be a good cook.

10) Red Herring

How do you feel about our new boss Karen? Her attitude is really something. It’s always either her way or the highway. She might lose employees this way. What do you think she is like at home? Do you think she is sings in the shower, and eats cookies in her bedroom? I’m going to ask her the next time I see her, and maybe I can figure out why she has such an attitude.

*11) Small Sample

Both times that I tried to go vegetarian the past year I passed out three days in. I must only be made for a carnivore diet.

*12) Stereotyping

My friend told me that Asian people are really good at math. Liliana is Asian so I’m gonna ask her to tutor me in calculus. I bet she aced that course.

487 words

Blog Prompt 2: (This particular blog will not be 300 words or follow the general checklist)

1. Give your own, original example of a valid argument with a false conclusion.
2. Give your own, original example of a sound argument.
3. Give your own, original example of a weak inductive argument.
4. Give your own original example of a strong inductive argument.

Valid Argument with false conclusion

1. All fruits are sweet.
2. Lemons are fruits.
3. So lemons are sweet.

Sound argument

1. If Carrie is a vegetarian, then she doesn’t eat meat.
2. Carrie is a vegetarian.
3. Therefore, Carrie does not eat meat.

Weak Inductive Argument

• My aunt is usually mean to me, but she is nice today. Therefore, I think she will be nice to me from now on.

Strong Inductive Argument

• Lisa said she is going to start eating healthier. Lisa threw away all the sweets in her house. Lisa went grocery shopping for healthier foods. So, Lisa is starting to eat healthier.

100 words

Blog Prompt 1: If, and only if, you did the in-class justice exercise on the first day, you may write it up as a blog. Just put your argument in standard form, with your conclusion saying something about justice. Then tell your own story and explain how it connects to the argument.

1. Belittling someone creates an unjust environment.
2. Lack of acknowledgement leads to unfair situations.
3. Belittling or lack of acknowledgement towards others can lead to unjust environments, and situations.

I think it is fair to say that based on ones socioeconomic standing, and social class, a lot of times determines how others view or treat them. Of course this is completely unjust and everyone should be treated with the same kind of respect, regardless of social status or class. As Edwin Rolfe and Lester Fuller once said, “you can never tell a book by its cover.”

I got my very first job out of high school, eighteen years old, as a housekeeper at a beautiful facility home for the elderly. At the time I remember not wanting to have anything to do with retail, and only wanting a job with consistent hours. I can’t exactly recall why I picked housekeeping as my first job but, I’m assuming it felt right at the time and so I followed my heart. And it was during that time in which I experienced my first encounter with injustice.

All of the housekeepers working at the facility were far from my years, and none of them went to college. So what could one only possibly think of me who was just eighteen years old at the time, fresh out of high school, doing a tedious job like that? Of course they doubted me, and wondered why I wasn’t pursuing my college career, as if I didn’t get started right off the bats I would become a nobody in life. I got dirty looks from older nurses, assistants, and visitors.

There were three particular instances where I recall feeling belittled, and unacknowledged as another human being just trying to make a living like everyone else. One being, getting responsibilities pushed on me that weren’t even mine to begin with. As a housekeeper I had very specific duties which included cleaning a lot of things, however, my duties did not consist of picking up slack from the nurses. Being young and seemingly easy to push around, one of the nursing assistants took advantage of me by leaving her patients garments behind for me constantly to pick up after. Two, as a housekeeper it was my duty to take out the trash if full, but if the nurse or assistant changed a patients diaper they were responsible to take out the trash right away after disposing the diaper in the bin, themselves. Another nursing assistant decided that she wanted to test my patience and asked me to take out her trash, as I was busy with a different task. When she saw that I did not take out her trash, a few moments later, I overheard her talking to another employee about me not performing my job well. This just went to show how low housekeepers are treated. And lastly, as a housekeeper I was not acknowledged by name or any form of proper greeting. When being asked to clean something up I would simply be referred to as “hey you there.”

My experience as a housekeeper made it clear to me that belittling someone based on their job, and not acknowledging them as a person with feelings creates an environment that is not only unjust but very uncomfortable to be apart of.

553 words