200817 Business Communication Skills 1
Welcome to Week 5 Critical thinking, argument, logic and persuasion 2
THE STRUCTURE OF ARGUMENTS IN CRITICAL THINKING 3
Agenda Inferences Fact Judgment Striking a balance between facts and inferences for making judgments. Persuasion 4
RECONSTRUCTING THE LOST TRIBE Based on the information given, characterise the society that uses this language. Examine and group the data; look for patterns. Draw inferences, depending only on the data given. Cite evidence to support these inferences--be sure to base all your conclusions on the linguistic evidence provided. Give a name to this tribe. 5
THE STRUCTURE OF AN ARGUMENT Argument: a rational piece of discourse an attempt to persuade the reader/listener to believe something. Composed of PREMISES and CONCLUSIONS. Premise: assertions/ reasons that support the conclusion. Conclusion: KEY assertion that the other assertions--or the premises--support. 6
EXAMPLE: Because the poor spend proportionally more on their income on gambling than higher income groups and because gambling sends a something for nothing message that erodes the work ethic, government should take steps to contain and curtail the spread of gambling. What are the premises here? The conclusion? 7
STANDARD FORM Reducing an argument to its premises and conclusions. Outline of an argument. Premise 1: the poor spend proportionally more on their income on gambling than higher income groups Premise 2: gambling sends a something for nothing message that erodes the work ethic, government should take steps to contain and curtail the spread of gambling. 8
APPEAL TO FEAR In which a person attempts to create support for his or her idea by using deception and propaganda in attempts to increase fear and prejudice toward a competitor. Either P or Q is true. Q is frightening. Therefore, P is true. 9
On October 7, 2002 George W. Bush made this statement in an address to the USA nation: "Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof - the smoking gun - that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud. After 11 years of living with this problem, why do we need to confront it now? There is a reason. We have experienced the horror of September 11." 10
This can be decomposed into these elements: Predicate 1: We have clear evidence of peril Predicate 2: Evidence could come in the form of a mushroom cloud Predicate 3: We have experienced the horror of September 11 Therefore: We cannot wait, we must confront this problem now. 11
APPEAL TO AUTHORITY Here it is argued that a statement is correct because the statement is made by a person or source that is commonly regarded as authoritative. The most general structure of this argument is: Source A says that p is true. Source A is authoritative. Therefore, p is true. 12
APPEAL TO PITY An appeal to pity (also called argumentum ad misericordiam) is a fallacy in which someone tries to win support for an argument or idea by exploiting her or his opponent's feelings of pity or guilt. The appeal to pity is a specific kind of appeal to emotion. 13
Manny Villar Campaign song Naging Mihirap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhhckdspbta 14
REVIEW Argument Conclusion & Premise Deconstructing arguments to standard form 3 types of fallacious arguments 15
Be complete! ARGUMENTS SHOULD.. well supported with premises. State clear conclusions. 16
HIDDEN ASSUMPTIONS Hidden assumptions are unstated premises and conclusions. These assertions are necessary to recognise in order to fully understand an argument. 17
At the heart of critical thinking lies in the ability to discern what a writer leaves IMPLICIT--what is unsaid--between the lines of what s/he has made EXPLICIT--what s/he has clearly said. 18
The thief had long curly hair, so Saanvi wasn t the thief. Example 1 MISSING PREMISE. 19
Example 1 The thief had long curly hair, so Saanvi wasn t the thief. MISSING PREMISE. The thief had curly hair. Saanvi does not have curly hair. Jodie was not the thief. 20
Ted is lazy and lazy people won t last here. Example 2 (MISSING CONCLUSION) 21
Example 2 Ted is lazy and lazy people won t last here. (MISSING CONCLUSION) Ted is lazy. Lazy people won t last here. Ted won t last here. 22
Example 3 Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look; such men are dangerous. William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (Missing CONCLUSION) 23
Example 3 Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look; such men are dangerous. William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (Missing CONCLUSION) Cassius has a lean and hungry look Men with lean and hungry looks are dangerous. Cassius is a dangerous man. 24
You re like A brother to me. Is she trying to tell me something? There is 1 missing premise & 1 missing conclusion. What do you think they are? 25
DANGERS OF HIDDEN ASSUMPTIONS Jack is Lisa s father, so clearly he is obligated to support her. What is missing here? Is the premise it hinges upon acceptable under ALL CONDITIONS? Sometimes assumptions are hidden in order to MANIPULATE public opinion--particularly in the realm of advertising. 26
Example: Dear Abby Abigail Van Buren of the advice column Dear Abby got into some controversy because of a response she made to a man who complained that because he shared an apartment with a man, people thought he was gay. In response to this, she replied that the rumour that he was gay was an ugly accusation. WHY WAS HER REPLY SO CONTROVERSIAL? WHAT WAS HER HIDDEN ASSUMPTION? 27
Hidden assumptions and the standard Form Products made from natural ingredients promote good health, so you should buy Brand X bread. Premise 1: Premise 2(missing):, 28
Robert Redford s Daughter Rescued SALT LAKE CITY--Shauna Redford, daughter of actor Robert Redford, was rescued when her car plunged into river, authorities said yesterday. They said Redford was wearing a seatbelt and suffered only minor injuries in the accident Friday. She was rescued by 3 other motorists. She was held at a hospital overnight for observation and released. Last summer, Sidney Wells, 22, a student who dated Shauna Redford, was shot and killed in Boulder. Police said the killing may have been drug related. WHAT IS THE HIDDEN ASSUMPTION THE ARTICLE IS LEADING US TO? 29
MALE, ADMU STUDENT, 19, 5 11. Interested in music, religion, literature, existentialism, nature, etc. Seeks Mestiza girl with beautiful soul witty, pretty, intellectual, virtuous. For fun, friendship, maybe more. MALE, DOWN4SUMCRAZYNESS IF your down to laugh and just be crazy wit a cool dude, lemme know and hitme up. 30
I am petite, i.e. 5'4'', Black hair/ blue eyes and a daily runner 2-4 miles - in great shape. I am not a supermodel - but I'm not a monster either. Please be a professional, financially secure caucasian, Indian or Asian male who is single. Thanks. 31
ME- 25, single, italian, curves in the right places, tall, good dresser, great smile, brown hair and eyes. YOU- over 25 to about 35, no kids, no marriages, no crazy exes, attractive, romantic, patient, tall. Call me for the time of your life. 32
The role of Persuasion 33
So what is the secret to the art of persuasion? According to the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BC), there are 3 main types of persuasion: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. In order to be a more effective writer, you must understand these three types 34
Different Types of Appeal 35 Q3 /
Different Types of Appeal 36 Q3 /
Logos 37
Ethos The communicator uses credibility to influence the audience. The communicator establishes credibility by having a notable or expert authority on a topic. An example of ethos, is using celebrity endorsements. 38
Pathos 39
Class Activity On your own paper, create three columns and place Ad 1, Ad 2, and Ad 3 at the top of each. Ad 1 Ad 2 Ad 3 40
Class Activity We will now view three different ads. For each, identify how it shows logos, pathos, and/or ethos. You will have 20 minutes; 5 minutes per ad, and an additional 5 for the final writing. 41
Directions: You are answering: Ad Watch Persuasion type To whom is the company advertising? What are they selling? How are they selling it? (Persuasive Devices) What message(s) are they sending? Finally, answer which approach you believed was most effective and why. 42
Ad Watch 43
Ad Watch 44
Ad Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owgykvbfgue 45
Ad Watch 46
Time s Up! Which ad did you find the most effective in advertising the product or idea? Why? Respond in 5 sentences. 47
Next Week Oral Presentations and Public Speaking 48