Running head: 1

By Claire Garcia, Strayer Student

PHI 210, spring 2014, Assignment 1

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The Exploration of Conflicting Viewpoints

What is a person’s reality? How do people form an opinion? Moreover, how do people

conclude fact? Designed as a complex organism that grows over time, the brain is constantly

adapting and learning from the world to which it is exposed. Beliefs develop from family,

personal, cultural, regional, athletic, and educational experiences. People experience different

realities and therefore “believe” differently than others, resulting in the formation of arguments

regarding their version of “right and wrong.” As described by Peter Elbow the “believing game”

and the “doubting game” is an effective way to overcome what might be a preconceived idea

when attempting to view an argument without bias. An article by Catherine Tanguis describes

the concept of “teaching ambiguity.” She raises important questions about how children are

taught to believe information in the educational system. Are we taught to learn and regurgitate

information? Are we allowed to form an opinion about the information we are being taught?

Have we taught students to see the complexity in the “facts” they are given, or are they just

taught to accept them as the absolute answer? As stated in the article, “In addition to receiving

an education which overwhelmingly rewards passivity and conformity, while punishing risk

taking and making mistakes, today’s students are acclimated even further to mental flaccidity as

society becomes increasingly dependent upon media.” As I formed my own conclusion

regarding obesity, I found it necessary to closely examine my own history of what I had been

taught as “fact” regarding this topic. To form an educated and unbiased opinion about obesity I

needed to decipher the difference between fact, educated opinion, and media driven propaganda.

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Obesity is not a disease. Not all would agree with the definitive statement I have made

regarding obesity. However, I do have strong information to support my direct conclusion

regarding this topic. The elimination of preconceived biases was essential in my final

determination. My position on obesity has become more educated and informed, but my

conclusion stayed the same.

Opposition to My Argument: Obesity IS a disease

Those that feel obesity is a disease believe that since it impairs normal bodily function it

is therefore a disease. Excess adipose tissue present in obese people causes malabsorption of

nutrients and abnormal energy output. Obesity can be as hereditary as traits such as height.

Doctors have studied obesity since the 17th century, and linked it to diseases such as

hypertension, diabetes, and some cancers.

Supporting Information for My Argument: Obesity is NOT a Disease

An elevated BMI (Body Mass Index), including numbers that indicate obesity, do not directly

imply impaired functioning of the body. There are no characteristic signs or symptoms

associated with obesity. Excess fat alone is the definition of obesity, but does not indicate a

disease process. As smoking is to cancer, obesity is a preventable risk factor that leads to other

diseases.

Biases. Different types of biases interfere with clear thinking during the evaluation of an

argument. They are the self-serving biasi, the anchoring biasii, the expectation biasiii, the

hindsight biasiv, and the confirmation biasv. The application of the self-serving bias leads me to

believe I am not obese because I have more advanced knowledge of my body. It cannot happen

to me because I will not let outside forces control my body weight. The anchoring bias links my

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opinion of obesity to my mother indicating that it was a sign of weakness and poor self-control.

Based on the information I had already received via coaching, and from two parents with degrees

in physical education, along with knowledge gained as an owner of a veterinary hospital it would

be easy to form my opinion and disregard the information based on my own expectation bias that

my current information was already valid. Since I already had a strong viewpoint on this topic,

after I came to my conclusion, I admittedly felt as though I already knew the answer in hindsight.

I did not ignore any of the information presented during my research on this topic, though it was

difficult to keep my focus equal. It took effort to push aside my confirmation bias to openly

accept both sides of the argument. It is easy to keep your interest peaked about information that

supports an already existing viewpoint.

Obesity is still NOT a disease. My conclusion regarding this topic did not change with

the new information acquired. The primary reason being that the scientific definition of a

disease has not changed since the last time I received information on this topic. The most recent

information I received regarding this topic was a scientific seminar about a drug (an injection)

that would stabilized and boost the metabolism for the purpose of weight loss. The mechanisms

of the process behind metabolism and the definition of obesity was discussed at length. The

information provided is consistent with the information provided in the AMA video regarding

obesity. From my perspective, this is not a subjective argument. It is a scientific argument

reinforced with scientific definitions of what constitutes a disease.

National Obesity Issue. Regardless of the definition of disease or not, the issue

surrounding the growth of obesity is a serious one. Childhood obesity rates are growing. It is a

sensitive issue, which evokes an emotional reaction. In conclusion, the importance of the

definition of the word pales in comparison to the definition of why it is happening.

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References

http://obesity.procon.org/#pro_con

"Creative and Imaginitive Thinking: Teaching Ambiguity in a Quantifiable World." Tanguis,

Catherine, (2010). Louisiana English Journel. Vol 13, p21-23, 3p.

"Framing the Consequences of Childhood Obesity to Increase Support for Obesity Prevention

Policy." Gollust, Sarah E. Niederdeppe, Jeff. Barry, Colleen. American Journel of Public Health.

NOV2013, Vol. 103 Issue 11, pe96-e102. 7p.

Schwartz, Jeffrey (Reprint Edition October14, 2003). The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity

and the Power of Mental Force. ReganBooks,

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Video and Charts

Video: American Medical Association's (AMA's) online

Educating Physicians on Controversies in Health module

presenting both sides to the debate "Is Obesity a Disease?".

Source: AMA, www.bigshouldersdubs.com, May 2007

Link to Video: http://www.bigshouldersdubs.com/clients/ama/obesity02.htm

Chart 1: Illustration of the health

risks associated with obesity.Source: "Obesity and

Health," www.nlm.nih.gov, July 25, 2007

Chart 2: Maps showing the prevalence

of obesity across all 50 US states in 1998 and

2008. Source: "Battle of the Bulge,"

www.economist.com, July 13, 2009

iFootnotes

Self-serving bias (from Strayer Webtext Chart Week 2): “the tendency to think that your successes are due to your actions, but your failures are due to external factors outside your control.”

ii Anchoring bias (from Strayer Webtext Chart Week 2): “the tendency to give too much weight to the first piece of information you come across.”

iii Expectation bias (from Strayer Webtext Chart Week 2): “the tendency to see what you want or expect to see, sometimes to the point of inadvertently adding or deleting things from memory.”

iv Hindsight bias (from Strayer Webtext Chart Week 2): “the tendency to believe, after an event happens, that you knew it would happen all along.”

v Confirmation bias (from Strayer Webtext Chart Week 2): “the tendency to look for confirming evidence. When you want something to be true, you tend to look for evidence that fits with what you want to believe and ignore evidence that doesn't.”