ENGLISH 1CThursday, September 22, 2011Melissa Gunby

Agenda for the Day• Brainstorming on Essay Topic• Continuation of using logic in argumentative and

persuasive writing• Fallacies• Reading Discussion

DEFINING “OTHER”

oth·er [uhth-er]

• adjective 1. additional or further: he and one other person. • 2. different or distinct from the one mentioned or implied:

in some other city; Some other design may be better. • 3. different in nature or kind: I would not have him other

than he is. • 4. being the remaining one of two or more: the other

hand. • 5. (used with plural nouns) being the remaining ones of a

number: the other men; some other countries.

• Spend a few minutes thinking about what you label as “other.” I want to start a brainstorm with the class on how we’re defining “other” to start this next essay assignment.

• From Bishop: “This obsession with the exotic and markedly different Other also carries with it a fascination with sexual difference, especially in regards to black (male) virility and white (female) vulnerability” (67).

LOGIC AND FALLACIESGetting into some of that “rhetoric stuff” that we need to cover

Logos• “Thirdly, persuasion is effected by the arguments, when

we demonstrate the truth, real or apparent, by such means as inhere in particular cases.”• The Rhetoric of Aristotle, page 9

Logical Vocabulary• Premise: Proposition used as evidence in an argument.

Conclusion: Logical result of the relationship between the premises. Conclusions serve as the thesis of the argument. Argument: The assertion of a conclusion based on logical premises.Syllogism: The simplest sequence of logical premises and conclusions, devised by Aristotle.Enthymeme: A shortened syllogism which omits the first premise, allowing the audience to fill it in. For example, "Socrates is mortal because he is a human" is an enthymeme which leaves out the premise "All humans are mortal."

Induction and Deduction• Arguing from logos, or using logical reasoning, relies on

the use of either inductive or deductive logic.• Inductive logic: generalization from multiple

examples:• Fair trade agreements have raised the quality of life for coffee

producers, so fair trade agreements could be used to help other farmers as well.

• Deductive logic: conclude from assumptions that something will follow• Genetically modified seeds have caused poverty, hunger, and a

decline in bio-diversity everywhere they have been introduced, so there is no reason the same thing will not occur when genetically modified corn seeds are introduced in Mexico.

Reaching Logical Conclusions• The goal in arguing from logos and constructing good syllogisms is

to arrange the premises so that only one true conclusion is possible.

• Example A (from your handout):Consider the following premises:

•  • Premise 1: Non-renewable resources do not exist in infinite supply.

Premise 2: Coal is a non-renewable resource.• From these two premises, only one logical conclusion is available:• Conclusion: Coal does not exist in infinite supply.•  

Example B• Often logic requires several premises to reach a

conclusion.

• Premise 1: All monkeys are primates.• Premise 2: All primates are mammals.• Premise 3: All mammals are vertebrate animals. • Conclusions: Monkeys are vertebrate animals.

Example C• Logic allows specific conclusions to be drawn from

general premises. Consider the following premises:

Premise 1: All squares are rectangles.Premise 2: Figure 1 is a square.Conclusion: Figure 1 is also a rectangle.

Example D• Notice that logic requires decisive statements in order to

work. Therefore, this syllogism is false:

Premise 1: Some quadrilaterals are squares.Premise 2: Figure 1 is a quadrilateral.Conclusion: Figure 1 is a square.

• This syllogism is false because not enough information is provided to allow a verifiable conclusion. Figure 1 could just as likely be a rectangle, which is also a quadrilateral.

Example E• Logic can also mislead when it is based on premises that

an audience does not accept. For instance:

• Premise 1: People with red hair are not good at checkers.• Premise 2: Bill has red hair.• Conclusion: Bill is not good at checkers.

• Within the syllogism, the conclusion is logically valid. However, it is only true if an audience accepts Premise 1, which is very unlikely. This is an example of how logical statements can appear accurate while being completely false.

Example F• Logical conclusions also

depend on which factors are recognized and ignored by the premises. Therefore, different premises could lead to very different conclusions about the same subject. For instance, these two syllogisms about the platypus reveal the limits of logic for handling ambiguous cases:

• Premise 1: All birds lay eggs. • Premise 2: Platypuses lay eggs. • Conclusion: Platypuses are birds.

• Premise 1: All mammals have fur.Premise 2: Platypuses have fur.Conclusion: Platypuses are mammals.

LOGICAL FALLACIES

Logical Fallacies• Are common errors in logic that can undermine your

argument.• As an exercise, keeps your ears open in the next political

debate you hear (I think there’s a GOP one tonight) and see how many of these fallacies you can catch (no, it’s not required homework).

Slippery Slope• This is a conclusion based on the premise that if A

happens, then eventually through a series of small steps, through B, C,..., X, Y, Z will happen, too, basically equating A and Z. So, if we don't want Z to occur A must not be allowed to occur either.

• Example: If we ban Hummers because they are bad for the environment eventually the government will ban all cars, so we should not ban Hummers.

• In this example the author is equating banning Hummers with banning all cars, which is not the same thing.

Hasty Generalization• This is a conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence. In

other words, you are rushing to a conclusion before you have all the relevant facts.

• Example: Even though it's only the first day, I can tell this is going to be a boring course.

• In this example the author is basing their evaluation of the entire course on only one class, and on the first day which is notoriously boring and full of housekeeping tasks for most courses. To make a fair and reasonable evaluation the author must attend several classes, and possibly even examine the textbook, talk to the professor, or talk to others who have previously finished the course in order to have sufficient evidence to base a conclusion on.

Post hoc Ergo Propter hoc• This is a conclusion that assumes that if 'A' occurred after

'B' then 'B' must have caused 'A.' • Example: I drank bottled water and now I am sick, so the

water must have made me sick.

• In this example the author assumes that if one event chronologically follows another the first event must have caused the second. But the illness could have been caused by the burrito the night before, a flu bug that had been working on the body for days, or a chemical spill across campus. There is no reason, without more evidence, to assume the water caused the person to be sick.

Genetic Fallacy• A conclusion is based on an argument that the origins of a

person, idea, institute, or theory determine its character, nature, or worth.

• Example: The Volkswagen Beetle is an evil car because it was originally designed by Hitler's army.

• In this example the author is equating the character of a car with the character of the people who built the car.

Begging the Claim• The conclusion that the writer should prove is validated

within the claim.• Example: Filthy and polluting coal should be banned.

• Arguing that coal pollutes the earth and thus should be banned would be logical. But the very conclusion that should be proved, that coal causes enough pollution to warrant banning its use, is already assumed in the claim by referring to it as "filthy and polluting."

Circular Argument • This restates the argument rather than actually proving it. • Example: George Bush is a good communicator because

he speaks effectively.

• In this example the conclusion that Bush is a "good communicator" and the evidence used to prove it "he speaks effectively" are basically the same idea. Specific evidence such as using everyday language, breaking down complex problems, or illustrating his points with humorous stories would be needed to prove either half of the sentence.

Either/Or• This is a conclusion that oversimplifies the argument by

reducing it to only two sides or choices. • Example: We can either stop using cars or destroy the

Earth.

• In this example where two choices are presented as the only options, yet the author ignores a range of choices in between such as developing cleaner technology, car sharing systems for necessities and emergencies, or better community planning to discourage daily driving.

Ad Hominem• This is an attack on the character of a person rather than

their opinions or arguments. • Example: Green Peace's strategies aren't effective

because they are all dirty, lazy hippies.

• In this example the author doesn't even name particular strategies Green Peace has suggested, much less evaluate those strategies on their merits. Instead, the author attacks the characters of the individuals in the group.

Ad Populum• This is an emotional appeal that speaks to positive (such

as patriotism, religion, democracy) or negative (such as terrorism or fascism) concepts rather than the real issue at hand.

• Example: If you were a true American you would support the rights of people to choose whatever vehicle they want.

• In this example the author equates being a "true American," a concept that people want to be associated with, particularly in a time of war, with allowing people to buy any vehicle they want even though there is no inherent connection between the two.

Red Herring• This is a diversionary tactic that avoids the key issues,

often by avoiding opposing arguments rather than addressing them.

• Example: The level of mercury in seafood may be unsafe, but what will fishers do to support their families.

• In this example the author switches the discussion away from the safety of the food and talks instead about an economic issue, the livelihood of those catching fish. While one issue may affect the other, it does not mean we should ignore possible safety issues because of possible economic consequences to a few individuals.

Practice!• With a partner or small group, complete the practice

assignment on the handout.

READING DISCUSSIONAmerican Zombie GothicPages 64-73

Page 65-66: AZG• “Of course, for a Western, white audience, the real threat and

source of terror in these early, voodoo-themed zombie films are not the political vagaries of postcolonial nations, the plights of enslaved native zombies, or even the dangers posed by menacing armies of the walking dead, but rather the risk that the white protagonists—especially the female protagonists—might be turned into zombies (i.e. slaves) themselves”

• How does this idea relate to things we were seeing culturally in the US in the post-Civil War era?

• What paralells can we draw between the stated fear of these early “terror” movies and other social norms that were popping up across the country in the 1930s?

• Why would these films be of particular interest to an American audience, especially with what Bishop says as they exist “fundamentally as manifestations o the complex relationships between masters and slaves and the tensions that exist between both races and genders” (66)?

Your Questions?• I want to hear what thoughts or questions you had on this

section of the text. It’s pretty heavily loaded and I’ve approached the questions for discussion from one particular point of view in order to try to tie some things together for all of us.

MORE READING DISCUSSIONPride and Prejudice and ZombiesChapters 1-10 (7-39)

A Little Compare/Contrast

Pride and Prejudice

• It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

• It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains. Never was this truth more plan than during the recent attacks at Netherfield Park, in which a household of eighteen was slaughtered and consumed by a horde of the living dead.

Just looking at these two introductory paragraphs, how does our Zombie text set a different tone from the original?

Yup, that’s all I’ve got so far• Your thoughts on this text?

Homework!• Read Chapters 10-19 in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies• Read pages 73-81 in American Zombie Gothic

• Bring in a magazine of your choosing