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Description Once you learn the names of the major logical fallacies, you will probably start noticing them all over the place, including in advertisements, movies, TV shows, and everyday conversations. This can be both fascinating and frustrating, but it can certainly help you to avoid certain pitfalls in reasoning that are unfortunately very common. This exercise gives you a chance to practice identifying fallacies as they occur in daily life. Prepare: To prepare to address this prompt, carefully read through Chapter 7 of our book, paying special attention to learning the names of common fallacies, biases, and rhetorical tricks. Take a look as well at the required resources from this week. Reflect: Search through common media sources looking for examples of fallacies. Some common places to find fallacies include advertisements, opinion pieces in news media, and arguments about politics, religion, and other controversial issues. You may also notice fallacies in your daily life. Write: Present three distinct informal logical fallacies you have discovered in these types of sources or in your life. Make sure to identify the specific fallacy committed by each example. Explain how the fallacies were used and the context in which they occurred. Then, explain how the person should have presented the argument to have avoided committing this logical error.

Description (Question) Based on this video, explain in a brief paragraph the meaning of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Do you think this could be applied to today's context? How? Give specific examples.

Description DISCUSSION POST Reflect upon and discuss the questions: Is Mill right when he says that goodness is simply "whatever promotes the greatest happiness for the greatest number of People?" What is the greatest happiness? How can we determine what that might be? In your answer, explain Mill's distinction between "higher and lower pleasures" in contrast to Bentham's "moral arithmetic. Consider the various objections to utilitarianism as discussed in the lecture.

Description Inductive Reasoning Discussion #2: Inference to the Best Explanation One of the most common inferences in life is the inference to the best explanation (sometimes called abductive reasoning). We use this type of reasoning to infer what would best explain the things that we see. Chapter 6 in our book demonstrates ways in which this type of reasoning helps us to explain the world around us. Prepare: To prepare for this lesson take a close look at the sections from Chapter 6 on Inference to the Best Explanation, Form, Virtue of Simplicity, and How to Assess an Explanation. Choose a topic that is difficult or controversial to explain (preferably from The Museum of Hoaxes (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.). Some good topics include hoaxes, unusual sightings (e.g. UFOs, bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster), the supernatural or paranormal, events that are the subject of conspiracy theories, unsolved crimes or other court cases, etc. Reflect: Do a little research to find a specific topic and learn about explanations on both sides. Consider what you think might best explain the observed facts of the case. Write: Explain the topic you chose and why it is interesting or controversial. Present good arguments on more than one side of the issue (e.g. competing explanations of the facts). Analyze both arguments that you have presented. Then present your own argument for your theory that you feel will best explain this phenomenon. Are there any holes in your theory? Is there any information that would be likely to strengthen or weaken your case?

Description LayPhilosophy argues that adverse fortune is more beneficial than good fortune because adverse fortune instructs while good fortune deceives. Do you disagree or agree? What is your evidence? You might considering sharing a personal story about why you believe what you do as part of your post.

Description I feel much wiser, because…. Most people are apprehensive about this course during the first week of the term, because they do not know what Philosophy actually is or what to expect in a Philosophy course. You have had seven weeks to figure it out, and while you might still have some unanswered questions, you know a lot more than you did when you made your Introductions.Would you have felt more comfortable when the course began if some student who had already taken PL201 sent you a letter in which he or she shared their experiences in the course? Most people would answer, “Yes.” Because, no matter how reassuring the Instructor sounds during the first week, a first-hand account from a former student seems a lot more credible than do the platitudes from someone who spent way too many years in college, studying this stuff in detail.So, here is your chance to be that “former student” and to share your wisdom and what you have learned with someone who will be entering the course, possibly knowing even less than you did when you started PL201. And, keep in mind that there is a good possibility that these “Letters to a new student” could, in fact, become something that new students can actually read. So, you want to be honest, be precise, and try not to scare them away! :-)Here are some things that would be useful to new students, and you can probably even think of others that are not mentioned here. If you were apprehensive at the start of the course and have decided that this class ended up being a lot better than you thought it would be, be sure to start your letter with that information, since it will calm the new student immediately. At what point did you decide that there might be something useful in the course? What was it, and why did you think that it might end up being useful? What is the most important thing that you learned about yourself while taking the course? How is figuring out that detail about yourself important to you? Who was your favorite philosopher and why? (If you have more than one, feel free to discuss them all!) What is the most surprising thing you learned during the course? Which week(s) did you enjoy the most, and why? Which week(s) did you enjoy the least, and why? What is the most useful skill that you acquired that you will be able to use in either future classes or in your “real” life? How will you use it? Is there something that you wish your Student Advisor had mentioned when he or she signed you up for the course? More than likely, it was the answer to the question, “What is Philosophy?” Could you explain what philosophy is in one or two sentences that might be helpful for Student Advisors to mention to students? How would you explain it? What else would you like to tell a new PL201 student that you wish someone had told you during the first week of class? Any final comments? Remember that you are writing a letter that is supposed to make the new student feel less apprehensive and more confident about taking a class for which they probably have had no previous experience. It needs to be at least 400 words, but preferably no longer than 700 words. And, when you have said everything that you think would help a new student, be sure to sign your name. However, if your letter is actually used later in the course, your anonymity will be maintained; so, you can be as honest as you want to be when you comment and offer your advice.

Description Explain Descartes’ arguments for skepticism. What is the first thing Descartes discovers that he can know with certainty, and how, exactly, does it avoid the skeptical arguments you’ve just discussed? What role does this first truth play in the rest of Descartes’ Meditations?

Description My rights end where your nose begins Look up the United Nation’s “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” and read through all of the Articles. A good website for this information is: http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-r... This assignment has three parts. Part One You may have to do a little more research (or even watch the news), but pick three of the many Articles listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Then, take each one separately and explain in detail how the human rights issue being discussed in a particular Article is actually being violated today. So, you will end up discussing three separate human rights violations in three separate paragraphs. Part Two Since “universal” means “everybody and everywhere,” what are some reasons that you think there are still so many nations who are unwilling to sign the UDHR. Do NOT do research for this question. This answer should be your personal thoughts and opinions, because there are so many possible different reasons for nations opting not to endorse the UDHR that looking them all up would take a very long time. Part Three Blocker basically argues that our notion of human rights has been evolving for thousands of years and that it is still evolving. So, try to imagine fifty years from now. What will human rights look like then? Will we still need “Declarations,” like the UDHR, to remind us that everyone is entitled to the same human rights? Will there still be parts of the world that refuse to grant these rights to all of the citizens? If you think the answer is “yes,” which rights do you think will still need work in order to make them “universal”? And, assuming there ever comes a time when universal human rights are truly universal (meaning that everyone world-wide is guaranteed all of the stated human rights), will that be the time when war, poverty, hunger, and so forth finally become a part of history and are no longer a concern for anyone in the world? This is your opinion, but be sure to explain each of your answers in detail.

Description WEEK 1 DISCUSSION INTRODUCTION AND PHILOSOPHY GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR DISCUSSIONS: Your contributions should be thoughtful and developed. Answer all parts of the question and use concepts from the course materials. Use a professional style of communication, with attention to grammar, spelling, and typos; cite your sources. Unless your instructor specifies otherwise, choose ONE of the following questions, and give a substantive response to at least two other students. 1. WHAT GOOD ARE THE ARTS? Epistemology is the study of what it means to know things, and how we know them. Philosophers generally define “knowledge” as “justified true belief.” To know something, it must be true, and you must believe it for good (well-justified) reasons. For this discussion, consider the controversy presented at http://www.iep.utm.edu/art-ep/ about whether the arts, including literature, can give us knowledge. Or do they mislead us into thinking that we "know" something when in fact we only learn what the artist or writer presents--not the truth itself? After you read the material, think about your own experience of the arts—visual arts (painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, architecture); literature (poetry and prose); and the performing arts (music, dance, theater, and film). In your experience, do any of these arts arouse certain “emotions or activities that are able to facilitate or produce knowledge” by tapping into something that cannot be expressed in words? Do the arts give you knowledge? Or do you think they are not useful in producing knowledge? Explain your thinking, using ideas from at least one of the thinkers mentioned in the article. Include an example from one of the arts to help support your position. Have you gotten “true knowledge”—or not—from a work of literature, the ideas of a philosopher, a piece of art or architecture, or a film? Describe a specific example and if possible, give a link. 2. THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE For this discussion, we will reflect on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. (Search YouTube to hear it narrated by the great actor Orson Welles.) An allegory is a story where the elements are symbolic. What do you see as the symbolism of the cave, the shadows on the wall, the prisoners, the man who escapes, the daylight outside? Do you know of other stories that make similar points? The story assumes there are major difference between “appearances” and “reality,” and that “reality” is superior. What does this mean for the arts? Arts and letters may present “appearances” quite unlike what they are depicting. In short, the style of the arts is often not “realistic.” Does this mean that what the arts convey is always more like illusion than reality? Use an example and explain your thinking. Have you ever accepted an illusion as reality? How did you recognize that you were mistaken? Did that recognition change you in any important way, or was it more like a minor correction to your perception? Do you think that people today live in a world of “shadows”? Are we imprisoned in some way, with our minds shackled? Explain your thinking.

Description I would how media looks at Fatherhood constantly as either a needless cultural habit or an outright joke. A 2008 study by a fatherhood advocacy group noted that fathers are all too often portrayed negatively on T V sitcoms. And Rebecca Hagelin noted in 2009 that commercials, T V shows, and the media often portray fathers as hateful, unintersted in their families, or not nearly as smart as their kids in the family. For me media would be bias as to promote single family homes especially in minority homes agree or disagree with 2-3 sentences