Advertising on the Internet

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.trendhunter.com/images/phpthumbnails/20217_1_468.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mario-testino-obsessed-by-you&h=468&w=468&sz=26&tbnid=UUcEOcNUJPCz2M:&tbnh=128&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dperfume%2Bads&zoom=1&q=perfume+ads&hl=en&usg=__peYt1pJ9N-lQfreR7aX1WOerP1s=&sa=X&ei=FhSkTPbaKoL68Abq14yQCg&ved=0CCMQ9QEwAA

As most of us know, companies around the world use advertising scams in order to sell their product. Companies use sex appeal, popular demand, and appeal images that often times are irrelevant to the product, in order to make the most amount of money possible. In this ad for a cologne “Diamonds,” there is an attractive male with women grabbing for him; he has a bodyguard, and appears to be some sort of super celebrity. Although he is obviously not an award winning actor, this ad sells that fact, with his grin on his face and his clothing. This brand is emitting the message that if you wear this cologne, you will shadow this man; women will flock to you, you will be incredibly handsome, and you will attain fame, fashion, and fortune. Although it is obvious that a cologne cannot in any way make any of these things happen, this advertisement emits that image. This happens to be an immensely popular cologne, and I’m sure advertisement had much to do with that.

Repairing Arguments

In the Epstein text, the author explains that some arguments are strong and valid, they just need an additional premise in order to make it completely clear. Without a plausible premise, the argument cannot be considered strong. Without a strong argument, the statement is ineffective. An example of an argument that lacks a plausible premise is:
“You should take a multivitamin everyday. They’re good for you.”
This statement is true; multivitamins are good for you. But how? “Because they’re good for you” is too vague. The first sentence of this example needs a plausible premise and support in order to make it a strong argument. If a sentence such as “The body cannot naturally produce some vitamins that are important for your body, which you can receive through a multivitamin” was inserted into this example, it would become a strong argument because it is explaining exactly why you should take a multivitamin daily.

Content Fallacies

Epstein states in the text that Content Fallacies “use or require a false or dubious premise,” meaning that the premises of the argument are obviously false and manipulate various aspects of the claim in order to make sound convincing. There are ten different techniques that are used in order to make this claim. One technique that I have encountered recently is Appeal to Emotion, in which someone essentially takes advantage of your emotions in order to get what they want. The example the books gives is “You should believe or do (blank) because you feel (blank).” Recently, I overheard a girl who was upset because her other friend was spreading hurtful rumors that were not true. The person she was venting to then responded with “maybe you should spread a rumor about her in order to make her feel what you’re going through since you’re so upset.” Obviously, this is not sound advice and would not benefit anyone in any way; however, the statement appealed to the girl that was upset because the claim related to her and her emotions.

Chapter Concept

 In the Small Group Test, the authors discuss the four types of leadership and their effectiveness. The first type of leadership Authoritarian, in which the leader takes charge and the group members have no say or opinion. Unsurprisingly, this style of leadership can be discouraging and unfair to the group. The second type of leadership discussed, Consultative, does not necessarily include a leader but involves activity and input from every group member; the exact opposite of Authoritative leadership. Participative leadership includes the leader and the group members working together, which is one of the most productive versions of leadership. Lastly, there is Laissez-faire, which consists of a leader that does not “lead” the group or provide direction. Laissez-faire is considered one of the most unproductive types of leadership. Personally, I prefer working in a Participative group environment because every group member is responsible for their fair share and the group still has direction and encouragement from the leader.

The Three Tests

Epstein states in Chapter 3 that an argument is a good argument if it passes three tests. The first test is “The premises are plausible,” meaning the argument presents a legitimate reason to believe it to be true. The second test is “The premises are more plausible than the conclusion,” meaning that if there are strong, reliable premises, than the conclusion should without a doubt be true. The final test, “The argument is valid or strong,” explains that if the argument is weak or has implausible claims, then the argument cannot be good. An example would be:
“My party is on Saturday. Chloe works every Saturday. Chloe can’t come to my party because she has to work.”
The premises are plausible, because the party is on Saturday and Chloe works every Saturday. The premises may also be more plausible than the conclusion because we have no reason to believe that both of these statements are not true. And finally, this is a strong argument because there is a slight possibility that Chloe will for some reason not be working on Saturday; maybe she requested it off, or they happen to not need her that night. It is a rare possibility because she works every Saturday, but if she does not, then she would be able to attend the party. In conclusion, this is a good argument.

Valid vs. Strong Arguments

A valid argument is one in which the premises and the conclusion of an argument are both true. Under a valid argument, it is impossible for a false conclusion to follow from true premises. However, a valid argument could be either good or bad. An example of a good valid argument would be “I’m going to JP’s 10th birthday party. JP is turning 10.” In this example, I would not be going to JP’s 10th birthday party if he was turning a different age.
A strong argument slightly differs from a valid argument, in which every argument is a good or valid argument, and on rare occasions can a false conclusion follow from true premises. An example of a strong argument would be “Sami is scared of driving. Therefore, Sami has never driven.” This could be true, or, maybe Sami used to drive but got in an accident that scared her away from driving. It is easy to assume that Sami has never driven because she is scared, but there is a slight possibility that she has not always been scared.

Descriptive and Prescriptive Claims

In Chapter 2 of the Epstein text I really enjoyed reading about Prescriptive and Descriptive Claims and Value Judgments. Prescriptive Claims are claims that include some sort of value judgment, which includes a persons opinion. Sometimes these prescriptive claims can have a negative tone, for example if someone said, “She was wrong to do that.” This is a persons opinion, which often times people will not agree. If someone is starting off a conversation with a prescriptive claim, often times the rest of the conversation includes one person defending themselves and wanting to leave the conversation.
However, a descriptive claim is a claim that many can agree with because it speaks the truth. With a descriptive claim, there leaves little room for debate, which eliminates room for negativity and an argument. An example of a descriptive claim would be “Downloading music is illegal.” With this statement it’s obvious that this is the law; people may trespass this law and not agree with it, but the law still remains.
Thank you for reading! :)

Vague/Ambiguous Statement

Recently I ran into an old friend on campus, in which they looked distressed and troubled. I asked if they were okay, and they replied “going to school gets harder and harder each year.” They later explained that they were having difficulty adding classes and attaining enough units for their financial aid; they were stressed that if they didn’t find classes to add soon, they were not going to qualify for financial aid.
However, prior their explanation of the difficulty adding classes, I immediately thought of multiple reasons why “going to school gets harder each year.” I thought that possibly the commute from home to school was getting more strenuous, that classes were either unenjoyable or too difficult, they were struggling with declaring a major, or even that they were struggling financially to keep up with the tuition increase. Because their statement was vague, it wasn’t until they explained themselves that I had a clear understanding of what was causing them such stress.