Chapter seven of our text is entitled, "Counter-Arguments" and as one would guess... it discusses counter-arguments. The concept that made the most sense to me was about refuting an argument directly. I've always tended to tackle things head on in my life and attacking somebody else's argument falls into that category. Our text says that there are three main ways to directly refute an argument which are: Show that at least one of the premises is dubious, show that the argument isn't valid or strong, or show that the conclusion is false. The book uses an example about how killing flies is useless because the fast ones will survive and then evolution will take over creating super fast flies. It was a funny example but it really helped me to apply the concept to my own life. Just this morning during a workout, my friend told me that if I don't drink protein shakes then it will be impossible for me to get bigger and stronger.
Clearly this claim was weak. Immediately many counter arguments rushed through my mind so I started fireing them out. I said things like "That's BS, I can get bigger and stronger by simply working harder." "A full diet can supply me the same amount of protein as one of those shakes, and on top of that, it would be natural." "Spartans and other ancient warriors didn't use any suppliments and they were finely-tuned killing machines."
Yes, drinking the suppliments would help to increase my results, but it is not the only other way to succeed. By giving my friend alternative ways to get bigger and stronger, I proved that his argument wasn't very strong. I was able to use the real life example of the Spartan warriors as proof that using suppliments aren't the ONLY way to get bigger and stronger, also showing that his argument wasn't valid.
And boom goes the dynamite,
Melvin Banner
Mr. Banner, your post was funny to read to me. I liked how you used irony in the first few lines, hinting at football, which I understand you play at SJSU? You said you like to "tackle" thing head on in life and i found that funny. Also the joke about the title of the section and the sections actual body was funny. The posting itself was also nice because it showed you had a good understanding of the subject being discussed. The protein shake was a great example.
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