3) Finding Me in a Clothing Store Using "Or" Claims

When I go shopping with anybody, especially in clothes stores, I sometimes tell my group ahead of time where I will be browsing. In a way, I do want to tell them what I plan to buy, but another reason why I tell them where I am shopping is so that they know where to find me if they need me.

For example, when I walk into a clothing store during the spring or summer, I usually look around the dress section or the clearance for cheaper out-of-season clothing. My sister actually has found me in a clothing store a few times without calling me with her cell phone. How did she do it? She used "or" claims of course!

Since she knows that I am either looking at the dress or clearance section, she can make a claim. "She is at the dress section, or she is browsing through the clearance." From this logic, I am simply either at the dress or clearance section. First my sister checks the dress section. If I am not there, she can conclude that I am hanging around the clearance section. However, if it is the other way around where I am not at the clearance section, then she can conclude that I am by the dress section. Either way, she can use reasoning with the "or" claim to figure out where I am in a clothing store. She does not have to call me and ask where I am located.

So, in conclusion, "or" claims can be used for finding people if you know the places they can possibly be ahead of time. It can also be used when you are in a life-sized maze. Banfante Gardens in Gilroy has a huge maze and if you do not use "or" claims, you will get lost unless you have a good photographic memory. D: If you reach a dead end, just use the "or" claim and assume if that path is a dead end, the other path that you did not choose at the fork is the correct path. :D

2) Counterarguments Towards Cute Things

Chapter 7 was mainly about counterarguments. A counterargument is basically a way to point out a flaw that can coincide with an argument made. In doing this, you point out the negative aspects of the argument when only the positive was shown.

One way of countering an argument is by raising an objection. When you raise an objection, you find a flaw in one's argument or claim. In other words, someone's argument may be untrue or not 100% true.

For example, here is a conversation me and my sister had.

Me: That welsh corgi is sooooo cute!
Sister: They are NOT cute. They are loud. That is not cute and they look ugly too. (objection)
Me: You are just saying that because one bit your nose.
Sister: No, I am saying that because they are always fat and they are trouble makers. It bit my nose, and that's mean; not cute. They're stupid. (objection)

She's really just joking around but a corgi really did bite her nose. LOL

As you can see, my sister was raising objections for my claims because she disagreed with them. At the same time, she even provided personal opinions to back up her claim. I disagree with her most of her claims too but there's no need to raise another objection because I know she's just joking.

Another way of countering an argument is refuting it. When you refute an argument, you are pointing out that the argument is flawed. This can show that the conclusion for the argument is false. Here is an example of refuting an argument.

My boyfriend hates Shinx, Hello Kitty, Plusle, Croagunk, Blue Bear, and Mamegoma. All the characters I just mentioned are all cute cartoon animals. I can conclude that he hates all cute cartoon animals.

He actually saw this argument and refuted it. He mentioned that the premise, "All the characters I just mentioned are all cute cartoon animals," is not believed to be true, or was dubious. He doesn't believe it should be true because he and many others think Croagunk is a butt ugly pokemon. He also said that my argument was not 100% true because he adores most cute cartoon animals. Because of this, my argument was not very strong or valid because the conclusion will always be false or will always be unlikely. The conclusion will always be false because he does not hate all cute cartoon animals.

- Pink Bean

1) Claims in Phoenix Wright (Minor Spoilers)

If you are not aware of what Phoenix Wright is, it's mainly a video game series where you play as a lawyer, and it's one of my favorite games too. In terms of game play, you have to investigate crime scenes for evidence, and use the evidence in court in order to find contradictions in people's testimonies. Since chapter 6 revolves around different types of claims, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about this video game because you have to evaluate many claims and look for lies or bad arguments in testimonies.

First of all, you will run into testimonies that are contradictory to the evidence you come across. For example, I remember there was a case where a boyfriend died, and the girlfriend was basically accused of murder because it seemed her boyfriend wrote a dying message with her name on the floor. "Maggie," was written which was supposedly the girlfriend's name. According to the testimony, the witness said that the girlfriend's name was written on the floor.

However, as a lawyer, you had to study the evidence and facts provided for you. One of the claims made in a witness' testimony actually had a contradiction, or a negation. Fortunately for this case, you had the full names of the people involved in this case including the girlfriend and the boyfriend. According to the police report, the defendant's, or girlfriend's, name was actually spelled, "Maggey." This negation provided a contradiction to the witness' testimony of saying that the defendant's name was written on the floor because the name written on the floor was spelled differently than in the police report. The claim was contradictory to the facts or the opposite of the circumstances.

In addition, Slippery Slope arguments are made in people's testimonies as well. Although the claims in the Slippery Slope argument seem they are true, most of the time you will be finding a claim that cannot be 100% true, or not true at all. In this case, any claims or conditionals and conclusions that were chained after the false, or dubious, claim may be false as well.

For example, people will often unintentionally make a Slippery Slope argument when they are trying to lie or hide something. I remember a witness testifying about a two men, one being the murder victim and the other being the defendant, or her boyfriend. She testifies that the victim was shoved two times and electrocuted with a wire circuit by the defendant. During the fight, she was listening to music and watching. However, the lawyer thought one of the witness' claims was not plausible. It turned out that the time elapsed during this "fight" was about 10 minutes, and the lawyer thought it was suspicious that the witness was listening to music and watching them fight the whole time. From this, the lawyer suspected that the witness wasn't telling the truth. Because one of the witness' claims was not plausible, or believable, her Slippery Slope argument saying that her boyfriend killed the victim became not plausible as well. Her testimony, or chain of claims, had one claim, which was her listening to music, that did not seem plausible at the time. This, therefore, made all the conclusion and claims connected after become false or dubious as well.

As you can see, it is best if claims you make are as believable as possible. Make sure that after making a claim, there are no gaps or holes that can confuse any listeners. If not, you may be falling for traps, or you could even be accused of lying or making a bad argument. If this happens, no one will believe you.