I thought we were done with most of the fallacies, but there was a new one in this chapter called "fallacy of composition." Basically, fallacy of composition is when we assume that an individual in a group will share the same facts. It is also the same when a group that has an individual will share the same facts. This is a fallacy because it is a mere generalization.
One example of fallacy of composition would be stereotyping. In this case, it would be from the group to the individual. As a Filipino, I know about the stereotype that all Filipinos love to sing. Because of this stereotype, some people may assume that because in the mass media it looks like Filipinos love to sing, any individual who is a Filipino descent likes to sing as well. This is a fallacy because that individual may be different. In fact, he or she may not necessarily like singing. I know some Filipino friends who dislike singing. Basically, when people think of the fallacy of composition, they usually greet a person normally. Later when they see who that person hangs out with, they may think, "Oh. He is one of them."
Another example are groups of friends that share interests. As person that plays a lot of video games, I am classified as a nerd sometimes. If a person that loves to make conclusions based on stereotypes saw me, he or she would probably think that I hang out with other "nerds" as well. The fallacy in that is he or she cannot really assume that my group of friends only consists of "nerds." In terms of playing video games a lot, I guess I can say that some of my friends are "nerds." However, I also have friends who do not even play video games at all or do not fall anywhere near the "nerd" category.
In conclusion, fallacy of composition ignores doing further research by going straight towards conclusions and generalizations. That is a fallacy because individuals in a group, or a group that has a certain individual has many different interests. Because of this, it is hard to really determine how the group or the individual is really like.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
2) More On Inductive Reasoning
Of all of the types of reasoning, I thought it was hardest to understand inductive reasoning. The reason is because the descriptions I have seen in books did not really explain it clearly. I could relate to their examples, but it was hard to understand how the reasoning was actually inductive. However, I did some research and found this site.
http://www.experiment-resources.com/inductive-reasoning.html
If you skip it to the inductive reasoning section, they mention about scientists saying that they rely on patterns. When I saw the word "patterns," I got a clearer idea on what inductive reasoning is. Basically, inductive reasoning is like basing your conclusions on observations of patterns. In contrast, deductive would be basing conclusions on things that solidly exist (not observations).
If it's still not clear, think of the weather right now. If you did not have access to the weather forecast, can you predict the weather tomorrow? Although your answer may not be correct, your answer may be based on inductive reasoning. Recently, the weather has been cold and a bit rainy sometimes. From your observations on what the weather has been like recently, you can probably reach a conclusion that tomorrow may also be cold and possibly rainy based on the weather patterns.
- Pink Bean
http://www.experiment-resources.com/inductive-reasoning.html
If you skip it to the inductive reasoning section, they mention about scientists saying that they rely on patterns. When I saw the word "patterns," I got a clearer idea on what inductive reasoning is. Basically, inductive reasoning is like basing your conclusions on observations of patterns. In contrast, deductive would be basing conclusions on things that solidly exist (not observations).
If it's still not clear, think of the weather right now. If you did not have access to the weather forecast, can you predict the weather tomorrow? Although your answer may not be correct, your answer may be based on inductive reasoning. Recently, the weather has been cold and a bit rainy sometimes. From your observations on what the weather has been like recently, you can probably reach a conclusion that tomorrow may also be cold and possibly rainy based on the weather patterns.
- Pink Bean
1) Reasonings Used To Interpret Music
Even though we do not think about it, there are many different ways to reason. In fact, we probably use these reasonings everyday but do not actually know what they are called. Below, I will list the different types of reasoning and examples explaining them.
Reasoning by Analogy
Reasoning by analogy is comparing two similar situations in order to show the significance of one or both. For example, writing lyrical music is similar to yelling out your thoughts when no one is nearby to hear it. The thoughts you yell out are the lyrics of the song. The louder you yell, the more expressive and passionate your music will be because you are not afraid to yell your thoughts out loud. No one hearing your thoughts is like the audience that listens to the music. The most they will hear are the faint echoes of your yells while some will hear your thoughts clearly. In other words, most will not know the real meaning behind the music while others will.
Sign Reasoning
Sign reasoning can be used in order to interpret music. However, our interpretations may not be correct because sign reasoning depends on assumption. For example, in "Save The Best For Last" by Vanessa Williams, the lyrics say,
"It's not the way I hoped or how I planned.
But somehow it's enough.
And now we're standing face to face.
Isn't this world a crazy place?"
For my sign reasoning or interpretation, I think Vanessa was singing about a guy that she clearly did not expect to marry. "And now we're standing face to face" shows a scenario of looking at your significant other while you two are sharing vows on your wedding day.
However, I could be wrong. Also using sign reasoning, someone else may think "standing face to face" can also mean you and your significant other are about to kiss because it can apply to that situation.
Causal Reasoning
Causal reasoning can be used to figure out why musicians write certain songs. For example, when a musician falls in love, they may want to express their emotions through music. In other words, a musician may write a love song because they fell in love. They may also input happy and sad experiences they had in the past into their song. Music may be created because the musician may want to express their experiences through music. Without their experience, the music would never exist.
Reasoning by Criteria
People reason by criteria in order to evaluate what music is "good." Some people dislike rap because they dislike how the lyrics are hardly sung with a melody. Some people dislike slow music because they think it is boring. I do not dislike any of these genres though. Anyways, my point is that because people may think like this, they may also judge what song is "good" in their standards. However, everyone has a different taste in music so some may disagree with other's criteria of a song being "good."
Reasoning by Example
You can use reasoning by example in order to find out what instrument a musician loves playing. For example, although a musician may use various instruments in their music, there may be just that one instrument that appears in most of their songs. Vienna Teng's songs shares a variety of instruments. However, from listening to most of her songs, I can reason that she loves playing the piano the most because the piano is mostly played in most of the songs I have listened to. "Gravity," "Eric's Song," and her other songs usually start with the piano or mostly have the piano playing.
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
We can use deductive reasoning in order to figure out why people write songs. According to most songs, people write about various experiences. In conclusion (through deductive reasoning), I can say that all songs are about experiences. However, in the case of inductive reasoning, we are basically thinking that the premises we make are true. For example, according to what I see, songs are probably written because people like to write about experiences. This is inductive reasoning because I am not using a premises that is provided to me. I am using my own made-up premises (which can also be true).
Reasonings can be used to interpret music. Because of reasoning, many people have different opinions about music. The examples of each reasoning that I listed are basically my interpretation music. In other words, I do not think everyone will have the same interpretations.
- Pink Bean
Sign Reasoning
Sign reasoning can be used in order to interpret music. However, our interpretations may not be correct because sign reasoning depends on assumption. For example, in "Save The Best For Last" by Vanessa Williams, the lyrics say,
"It's not the way I hoped or how I planned.
But somehow it's enough.
And now we're standing face to face.
Isn't this world a crazy place?"
For my sign reasoning or interpretation, I think Vanessa was singing about a guy that she clearly did not expect to marry. "And now we're standing face to face" shows a scenario of looking at your significant other while you two are sharing vows on your wedding day.
However, I could be wrong. Also using sign reasoning, someone else may think "standing face to face" can also mean you and your significant other are about to kiss because it can apply to that situation.
Causal Reasoning
Causal reasoning can be used to figure out why musicians write certain songs. For example, when a musician falls in love, they may want to express their emotions through music. In other words, a musician may write a love song because they fell in love. They may also input happy and sad experiences they had in the past into their song. Music may be created because the musician may want to express their experiences through music. Without their experience, the music would never exist.
Reasoning by Criteria
People reason by criteria in order to evaluate what music is "good." Some people dislike rap because they dislike how the lyrics are hardly sung with a melody. Some people dislike slow music because they think it is boring. I do not dislike any of these genres though. Anyways, my point is that because people may think like this, they may also judge what song is "good" in their standards. However, everyone has a different taste in music so some may disagree with other's criteria of a song being "good."
Reasoning by Example
You can use reasoning by example in order to find out what instrument a musician loves playing. For example, although a musician may use various instruments in their music, there may be just that one instrument that appears in most of their songs. Vienna Teng's songs shares a variety of instruments. However, from listening to most of her songs, I can reason that she loves playing the piano the most because the piano is mostly played in most of the songs I have listened to. "Gravity," "Eric's Song," and her other songs usually start with the piano or mostly have the piano playing.
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
We can use deductive reasoning in order to figure out why people write songs. According to most songs, people write about various experiences. In conclusion (through deductive reasoning), I can say that all songs are about experiences. However, in the case of inductive reasoning, we are basically thinking that the premises we make are true. For example, according to what I see, songs are probably written because people like to write about experiences. This is inductive reasoning because I am not using a premises that is provided to me. I am using my own made-up premises (which can also be true).
Reasonings can be used to interpret music. Because of reasoning, many people have different opinions about music. The examples of each reasoning that I listed are basically my interpretation music. In other words, I do not think everyone will have the same interpretations.
- Pink Bean
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