reasoning logic and how to argue

Assignment 1 Abductive reasoning offers the most likely explanation, which may not necessarily be true. Applying rigorous standards of proof helps to show why the simplest or most likely explanation may be the best one at the time, but that more information is needed before the truth is verifiable. Any situation that cannot be immediately explained, from seeming coincidences to the perception of supernatural events, can be attributed to false causes. One example is the crop circle phenomenon. Crop circles apparently “appear mysteriously overnight in farmers’ fields,” (Radford, 2017).

The majority of crop circles were occurring in England, but there have been reports of crop circles elsewhere. Crop circles have been reported for centuries, and have been attributed to aliens. Another presumed cause of the crop circles is the presence of special energy vortexes or patterns known as “ley lines,” which direct wind patterns in a way that creates the crop circles (Irving & Brookesmith, 2009). These are inadequate explanations for several reasons.

One is that actually these are not the simplest explanations whatsoever, and a second reason is that neither of these hypotheses are testable in any way. As Irving & Brookesmith (2009) point out, “the human soul longs for enchantment,” and therefore longs for some supernatural explanation for what could be explained in simpler, more direct and verifiable terms (p. 1).

Most likely, the crop circles were created by human beings who are either interested in creating massive works of temporary pastoral public art, or who are interested in invoking a patterned response among those who long to believe in the supernatural. Of course, unless someone was caught in the act, there is also no way of proving that this is the most likely explanation either. References Hardy, J., Foster, C., & Zúñiga y Postigo, G. (2015). With good reason: A guide to critical thinking.

Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ Irving, R. & Brookesmith, P. (2009). Crop circles: the art of the hoax. Smithsonian. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/crop-circles-the-art-of-the-hoax-2524283/ Radford, B. (2017). The crop circle mystery: A closer look. Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/26540-crop-circles.html Assignment 2 The principle of charity is giving “the benefit of the doubt, letting someone have his or her say, or putting suspicion aside,” (Hardy, Foster & Zuniga y Postigo, 2015, p. 18).

Listening actively and trying to see the issue from another point of view helps foster healthy interpersonal communications. It is easier to disagree respectfully and logically when can earnestly refute each aspect of the other person’s argument rather than making assumptions based on our own biased interpretations of their perspective. I have an example in which I did apply the principle of charity. A friend who is both a person of color and a Trump supporter was speaking about political issues.

I became upset and immediately started to get emotional in my argument. The person said that they believed in “securing our borders,” which I thought was ironic given that their family were immigrants too. The person also spoke about how the stock market was performing well and they supported Trump because of that, too. I believe the person actually meant what they were saying, and they noticed I was getting upset so I did take the time to listen more actively using the principle of charity.

When I did, I realized that it was possible to understand that from that person’s point of view, having immigrated using the standard means of paperwork processing made them believe that the “illegal” immigrants were somehow “cheating.” Realizing this is what they meant, I was better able to formulate an argument as to why their perspective was one of a position of privilege. I did not change their minds, and they did.