I thought that the most interesting concept from this reading was objectives, values, and biases when analyzing an argument. The text discussed imagining the ideal situation and being aware of our own biases. I thought this section was very important and rather understated in the text. Many of the societal issues we have today come from people not acknowledging their biases and not trying to see where their values and objectives may make them inclined to reject other people’s values and objectives. I think the text glosses over the fact that acknowledging biases and evaluating objectives and values is a huge part of analyzing argumentation and often plays a large role in the outcomes of decisions. Other people need to acknowledge their own biases and look at arguments from other people’s perspectives in order to truly analyze an argument. This is very evident with the current political situation in the United States. Decisions often fall along party lines because people fail to acknowledge their biases and refuse to listen to other people’s perspectives. Many times, people refuse to “compromise” their values, even if the end result would be beneficial. I think the book understated the importance of this concept of objectives, values, and biases, because they play a critical role in analyzing arguments and making decisions.
Chapter five focuses primarily on identifying and developing propositions for problems that people think are relevant. It goes over 6 steps for choosing a valid proposition based on a perceived “feeling of doubt.” While all six steps may not be necessary, the collectively ensure a well thought out and firm proposition. The six steps include identifying the question, surveying implicated objectives (or understanding what is the goal accomplishment in regard to the question), searching for new information, considering alternative options, considering costs and risks of each potential proposition, and then finally choosing one of the propositions. The authors then go on to talk about analyzing and strengthening the proposition chosen. This includes identification and ranking of the issues that the proposition addresses as well as understanding how the decision makers will react to these issues and propositions. In general, with all these methods of critically analyzing the proposition, ...
I completely agree with you when you say that biases seemed to go understated in this reading! The most important part is realizing you're acting biasedly towards a certain viewpoint, then put yourself in the shoes of the person you're interacting with and see if their points make more sense. Without this awareness like you said you'll just find yourself following the norms of your usual social groups, glossing over the possibility of other truths even being out there, or worth your time to explore. I also agree with you in the sense of this being a problem in our political discourse today. If worse comes to worse in an argument people just fall back on their failsafes, or get out of jail free in argument cards. This comes in the form of shortcuts/heuristics which people access in moments of need in argument. They go to their points of certainty such as religion, or politics depending on the situation.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of biases in arguments but I agree that they can be a big issue in real topics. Plus, I don't think that a lot of people are aware that they are being bias when an argument takes place. I know sometimes when I am in an argument I can be bias if I am arguing against a man about something woman related or man related. I don't notice that I am being bias until after. I think that it's hard to have an argument where no one is being bias in it unless they have a mediator or something to call them out on it. People aren't really open to having an open mind and that makes arguing more difficult.
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