Final Blog

(1) Question:

What condition must be present to conclude whether or not someone is truly happy? Which is more important? What is the best expression between the relationship of happiness and ethics?

(2) Conceptual Clarifications:

Condition- An existing state.

Expression- The act of expressing something by the use of words.

(3) Answer:

I believe that in order to conclude whether or not someone is truly happy depends on their interests or desires, their belief in good or evil, and whether they feel satisfied. Garth Kemerling explains, “A happy person will exhibit a personality appropriately balanced between reasons and desires, with moderation characterizing all. In this sense, at least, "virtue is its own reward." True happiness can therefore be attained only through the cultivation of the virtues that make a human life complete(Kemerling)." Meaning if you have the feeling of satisfaction of your virtues or goodness amongst this world in which we live in, only then can we feel true happiness. It is easier to be the greater good within this society than evil. This is because if you commit an evil act you will feel guilty, paranoid, and be filled with anger rather than the good, where you would have a sense of calmness. Interests also plays a role in happiness. Everyone has different interests whether its materialistic items such as a vehicle, an obsession with money or fortune, spending time with family and friends, or even attending events such as concerts.

I believe that the feeling of satisfaction is the most important condition in order to fulfill true happiness. I feel that some interests may not provide the satisfaction or true happiness, but only virtues or goodness. Like materialistic items such as ipods or phones. There is always going to be new technology coming into the market making people wanting to buy the newest item out there. Seeing this, the purchase previously made, will eventually have no meaning because you want the craving of that new ipod or phone. You can not be truly satisfied or happy from this in the long term because certain items being purchased can only make someone happy for a few weeks or months. Like purchasing a video game, the game will satisfy you until you get tired of playing it. With more purchases comes less amount of money in the bank which may also integrate into financial stress. I believe that in order to satisfy true happiness is through your virtues. Sharing good amongst society will help give you a sense of peace that could satisfy an individual for a longer period of time than some interests may.

The relationship between ethics and happiness is about the same. Ethics is all about making moral decisions and I believe that in order to achieve true happiness, you must have virtues. In order to achieve your virtues or the greater good, you would need to make ethical decisions.

(4) Example:

To become satisfied through your virtues and stay truly happy is by being able to make moral decisions. For example, whether or not I should pick up my brother from the bus stop or go to a friends house and let him walk two miles home. The greater good in this case would be to pick up my brother because he could get ran over by walking across six lanes of traffic or someone may kidnap him.

(5) Word Count:

529

(6) Image:

(7) References:

Ruggiero. (2008). Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues. McGraw Hill.

Kemerling, Garth. "Aristotle: Ethics and the Virtues." 27 October 2001. 22 April

2009 http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/2s.htm

Assignment #10

Ethical Decision Making Framework FOCUS: IDEALS

NAME: Brittany Dzioba



STEP ONE: THE DETAILS OF THE CASE

(1) Choose one inquiry, from inquiries 1 - 28 (pages 114 - 117). Indicate which inquiry you chose, and then briefly explain it in your own words:

I chose inquiry number 13 on pg. 115. This inquiry is about a group of doctors who are about to make a difficult decision. There are two patients who are in need of a heart transplant but the doctors will have to make a decision to figure out which one will be the next patient for the procedure. These patients consist of a 12 year old girl named Anne and a father of four kids who is forty eight years of age, Mark. The doctors decided to choose Anne.



(2) Stakeholders: Name each person, group, organization, etc., that has a stake in this outcome.

-The group of doctors

- Anne (one of the patients)

- Mark (another patient)

- Anne's parents and friends

-Mark's kids or family and friends

- The donor of the heart





(3) Are the details given sufficient? Why or why not? Erase this sentence & insert your own answer

No the details are not sufficient. Although this case gives me the why, what , who questions, this does not answer the question of when and where this case has taken place. When is important because I can verify the amount of hearts being used for transplants around this time. This is important because this tells me how low the supply for hearts were or how quickly one can get a heart in that period of time. This will make my decision easier if I know the waiting time for a heart transplant is within a short time frame. The question of where this took place is also important when analysing this situation because this could have been taken place in an area where there is a long waiting period for a heart transplant rather than other areas.



(4) What additional questions does this inquiry raise?

This raises a personal question with Mark. How old are his four kids? Based on this answer I can find it easier to make the right decision. Knowing that Mark is forty eight years old his kids should be between 18-25 years of age. If his kids were that old than its best to give the 12 year old patient a chance at life considering that Mark has enjoyed several years of life above Anne's and his kids should be at the age where they are or almost grown adults and may not need there father as much.



STEP TWO: THE RELEVANT CRITERIA1. Obligations (aka "duties"): Optional this week2. Moral Ideals (aka "virtues"): See breakdown of ideals below3. Consequences (aka "outcomes" or "results"): Optional this weekNOTE: Not ALL of the following ideals will apply! Only consider the main ones that you believe apply, in the inquiry you chose. Don't just pick the easy ones to consider, because you didn't take the time to thoroughly read the chapter and learn what each one of these actually means. I will quiz you when we do group work on Thursday.*



Cardinal Ideal/Virtue of Prudence:

I believe that this ideal applies to this case because the group of doctors had to make a decision based on experiences. They are use to making these difficult decisions because they established a waiting list of names who are in need of heart transplants.



* Cardinal Ideal/Virtue of Justice:

This applies because the group of doctors are trying to give heart implants to those with weak hearts, saving lives. One patient at a time.



* Cardinal Ideal/Virtue of Temperance:

* Cardinal Ideal/Virtue of Courage:

I believe that courage is an important piece to this case because the doctors have to be brave enough to make the difficult decision on who should be the next patient for a heart transplant. Even though the outcome of their decision may lead to the death of one patient and their loved ones.



* Cardinal Ideal/Virtue of Loving Kindness:

* Cardinal Ideal/Virtue of Honesty:

* Cardinal Ideal/Virtue of Compassion:

This ideal applies to this case because the group of doctors hold a great deal of compassion for their patients. They feel sympathy because they know they can not give every patient a heart transplant due to the low supply of them. Therefore they must make their decision based on the understanding of their patients' age and whether or not they have children.

* Cardinal Ideal/Virtue of Forgiveness:

* Cardinal Ideal/Virtue of Repentance:

I believe this applies because when making their decision and when their chose goes wrong or something happens during surgery, doctors are always prepared for the worst case scenario and when informing a family member of the patient, they are ready to give their remorse or an apology.

* Cardinal Ideal/Virtue of Reparation:

* Cardinal Ideal/Virtue of Gratitude:

* Cardinal Ideal/Virtue of Beneficence:



* Conflicting ideals--consider the relative importance of each; determine which ideal represents the greater good (or the lesser evil). See pages 110-11 for clarification. Erase this sentence & insert your own answer.

I believe that if two were conflicting with one another I would have to say the ideal of justice and compassion. Justice can mean that the doctors want to succeed with completing the list of patients for the heart implant procedure. This way the doctors could pick from the order of names on the list rather than having the compassion for making the decision of who deserves to be the next patient on the list. In this case only one out of the two patients can be saved when the next operation is available, doctors must choose wisely rather than going through the order of who appeared to be first on the list. This may be different if the doctors were given a wide majority of names, then I can see the doctors following the patients by order. Knowing that the inquiry does not state when the two patients were put on the list, I will assume that the patients appeared on the waiting list around the same time. Given that it is between a 12 year old girl vs. a man who is forty eight years old. I believe that in this case the 12 year old should go first for the procedure and the man can be in line for the next operation. Therefore I feel that compassion is the greater good in this situation.



STEP THREE: POSSIBLE COURSES OF ACTIONAlternative



#1: The group of doctors can get more details from their patients starting with the age of Mark' kids when making their decision.

#2: The doctors can review the medical results of their patients' hearts and see which may be worse than the other and which can hold off for the next upcoming procedure.


STEP FOUR: THE MOST ETHICAL ACTION Examine the action taken or proposed and decide whether it achieves the greater good (the most widespread "respect for persons")...if it does not, choose one that will, from your alternatives. Where the choice of actions is such that no good can be achieved, choose the action that will result in the lesser evil.

Like discussed in this chapter about courage. Courage consists of facing the truth. (pg. 108) Regardless of their action there will always be the fear of losing a life. In this case the doctors must make a decision amongst two individuals where one that is not chosen for the surgery of a heart implant might be faced with death. The doctors understand this and are faced with the truth of a patient dying but must remain their courage in order to save one's life. With this courage I feel that the best alternative is to review both of their records to view how bad one patent's heart is from another and make their decision based on their analysis. This way the patient that may not have a worse off heart may be able to make it through the waiting period until the next procedure. This way both patients may be able to survive.


SELF EVALUATION



1. In your own words, describe something new that you learned from this week’s assigned reading material and guidance.
I learned that like obligations in chapter eight ideals also conflict with each other when analyzing a situation. Like on pg. 110, ideals compete with one another such as kindness and honesty. In this case kindness which prompted the little girl to sit with the boy vs. honesty which bids her to stay out of the situation.


2. In your own words, describe in detail some insight you gained, about the material, from one of your classmates' blogs this week. Name the blog, and insert answer here.
The insight I gained is the different amount of alternatives that J.J blogged, from inquiry 10 about the police officer and his brother. I was having trouble coming up with my alternatives so his helped me the insight needed to help form my own.


3. Did you post a thoroughly completed post to your blog on time this week?
Yes, I have answered all of the questions that has been asked of me. My blog will be published on time for everyone to see. : )

4. Did you ALSO print this out, so you can bring it to class and earn total points?
I will have this printed out by tomorrow because the computer I am using does not have a working printer. Therefore I will print mine out before class at the computer lab on campus.

5. Of 25 points total, my efforts this week deserve:
I believe that I deserve the full amount of points because I have done all that was asked of me within the given time frame. I have answered the questions to the best of my ability and made sure there were more than just one sentence. Therefore I deserve the maximum amount of points.

Assignment #9

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ASSIGNMENT PART ONE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------In this section, we're going to return for a moment to Chapter 7, to the section that discusses errors that are common in the analysis of moral issues (p. 89). Briefly explain each of the following errors in your own words, as if you were explaining the concept to a friend who had never taken this class (consider who, what, when, where, why, how, when); and then give an example of each one, preferably from your own past experience.

Unwarranted Assumptions:

Unwarranted Assumptions is considered an error when analysing a moral issue because you would use your instinct rather than stated facts. You are making a judgment or opinion based off of what you may know about that individual or situation, but without using facts, your analysis of an ethical dilemma would be inaccurate.

Example: I have been in a situation where I was working in a restaurant as a hostess. This was my first job and it was around the time I was a Junior in high school. We had a party of nine that were suppose to be arriving at the restaurant at 3:00 p.m., so we prepared for their arrival by pushing together tables and setting up the menus. By the time 3:00 p.m. arrived a party of nine entered. Me, assuming they were the party that we were preparing for, did not ask for the name of the party. Instead I walked them to the table that was ready. Fifteen minutes later another party of nine entered the restaurant. Sure enough, I had placed the wrong party at the wrong table, just because I had assumed. As ironic as the situation was, my boss was not too pleased with me.

Oversimplification:

Oversimplification is when you try to take the easy way out of a situation.

Example: An example to this is by trying to find an easy way through college to get a degree. Lets say that you are attending classes on campus and arriving on time. Everyone around you are working hard to study and complete the homework assignments, but you decide to cheat on tests or quizzes and find someone to help the load of homework. This is an easy way out to get a degree. On the other hand, you will not be as knowledgeable and it will be hard for you to sustain a career.

Hasty Conclusions:

This is when you judge something or someone based on the overall look or appearance. Jumping to conclusions based on first impressions will only create problems because in most cases your conclusion will be wrong. There must be evidence or facts towards a situation in order to make your point known rather than jumping to faulty conclusions.

Example: An example of this can be the appearance of how someone may dress. An interview is a good example of this. Lets say that you walk into an interview. You have tattoos and piercings. The interview is going well and the interviewer knows that you have years of experience in the field that you are applying for. Although you have years of experience the company decides not to hire you. Instead they hire someone with no experience within the particular field. From your appearance during the interview, the interviewer may have judged you based on your tattoos and piercings. Thinking you will cause problems within their working environment, when in reality you are nothing but a hard working employee.

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ASSIGNMENT PART TWO
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Briefly answer the following "chapter opening" questions, in your own words, based on what you learned by studying chapter eight:
1. What do we do in situations where there is more than a single obligation?

In this situation we look at the future. We look at what may become of our decisions that we make when figuring out the best solutions of our obligations. The first thing to do is lay out the different obligations. Next is to think of different outcomes that your obligations may develop. From there you can choose the best obligations that may appear to be more important.

2. How can we reconcile conflicting obligations? We can do this by finding which obligation is more important. Just like the situation with the economy crises. People are finding it hard to find jobs as well as keeping the job one may have. A company may have a dilemma where money is running short. Either they can lay off employees or cut back pay. This is a good example when trying to distinguish amongst which is more important. In this case I would believe that although some employees making good pay may not want to cut back, it is better than having no job at all.
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ASSIGNMENT PART THREE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. In a nutshell, what is the most important thing, for you, that you learned from this assignment?
Since reading this chapter of obligations, I did not think about some of the issues I may be faced with. The examples made me think of how difficult it can be to choose what obligation may appear to be more important than the other. I understand the amount of thought and analysis one may have to innovate in order to withstand the position of making a difficult decision.

2. How will you apply what you learned through this assignment to your everyday life?
I can use what I learned on an everyday basis by analysing a situation with the use of facts rather than using unwarranted assumptions, oversimplification, and hasty conclusions. The more information I can gather the better I will become at making decisions such as choosing an obligation amongst conflicting ones.

3. What grade do you believe your efforts regarding this assignment deserve? Justify your answer. I believe I deserve a grade within the twenty point range because I feel that I have completing what was asked of me. I gave examples to justify my answers and read the material that was needed of me. Therefore I believe that I deserve a decent grade.

Assignment #6

QUESTION #1: If an action that is praised in one culture may be condemned in another, would it be correct to say that all moral values are relative to the culture they are found in?

Although cultures may have different beliefs, we all share some moral values. We share moral values, but we all express these same values in different ways. For example, we can say that it would be "correct" to wear black at a funeral in some communities but not in others or that it is right to have several wives. When it comes down to do it, you can not judge because each culture has a different moral guideline in which they follow. Although there is a difference in the beliefs or moral guideline within each culture, we all enforce the same moral values which fit our culture.

ANSWER 1B:

P: Every culture has a different belief they live by.

P: You cant judge without comparing your culture with another.

------------------------------
C: Therefore, it is correct to say that all moral values are relative to the culture they are found in.

QUESTION #2: Isn’t it a mark of ignorance to pass judgments on other cultures or to claim that one culture is better than another?

I don't believe that any culture should pass judgment on another. No one can conclude whether or not other cultures are right or wrong. Considering that every culture differs with their beliefs, no individual can argue that their culture is better than another. Another issue with judging is that you would be basing your opinions or views on different cultures from your own, which is not fair towards others. The result of your opinion or judgment with the comparison of your culture with another, would just make your argument appear that you believe your culture is better.

2B:

P:It's not fair to say that your culture is better than another.

P: Most are not open minded of the different cultures.

C: Therefore, it is a mark of ignorance to pass judgments on other cultures




See page 63 in our text. Choose one inquiry, from inquiries 3 – 11. Briefly describe the inquiry as the first part of your answer, so your readers know which one you chose. Discuss whether or not the action / decision in each case is ethical. And then, put your argument in equation form. Try to include an ethical principle as one of your premises, as modeled below...

The inquiry I chose was number nine. This is about ancient Rome, Sparta, and China and how for them it would be alright to abandon their unwanted children to die. For example, a parent can reject their child based on their sexuality. Like what was addressed in our readings, China is known to have an obsession with masculinity because they want their child to pass off their name in marriage.

Arguable Issue: Whether or not it is moral to abandon an unwanted child to die

P: Killing another is immoral (moral principle, based on valuing the life of human-beings).

P: Killing a child does not give them a chance to live.

P: There are many of people who would be willing to adopt the child.

C: Therefore, abandoning an unwanted child to die is not moral.

Assignment #5

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aNSzB1gn4p4

This clip conveys an ethical issue one may encounter on an everyday basis. This group of teens are trying to figure out how to raise money for a good cause but they came accross a dilema. They dont know how they are going to be able to raise enough money in a limited amount of time. They came up with ideas such as establishing a car wash but they dont believe this will financially fit their criteria. Then one of the group members gave the solution of a sponsership with a tobacco company, but is this ethical? Once these groups of teens thought about the sponsership with the tobacco company and what message this would be conveying to others, they decided to take a majority vote. Like what we discussed in chapter two, this group of individuals decided to take a vote to see whether or not this is ethical, which the majority thought it would be wrong to have a tobacco company sponser them.

4. In a separate paragraph, tell me how many points you believe your efforts deserve--in argument form! For example:


Arguable issue: whether or not this post deserves points...if yes, how many?
Conclusion: This post deserves twenty-five points.
Premises:This post deserves twenty-five points because:

(1) I found a clip that relates to ethics.

(2) I posted the link to the clip.

(3) I wrote a paragraph about the clip.

Assignment #4

Last names beginning with A - G: Moral Relativism
1. Paragraph: Explain in your own words what Moral Relativism is—what do people who hold this view believe?

Moral Relativism is a belief where an individuals view of right and wrong are interpreted as being equal amongst the society. In other words, there are no one correct solution or answer to a situation. People who holds this view believe that although there are different point of views constructed from different culture and behavior backgrounds, with moral relativism they are all treated as equally valid.

2. Paragraph & Link: Find one online resources related to this topic—not Wikipedia. Explain in a brief paragraph what you learned about this topic through the resource you found; include the link at the end of your paragraph.

The web page in which i found explained what moral relativism is and how this interferes with ethics. This page states that no moral judgment can be better than another. Because the views are subjective, some may believe that moral relativism is interfering with ethical questions. It is believed that moral relativism has a tendency to disrupt the thought of choosing a rational conclusion to a situation. Relativists are viewed as those who believe that everyones judgments are equal but if we all view each others opinions or views as being equal, than how can we tell which argument is more rational than the other? Ethics is a subject where you are constructing arguments to defend your position or conclusion in order to seek out which argument appears to be stronger than the other. Some feels that moral relativism permits us from doing so because they feel that no ones argument can be better than the other.

http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Evil_MoralRelativism.html


3. Argument: Compose a short argument, in “argument elements” form. I’ll provide the arguable issue; you provide the rest. Make sure each of your premises is a complete sentence, and that your argument doesn’t break any of the rules listed in the first chapter of the Rulebook for Arguments:

Arguable Issue: The arguable issue is whether or not Moral Relativism is a good view to hold.
Conclusion: Moral Relativism is not a good view to hold.
Premises: Moral Relativism is not a good view to hold because:
(1) It denies us from choosing a rational argument.
(2)It prevents us from constructing moral decisions.
(3)No laws can be enforced if we feel our views are equal.



The Role of the Majority View

1. Paragraph: Explain in your own words what a Majority View is. Cite your sources.

A majority view is when most of the society believes in a specific situation as being right or wrong. Although there may be a higher percentage of individuals who's views are immoral or moral, this does not make the situation right or wrong. Due to their being no argument in a majority view, we can not rely on a percentage because there is no way of telling who may be knowledgeable of the particular situation. There can be those within the percentage that have no experience or knowledge about the view. For example voting for or against a gun law. Just because the majority may vote for or against the law, there could be a good percentage of those who are not knowledgeable about guns or the statistics of crime conflicted with them. Some people may even vote towards this situation based on what a friend or parent believes rather than using their own judgment. Therefore a majority view may not be the best solution to make moral decisions.

2. Argument: Compose a short argument, in “argument elements” form. I’ll provide the arguable issue; you provide the rest. Make sure each of your premises is a complete sentence, and that your argument doesn’t break any of the rules listed in the first chapter of the Rulebook for Arguments:

Arguable Issue: The arguable issue is whether or not the Majority View is a reliable basis for ethical decision-making.
Conclusion: The Majority View is not a reliable basis for ethical decision-making.
Premises: The Majority View is not a reliable basis for ethical decision-making because:
(1) Not everyone will be knowledgeable to make the ethical decision.
(2)You can not compare arguments through a percentage.
(3)You are not able to defend and persuade others of your view.

The Role of Feelings

1. Paragraph: Explain in your own words what feelings are. Cite your sources.

Feelings are expressed through our emotions. When we share our feelings with others we are showing off our personality and how we perceive life as an individual. Our feelings is what we use in most cases when deciding if a situation is right or wrong. The book explains that although feelings can sometimes be good when making moral decisions, we tend to ignore the feelings of others. This does not allow us to view other aspects of a situation which is not helpful when constructing an argument.

2. Argument: Compose a short argument, in “argument elements” form. I’ll provide the arguable issue; you provide the rest. Make sure each of your premises is a complete sentence, and that your argument doesn’t break any of the rules listed in the first chapter of the Rulebook for Arguments:

Arguable Issue: The arguable issue is whether or not our feelings are a reliable basis for ethical decision-making.
Conclusion: Our feelings are not a reliable basis for ethical decision-making.
Premises:Our feelings are not a reliable basis for ethical decision-making because:
(1)This prevents us from being open minded of others feelings.
(2)Our feelings do not appear to stay constant so our decision-making will frequently change.
(3)An individuals preference may battle with what may be right.

The ability to express yourself in your own words is essential in this class. Did you put everything in your own words this time?
Throughout this assignment, I wrote using my words. I analyzed the three systems of ethical decision-making to the best of my ability and applied my knowledge of the material from the information.

What was easiest / hardest about this assignment?
The easiest part to this assignment was reading the chapters. I got a better understanding of moral relativism, a majority view, and feelings, when it comes to making a moral decision. The hardest part of this assignment would have to be coming up with three premises to go along with my conclusion. It is sometimes hard for me to come up with three different reasons for my conclusion due to the amount of rules behind them.

How will you apply what you learned through this assignment to your everyday life?

Now that I have realized how these three systems work when making an ethical decision, I can use this towards my everyday life. I can use this to better understand the importance of strong arguments. These systems don't appear to be strong when making moral decisions, therefore I can better my arguments by understanding the mistakes of these systems. For example, using my feelings to evaluate what I believe as right and wrong should not always be used because I will not be as open minded of others.

How well do you think you did on this assignment? Explain.

I believe I did well on this assignment because I followed the directions thoroughly. I read through all the chapters and feel that I analyzed the material to the best of my ability. I was clear with my responses and my grammar should be good. Overall I believe that I did well with constructing my responses as well as arguments.

Blog Assignment #3

1. Explain what “to give an argument” means in this book.

"To give an argument" is defined in this book as "to offer a set of reasons or evidence in support of a conclusion." The book shows us the steps needed in order to have a well developed argument. First we must brainstorm ideas of strong evidence or reasons that support our conclusion because without them, we will not be able to explain as to why we may agree or disagree on a topic. The book also tells us that an argument needs to be well organized. By making the argument well organized, we would need to set up our ideas in order, so that our readers can thoroughly follow our argument. These two steps along with others described amongst the first chapter, shows us how we should construct or give an argument.

2. What are the reasons Weston gives in support of his claim, “arguments are essential”?

Weston explains that arguments are essential because it allows us to look at different views. Based on these different views, we can construct our conclusion of whether we disagree or agree on an issue. Weston also believes that arguments are essential because it allows us to give our reasons or evidence in support of our conclusions . This is important because this gives us the opportunity to defend our conclusions through arguments. In conclusion, arguments are important because they can help us establish our conclusions by analyzing different views, as well as help us defend our conclusions with our reasoning or evidence.

3. Explain why many students tend to “write an essay, but not an argument”.

Many students tend to write an essay rather than an argument. This is because when writing an essay students don't appear to be giving explanations as to why or how they came up with their conclusion. Although a student may give reasons or evidence in support of their conclusion, they may not include why they believe their reasoning or evidence is substantial from other views. If you state your reasoning without giving a good incentive as to how you came up with your conclusion, than your paper will be more of an ordinary essay rather than an argumentative essay. In order to give an argument, there must be evidence that supports your judgment of a situation but also supports your evidence against different views. This will make your conclusion stronger than others because your paper will appear to be an argumentative essay.

4. Construct two short arguments (one "for" and one "against") as modeled in the Week 3 Assignment section in Blackboard. Put each one in "elements form".

For-
Arguable issue: Whether or not you should shower daily
Conclusion: You should shower daily
Premises: You should shower daily because

(1) you will have good hygiene,
(2) it is relaxing, and
(3) this allows you to become more confident when interacting with others.

Against-
Arguable issue: Whether or not you should shower daily
Conclusion: You should not shower daily
Premises: You should not shower daily because

(1) it takes up time during your day
(2) you would be wasting water, and
(3) there will be less of a probability of you slipping while taking a shower.

5. Review the seven rules in chapter one. Briefly discuss how your argument demonstrates that each rule was applied, in the construction of your arguments above.


The first rule within chapter one is to distinguish between premises and the conclusion. I did this by stating three reasons in support of my conclusion. The second rule is presenting your ideas in order, which I did by first introducing my conclusion then having my three reasons to follow. The third rule is to start from reliable premises, which I have done by using reasons that are strong enough to support my conclusion. The fourth rule is to be concrete and concise, which my short argument seems to be because my reasoning is clear and easy to understand. The fifth rule is avoiding loaded language, which my short argument does not have because it was short and precise. The sixth rule is to use consistent terms, which my arguments has by me using the same flow towards each of my arguments. Finally, the seventh rule is to stick to one meaning for each term, which I have also done because my reasoning for each of my arguments have one meaning and that is to support whether I was for it or against it.

6. Review the three rules in the appendix named, “Definitions”. In your own words, discuss how you took these rules into consideration as you constructed your arguments.

As I constructed my arguments I took into consideration the first definition which is being specific when your terms are unclear. As I thought of my conclusion along with my reasoning I was made my argument clear and to the point by cutting my conclusion to become more specific. My arguments were clear and fit with the conclusion, by the help of the second definition, which is to construct an argument that is clear. My arguments were also constructed with the thought of using arguable reasons for my argument rather than using definitions to support my conclusion, like the third definition explains.

7. Good posts demonstrate:
Sincere reflection, effort, and analysis
Answers that are substantial (at least one large paragraph each)
Consistent mention, citation, and integration of the assigned readings
Correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Correctly titled posts!How many points do you honestly feel your post this week deserves? Justify your answer.

I believe that I deserve the full amount of points because I put a lot of effort into this assignment. My responses were well developed with full paragraphs, my post is titled correctly, and my grammar should be good. Overall I feel that I have followed the instructions towards this blog correctly and therefore I should be eligible for the full amount.