I would have to agree with Max’s viewpoints on both the “Critical Thinking” and the “Common Informal Fallacies” articles. He goes into depth speaking of the types of informal fallacies that are spoken about, and particularly chooses An Appeal to Authority when saying which one relates most to his life. I would agree with this statement, because we very often look up to a member of authority, or an individual of higher power/knowledge, and assume that they automatically know more about a topic without their ethos being established. Similar to Max’s dad, my mom is a nurse, and I find myself often saying, “just ask my mom, she’s a nurse”, about many medical issues. Although my mom knows a lot more than I do, she is not a certified doctor in the medical industry. Another fallacy that I relate with is begging the question. I have encountered many arrogant and closed minded individuals throughout my high school and college experience, whether its regarding politics, religion, gay rights, etc., and begging the question is a fallacy that I have had to deal with. Since many inexperienced individuals do not have the adequate support for a statement, they often restate the question as a way to provide support and rational. I need to learn how to rephrase my questions to them in order to make them understand that I am looking for real factual support, and not just their opinion restated to me.  A helpful video tutorial would be beneficial in explaining how to realistically avoid these fallacies on an every day basis.

The second point that Max makes is from the “Critical Thinking” article. I find it very interesting how he interprets developing a reflective analysis in relation to religion. I feel that it is very important to not only think the specific religion that an individual practices is the only correct belief system out there. Many people follow a variety of religions for different purposes, and that is at their own prerogative. Similar to Max, I do not feel that my specific religion is the only correct belief system, hence the reason I do not consider myself overly religious. It is extremely interesting to see how the four primary elements of critical thinking are very relevant in our every day lives. These elements can be used in many different circumstances, and I am intrigued to see how other classmates interpreted them and applied them to their lives.

After analyzing the concepts that were drawn out in “Critical Thinking” and “Common Informal Faults or Fallacies”, many new thoughts and questions formed; those of which I never considered before. When looking outside of the box from an individual standpoint, both culturally and internationally, there are many realizations that can impact the way I view myself, my family and friends, the media, and the portrayal of other lifestyles.

One word that stuck out to me in particular was from the “Critical Thinking” article is enculturation. The article explains this term saying that we view our way of life and our society as “natural” or “normal”, therefore screwing our judgments on other cultures and societies. When reading this, I automatically thought of my experience abroad. When arriving in Barcelona, I was utterly shocked at how different the lifestyles were compared to what I was used to back in America. However, unlike the article, I did not view the lifestyle and culture in Spain as one out of the ordinary or “wrong”. Instead, I admired the way people lived there life and carried out their days, making me think of my usual lifestyle in America in a more negative light. I understand that the general consensus of viewing another culture is usually similar to how enculturation is described in the article, but I find it interesting that I had a very different experience. I would say that I took on a cultural relativism outlook, allowing myself to view the Spanish/Catalan culture and lifestyle from its own cultural lifestyle and rules. I allowed myself to do so by learning about the culture and tradition within the country and understanding how this affected individuals in many different aspects (food, business interactions, family time, etc.).

I believe that a major cause of misunderstanding and misrepresentation of distant cultures and lifestyles is how the media portrays them. Westernized media is not only expremely biased, but does not give any justification for how/why other countries lead such different lifestyles than we do in America. The media tends to portray only what sells to the public, and I feel that many Americans are extremely closed minded and do not want to be emerged culturally into other societies due to our own selfishness. If the media did in fact display other countries and cultures in an accurate light, I am not sure how the American public would react, but I do think it would better our views and opinions. The same goes for international media. While traveling through Amsterdam, I happened to see “Teen Mom” being played in a restaurant. Not only was I embarrassed, but I thought to myself, “no wonder people have such a negative view on Americans overseas’.

In addition to the media, communicating is a very important factor that affects the way individuals understand one another. “Common Informal Faults or Fallacies” address many different communication barriers and faults. I feel that each of these explain a different fault, but all result in a communication barrier that results in individuals being closed minded and impartial to another’s opinion or view. I would better understand each individual fault or fallacy in a real world context. The examples and cartoons were helpful, but seeing it reenacted in a video would make it more realistic and easier to differentiate. I enjoyed reading these articles and I am excited to see what else this course has to offer to my knowledge and understanding of my surroundings and distant cultures across national borders.

I wanted to start out by saying that I completely agree with you when you explained how both of the readings were both straight forward and easy to comprehend. Along with you, the cartoons found in the informal fallacies article were extremely beneficial to my understanding of the material. Like you said, the critical thinking article was not as flashy in its structure like the fallacies readings; it was still quick and to the point. It had an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

It was also interesting to see that you noticed that there were a lot more fallacies out there then you expected. When opening the article, immediately I assumed that there would be two maybe three of them, but clearly that was not the case. I also like the example you related from your COMM 118 class with the Hilary Clinton video. I have actually seen this video you are talking about where the male news anchor critiques Hilary Clinton’s political views through derogatory context. Using the word “slut” or “female” immediately took away any credibility this news anchor had.

I thought that your final paragraph that wrapped up your response to the articles was a great way to end off your discussion. You were able to explain how critical thinking is essential to daily lives, and how it is important to stay away from the informal fallacies mentioned in the first article. I think that after the readings, we both had a mutual understanding of the importance of the two articles, and how we should adapt the techniques discussed. Also, your final sentence that brings up how media content we receive today has effects on everyone was a great way to finish your thoughts. I think you are right by saying that we should also largely consider the aspect of media content we consume.