Begging the Question

There are many ways to violate the principal of rational discussion.Begging the question is a fallacy in which the conclusion is presumed to be true without any evidence other than the claim. The claim is thought of to be already valid, but no reason why the claim is true. The Epstein edition states that begging the question is “The point of an argument is to convince that a claim is true.  So the premises of an argument have to be more plausible than the conclusion”.

Example: 

Past-life memories of children prove that past lives exist because the children could have no other source for their memories besides having lived in the past.

This example is a fallacy because it is presumed that past lives do happen because children have past-life memories.  There is no evidence proving the claim that children have had past life memories.  The whole argument is invalid.

Leadership and Decision Making in Groups and Teams

One interesting thing I found in the Essential Guide to Group Communication reading was about the many different types of leadership. A leadership is when a person in a superior position has the ability to get a group of conflicting interest all in the same accord. There are four different types of leadership: Authoritarian, Consultative, Participative, and Laissez-faire. The authoritarian is the leader that dictates the rules and agenda. They direct all activities, but rarely participate. The consultative leader style seeks the opinion of its team and subordinates. Consultative leaders like to consider all information before making any decision. They are also task orientated. The participative leader does not dictate their decisions. They look to involve everyone in the decision making process. They like become part of the team. Laissez-fair is that leader that leads as a non-authoritarian. Rarely is any guidance given to subordinates and assistants. They are not much of a leader

3 Test For An Argument To Be Good

There are three requirements an argument must contain in order to be good. For an argument to be good the premise are plausible. Premise is more plausible than the conclusion. The argument is valid or strong. An example of a good argument test would be:

Example:  All players in the NFL went to college

               Peyton Manning is in the NFL

               Therefore Peyton Manning went to college

Analysis: The premise of the argument is true. The conclusion is also true. This is a valid argument because there is no possible way for both the conclusion and premise to be false.  The premise is plausible because it is a requirement for all NFL players to complete three years of college before they enter the NFL. The second premise is also plausible .The conclusion cannot be false because in order for Peyton Manning to play in the NFL, he had to go to college.  There for the argument is a good one.

Valid Argument vs Strong Argument

A valid argument is an argument in which the premise is true and the conclusion has to be true as well . You cannot argue against a valid claim illogically.


Example: Pit bulls are frequently viewed as viscous animals. So as a breed they are often euthanized.


This is a valid argument because  it is true that Pit Bulls are the most euthanized breed. The premise is possible making the argument a good one.


A strong argument is an argument in which the the conclusion is possibly true because the premise is true. There is still a possibility for the conclusion to be false too.


Example:  All students who study hard get A's. Derek studies hard, so Derek gets A's


This is a strong argument because there is a logical claim. There is still a possibility for the argument to be false though. Just because Derek studies hard does not guarantee that he will get an A.