ARGUMENTUM AD HOMINEM fallacy- the fallacy of attacking the character or circumstances of an individual who is advancing a statement or an argument instead of trying to disprove the truth of the statement or the soundness of the argument. Often the argument is characterized simply as a personal attack. After finding an apartment and finally moving out of my mother’s house was the most stimulating feeling in the world. A once friend of mine was having issues with her father and she asked if she could move with me, after having discussions we sat down to set some rules for boundaries, later thinking it over I said sure why not. One of those rules was that our boyfriends could not move in, I chose not to live with my once boyfriend because of my children and I was young. A few weeks had passed and everything was going fine until one Friday night my once roommate wanted to go to a club, I chose not to go because I just wanted to relax. We got into an argument about that, and she started saying how I’m acting old before my time and that I need to live life, have fun. I worked all week I wasn’t going anywhere for nobody. Then 2 months later I get home from work and who had moved in, yes her boyfriend. I said to her I thought that one of the agreements we had was no boy friend to move in. Right off the bat, she says I don’t see how you do it how you going to have a man and not need him next to you, you must be gay. Because I need someone next to me and to @#&*! me at night. I was taken aback by her statement and was getting angry because she just defaming my character (remind you this is my once best friend). With an angry comeback I said I’m raising a young man and a young lady I don’t have time to play house with guys when I know my priorities. After that it got real ugly, words were going back and forth, and she had no regards as to my feeling or my children’s regards to see a complete stranger living there, she was only thinking about getting @#&*! The next day I told her that I’m not living like this and that she would have to go. We only lived together for 6 months but it seemed longer when all you do is argue and that’s not the environment I was creating for my children.
ARGUMENT FROM IGNORANCE - also known as appeal to ignorance (in which ignorance stands for "lack of evidence to the contrary"), is a fallacy in informal logic. It asserts that a proposition is true because it has not yet been proven false (or vice versa). I found this fallacy to be very interesting because everyday we deal with ignorance from someone we know and sometimes from people we don’t know. One sunny afternoon, I was on Jamaica Avenue doing some shopping and decided to have a slice of pizza before heading home. I take my slice to the table sit down and started eating when this lady walks up to everyone sitting at their tables in the back asking for change to feed her 3 kids. Everyone turns her down or ignores her. She walks over to my table asking for change to feed her kids (she is by herself), I turned around looking for her 3 children and I didn’t see any children waiting for their mother to return. I ask her where are your children? She says they are outside waiting for me, I said to my self that’s kind of strange to leave children out of sight in this dangerous times we live in, they can easily be kidnapped. So, I said to her, bring them in and I will buy them a pie, with the quickness and sarcastic tone in her voice she says, I don’t need you to buy them a pie! I wanted to argue with this women but what good it do me, so I kindly told this women that I am not going to give her money if I don’t see any hungry children that she claims are outside waiting for her to return. She got mad and walked away. There are reasons why I don’t like to give money to people who claim they are in dire need of finance’s. In this particular situation, I didn’t give her money because:
1. I didn’t see any children
2. She had on a fresh weave and Mac makeup
In this pretension it has been proven false because she could and would not prove her claim for the reasons why she needed financial help.
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MEMORY BIASES
CHILDHOOD AMNESIA: I can remember a few things of my childhood before I turned 4 years old. When I would ask my mom about certain things she would look at me strange and say “how do you remember that”? Just certain things I would see or hear would jot my memory scale. I remember the first time I met my older brother Joseph. When my mom was pregnant with me he was in the military, when Joseph came I was 2 years old. I remember being in my mother’s arms and we were standing by the door awaiting his arrival. When he stepped inside he just looked at me and then looked at my mother and asked who is this? My mom said this is your sister, Darla. I just found it amazing that I can remember those small incidents that now are precious memories to me.
CONSISTENCY
BIAS: I remember in my teen-age years how me and my
friend Andrea was the best of friends, we were thick as thieves. We went
shopping together, worked at the same place, wore the same color outfits, and
even borrowed each others clothes. One
day I was at her house and we got into this huge argument, over what I don’t remember,
but it was bad. We had stopped talking
for many years. I left high school to
work full time and I never saw her again.
Thank God for Facebook, we reconnected, talked and laughed like we never
even had that argument that day. I
thought that if we seen each other again she would be this horrible person she
was that day at her house, but she wasn’t and she actually said she missed our
friendship and glad that we are friends again.
It has been 5 years since we reconnected and I have to say that the
person who we use to be, we are not anymore.
Everyone grows and change. Sometimes
separations make the heart grow fonder.
HINDSIGHT
BIAS: I have a neighbor who is a street
pharmacist. And, he is the laziest
person I know. He makes his deals anywhere
to anyone at anytime. He’s not very
careful about his surroundings, I just think he doesn’t care and he probably
thinks he’s invincible. One Friday I’m
on my way to school and I noticed how his car was parked, it was closer to the
street than the curb. Not thinking too
much into the vehicle I go on about my way.
But I noticed that the car was parked like that the whole weekend,
saying to myself did this fool get arrested?
As, I’m coming home from school that following Monday, my next door
eyewitness news neighbor who is always into some one’s business say’s to me,
did you hear? And, as nosey as I am, I
said hear what? My neighbor said Darren
got arrested Friday morning. He was
going to his car and was about to pull off when the cops surrounded his car and
took him in. All I could say to my self
I knew this man would know what happened, and I had a feeling Darren was going
to get arrested. I wanted to speak to
him about his lazy ways but who am I to him to where he would listen or even
take advice from me. So, I didn’t say
anything. But to know that you can see
things happening is kind of scary yet, you can be
alarming yourself to certain things that are happening around you.
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The Nature vs. Nurture of Development
Nurture:
Let’s start with Nurture. Nurture is what you get from your parent’s, grandparents, aunt’s, uncle’s or even a foster parent. I want share a story of a young boy by the name of George Stinney Jr. This was a young boy who was born in the south on October 21, 1929 and was executed June 16, 1944. Young George was only the tender age of 15. The Judicial system gave George the longest 81 days of his life.
George was arrested on suspicion on murdering two young girls, ages 8 and 11. They disappeared one afternoon and never returned home, by that evening a search team gathered and started looking for the girls, only to find them the next morning dead in a muddy filled creek. Both girls suffered extensive force trauma to the face and head. In addition, the genitalia of the older girl had been bruised. Someone mentioned that they last seen the girls talking to George. From there, the sheriff arrested George with no evidence that he was the one who killed the girls. The Family suffered terribly behind this ordeal. George’s father was fired from his job and the family was threatend everyday to leave their home and town, if they stayed, each one would be lynched. They left to never return again. This is where Nurture has failed George because his parents were forced to leave, they weren’t their with him to nurture him through that tough time in his life.
Nature:
I looked up the word Nature and it say’s a kind or class usually distinguished by fundamental or essential characteristics. To me, that means that it takes a village to raise a child. And, he should have been given that right to have someone there to help him any way they possibly could. But, with the vindictive people in town George was alone and scared. During his trail, George’s lawyer did not ask the witness’s any questions nor did he present any evidence to vindicate young George. There was no evidence against him, no DNA to prove he raped that little girl and after 10 minuets of the jury deliberation he was convicted with the death penalty. Many years later, the sheriff that arrested George was on his death bed and confessed that he lied to the jury. Sad to say that the town was against George from the beginning and wanted to see him suffer. What’s wrong with this story, there was no Nature or Nurture given. George and his parents sustained a horrible ordeal by the hands of people who were baneful. In 2004 the case was reopened to get George Stinney Jr. name exonerated, after 10 long years the case was vacated.
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Sensation and Perception
Part I
Imagine waking up on the wrong side of the bed, and you’re in a grumpy mood.
Seems like everyone and everything is getting on your last nerves and you just want to stay
home in the dark and be alone. Just because I’m having on of those days, some may say
she’s just moody or temperamental and don’t want to be bothered. Either way, I don’t.
I have a right to this feeling as long as I don’t bring anyone else into my dark world I’m living
in for the moment. It’s a part of life and people are entitled to be moody in their own rights.
Part II
I’m moody, nope, it doesn’t work that way – I perceive this now this way at this point in my
life. When feeling this way have you noticed that certain sounds make you feel better?
Like music, just to hear a favorite song ease’s the pain away and you find yourself singing
the song like the song was written for you at that moment. Or, what about a baby’s laughter,
who could resist smiling when you hear a baby’s laugh. A child’s laughter is a precious
moment that no one can pass up, and it changes your mood entirely.
So when you’re feeling down, upset or angry you should do something that will change
your mood and you will have a different outlook on the day.
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Free will vs. Determinism
Free will: I worked for the city for over 15 years before they decided to let me go. I was crushed and felt betrayed for what they had done. After picking myself up, I had to decide what I needed to do with my life. I chose to return to school to get my G.E.D. and go to college to become a stenographer so I can build a solid foundation for me and my children. My free will was deciding that I have a choice and I chose to exercise my rights to secure my future without anyone telling me how I should live.
Determinism: I realize that everyone has obstacles in life, whether it’s working full time to support yourself or raising small children. I have an under active thyroid which makes me sleepy all the time, I refuse to let that hinder me or make it an excuse as to why I couldn’t continue my journey. My biggest supporters are my children and they encourage me everyday, and that what keeps me going.
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Experiment Proposal
QUESTION OF INTEREST: Who is more harmful for the community: drug dealers or drug abusers?
HYPOTHESIS: Statistically speaking, drug abusers are more harmful to the community because there are more drug abusers than drug dealers. Not to mention what abusers are willing to do for the drug if they can’t afford it themselves. They’re willing to lie, steal, and kill for another chance to get “high”.
The mind of a drug abuser is not right while they’re under the influence. The abuser tends to hallucinate which causes them to act belligerent while losing their common sense.
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION: How do we classify who is a drug abuser? What does abusing entail? How do we classify who is a drug dealer? What does dealing entail? What do we mean by harmful?
PRELIMINARY RESEARCH: Substance abuse treatment: greenhousetreatment.com or read THE REAL DRUG DEALERS by Fred Leavitt
Experimenter’s thoughts: During my study I’ve learned that most drug dealers aren’t selling illegal drugs in their own community for their selfish reasons. Most turn to selling drugs because its fast money and they need the money “now”, to support their families.
As for the drug abuser who is being selfish enough to abuse drugs knowing that it can kill them. They’re only worried about themselves.
