- Your Background Beliefs
Each one of us has a worldview – an interpretive framework through which we view life. Worldviews are composed of our core beliefs and commitments. They are the sum total of the background beliefs that we have.
This week, you will share some of your core beliefs that make up your worldview. These can be general beliefs or specific beliefs, but make sure they are among the most important beliefs that you hold. Refer to Chapter 1 in your book for more information about worldviews. Here are some examples of beliefs you might include:
Human nature is fundamentally good/bad.
It is always wrong to lie to someone.
Anyone can succeed at a task if they put the effort into it.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
- Cogent Reasoning
The goal of an argument, as we are using the term, is to persuade. Specifically, a good argument persuades someone into adopting a conclusion that is rational on the basis of its premises.
This week, you will recount a time when you were persuaded or had your mind changed by a good argument.
Make sure that you identify a situation in which you were convinced or had your mind changed on the basis of good evidence.
Note: An “argument” for the purposes of this class does not refer to a verbal altercation, but a collected series of statements intended to prove some conclusion.
- Moral Decision-Making
There are many different moral theories, each of which provides a different way of analyzing the moral dilemmas we face in our lives. These moral theories provide a systematic framework for making reasoned moral decisions.
This week, you will write about a time in which you had to make a difficult moral decision.
Which moral theory did you use?
What steps did you take to make the decision?
What was your reasoning process?
4.Faulty Inferences
While there are various kinds of fallacies, all share one common feature: they are errors of reasoning. We engage in fallacious reasoning when we fail to satisfy the three requirements of cogent reasoning (see Chapter 1 in your textbook).
This week, you will write about a time in which you were persuaded by fallacious reasoning.
What was the fallacious reasoning?
Why was it fallacious?
Why were you convinced?
How did you discover that the reasoning you were initially persuaded by was in fact fallacious?