Slippery Slope Examples

The Slippery Slope is the idea that when something happens another event will occur due to the previous one. It is a chain reaction and really no explanation as to why it happens. The Nizkor Project has a good idea to the explanation of what the Slippery Slope equation looks like, "This "argument" has the following form: 
1. Event X has occurred (or will or might occur). 
2. Therefore event Y will inevitably happen."
It is interesting to think about how something happens because of something else. There are a lot of examples in life that can agree with this idea. Some of the examples I found it does not make sense as to why these events happen because of something else. I believe this comic is a good example because it shows how by doing one thing it prevents bad things from happening. The Slippery Slope can be thought of as something you do to avoid other things. A lot of the examples can be negative, but there can also be positive ideas as well.  

Links:
http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/slippery-slope.html
http://pactiss.org/2008/09/09/slippery-slope-cartoon/ 

Slippery Slope

An example of a slippery slope fallacy is a supervisor at a company wants to let his employees personalize their work space, and be able to use the internet for certain research and on their breaks.  But, the owner of the company says, "no way."  She believes that if she lets them put up pictures of family then eventually inappropriate pictures will be hung on the wall and harassment lawsuits will be filed.  She also says that the company will fold if employees are allowed to have internet access because their productivity will go down and the company will suffer.  These are large leaps to take from the initial requests from the supervisor.

http://study.com/academy/lesson/slippery-slope-fallacy-definition-examples.html

Logical Fallacies in advertising

Through researching logical fallacies I realized that in today's society, logical fallacies are everywhere. I decided to research logical fallacies in advertisements because it shows how we are influenced by these logical fallacies on a daily basis.
Slippery slope:

 

Allstate teenage girl commercial:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtP-S9OS0o0

This is slippery slope because the driver is a teenage girl it will inevitably lead to a car accident.
Appeal to celebrity:
 
Drake supporting sprite:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nBxcMImubk
Commericals use celebrities constantly based on the logical fallacy that if a celebrity uses a product, you should too.

Commercials use a variety of logical fallacies which we as consumers can uncover to not get influenced in buying a product based on a fallacy.

Fallacies

The Purdue OWL has some fantastic examples of fallacies. One category of those are Ignorantio Elenchi fallacies, or Irrelevant Conclusions. A subtype of this is the Straw Man fallacy, which oversimplifies the opponent's viewpoint and then attacks that hollow view. For example,

People who don't support the proposed state minimum wage hate the poor. 

I competed in collegiate policy debate my first semester of college and this was absolutely the most frustrating sort of argumentation, because an effective straw man makes the opponent look ignorant if they are unable to recognize the fallacy and combat it. The name of the fallacy explains why it is so frustrating to be a victim of this false logic. A professor from Carson-Newman University explained it this way: the straw man comes from the idea of a boxer fashioning an opponent out of straw and then easily knocking it over in the ring before a cheering audience. His victory; of course, "is a hollow mockery, because the straw-stuffed opponent is incapable of fighting back". An opponent who uses this kind of logic can have the same effect, making you feel like a straw person with no ability to fight back. Like this comic illustrates, no matter what side of an argument you present in the face of a straw man you are wrong, and stupid to boot.

Comic from http://stripgenerator.com/strip/589005/click-clack-straw-man/

New Blog Topic

Thank you all for your thoughtful and interesting contributions to the previous blog topic. I found it very interesting, and I learned a lot!

If you have more to post on the previous topic, or if you've not posted yet, you still can, anytime. Consider that topic an open one...

Meanwhile, let's take up a new topic. We will soon turn our attention to logic, and along with it, the question of a type of argument known as a "logical fallacy." A logical fallacy is an argument that might be true, or it might not be...or it might, or not...but the argument does not present enough information to decide whether it's true or false, BUT the argument is persuasive.

We will study some of these logical fallacies in the next week or two. They include arguments like the argumentum ad absurdum - an argument used by both Socrates (or Plato, at least) and Zeno (the disciple of Parmenides). Another fallacy is the slippery slope argument: this event will lead to this next event, which will lead to this next event, and then APOCALYPSE! In both fallacies just mentioned, the problem is that it might be true, or it might not be true, but we don't have enough evidence to decide one way or another. In the case of an argumentum ad absurdum, the one absurd consequence that results from the argument or definition does not prove that all consequences are absurd. To make the stronger claim (that the definition or argument is absurd), we need more evidence. Likewise, in a slippery slope argument, it might be that 'A' will lead to 'B', and 'B' to 'C,' and so forth, but it might not, therefore, we need more information.

Okay, enough theory. I want you to "research" a bit about logical fallacies, and then post some examples of the fallacies you find. Wikipedia is a (bad) starting point, but I recommend using the Stanford Online Encyclopedia of Philosophy, or the Online Encyclopedia of Philosophy (from the University of Tennessee, I believe). If you need other sources, please let me know.

One more 'hint': there are a number of books of fallacies, including Jeremy Bentham's Handbook of Political Fallacies. Feel free to be creative. I recently encountered a fallacy I didn't know the name of (never heard of it before). In a text I was reading, the author presented a metaphor for something in one paragraph, and in the next paragraph, took the metaphor as if it was fact. I don't even know what that fallacy is called, yet.

Rhetoric = the art of persuasion.
Persuasion can be used to convince people of the true or the false.
Therefore, it can be used by unscrupulous people for their purposes.
But remember, rhetoric, like fallacies, might be true, or not...or....

Metaphors for life

Metaphors are powerful because they help us put things into a expanded perspective. I noticed that Socrates constantly uses metaphors so that abstract concepts can be put into more simple comparisons. I decided to search for metaphors for life because life is an enormous concept that can be simplified or defined through metaphors.
Here are some examples: 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwizrvPalMnNAhXi1IMKHV5NAl8QjRwIBw&url=%2Furl%3Fsa%3Di%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dimages%26cd%3D%26cad%3Drja%26uact%3D8%26ved%3D0ahUKEwjA08_VlMnNAhUIzoMKHVbABY8QjRwIBw%26url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.pinterest.com%252Falisonrbcm%252Fmetaphors-for-life%252F%26psig%3DAFQjCNEC14HLodMCgqmwIOs5yI0iC5w28g%26ust%3D1467149605685879&psig=AFQjCNEC14HLodMCgqmwIOs5yI0iC5w28g&ust=1467149605685879

 https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjs2szrlMnNAhWj64MKHfQ0ACkQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.quora.com%2FWhat-do-you-think-is-the-best-metaphor-of-life&psig=AFQjCNEC14HLodMCgqmwIOs5yI0iC5w28g&ust=1467149605685879
   https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiV9Ln4lMnNAhWq7IMKHc6kAI8QjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F181340322470693146%2F&psig=AFQjCNEC14HLodMCgqmwIOs5yI0iC5w28g&ust=1467149605685879

In addition I found this picture which explains metaphors and I think it is very relevant:

http://www.passionatelifeconsulting.com/uploads/1/2/2/6/12266291/2214615.png?576http://www.passionatelifeconsulting.com/uploads/1/2/2/6/12266291/2214615.png?576

Parables

A parable is a very useful way of conveying meaning. It is similar to an allegory, though it is undergirded by a specific message or call to action. The image above depicts the message of the parable of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-22. 
Jesus frequently used parables in his teaching, many of which were confusing and left the hearers feeling bewildered and unsure what was being communicated. When asked by his disciples why he taught in parables, his answer was that he wasn't trying to hide the message from them, it was that their hearts weren't ready to receive or understand. Once someone had accepted the source of the teachings (Jesus himself) their ears and eyes were opened to understand the message he brought (like the disciples). This truth can be cross applied to a variety of different meanings - without the willingness to understand metaphors, allegories, and models; we will remain stuck in our own preconceived notions and never expand our minds to larger horizons.
Image from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsHTvUo8k0Q.

Consciousness

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christof_Koch

http://www.klab.caltech.edu/koch/

Christof Koch is a neuroscientist who studied the neural bases of consciousness.  He wanted to study the brain and human consciousness and how we see what we see through our nerve cells and learn to identify something through our nerve cells.  He believed that a computer properly programmed to copy the connections of the human brain could itself be consciousness.
When I saw this model it made me think of the Matrix/Allegory of the Cave as we've been discussing what we see and how we perceive it and make it real to us.  Our senses see something and that is what we believe it is.

As a kid, I loved The Wizard of Oz because I liked talking lions. It's a classic tale of a protagonist trying to find her way home, meeting wacky side characters who are also looking for meaning, and cackling witches trying to thwart their progress.


As an adult, I love The Wizard of Oz because I like macroeconomics. As it turns out, L. Frank Baum's iconic tale isn't a superficial story of a girl caught in a tornado. It's an allegory for the US's debates over whether or not to stay on the gold standard. However, those debates were long, confusing, and quite frankly boring. The allegory (like all allegories) served to simplify a complex issue and make it more entertaining and relatable. It's a lot less arduous to read or watch The Wizard of Oz than to research American political discussions of the early 1900s, and a lot more entertaining!

Scientific Model

http://www.psychstat.missouristate.edu/introbook/sbk04.htm
In my opinion this model shows a physical relationship between the so called "real world" and the so called "real world results". I thought this was even more interesting considering The Matrix and the Allegory of the Cave contemplate what is the real world. Scientific models are scientifically proven, so there must be evidence, a conclusion, data, ect;

Marissa's examples of Metaphors and Models/ why metaphors help us communicate

 

http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2012/09/28/sql-server-a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words-a-collection-of-inspiring-and-funny-posts-by-vinod-kumar/ 

This can be considered a metaphor because a picture cannot be traded for the value of a thousand words. This is just an idea that a painting can tell different stories, the painting itself is a story, not just a bunch of words. 

http://qz.com/505664/video-an-awe-inspiring-model-of-our-solar-system-built-to-scale/

This can be a model of the solar system. It allows us to understand what the solar system is and how it is set up. A model is used to help us understand facts, since this model shows our solar system we can learn the order of the planets based on their distance from the sun. 

I believe metaphors can be used to help understand bigger concepts because understand something small is easier. By comparing things we are allowed to image something we know very well then compare it to something confusing. Metaphors also help us understand the conditions of others. When we want to explain our feeling we can use metaphors to help explain to others. Such as, my heart hurt as if I was getting 5 shots. Usually everyone knows what shots feel like, painful. So in this case we learn that the heart was in pain due to the comparison. The idea of a small shot is really something bigger, someone going through a heartbreak. With metaphors communication becomes not only easier, but more fun as well.   

Why Metaphors Help Us Communicate

Metaphors are helpful in communication because they help us paint mental pictures. Comparisons in the forms of similes are especially good for this. Jeremy ran as fast as a cheetah. The dog was as still as a statue. Both these examples give emphasis to the action of the person/animal. Jeremy’s running is emphasized and the dog’s stillness is emphasized. Even though it is not possible that Jeremy could actually run as fast as a cheetah and that the dog could stay as still as a statue for an extended amount of time, it wouldn’t paint the same picture in your mind if I said that Jeremy ran really fast and the dog was really still. 

Sabrina