Respond 02/09-02/11

1. I think if the first claim is not proven yet, I don’t think the second claim can help the first one. It is hard to elaborate and chain the reasons if we do not have the bridge, which the ‘accepted claim’. If the arguer wants to refer to the second claim, in order to make sense of the first one, I think it is not going to work. I think the second claim will turn out to be the first, which will bring reason to discover the second claim. I agree with the level of dispute. In order to prove the unproven claim, we must find out the proven argument then we can move to find out the unproven claim.

2. I think there are differences between what the arguers’ thinking vs. the arguer’s words. There are several points why the arguer is not truly conveyed what their intentions are. It is because of their situation and the audience. Their situation is the important thing that will affect their words. I think the article gave a very good example of the President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. However, I don’t think that the entire messages that he delivered were come purely from his heart. He delivered the Address and said that all people should honor those who died. In the other hand, I think it was because of the situation that the United States was in the hard time and the audience needed his support to rebuild their country. Therefore, he wrote the Address that will encourage his people – The American. We never know what he was truly thinking. In my home country, we should not argue or tell our intention directly, because it will hurt someone’s feeling. If we want to argue we should choose a polite ways or languages that will support our ideas, and not hurting their feelings. So, I agree with the text that “how our language choice affects our arguments.”

3. I do have a same experience like Venus had. I never think deeply about argument. Sometimes, if I have an argument with my friends, I probably will leave the place or just agree with them, so the problem will solve immediately. Argument is a process of communication. Even though, sometimes it happens inside of yourself, but you still communicate with your inner speech. When I read about this question, I find myself thinking of the STOP sign. When I pass the STOP sign, I get the message that I must stop for three second before I continue. People never argue about the STOP sign, because they know what it is for. Sometimes, argument is not happening because we do not put our interest in the matter; however, if we think about matters that surrounds us, everything can be the justification for the argument.