Logical Fallacy #3

A common logical fallacy is termed Ad Misericordiam, or an “appeal to emotion”. These appeals can be identified by direct pleas to human emotional responses such as fear, guilt, hate, and sympathy. This is arguably one of the most dangerous logical fallacies to fall victim to since it preys on the oftentimes simpler option—to merely feel rather than use of our logic and critical thinking skills. With a strictly emotional basis to an argument, the ability to make an informed decision that considers all possible data and views is nearly impossible. However, it is simple to get worked up over an issue based solely on the emotional weight the topic carries (say for example, the “right” to die or abortion campaigns) which can cloud judgment and decision-making capacity if not immediately recognized as a logical and rhetorical fallacy. It would seem that these rhetorical strategies seem, in many cases, to carry the most debate and controversy because of their very basis in emotion rather than in solidempirical evidence (at least in many cases).

Here is an example below:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/books/how_salinger_was_scarred_JhMzoy9ELrOiMw2w83UEQI

Critical Reasoning And Public Education

The main critical reasoning strategies that I emphasized in my essay were analyzing the facts and seeing the issue from the perspective of other people. With the issue of public education, it is important to interpret the statistics about who exactly benefits and who is harmed by the lack of education. Poor minorities are typically affected from public education, but wealthy are able to take advantage of the system. The purpose of public education should be to give everyone an equal shot, but wealthier minorities tend to have better grades and test scores than poor minorities. Rather than punishing certain groups and helping others, public education should be replaced by a plan to improve low-income schools. If all the elementary and high schools in the U.S. become more equal, then there will be no need for racial preferences in the college admission system. This will help to both eliminate complaints of reverse discrimination against Whites and Asians, while it will improve the educational situation for poor Blacks and Latinos.

Logical Fallacy #2: Michael Jordan

Appealing to celebrity is one of the most common forms of fallacious appeal to authority. Celebrity endorsement of products is so common that we hardly notice it or wonder why Michael Jordan is trying to sell us underwear. Moreover, in addition to products, celebrities often endorse political candidates, and during every presidential election year each candidate rounds up his own stable of famous supporters. In addition, celebrities publicly espouse every political, religious, and charitable cause, and some has-beens build second careers in the public eye as spokespeople for causes.

Public Education Woes

Public education in impoverished areas is a major problem for its residents. Many people living in these urban areas simply do not have the money to send their children to private schools and receive the best education possible. Public education in inner cities should provide children with the same opportunities regarding college acceptance and in general a quality education that will help them succeed in life.

What sparked my interest in this topic was that I received a public education my entire life. Thankfully I was able to defy all the odds against me and by working really hard, I got accepted into USC. During my childhood, I always wanted to receive a private education, but now I look back at it and I am completely satisfied because I had a blast with all of my classmates.

Logical Fallacy #1: Tag Body Spray

The commercials for Tag body spray contain a blatant and hilarious faulty cause-effect fallacy. The fallacy is if you wear Tag body spray, beautiful women will be very strongly attracted to you.  In one of the ads, a guy puts Tag on before picking up his date at her parent’s house.  When the girl’s mom answers the door and smells the boy, she becomes attracted to him and makes a pass at him.  In another commercial a female wrestler attacks a guy wearing Tag, and there is also a commercial where a guy is mobbed by chicks in a grocery store.  These commercials end with a warning that says something to the effect of the makers of Tag body spray cannot be held liable if any injuries occur while wearing Tag in the vicinity of female wrestler, etc.  If the argument of these commercials is you should buy Tag, then the effect of the fallacy on the argument is it says if you buy this product, you will get laid more.

Welcome To The D

The city of Detroit probably has the worst reputation in all of the United States. Detroit is known for crime, drugs, violence, and abandoned buildings. Currently, Detroit ranks as the 3^rd most dangerous city in the United States behind St. Louis and Camden, NJ. The reason behind the downfall of Detroit is largely due to the automotive industry. Detroit’s economy was primarily based on the success of the automotive industry, and ever since the Big 3 (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) became on the brink on bankruptcy, Detroit has greatly suffered. For this paper, I have researched the gentrification and current state of Detroit’s economy.

Even though the population of Detroit is declining every single year, the city of Detroit is making drastic changes to make it a better place to live. There have been many private investors such as Mike Ilitch (Owner of the Red Wings, Tigers, and Pistons) to revitalize the downtown area. Mr. Ilitch has a vision to make Detroit a better place and that includes new sports arenas and the destruction of the abandoned buildings. Mike Ilitch and other private investors have been working with the local government to make improvements to their hometown. I have also lived in Detroit my entire life, and I am seeing these improvements everyday.

USC's Master Plan

USC’s University Park Master Plan sounds like a great idea to improve the surrounding community and the campus itself. USC is creating a healthier and better living environment for its students and for the current citizens who live near campus. There are many parts of the Master Plan that I think are great such as the plan that will maximize benefits, minimize harm and address issues of common concern (e.g., traffic, parking, housing, community health and safety), but I also think that USC should not change the community as a whole. What make USC so diverse and a great place to go to school is its surrounding community and the people living in it. In addition to the rebuilding of Jefferson Street, these new buildings will create jobs that can help the local economy.

The only thing that I would change to USC’s Master Plan is to increase the security of the surrounding neighborhood. An increase in security would be necessary especially if the community would be renovated into a “better” area. Besides the increase in security, I believe the Master Plan will make USC a better and more engaging place for students to live and learn.

Enrique's Journey

I thought that Sonia Nazario's presentation was truly amazing. Sonia Nazario is a passionate journalist and she began studying on the journey of Latin Americans to the United States. I was blown away when she said that 4 in 10 people are foreign born in Los Angeles and the State of California has over 11 million illegal immigrants. After the presentation, I thought about the problems of immigration, and believe that the United States should support Central American countries economic problems.

The lecture opened up my eyes to the devastating lives that thousands of kids live everyday, and that we should not take our lifestyle for granted. I think that it is great that Sonia Nazario is standing up for what she believes in and creating awarness about illegal immigration and the struggles of the poor kids involved.

Looking Back At The Freedom Mississippi Summer

I learned many things about this event that I never knew before. While researching about the Mississippi Freedom Summer, I realized that I barely knew anything about this crucial event during the civil rights movement. I also came across many interesting literary works, articles, and discussions that gave me insight about the topic. I learned that without the 1,000 white volunteers from the north, this movement would have ended before it even started. It was crucial for whites and blacks to fight for a single cause and this was the beginning of the relationship in America between both races.

My perception on the topic did change. I have always wanted to study the African American Civil Rights Movement in further depth and I never knew that the Freedom Summer was so crucial to the civil rights movement. I am so glad that I chose this topic and learned about its importance. I wish I would of had the opportunity to learn about this topic in high school.

Mississippi Freedom Summer

The topic I have chosen for our next assignment is about the Mississippi Freedom Summer. Before doing some research on black social movements, I had never heard of the Freedom Summer. I believe that this summer in 1964 was a huge stepping-stone for African Americans to gain civil rights. Since I have never heard of this important social movement, I doubt that I am the only one and there should an emphasis for high schools to educate their students about a very important social movement in the 1960’s. The Mississippi Freedom Summer was an attempt to register as many African American as possible, and in the end it helped break down the decades of people's isolation and repression that were the foundation of the Jim Crow system. This is why I believe the Mississippi Freedom Summer is a perfect event that should be re-evaluated.

Improvements for Social Network Activism

Social network activism is often criticized that there is a lack of commitment by the people involved and that they do not follow through with supporting the cause after they make a donation or join a group on Facebook. I believe that movements could make better use of social network activism by creating more awareness, and actually make people leave their house to participate. Now, people would have to leave the comfort of their house to support their cause, and this would show true commitment to the cause.

These movements would help improve the outreach and follow through efforts because the people who came out to support their cause obviously have a strong view on a particular issue. If these people come out to support their cause, so they would have follow through efforts and come back to other efforts. Other ways to improve this would be by signing up for a Facebook group, you would have to either donate money or come out to a sponsored event. This would eliminate random people from supporting the cause and people who are not committed.

Social Network Activism

In the past couple of years I have participated in a couple forms of “social network activism.” In today’s society, it is very easy to practice social network activism because of the Internet and especially websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Many companies use these websites for petitions or to create awareness of certain problems.

Through Facebook, I have joined many groups to gather information about a issue in my hometown, and shared this information with my friends. Also, after the earthquake in Haiti, my parents and I donated money through their hotline. Even though I have participated in various acts of social network activism, I have not followed through in any way after the initial action.

Effectiveness of the Old Spice Guy

As I mentioned in my previous post, the Old Spice Guy has dramitaclly helped Old Spice sell many of their products. The Old Spice Guy portays a positive image of the company and the ads appeal to not only men but to women as well. Humor is a huge part of these commercials, and since you cannot take him seriously, no previous racial sterotypes are portrayed. Isaiah talks in such a confident manner and the way he is always without a shirt makes men want to be like him and it also makes women want their own man to be like him. The special effects surrounidng him also make these ad campaigns very effective. Since the Old Spice Guy can pretty much do anything known to mankind, who wouldn’t want to be just like him and even more importantly, smell like him. Overall, the Old Spice Guy ads are extremely effective and appeal to anybody who is watching.

Old Spice Guy

Old Spice was founded in 1934 and ever since has been one of the most popular brands for men's products. Old Spice has a wide variety of products such as deodorant sticks, body washes, and body sprays. Old Spice has sailing ships as their trademark and on July 14th 2010, Old Spice launched the fastest growing online viral video campaign ever, earning 6.7 million views after 24 hours! Isaiah Mustafa is the infamous Old Spice Guy and ever since his first commercial has been aired, Old Spice sales have risen dramatically.


Not only has Old Spice benefited from these commercials, but Isaiah has also been offered many movie roles since the debut of his commercial. The general public has loved these commercials because of the great dialog and brilliant special effects. This marketing campaign by Old Spice is pure brilliance and I don’t believe any part of the campaign should be changed. These commercials make you want to buy Old Spice and I must admit that I am a victim of these commercials. Old Spice has created some of the best commercials of the year and has set a new standard for marketing campaigns around the world.