8 large questions and 1 essay
Using this week’s required readings as references, select one of the two topics below and respond to the aspects of the prompt in at least 400 words. The essay must be 400 words in length, excluding title and reference pages, and formatted according to APA style. If you would like to refer to APA samples and tutorials, review the APA Checklist within the Ashford Writing Center (https://awc.ashford.edu/cd-apa-checklist.html) located in the Learning Resources tab in the left navigation bar. This assignment can be completed by using the primary materials related to each prompt. Although you are required to use only one of these corresponding sources, you may choose to supplement your analysis with outside sources. Choose one: Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” Describe the movement of the person in Plato’s “ Allegory of the Cave .” Identify all the stages in this movement and then explain how this allegory relates to your own life. Analyze what Plato is trying to convey about the nature of social reality and the outcomes of that reality for most of us? Finally, examine Plato’s idea about the best type of life. How does one reach this best form of existence? Do you think that Plato’s ideas about the best type of life actually reflect the best type of life? Why or why not? Dubois’s “Of the Sons of Master and Man” What is Dubois’s primary goal in this work? Explain two of the interactive relationships that Dubois examines in this essay. Next, determine how Dubois claims the African American experience differs from or is similar to the White experience in these two relationships. Explain an instance from your own life or the life of someone you know that reflects biased treatment of a certain ethnic group. What were the assumptions of the people who treated others this way and were those assumptions justified? Why, or why not? The Ashford Writing Center (AWC) has two kinds of tutoring available to you.
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Using the web pages associated with the Foundation for Critical Thinking website,choose one of the four topics below and respond to the aspects of the prompt in at least 400 words. The essay must be 400 words in length, excluding title and reference pages, and formatted according to APA style. If you would like to refer to APA samples and tutorials, review the APA Checklist within the Ashford Writing Center (https://awc.ashford.edu/cd-apa-checklist.html) located in the Learning Resources tab in the left navigation bar. The only resources you will need to complete this assignment are the web pages of the critical thinking website that relate to your chosen topic. However, if you would like to include other sources, that is encouraged. Just be sure that you utilize the critical thinking web pages as your primary sources of information. Choose one: Inference and Assumption Explain the difference between inference and assumption. Then, present four inferences you have made and connect those inferences to their underlying assumptions. Looking back, which of these were proper inferences, and which were improper inferences? Why? Purpose, Point of View, and Decisions Outline a problem that you currently face or have faced recently. Define the assumptions that you have about this issue. Explain your point of view, and outline the information that you have analyzed in relation to this problem. Finally, explain the implications that have arisen or will arise when you respond to this problem. Valuable Intellectual Traits Of the valuable intellectual traits listed in the online readings from this week, identify three of them that you believe you need to strengthen. Explain the traits, and then describe how you will attempt to implement actions in your life that will maximize those intellectual virtues. Open-Minded Inquiry Using the online reading “Open-minded Inquiry," identify what you consider to be the three most important attributes that one must have as he or she approaches problems. Explain why you think these attributes are the three most important, and describe examples from your own life, or from the lives of those you know, in which people failed to display those attributes. The Ashford Writing Center (AWC) has two kinds of tutoring available to you.
· Live Chat – If you have writing-related questions about a topic before you draft a discussion post or submit a written assignment, you will now be able to chat live with a tutor for a short (up to 20 minute) conversation. Live Chat will be available Monday through Friday from 10:00-11:00 am and 4:00-5:00 pm (PST). AWC Live Chat
· Email Paper Review – If you have a draft, partial draft, or even if you’re having trouble getting started, you can complete a submission form and email your paper to the AWC for review.
· Writing Tutors will do their best to return your paper with their comments within 48 hours, not including Saturdays and Sundays. Please plan accordingly if you would like to receive feedback before an assignment due date. AWC Email Paper Review
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment. In Week One, you were introduced to one of the most famous works in philosophy: Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” In another work by Plato, titled Apology, Socrates is on trial. The word apology in this context means defense. Socrates is presenting a defense of himself. In this reading, you will see how Socrates uses critical thinking to defend himself against the charges brought against him and the outcome of his trial. In fact, Socrates is generally recognized as being the founder of critical thinking. The Socratic method of questioning involves examining ideas in order to purify them and understand more about them. As you read the Apology , pay attention to the way that Socrates responds to his accusers and the methods he uses to present the argument that he is in fact innocent. The essay must be 400 words in length, excluding title and reference pages, and formatted according to APA style. If you would like to refer to APA samples and tutorials, review the APA Checklist within the Ashford Writing Center ( https://awc.ashford.edu/cd-apa-checklist.html ) located in the Learning Resources tab in the left navigation bar. The only required resource for this assignment is the Apology . This should be the piece that you primarily use to complete this assignment. Secondary sources are welcome but not necessary, and they may not be used in place of the Apology. After you have read the Apology, write a 400-word essay in which you:
a. Identify both sets of charges that were brought against Socrates.
b. Explain how Socrates responds to these charges, and identify the premises he uses to support his claims of innocence.
c. Explain what Socrates claims is his role in Athenian society and how he knows that this is his role.
d. Present your own view of Socrates’ guilt or innocence.
· Would you have voted to convict him or to set him free?
· Support your claims with your premises/reasons.
The Ashford Writing Center (AWC) has two kinds of tutoring available to you.
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· Writing Tutors will do their best to return your paper with their comments within 48 hours, not including Saturdays and Sundays. Please plan accordingly if you would like to receive feedback before an assignment due date. AWC Email Paper Review
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your Please choose one of the following videos:
· Slavoj Zizek in Examined Life
· Martin Luther King Jr. on NBC’s Meet the Press in 1965
· Alan Keyes v. Barack Obama debate on death penalty
For this assignment, you will outline at least one of the arguments that you believe are made in the video you selected. In your outline:
· Identify the issue that is addressed and the conclusion that is presented.
· Identify the premises that are given in support of that conclusion.
· Explain whether or not you think the argument is convincing by presenting your reasons for this position. If you do not have evidence for your position, you should consult scholarly materials that relate to the position you present.
Here is an example of an outline about an argument from the Monty Python Argument Clinic video. Utilize the same structure found in the example, but be sure to provide enough detail to satisfactorily complete all aspects of the prompt. There is no minimum word count, but you must include a title page and reference page in APA style. The only required resource for this assignment is the multimedia source you chose to analyze. This should be the source that you primarily use to complete the assignment. Secondary sources are welcome but not necessary, and they should not be used in place of the argument piece you selected. assignment.
Choose an argument that you found online (you may utilize an argument from a video posted online, a blog, a news source, a political website, or any other resource that will allow you to satisfactorily meet the requirements of the assignment). You may also select from this week’s relevant recommended resources. Once you have selected your source, you will then evaluate the argument being presented in the source in an essay of 400 words. In your evaluation:
a. Identify the issue, the premises, and conclusions of the argument.
b. Determine whether the argument is sound or unsound (deductive), valid or invalid (deductive), or strong or weak (inductive).
c. Explain why you have chosen to label it as sound or unsound, valid or invalid, and/or strong or weak.
Use the “ Steps for evaluating an argument ” template for assistance with structuring your evaluation; however, you should construct and submit your evaluation in an essay format. Do not merely turn in a bulleted outline. The essay must be 400 words in length, excluding title and reference pages, and formatted according to APA style. For information regarding APA formatting, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, located within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar in your online course. The only required resource for this assignment is the media object or written work you analyze. This should be the piece that you primarily use to complete this assignment. Secondary sources are welcome but not necessary, and they should not be used in place of the argument piece you analyze Having read the Apology, you now know that Socrates was convicted and given a punishment of death. This week you will read a dialogue called the Crito . Socrates is in jail awaiting his death and he is visited by his young friend, Crito. Crito presents an argument to Socrates that claims Socrates should escape from prison. In 400 words or more:
a. Explain the arguments Crito uses to try to persuade Socrates to escape from prison.
b. Identify the premises that he uses to support his claim that Socrates should escape.
c. Explain at least one of Socrates’s counterarguments that arise in relation to Crito’s argument.
d. Identify the premises Socrates uses to support his conclusion.
The essay must be 400 words in length, excluding title and reference pages, and formatted according to APA style. If you would like to refer to APA samples and tutorials, review the APA Checklist within the Ashford Writing Center ( https://awc.ashford.edu/cd-apa-checklist.html ) located in the Learning Resources tab in the left navigation bar. The only required resource for this assignment is the Crito . This should be the piece that you primarily use to complete this assignment. Secondary sources are welcome but not necessary and should not be used in place of the argument piece you analyze (the Crito). Before participating in this discussion, please make sure you have completed the readings and have comprehensively analyzed “ The Raise ” interactive scenario to ensure you can fully address the prompt. In “The Raise” scenario, you were asked to construct arguments in favor of getting a raise. Using the knowledge you gained from the “The Raise” scenario, pick something that you are passionate about and create an argument, either inductive or deductive, to present your strongest position on that issue. Present your argument in premise-conclusion form. View the following human rights videos listed under this week’s required multimedia:
· Gem Slaves: Tanzanite's child labour - Part – 1
· Why women count video clip collection: Southeast Asia, Pacific, Caribbean, Latin America
· Children and human rights, part 1: Rights & wrongs – Human rights television
· Child labor, part 1: Rights & wrongs – Human rights television
Focus your analysis on a specific contemporary human rights issue. You can use an issue from these videos or use what you learn in these videos to address another specific issue that is of interest to you. Use the “ Steps for Evaluating an Argument ” template to help you structure your response. After you have completed the argument template, you will then be able to use that template to write out a narrative response in which you cover all the elements that were included in the argument template. You must post to this discussion on at least four separate days of the week and your posts must total at least 600 words as you address this discussion. This means that, in order to receive full credit, your first post must be completed by Friday at the latest (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday would satisfy the four-day requirement). However, we encourage you to get into the discussion early in the week and begin interacting with your classmates and professor. Remember to post on at least four days in the week. Guided Response: Read the reflections of your classmates and analyze the issues that they identified. You might consider playing devil’s advocate to bring out more detail in the issue. You might also fill in areas that you felt your classmate missed. Did your classmate present a convincing argument? Why, or why not? Which part of the argument do you dispute (premise, conclusion, structure, etc.)? How might the argument be strengthened?
In your written component of the Final Project, you will analyze an argument in relation to a specific issue. Then, you will respond to that argument by providing a counterargument. Please choose one reading or media artifact from the Final Project Argument Options . Be sure to choose an issue in which you are interested and for which you have enough factual evidence to create a strong argument. Complete the steps below based on your chosen argument: Step One: Evaluate the Argument
a. Identify the issue that is addressed in the argument.
b. Explain the argument and identify the premises and conclusions.
c. Evaluate the argument.
· If the argument has a deductive component, is it valid and sound? Why?
· If the argument has an inductive component, is it strong or weak? Why?
· Remember that arguments often contain both inductive and deductive components. Do your best to identify all the arguments that are used to support the position presented in the piece.
Step Two: Create a Counterargument
a. Create a counterargument to the original argument.
· Present premises that support your own position while also pointing out the weaknesses inherent in the original argument. Avoid the use of fallacious reasoning and anecdotal evidence.
· If you are using inductive arguments, make sure that they are strong. If you are using deductive arguments, make sure that they are valid and attempt to provide sound premises.
· Use factual evidence and/or logical support from at least three scholarly sources to support your argument.
· This might require you to play “devil’s advocate.” Remember that you do not need to agree with the position for which you argue. You may need to take on an opposing position to your own personal view and argue from that position. Critical thinkers are able to take on opposing perspectives and identify the strongest arguments from those perspectives.
Choose one of the options below to present your argument evaluation and counterargument.
a. Written Assignment
· Must be 1100 to 1400 words in length, excluding the title page and reference page(s).
· Must include at least three scholarly sources to support the counterargument.
· Must be formatted according to APA 6th edition style guidelines as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center .
b. PowerPoint Presentation
· Must be 10 to 12 slides in length, excluding the title slide and reference slide(s). You must also include an audio voice-over transcript or slide notes totaling between 1100 and1400 words.
· The presentation, transcript, and/or slide notes must include APA-style references (in-text and on the reference slide) for at least three scholarly sources supporting the counter-argument.
· Must be formatted according to APA 6th edition style guidelines as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center .
· Feel free to use images that enhance the presentation and contribute to it. However, remember that images are not a substitute for the content that must be presented in slide notes or audio voice-over.
c. Video Presentation using Present.me ( https://present.me/content/ )
· Must be five to ten minutes in length (no longer than ten minutes) and, include a voice-over component. At the beginning of the presentation, include the title page content listed below under the “Writing the Final Project” guidelines.
· Must provide a transcript of the video content that is between 1100 and 1400 words, including APA-style references (in-text and on the reference page(s)) to at least three academic sources supporting the counter-argument.
· Feel free to use images that enhance the presentation and contribute to it. However, remember that images are not a substitute for the content that must be presented in your audio voice-over.
· To submit your work, copy and paste the URL to your video into a Word document along with your transcript. Include your name and date, and submit the assignment using the Assignment Submission button in the online classroom.
· For help with using Present.me, use these resources.
· Your First Present.me Quick Start Video
The Ashford Writing Center (AWC) has two kinds of tutoring available to you.
· Live Chat – If you have writing-related questions about a topic before you draft a discussion post or submit a written assignment, you will now be able to chat live with a tutor for a short (up to 20 minute) conversation. Live Chat will be available Monday through Friday from 10:00-11:00 am and 4:00-5:00 pm (PST). AWC Live Chat
· Email Paper Review – If you have a draft, partial draft, or even if you’re having trouble getting started, you can complete a submission form and email your paper to the AWC for review.
· Writing Tutors will do their best to return your paper with their comments within 48 hours, not including Saturdays and Sundays. Please plan accordingly if you would like to receive feedback before an assignment due date. AWC Email Paper Review
Writing the Final Project The Final Project:
1. Must be 1100 to 1400 words in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
2. Must include a title page/slide with the following:
a. Title of project
b. Student’s name
c. Course name and number
d. Instructor’s name
e. Date submitted
3. Must begin with an introduction that has a succinct thesis statement.
4. Must address the topic of the project with critical thought.
5. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
6. Must use at least three scholarly sources, including a minimum of three from the Ashford University Library.
7. Must document all sources in APA 6th edition style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
8. Must include a separate reference page/slide that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center .