Announcements



See Michael Moore's Capitalism (a documentary). Write a response to this film.

http://www.capitalismalovestory.com/

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/3014605/Michael-Moore-tackles-capitalism


 * Follow-up on presentations on health care reform:**
 * Post the following:**
 * **Identify the propositions (premises + conclusion) using the coding schema outlined in the book and presented in class.**
 * **Diagram your argument.**
 * **Evaluate your argument according to the 5 criteria: Clarity, Completeness, Credibility, Soundness & ( ???? ).**

Look at the beginning deliberations in Twelve Angry Men and watch the interactions of the actors. Note the language and nonverbal communication and what these displays communicate to us about the perspectives of these jurors. Be ready to discuss this in class.

Bring your print out of the homework assignment (see link below) to class along with these reflections on language and nonverbal cues in communication.

Watch [|Twelve Angry Men](see partial clip on You Tube ). Answer the questions on the attached handout. Describe each of the jurors and then identify their perspective of the accused. How do you think their backgrounds influence their perspectives?

Somebody found another clip online. Try this for a longer view: .**http://videos.publimetro.com.mx/video/iLyROoafYMtS.html**

Watch 2 short video clips, each no more than 2-3 minutes. You should watch a newscast or a television news magazine or an interview(s) -- one conservative and the other liberal. Describe the television show and then describe what happens in this particular clip. Describe and identify the elements used in the video clip to convey a message or create an image. Analyze the clip for the impression created and the message conveyed.

Read Chapter 1 in Think. Journal Entries
 * 1) College professor Stephen Stris maintains that the relativism of the second stage of development is not a genuine philosophical position but a means of avoiding having one's ideas challenged. Student relativism, he writes, "is primarily a method of protection, a suit of armor, which can be pplied to one's own opinions, whatever they be -- but not necessarily to the opinion of others....It is an expression of the idea that no one step forward and judge (and possibly criticize) one's own opinion." Do you agree? Support your answer.
 * 2) The first 3 questions on the "Self-Evaluation" in the Think Tank feature represent the three stages of cognitive development. Which stage, or transition between stages, best describes your approach to understanding the world? What are the shortcomings and strengths of your current stage of cognitive development? Develop a plan to improve your skills as a critical thinker. Put the plan into action. Report ont he results of your action plan.

1) Join wikispaces and our wiki 2) Post homework assignments for Monday and Wednesday 3) Buy book and read the first chapter

Journal assignment Describe situations in which your emotions led you astray in your reasoning. Describe some situations in which your emotions made a positive contribution to your reasoning. Try to discover patterns in your emotional reactions so you can assess when your emotions tend to be accurate responses to reality and when they tend not to be.

Use the following to examine the commercials that we viewed in class and post on your wiki page (the links to the commercials are on the class 2 PowerPoint under Week 2.) Techniques that shape our thinking Effect of images, language, music affect on viewer Symbolic associations of words/images Emotions elicited Effective commercials Role of commercials in our culture/lives

Visit the site on Socratic thinking in the Class 2 PowerPoint found in Week 2. post your thoughts on the Socratic Method.