17 Logos (The Alleged Word of God)

Logos, as referred to in Hamon's composition class, means the factual information used in an argument and, by proxy, the best way to win the argument.  Using proven ideas to support one's argument is always a sure way to succeed.  There is no doubt about it.  Unless, of course, one's opponent uses lie after lie after lie in such rapid succession that it becomes almost impossible to disprove such an opponent.  In this case, by the time the Logos-user has dispelled the first lie, five more have been added to the equation, allowing the opponent to win.  This is often the strategy used by republicans during their political reign.  What a shame.

But Logos goes even further than just using the facts.  Far from it.  Logos is the Latin word for "The Word" and carries mystical attachments to it.  While one minor example of this entails a Greco-Roman demigod of Love:  Hedylogos, whose name means "Sweet-Talker", it doesn't end there.

Anyone who has read the bible will easily remember the opening chapter of the Gospel of John in which the author states:  "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God"...  Blah, blah, blah.  In many mystical and New Age circles, this "Word" is translated as Logos and is used to describe the divine power attributed to words and speaking.  Many religious writings, both past and modern, really push this idea that man, through God, has spiritual power in his words to remake his world and being by proxy of the Logos.

I know that this doesn't have much to do with English Composition, but I always found that to be an interesting idea.  Knowledge is power, after all.  The more you know.  The more you grow.

Blessed Be.

Christopher.

16 Pathos in Retrograde

We've all seen it.  The silly woman interrupting our regularly scheduled television programming with a commercial begging for donations to some starving or dying group of children in a research hospital or a plague-ridden continent.  Personalities like Mary Tyler Moore or Alyssa Milano or Sarah McLachlan and her ridiculously abused animals.  They sit in front of a red background and in a heartfelt, yet demanding, voice, go on and on about how these little cancer victims or starving Africans or neglected canines need your donations so badly that they will die within the hour lest they receive your money to feed or medicate or arrange an adoption for them.  There are even commercials begging for donations for facially deformed children who desperately need plastic surgery.  How about you don't display those hideous children on my television?  I was just laughing at Betty White's latest joke on "The Golden Girls", feeling so happy and lighthearted, when I am then affronted with a picture of a fugly child needing plastic surgery.  See what you awful women have done?  You have gone from champions of the weak and helpless to ultimate buzzkill.  That's not cool.  And sorry!  I don't have any money to donate.  If I were more well off, I would be donating to charitable causes.  But right now I'm stuck being broke and in a fix trying to drown out my miseries via a cheerful situational comedy from the 1980s.  So stop making me feel bad about myself because I cannot help your god-forsaken starving, cancer-stricken, deformed, abused African children.  I can't stand it when you do that to me!  Why are you doing this to me?  Stop doing this to me!!!  I just wanted to watch Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty make catty jokes at each other's expenses.  Is that to much to ask?  You people are more evil than the animal abusers and dictators condemning the Africans to starve!  I hate you!!!

Ahem.  I digress.  That was an example of Pathos in the real world, in addition to a very normal reaction to it.  Have a pleasant evening!

15 The Wonders of Professor Hamon's Socks

The first time I bore witness to Professor Hamon's socks, I was enraptured in a cosmic bliss that is usually felt only by Catholic saints in the heights of religious ecstasy.  A passionate throbbing whirl of sensation and emotion enfolded me and pulled me down into the depths of artistic imagination, a mad, erotic dance of life and bliss unfathomable to most minds.  In this world of solid matter and cold, hard facts; a spiritual experience akin to the perception of Keith Hamon's inspired and mystical stockings is sheer proof that there truly IS a God.  And what a God He must be to have created such works of art.  A simple and unassuming pattern of black with longitudinal stripes; Hamon's socks speak of the profound mysteries of time just by their lowly existence, being worn upon our professor's feet. 

While it is true that Professor Hamon has humorously inferred to his socks on previous occasions, I had no idea as to how magnificent they could truly be until I saw them for myself.  The black wool woven with purpose and authority, speaking loudly about the importance of style and the heights of celestial beauty contained within such simple and unassuming stripes.

I am much more illumined for having gazed upon Hamon's socks and if you were to have seen them, I am certain that you would feel the same way.  They truly are a miraculous vision.

Blessed Be

Christopher

14 Author's Purpose

My purpose in writing Doc 2 is, unfortunately, none other than to achieve an exemplary grade.  Yes, I know that it does not seem like a very good reason for it, but it is all that I've got.  As this class goes on, the writing assignments are becoming ever more challenging, and the topic of this paper certainly threw me off, so I've been left scrambling to find a suitable author's voice that should communicate my intentions and will for the remainder of this class and assignments.  It is truly dismal, considering my early pride concerning my work in this class.  Alas, I am at a standstill and all I can do now is try my best to make it through in a satisfying way.

I truly hope that the class will pick up for me again, but until then, this is how it goes.  Please don't judge me on these faults.  They're all that I have left.

13 Basic Arguments (of Doc2)

Oh boy!  Time for yet another blog post!  I'm so excited!  Seriously, I haven't been this excited since I graduated high school.  This is probably the most fun I will have all year!  Whoopee!

 

Ahem.  Anyways, in an assignment in writing about a controversy in my chosen profession of Occupational Therapy Assistant, I have selected the Sensory Processing debate as my topic; and like the blog title states:  There must be a basic argument in the title.  So here it goes.

 

The SP debate revolves around a neurological disorder (not presently included in the DSM-V) founded by the Occupational Therapy profession known as "Sensory Processing Disorder" or SPD for short.  The disorder dictates that some children with it have difficulty processing sensory information; and OTs claim to have treatments to allegedly "rewire" a child's brain as to better process sonsory information.  And according to pioneers and parents whose children are receiving treatment in the movement, sensory gyms have a beneficial impact on the children's malfunctioning.  Unfortunately, SPD has several similarites with disorders such as Autism and ADHD; prompting other health professionals, such as pediatricians, to state not only that OTs have no authority to be coining new disorders and that the diagnosis of SPD is a rash one in which children who suffer from other disorders get misdiagnosed with SPD and then miss out on proper treatment.

 

But what do I have to say on it?  My basic argument is that both sides need to take a serious chill pill and start working together in order to make real headway on this problem.  Even physicians opposed to OT treatment of SPD acknowledge that numerous children suffer from sensory disabilities in processing such information.  And with that, to me, comes the crux.  If those opposed can acknowledge that children do experience symptoms related to the OT diagnosis, then there must be more truth to the disorder than the opposition would like to admit.  On the same note, OTs need the support of the rest of the medical community should they wish to receive the help they need in getting SPD treatment the support it needs to be recognized; which includes the proper scientific studies necessary to assess treatment outcomes, get the disorder into the DSM-V, and find the proper ways to help children who suffer from sensory disabilities.  Truly, it is my belief that both sides of the debate are lacking in their own logic regarding their stance, but if they work together, there could very easily be new and better ways to treat disabled children sooner than expected.

 

Thank you.

12 A Question of Evidence

Greetings fellow malefactors,

On the argument of what constitutes good or bad evidence when reasearching topics for essays, I find a few things are helpful when determining what is good or bad. 

First off, I try to determine whether the articles I read are truly informative or given to sensationalism of the times and issues.  That's always a deal breaker for me when research for a topic turns into a wide array of high-strung emotions printed in article form.

Secondly, I look to whether the article supports or contradicts my general thesis for the paper.  So that excludes papers rife with fallacies.  In my reasearch, I've found an article stating a thesis contrary to my own ideas, but despite that, the article stated several things which support its opposite in the debate.  Obviously, there were some issues there.

Thirdly, I try to shy away from seeking personal experience as evidence due to its highly ambiguous validity.  Wrapped in emotionalism and not easily persuasive to certain groups of people, personal experience can easily be fabricated in order to support an argument or else be over generalized in order to sway an audience.  As such, I usually do not find it too helpful in my own research.

Thank you for reading, fellow readers advocating reading!

Blessed be!

11 Possible Topic for Doc2 Assignment

Okay.  Let's just skip the fancy rhetoric and get to the nitty gritty.  Long story short:  Hamon assigned us Doc2 and he wanted us to find a controversy on my chosen field.  Blah, blah, blah.  Couldn't think of such a debate, did research and now I have something.  You get the gist of these introductions.

(Sheesh.  Glad that's out of the way.)

While this topic is not set in stone, I was thinking of writing of the "Sensory Processing" Debate found in the world of Occupational Therapy (and its assistants).  Basically, the controversy revolves around the treatment of children with a variety of attention, learning, motor skill, social and emotional disorders grouped under a heading called "Sensory Processing Disorder"; which seems to be related to such childhood disorders as ADHD and Autism amongst others.  Occupational Therapists (and OT Assistants, by proxy) respond to patients with SPD by prescribing various activities for afflicted children within a "Stress Gym" aimed to provide the physical and cognitive support that alleviates symptoms and results are fairly positive with said treatment.

The problem is that health professionals outside of OT have several problems with the SPD idea.  The first being that SPD is not a listed disorder within medical archives; which has prompted many doctors to reject OT ideas on the issue.  Other problems arise within the medical community dismissing "Stress Gym" treatment as unscientific as compared to treatment via medication, as well as the effectiveness, leading researchers seeing the Stress Gym (filled with fabric swings and other equipment seen as fun for youngsters) as an ineffective treatment; that the Stress Gym is but a reward to unruly, childlike behavior.

My own stance on the SPD Debate is that is does not matter whether SPD is a literal disorder or a collection of disorders or exists at all.  The point is that learning, motor and emotional disorders are a very real thing in the lives of many children, and, while the Stress Gym is not a perfect intervention, I find the idea and possible future methods of treatment that are outside the domain of medicating children into submission to be wholly worthwhile of pursuit.  That cooperation between OT and other divisions of health care would benefit from working together to resolve these children's traumas instead of bickering over terminology that doesn't matter.

But that is only a potentiality and not a set topic yet.

Blessed Be.

10 An Illogical Look at Minorities

In this day and age of myriad cultures, subcultures and groups of people, in general, it can be rather easy to make assumptions about certain groups that simply do not make any sense.  I know this happens as a Gay man with outsiders asking me if my partner and I abide by male and female gender roles.  Naturally, if both partners are men, the heterosexual gender roles do not apply; but that kind of logic does not resonate with every person.  Hence an example of logical fallacies in dealing with a differing group of people.

But even I am not immune to such discrepancies.  Having never been personally acquainted with Little People, I personally have made some of my own illogical assumptions about that subculture.  The primary one concerning their love lives.  Even though I had seen several stories on television of Little People having romantic relationships and subsequent children, I had always assumed that people suffering from achondroplasia simply did not have sex lives.  I had thought that, as far as the anatomy went, such people were too small to make use of their biology in a practical manner for their own pleasure and beyond.  I had seen proof that such a group is not at all lacking in that department, but my mind could not get past such trivial ideas.  Hence my own illogical look at another group of people.

Granted, I think of mine as a more innocent idea, but such misunderstandings happen with all groups of people.  The best way to overcome this is education and exposure.  Nothing else will suffice.

Blessed be!

09 Logical Fallacies In Popular Media

A fallacy is a flawed argument in the use of logic or rhetoric that results in a lack of validity.  That much is certainly clear.  In this English Class we are constantly instructed to overcome fallacies; and this post is all about said fallacies in popular media.  So let's begin.

The three fallacies I wish to discuss are:  Confirmation Bias, False Authority, and Nirvana.

Confirmation Bias is a form of rhetoric in which the writer only uses evidence supporting his theory and rejects all evidence to the contrary.  This is commonly used in the criminal justice system (and, consequently, the true crime television shows I watch) where lawyers, in presenting their cases for the conviction or acquittal of a defendant, will ignore materials contradicting their cases on the guilt or innocence of the man on trial.

False Authority follows a similar form wherein information is practically taken out of context in order to sell a product.  In the case of trailers on television for poorly rated movies, the one review written by a critic who enjoyed the picture will be used in the advertisement over the many more negative reviews to be glossed over.

The Nirvana Fallacy rejects every solution to a problem that isn't perfect.  As an example:  In the Gun Rights debate, opponents of bills that support Gun Control, despite being given proven statistics that these potential laws would be beneficial, will argue that said bill will not stop gun violence by 100% and, as such, the proposed bill is useless.  This particular fallacy bothers me so.

And there you have it.

Blessed be!

08 My Peer Evaluation Process

I have to say, right away, that writing is more than just a class requirement to me.  For me, writing is art and it is something I cherish deeply.  For those classmates of mine that read my introductory post, you will recall that I mentioned my dream to one day become a published novelist.  It is true.  I completed an epic, unpublished novel last year and I am currently working on a new one.  And no.  This is not an attempt on my part to advertise my work.  It is to make a point.  To me, writing is more than typing a few paragraphs on the computer to get a grade.  It is the process of transmitting a series of words into fully realized worlds existing within the realms unseen.  It is Magic in the purest sense.  Through writing, I create something out of nothing; a skill held by all famous sorcerers:  From Circe and Medea of Classical Mythology to The Wicked Witch of the West and Fiona Goode (of American Horror Story fame) in Modern Times.  This might seem to be a bizarre idea, but it is simply another one of the philosophies I live by.

As such, a simple Composition class--for others a mere prerequisite for their degrees--transmogrifies my usually tranquil and exuberant demeanor into that of an axe crazy control freak.  In my life, I see many people who go most of their lives without reading a book for pleasure or similar transgressions (an all too common sight), and South University, unfortunately, is no exception.

So when I have to review another's work, my mind--while doing it's best to remain kind and considerate--unfortunately jumps to a hypercritical state of only seeing flaws in another's work.  I'm not looking for the bare necessities required in the paper.  I am looking for the soul of its author splashed on the pages.  I want to see the author's ideals; his/her hopes and dreams and fears play through the assignment in dazzling display.  And yes.  I realize such assertions certainly seem far too lofty for a college assignment, but I'm not expecting a veritable F. Scott Fitzgerald or John Updike to be writing the paper I evaluate.  So give me some credit.  I'm mainly looking for a writer who takes the writing process seriously, that isn't an english professor.

The point is that in my own slightly exacerbated sense of self-importance and writing talent, I get far too antsy for my own good.  So to the one whose paper I must evaluate next...  God speed.  I apologize in advance.

Blessed Be

07 Deductive Reasoning in Doc1

Deductive Reasoning, being the top-down logic in which an argument can be proven from a premesis proven to be true, certainly played a part in my part in writing Doc1.  Though I did not view it in that way.

Basically, I gave multiple examples of police brutality, with the long known assumption that police officers targeted the african american community, backed by statistical evidence, and then included examples of victims of police violence that did not meet the usual standards for the crime.  My argument was that everyone could, potentially, become the victim of police brutality.  As such, not only giving the statistics of crimes over all but then following that up with examples of crimes against two unsuspecting individuals (a young man with down syndrome & a nonagenarian in a nursing home), I made the point that even seeemingly innocuous people could be killed by law enforcement.

I hope I did a good job with that.

06 Unveiling the Thesis

Solicitations, fellow malefactors!  In this class of English Composition, we are constantly being given new topics to discuss.  Turns out that on this particular week, the topics have me slightly befuddled.  So, for the sake of ease, I have elected to choose the most straightforward topic as my first for the week.  And which one is that?  Why!  It's the topic about discerning the main points behind the "documents" I read.  So let's get down to business?

 

So first off:  Quid Pro Quo!  Do you know what I love more than anything?  Certainly, there are a number of valid responses to that question.  Good food and music.  Driving at high speeds down the interstate.  Singing in the shower.  Enjoying the company of attractive individuals in private.  They could all theorettically work!  But they aren't the correct answers in this context.  What I really love are books.  Truly, I spend hours in book stores and libraries having the time of my life as I peruse the shelves.  And many more times, I actually read said books.

 

And being the avid reader I am, I usually have no trouble with determining the Thesis of the novel, article, or "document" in question.  It's simple really.  The thesis is the overall message of a written work that is not only mentioned most often, but is given the most emphasis in the writing. 

 

Case in point.  My most favorite novel of all time--bar none--would have to be The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike.  The story follows the everyday lives of three divorced women, gifted with a certain brand of magic, and their evolving relationships with a brash, repulsive man named Darryl Van Horne who has just moved to their small fictional town of Eastwick, Rhode Island.  Along the way, the three witches are each seduced in turn by Van Horne, suffer various tragedies at their jobs and love lives, and use black magic to screw with the lives of their neighbors.  By the end of the book, Van Horne has left town and the witches must give up their powers--in a roundabout sort of way--in order to regain stability in their ruined lives.

 

Now what exactly is the thesis of such a story?  Given that I've had to skip over a bunch of details in the story, it might be difficult to grasp, but I'll make it easy on my reader.

 

Ultimatrely, Eastwick is nothing more than a satire about feminism.  The witches themselves, having left their husbands in dissatisfaction, are overtly suspicious of men, considering most of them to be a threat.  Even more so, the witchcraft is firstly described as a potential found within all women, awakening when the woman in question is unsatisfied with the assumed gender roles and revolts (in the case of the book:  leaving one's husband triggers it); and the magic itself is but a literary device to allow the women to channel their rage and frustration at the world around them.  To make the point even clearer, the archetype of the witch is normally indicative of a woman finding strength outside of societal customs; an attribute Updike most likely counted on.  But then to completely subvert the image of a benevolent earth mother, the witches themselves not only use their magic for myriad malfeasance, but also engage in promiscuous behaviors with the married men of the town, neglect their children, abuse drugs and alcohol with Van Horne and fight amongst each other over the same man.  As far as Updike is concerned, he is spoofing the idea of empowered women by transforming them into wicked sorceresses.

 

But that was only an example.  My point is that with enough attention to the written work, the thesis is quite easy to spot.

 

Blessed be!