HW 6A

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Mrs. Wumi needs more of our help, but in order to make sure our advice is of the best quality possible, we're going to need to increase our analytical tool kit.  The more tools we have and the better the quality of those tools, the more we increase the quality of our evaluations and advice (based on those evaluations).

With that in mind, before we apply our skills to Mrs. Wumi Abdul's next request for advice, lets improve our ability to diagram arguments.  Why does diagraming matter?  Diagraming allows us to see the structure of an argument which in turn allows us to see the support relationship between evidence/reasons and conclusions/subconclusions.

We can't even begin to evaluate relevance and sufficiency if we don't know the relationship between two assertions in an argument.  Is one premise support for the other? Or are 2 premises working together to support a conclusion?  Presenting the argument visually gives us a very powerful evaluative tool because the logical relationships between the argument's parts are made explicit and obvious.

Because Mrs. Wumi is a very visual learner, she'd like you to diagram arguments in your evaluations. Here are a couple of exercises to do for homework to help you improve:

EX. 5B  All (except what we already did in class)
EX. 5C  (a), (b), (c)

Keep reading...there's more!
Mrs. Wumi Abdul wishes to express her gratitude to all of you for your valuable advice regarding whether she should grant Chipotle a business license.  It seems most of you argued that she should; and so, you will be happy to know that as of Jan. 1, 2014, the residents of Wutduland will be able to enjoy a delicious Chipotle burrito.  (There was much cheering in the streets).

A popular reason for which many of you advocated granting the license was that Chipotle is working to eliminate GMOs from their products.  Mrs. Wumi Abdul begs your forgiveness for her ignorance, but she doesn't know why this should count as a reason if favor of considering Chipotle to be a good company.

She's done a little preliminary research on the intertubes but she's found conflicting claims. Some people say that GMOs present a health hazard while others say GMOs are a health hazard.  What should she believe?  and why?

Here are two of the articles she read.  Her request is that you read both these
(A) http://www.elle.com/beauty/health-fitness/allergy-to-genetically-modified-corn
(B) http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/08/can_gmo_corn_cause_allergies_don_t_believe_elle_s_scary_story.html?fb_ref=sm_fb_share_toolbar

1.  Summarize (in premise/conclusion form) the main argument in (A) then summarize 3 of the counter arguments in (B); (you don't need to go into the minutia of the arguments--stick with the main points supporting the respective conclusions).
2.  Diagram the arguments;
3.  Evaluate them for premise acceptability, relevance, and sufficiency--justify your evaluations!!!!;
4.  Identify whether the argument is deductive or inductive;
5.  Identify who bears the burden of proof;
6.  Decide if there are any logical fallacies or cognitive biases;
7.  Taking into account your evaluations of each of the criteria for good arguments, decide the degree to which each argument is weak or strong.
8.  Based on the information from the articles and any of your own relevant knowledge (or knowledge gained from reading the comments sections) formulate an argument whether Mrs. Wumi Abdul should be worried about the health consequences of GMOs. 

Mrs. Wumi Abdul thanks you in advance for your valuable insight.