Assignment 1.2: Conflicting Viewpoints Essay – Part II

Select one (1) of the issues from ProCon.org that your professor has approved as a topic choice for your essay. Go to www.procon.org, scroll to the list of issues, click on the issue you selected, and read the background information section on the issue. To play the “Believing Game,” read either the Pro section or the Con section on the www.procon.org Website – whichever argument is in opposition to your position on the chosen issue. Consider at least three (3) of the premises (reasons) listed in that section. Apply the “believing” questions suggested by Elbow, such as "What's interesting or helpful about the view? What would you notice if you believed this view? … In what sense or under what conditions might this idea be true?" To play the “Doubting Game,” read either the Pro column or the Con column on the www.procon.org Website – whichever argument is in agreement with your position. Consider at least three (3) of the premises (reasons) listed in that section. Apply the “doubting” questions suggested by Elbow, such as the journalistic questions who, what, when, where, why, how. Present an argument on an issue by stating your conclusion and identifying your premises. Identify three (3) premises of the argument in opposition to your conclusion, and describe your reactions to these premises, based on the believing questions suggested by Elbow, such as "What's interesting or helpful about the view? What would you notice if you believed this view? In what sense or under what conditions might this idea be true?" Identify three (3) premises of the argument in agreement with your conclusion, and explain your responses to the journalistic questions you asked in order to probe these premises, based on the doubting questions suggested by Elbow, such as the journalistic questions who, what, when, where, why, and how. Examine at least three (3) types of biases that you likely experienced when you read the premises on the Pro side of the argument and the premises on the Con side of the argument. (Note: Refer to the specific types of biases discussed in Chapter 2 of the Webtext.) Describe whether or not your position on the issue has changed. Indicate whether or not your premises supporting the issue have changed. Explain why or why not.