Tense in Formal and Informal Arguments :: Tense Arguments Logic Essays

Tense is one of the most significant disparities between formal arguments in classical first-order logic and informal arguments. Tense is a vital grammatical tool for expressing both actions and states of objects. Yet the syntax of classical first-order logic is not designed to accommodate tense. In this paper I shall evaluate several attempts to address the issue of the formal treatment of tense. I will seek to determine how tense is important to the consequence relations among sentences. First, I will examine Quine's approach, which tries to represent temporal discourse without extending the syntax of classical logic. Then I will look at Prior's approach, which introduces tense operators. Finally, I will outline two approaches of my own, which require second-order calculus, and will try to show why the second one best captures the aspects of tense that are appropriate for formal treatment in logic, while minimising uncomfortable ontological commitments. Tense logics, as the name suggests, seek to formalise the logically relevant aspects of tense in arguments. The traditional treatment of tense is to require that the tense of informal arguments remain the same throughout. However, this requirement is inadequate because in some cases it is vital to represent tense in order to evaluate the validity of an argument. For example, consider the following: Eve marries Adam Eve is faithful to Adam Eve gives birth to a child Adam is the father of the child This argument seems valid, but notice how that intuition changes if the order of the premises is changed: Eve gives birth a child Eve marries Adam Eve is faithful to Adam Adam is the father of the child It is not nearly as clear whether this version of the argument is valid. This is because tense matters. Our natural tendency in informal arguments is to assume that premises like these are presented in chronological order, but such an assumption will not do for formal arguments. Therefore, we need to incorporate tense to clarify the temporal relations among the sentences. When this is done, the argument looks like the following: Eve has married Adam Eve has been faithful to Adam Eve gives birth to a child Adam will be the father of the child This argument is clearly valid, because the temporal sequence of the sentences is explicitly indicated. Now, how should we formally represent tensed sentences?

A personal opinion in favor of the trophy culture system of rewarding children regardless of performance Essay

Should kids receive an award just for participating? This question has become one of great debate in recent years following the rise of â€Å"Trophy Culture†, a system where children receive awards regardless of performance and get applauded for simply showing up.   Many parents argue that giving children awards even if they do not perform well promotes entitlement and teaches them to not try.   My thoughts on the matter were a little mixed before I did any research on the subject. As someone who has participated in track and cross-country for years, I have been a witness to Trophy Culture in many of the races I’ve competed in.   When I was a beginner runner, I rarely if ever placed in races, and was often still given a medal just for completing the course. Anyone who has taken part in a large-scale public race like â€Å"Race for the Cure† or the â€Å"Disneyland Marathon† knows what I am talking about, basically if you get across the finish line ev en if you’re hours behind the first place runner there will still be someone there putting a medal around your neck at the end.   When I was younger and slower, getting that medal was extremely exciting because I felt like even finishing 3 miles of running as an overweight 7th grader was a big accomplishment. And the girls who finished in the top 20 of the races typically got another medal on top of the participation one, meaning I still had something to strive towards, so lack of motivation was not a problem.   And as I’ve grown and improved in my running skills, the Trophy Culture that is extremely prevalent in the sport of running still does not bother me.   I could argue that getting up at 6:00 AM every morning over the summer and training my hardest, only to win a half marathon then get the exact same medal as the woman who finished last almost 2 hours after I am disheartening.   However, I believe that the â€Å"trophies† we get for accomplishing t hings like this are essentially meaningless, and the true reward is the feeling of triumph one gets when finishing something truly challenging. This feeling relates to the existence of â€Å"self-esteem†, or one’s overall evaluation of their worth as a person. Doing a difficult task well like performing excellently in a soccer game or acing a test are ways we can improve our self-esteem and feel better about ourselves.   This plays into our sense of self-efficacy, our belief inability to perform and succeed in tasks presented to us.   Some parents think that trophy culture is artificially inflating their children’s self-esteem and self-efficacy, making children think they are performing better than they actually are and allowing for them to almost â€Å"get stuck† in a mediocre performance because they have no reason to believe their performance is less than ideal. On the other side of the argument, there are parents who think that if we award children for completing sports seasons or specific events, we are teaching them â€Å"that it is worth keeping a commitment, that we value this† (Heffernan, 2015). A recent report from Real Sports With Bryant Gumble on HBO explored this problem. In the trailer for the show, he is seen interviewing a woman who says that giving trophies to everyone regardless of performance â€Å"sets the bar pretty low†, and she also makes the argument that she â€Å"wants kids to improve and be engaged in the process of improvement†, and she thinks without incentive this will never happen.   This perspective on the topic is one that made headline news when NFL linebacker James Harrison â€Å"took to Instagram announcing he would be sending back the trophies his sons, 6 and 8, received ‘until they earn a real trophy’†(Wallace, 2015).   In an article analyzing the different sides of the debate, Kelly Wallace from CNN points out that many experts side with those saying, â€Å"if you tell a kid they’re wonderful and they believe you, that’s not about healthy self-esteem, that’s about narcissism†. Lisa Heffernan, a contributor to NBC News TODAY, disagrees with this mindset. According to her, participation trophies â€Å"remind kids that they are part of something, and may help build enthusiasm to return for another season†. Another point she brings up is that â€Å"at a time when parents complain of escalating competition in youth sports, [trophies] remind kids that we value their effort, regardless of ability or results†.   Her words echo those of a writer by the name of John Kass, whose article in the Chicago Tribune includes a segment from his son who claims â€Å"What’s wrong with a participation trophy for kids? It makes them happy. They’re just 6 years old. Isn’t it good to be a kid, and happy, playing the game? They’re just kids.† Kass then goes on to explain that this conversation with his son made him realize participation trophies aren’t as bad as some people want us to believe, and â€Å"getting a participat ion trophy as a child didn’t make [his son] any less competitive†. After reading articles with opinions from both sides of the argument, I have come to the conclusion that my initial view of the topic has not changed: I still believe that Trophy Culture is not detrimental to the development of children’s self-esteem and people fighting to end a system that allows awards for participation are wasting their time.   Children need encouragement and support from their parent’s, coaches, and others to succeed and stay motivated in everything from sports to academics.   Trying to get rid of participation awards could very likely result in discouraged children.   Like John Kass’s son said in his discussion with his father, â€Å"What’s wrong with a participation trophy for kids? It makes them happy.† If giving participation trophies make kids happy and doesn’t harm anyone else, then the clear choice is to allow participation awards to continue in our society.    Works Cited Heffernan, Lisa. â€Å"In Defense of Participation Trophies: What They Taught My Son.† TODAY.com. N.p., 21 Aug. 2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2016. Kass, John. â€Å"Is Our ‘Trophy Culture’ Making Happy Losers?† Chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2016. Wallace, Kelly. â€Å"Debate: Does Sports Participation Deserve a Trophy?† CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.

Advertisement Coursework - Volkswagen Golf Essay - 935 Words

Missing Image/Advertisement Image This advertisement has been created to promote the Volkswagen Golf Gt to an environmentally friendly audience. It achieves this by using the powerful juxtaposition of a peaceful image contrasting with a dark and violent scene. To further this contrast, the advertiser has placed the car directly in the center. This implies there are two very different personalities to the car. Effectively personifying the car. Upon further examination of the image, we see varied features. On the dark side, we see a covered moon. This may be used to convey a sense of mystery or possibly to give the impression that the car is a beast. This relates to the classic movie-image of werewolves with the full moon. We†¦show more content†¦Assumingly, the deer is there as the embodiment of peace in the image. Whereas, the violence is embodied within the wolves. Verbal Text The initial text we see is a parallel phrase. ?High performance, low emissions,? suggesting the best of both worlds. This is because of the constant image that we gather from the car industry is that of harming the planet. High performance is not something we relate with low emissions. The words ?high? and ?low? are antonyms reflecting the dual nature of the car. In the main block of text, the writer initially uses the word ?welcome? to forge a personal relation with the audience. As if to invite you to ?the world of the new look Golf Gt.? This is done to attract you to the advert as friendly and attractive. The text speaks directly to the audience, so they feel privileged, as if they have special access. In the sentence ?Voted Best New Engine 2006?, every word begins with capital letters. This is to express that the car has won an award, so it has an official title. The writer constantly repeats the word ?new? to present what the car is. Different to anything else. The advert lists the features to build up to an implication of extra features. These are incentives to indicate the car?s value for money. The subject specific jargon is there for a reason. To make the audience feel intelligent. In turn, makes the writers emerge as experts. The use of imperative verbs