Creative Synthesis: Keyboard Warriors and Internet Fallacies

Creative Synthesis: Keyboard Warriors and Internet Fallacies

For my third blog post, I will compile and give a few examples of fallacies that I have seen and encountered during my time as a social media user. There  may or may not be screenshots of anonymous private messages here that I had with others. Just a disclaimer, some of these may be insulting to others as we all have different opinions, and beliefs. There might also be examples here that are too stupid for one to handle. Again, these are fallacies, and I am just citing examples.



                                                             #1: Red Herring  

This is an example of a Red Herring Fallacy, because she did not answer the important questions I asked. Instead, she focused on a minor thing I included in my questions. She also did not understand what I meant by my words. Thus, making the conversation even more meaningless. It ended without my questions answered.

#2. It doesn't follow

The above tweet is an example of a fallacy that doesn't follow. The reason being is that, the name of another mayor was never brought up in the first place, or that mayor's actions. It has nothing to do with how Pasig mayor Vico Sotto is doing his job.

#3. Against the Person

   This is an example of a fallacy that is Against the Person, because the twitter user attacked Manny Pacquiao and refused to rejoice in his success in defeating his opponent in a recent boxing match just because of the fact that Manny is not a very great country leader. She chooses to treat Manny Pacquiao based on his leadership skills and opinions as a senator, and completely ignoring the fact that he is the country's pride in boxing, which was the main topic in the first place.

#4. Appeal to the People

This screenshot of Andrea Brilliantes's Instagram post is an example of a fallacy that appeals to the people because she endorses a product as someone who is famous and appeals to most of the population. With her endorsing this product, many people will be engaged to also buy the product endorsed, because many people look up to Andrea as an influencer.

#5. Appeal to the Authority

This is an example of a fallacy that appeals to the authority because Psychology, as a very specialized and authorized subject basing on facts, is used as something that supports this statement. There is no official proof as to this being proven. It may be acknowledged by many because of experiences and it is reality, but it was never based on the teachings of Psychology. 

QUESTIONS:

1. What are the common characteristics of the social media posts you have chosen? 
Answer: The common characteristic that they have is of course, the fallacy that their claims carry. Their statements aren't based on pure truth, and it cannot be said that their statements are purely false either.What they really have in common is that they can appeal to the audience that sees their content that they have put out there on social media for everyone to see.

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using social media to express personal opinion, perspective, or even posting personal takes about your life?
Answer: As someone who uses social media a lot for the reasons stated, I have gotten my fair share of experiences of those advantages and disadvantages. A good thing this brings is that we are able to freely express ourselves with its use, that there are actually platforms wherein we can say anything without having to worry about what others personally think. A counterpart to this advantage is that people who may not agree will tend to attack you for posting it. Also, by seeing what others are posting out there can make us see things in different perspectives. We are able to see the whole picture of something because different opinions and beliefs will be seen commenting on posts. 

3. How can you become a responsible social media user through philosophical reasoning?
Answer: I think it is to carefully think about whatever you decide to put out there first before actually getting it out there. There's no other way but to think about things thoroughly first-- if it will offend others, or most importantly, if it makes any sense that others will agree with you. Being a responsible user is to stop being stupid. 

4. What advice can you give many "Keyboard Warriors" in the internet on responsible use of social media?
Answer: Then again, (I cannot stress this enough) we should thoroughly think about everything first before posting anything. We should, at most, try to see all situations in every possible perspective and not just ours. Most importantly, we should always set our feelings aside whenever we face issues in social media, because our emotions play very important roles in what we put online for everyone to see. By doing these simple things, and to keep it as a practice, everyone will be more responsible social media users, and display a better image for the audience that sees them. 

Reflection Blog: July 30, 2019

REFLECTION BLOG: JULY 30, 2019

It was yet, another Philosophy class, discussing about great philosophers from the early times. I learned that the Sophists were just self-proclaimed smart people that think no other person is as wise as them. They charged people just so they could trick them into learning something useful. They were supposed to be professionals, PROFESSIONALS! I cannot even contain my disbelief. And then there was this man who, according to him at least, knew nothing, but because of that, was proclaimed as the wisest of all human beings. Because of that, I came to a conclusion that Irony will always be present in Philosophy.  

I look up to the wonderful person that is Socrates. I relate to him in some of the simplest ways. We're so different, yet so similar at the same time. He was a curious, humble, and devoted man. Without sounding so mean or offending, he helped others learn while also learning from them. Because he believed that Philosophy is for the society, and not just to show himself off. I'm a lot like that -- eager to learn, and not for mere numbers that'll show on a piece of paper at the end of a term. Having high of those will never equal to truly learning and getting something out of it. 

I acknowledge the Sophists' desires to possibly sharing information with others, and their intelligence. (I am no better than them) I just couldn't agree with their goals and objectives to end Philosophy with Rhetoric, and using others to gain wealth. They were never lovers of wisdom, they used their wasted gift of knowledge for fame and power.

An ideal Philosopher for me, is of course, Socrates. After learning what an amazing mind he has, and a good soul at that, he instantly became an inspiration to me. Everyone should be like him. We should never reject wisdom, and the opinions of others. We should share knowledge everyone in the best way possible. And we should never run away from the consequences of life, like how he refused to flee from exile because he knew what price there is to pay when people from his time can never relate to his level of thinking.

Reflection Blog: July 8, 2019

REFLECTION BLOG: JULY 8, 2019

A few days ago, we officially started our Philosophy class for this academic year. I was really looking forward to this subject, mainly because I've never had it before. It's really interesting to learn something that everyone can get something from. We're all from the same strand (STEM) but we'll be taking different career paths after two years. It's nice to have a subject like Philosophy that all of us can be united for. 

Sophia, my second name. Only a few people call me by it and I know that I was named Ana because of my grandmother, but I never knew where Sophia came from. Not that I asked my parents about it, I was never really curious. I just liked how it sounds so womanly, and there's no male name counterpart to it. But it was only after the first Philosophy class I truly understood what my name meant. It was wisdom. Sophia means wisdom. And I loved it even more because of that simple fact.

Okay now for the real thing:

I learned a whole lot just from the first class and, I can truly see myself enjoying it (despite the 25 minutes of pain and torture). I learned that Philosophy is the sole reason for everything. It is the foundation of truth, and why we believe in the things we believe in today. If there is science because of curious minds, then Philosophy sparked all the curiosity in this world. We all owe it to Thales, even though he discovered not much, but he opened the door to find reality to fully believe in because he's seen it with his very own eyes. 

It wasn't just history discussed in the three hours of Philosophy that day. Fr. Kevin told stories of ghosts and his love for the newly released film, Spider-Man: Far From Home (whenever that topic was brought up, I jokingly covered my ears because I haven't seen it and was really excited to. I watched it with friends almost immediately). That and the Philosophy class has taught me that as humans, we commit mistakes we don't mean to. We trust people we've seen only a small part of, people who showed us a facade of themselves, and it's okay. Having interacted with many people despite the young age, instances like these are unavoidable. I learned then and there that Evil will never prevail. God will never let it.