Critical inquiry and argumentation skills

For the last 5 weeks, you have been learning about and practicing a variety of critical inquiry and argumentation skills and strategies, including an exploration of some of the many logical fallacies we often find lurking in what we read, see and hear. As you have discovered, those fallacies can happen unintentionally, but can also be employed purposefully, either for deceptive purposes or to persuade others.

This week, we considered the role of both ethics and bias in inquiry and argumentation. How and why we ask questions, and how we argue our positions and present our ideas, are all subject to ethical scrutiny, and are all influenced by our own biases. For this discussion, think of a persuasive situation in your life that reflects what you feel is either biased or unethical argumentation (or both).

For Your Initial Post:

Describe the situation
Present what you feel are the unethical and/or biased aspects of the argument in that situation.
Identify what you feel are the 2-3 most relevant questions to ask about the argument to help bring those ethical dimensions or biases to the surface.

Share what you think, knowing that scenarios like these are open to multiple interpretations. Remember, one of the inherent attributes of bias is that it results in multiple perspectives and interpretations of the same situation. What critical questions will help you arrive at a non-biased, neutral, and objective understanding of that persuasive situation?

Requirements: no limit