Extra: What are the implications of the use of conversational hypnosis? Does it matter if politicians use this type of hypnosis?
President Obama has been accused of practising covert (secret/concealed) hypnosis of his audience through some of his speeches. What knowledge questions arise from this real-life situation?
Extra: What are the implications of the use of conversational hypnosis? Does it matter if politicians use this type of hypnosis?
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The lunchtime lectures of the last two weeks seem to have provided much food for thought. Some students feel that technology is bringing us closer together (student lecture), whereas some teachers (international day lecture) claim that technology may alienate us from ourselves (and each other). What do you think? Is technology uniting (young people of) the world? Is technology a tool that leads us to a more just and/or democratic world because it allows all voices to be heard? What does censorship of social media tell us about the (democratic) power of the social media? Are you still able to think for yourself now that you are communicating through media which are heavily subsidised and sponsored by multinationals and monitored by powerful 'prison guards of the dominant discourse'? Are 'minority cultures' and 'subversive cultures' being fased out by the dominant discourse prevalent in modern technologies? If you would like to research this topic in more detail, you could check out the following TED talks: http://www.ted.com/topics/technology and the guardian article: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/12/heart-broken-dumped-facebook-status-single Here's a forum question you can have some fun with:
Which way of knowing do you (think you) resort to when choosing a partner? What are the implications of your suggestions when we take into account the strengths and limitations of the ways of knowing as knowledge tools? Why are informal fallacies often plausible and convincing? When, where and by whom are they formulated? Are there circumstances under which the use of informal fallacies can be justified, for example, in public advertising campaigns for a good cause?
In case you are unsure about what informal fallacies are, have a look at the powerpoints on reason on the 'ways of knowing' page. Informal reasoning and logical fallacies are often used synonymously. The page on 'what and how should we believe' also offers some inspiration in terms of propaganda and public advertising. You may wish to use one of the real life situations of the latter page as a starting point for your post.
In the field of ethics, do you believe that the intentions of one's actions are more important than the actual outcome of one's actions?
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