Questioning Proofs

I sent an email out, but I’ll reiterate here that I apologize for not attending this evening. It turns out my sore throat is not a mere cold; I have strep throat (hooray!). I made a bad joke about asking my husband who he’s been kissing (because both of us have it despite the fact that he works out of town Mon-Fri). He didn’t think it was very funny. :-D

We talk a lot about advertisements and how these images and short scenes try to convince us to buy specific products. They use both intrinsic or extrinsic proofs, I think, to appeal to both our appreciation for logic and emotional experience. They can say “9 out of 10 people prefer the refreshing taste of Coca-Cola.” We can call into question the survey conducted—how do we know that these statistics are factual or unbiased? In addition, throw in the word “refreshing,” and it automatically connects to our experiences as when we feel “refreshed.”

If we talk about individuals who have a strong influence on cultural commentary and produce “testimonials,” let us think about how we might rely on Oprah as an expert about social awareness. Is Oprah just as influential as, say, Marx or Freud? Does she not have the power to change the way we think about ourselves as consumers (of pop culture, literature, music, etc.)?

On one hand, I think that our experiences are sure ways for us to understand our environment. If we can say that emotions are not irrational—that they are a part of an intellectual process in dealing with external stimuli—then are our experiences (or shared experiences) not an intellectual (and therefore, logical) mode of selling or promoting a product? Are our experiences not valid reasons to argue certain beliefs or points?
While I say that experiences have “rhetorical weight” in an argument, I have to also point out that experience can also be deceiving. If we are always passing judgment or making decisions based upon our own past experiences, are we limiting ourselves? How does this method of understanding actually prohibit us from growing as individuals? I think of the seemingly innocuous phrase that I’ve heard people say to let others know that they are not racist. They may say: “I’m not racist; I have black friends.” If we break this phrase down, the person speaking is saying a few things. First, they claim that they are not racist because they have black friends. They imply that they accept all black people because they have been friendly with people who happen to be black. Finally, they mention that perhaps if you do not have black friends, then you may be racist. And simultaneously, this phrase is lumping one entire race into one category to say that from personal experience, an entire race of individuals cannot be discriminated against because you are friends with some black people—not all of them. This phrase is implicitly racist because you are defining an entire race of individuals in one category based on your own personal experience. This is an instance in which a person’s personal experience may hinder them as individuals more than educate him or her. I use this as an example because this is exactly the kind of phrase that can be turned around to say: “I hate all black people” because you happen have had one bad experience with one person who happens to be black. I hope that that makes sense. On one hand, I want to point out that experience can be a positive way to guide one’s decision-making process, and it can also be negative and lead to things like racism (or agism, sexism, etc.). I hope that that makes sense.

All in all, I took from this chapter that there are ways of understanding “proof,” whether it be considered empirical data or anecdotal information. I think that the overall concept is that we be wary of what we are hearing and how it is being presented to us to produce a particular effect. In other words, I think that it is always wise to take into consideration one’s own experiences in making decisions, but I also think that it is wise to understand that other peoples’ experiences are also just as significant as ours. As for data, I will say that it is important to consider statistical error, as well as consider that sometimes we have data for scientific questions that are answered because of political influence. Basically, what I took from the reading is that we should be conscious of what kind of “proofs” are being presented to us and the effect that those proofs are trying to produce for us as cultural consumers.