Asian American Market Essay Research Paper Part free essay sample

Asiatic American Market Essay, Research Paper Part I # 8220 ; Everything you know about the Littleton violent deaths is incorrect. But the truth may be scarier than the myths # 8221 ; ( Cullen 1999, p. 1 ) . This is the rubric of an article that claims that # 8220 ; what was reported last spring about the motivations and methods of slayers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold was untrue # 8221 ; ( Cullen 1999, p. 1 ) . The inquiry that arises from this claim, is how can that be so? How can the # 8220 ; most ill-famed events from the hiting fling # 8211 ; reported over and over in intelligence studies, on Television confab shows and now in a bestselling book # 8230 ; # 8221 ; ( Cullen 1999, p. 1 ) be false and in fact, to merely hold neer occurred? Using critical logical thinking rules from English philosopher, Anthony Flew, one may get down to understand why everything we learnt through the media about the Littleton violent deaths may good be wrong. This paper will concentrate on one # 8220 ; myth # 8221 ; # 8211 ; the slayers were portion of the Trench Coat Mafia. It will utilize two critical concluding rules from Flew ; viz. Denying the Consequent/Affirming the Antecedent, and Confirming the Conseqent/Denying the Antecedent, to understand # 8220 ; the truth # 8221 ; behind # 8220 ; the myth # 8221 ; . The two male childs responsible for the violent deaths were said to be portion of the Trench Coat Mafia. Apparently, 18 pupils from Chatfield High School associated with the group, were identified as familiarities of Harris and Klebold. # 8220 ; They were sort of friends of periphery members # 8221 ; said one research worker ( Cullen 1999, p. 3 ) . Klebold was known to have on a trench coat on occasion. However, territory spokesman Rick Kaufman stated, that # 8220 ; no pupils can remember of all time seeing Eric wear a trench coat, other than one time, this past autumn [ 1998 ] , other than the twenty-four hours of the shot # 8221 ; ( Cullen 1999, p. 4 ) . In add-on, the decision made by research workers was that the slayers were non seeking to arouse some reverberation of the Trench Coat Mafia by have oning their hallmark coat on the twenty-four hours of the shot. Alternatively, the research workers believe that # 8220 ; the ground they wore coats was for logistical, practical grounds # 8221 ; ( Cullen 1999, p. 4 ) . Despite of this slightly sensible decision, administrations such as Sears and CNN, continuously associate the Littleton slayers to the Trench Coat and its # 8217 ; Mafia. For case, CNN Headline News was late mentioning to # 8220 ; the two Trench Coat Mafia teens who were responsible for the Columbine High School slaughter last April # 8221 ; ( Cullen 1999, p. 3 ) . English philosopher, Anthony Flew states that # 8220 ; for if from any hypothesis # 8230 ; you can validly infer some effect # 8230 ; and if the effect therefore validly deduced is false, so it follows needfully that the hypothesis itself must be false, excessively. One must make up ones mind whether merely to abandon the hypothesis or whether alternatively to re-explain it so that it does non imply the sort of effect which one had thought to be validly deduced therefrom # 8221 ; ( Flew 1998, p. 33 ) . Associating this to the association of the slayers to the Trench Coat Mafia, so one will reason: Since the slayers were # 8220 ; sort of friends of periphery members # 8221 ; and Klebold was known to have on a coat on occasion, and since they wore coats on the twenty-four hours of the violent deaths, so it follows needfully that the slayers were portion of the Trench Coat Mafia. One must accept this statement as valid. But the research workers have denied the truth of the conditi onal propositions, which map as the premises of that statement. # 8220 ; The signifier of the statement, and it is a valid signifier, is: If This is so, so That is so ; but That is non so ; hence, This is non so either # 8230 ; Putting # 8230 ; symbolism to work # 8230 ; we can show the present valid signifier of statement as follows: If Ps so q, but -q, hence -p # 8221 ; ( Flew 1998, p. 34 ) . However, there are two other signifiers that must be distinguished from this valid signifier. The first of the two invalid signifiers is if one lets the conditional propositions be granted, so # 8220 ; the premises so far provided do non prevent the possibility of some alternate account # 8221 ; ( Flew 1998, p. 35 ) . The 2nd invalid signifier is # 8220 ; that such conditionals say nil about the state of affairs on the alternate premise that their ancestors are non true # 8221 ; ( Flew 1998, p. 35 ) . Flew proposes four possible moves to do with such conditional propositions: two valid and two invalid. First, the valid move of If p so Q, but -q, hence -p. In other words, # 8220 ; Denying the Consequent # 8221 ; ( Fle tungsten 1998, p. 35 ) . If the slayers were â€Å"kind of friends of periphery members† , and Klebold was known to have on a coat on occasion, and they wore coats on the twenty-four hours of the violent deaths, so the slayers were portion of the Trench Coat Mafia. However, the slayers were neer portion of the Trench Coat Mafia as concluded by the research workers. The research workers are â€Å"denying the consequent ( the â€Å"then† spot ) of the conditional to confute the ancestor ( the â€Å"if† spot ) : hence, Denying the Consequent† ( Flew 1998, p. 35 ) . Second, the invalid move of â€Å"Affirming the Consequent† ( Flew 1998, p. 36 ) . The slayers were portion of the Trench Coat Mafia because they were â€Å"kind of friends of periphery members† , Klebold was known to have on a coat on occasion, and they wore coats on the twenty-four hours of the violent deaths. If p so Q, but q, hence p. This invalid move affirms â€Å"the consequen t in the groundless hope of thereby turn outing the ancestor: hence, Confirming the Consequent† ( Flew 1998, p. 36 ) . Third, the valid move of â€Å"Affirming the Antecedent† ( Flew 1998, p. 36 ) . The slayers were â€Å"kind of friends of periphery members† , and Klebold was known to have on a coat on occasion, and they wore coats on the twenty-four hours of the violent deaths, so the slayers were portion of the Trench Coat Mafia. If p so Q, and P, hence Q. This valid move involves confirming â€Å"the ancestor in order to turn out the consequent: hence†¦Affirming the Antecedent† ( Flew 1998, p. 36 ) . Fourthly and eventually, the invalid move of â€Å"Denying the Antecedent† ( Flew 1998, p. 36 ) . If p so Q, but -p, hence -q. If the slayers were â€Å"kind of friends of periphery members† , and Klebold was known to have on a coat on occasion, and they wore coats on the twenty-four hours of the violent deaths, so the slayers were porti on of the Trench Coat Mafia. However, research workers have concluded that they were more â€Å"outcasts† of the group than â€Å"friends of periphery members† and â€Å"the ground they wore coats was for logistical, practical reasons† . Therefore, the slayers were neer portion of the Trench Coat Mafia. The research workers are denying â€Å"the ancestor in the groundless hope of thereby confuting the consequent: hence†¦Denying the Antecedent† ( Flew 1998, p. 36 ) . Were Harris and Klebold of all time portion of the Trench Coat Mafia? # 8220 ; If such and such a proposition is true when it follows that, and we may validly infer that, some other proposition is besides true # 8221 ; ( Flew 1998, p. 138 ) . The investigtors are believing the # 8220 ; other proposition # 8221 ; , whereas administrations such as Sears and CNN are disregarding it. The research workers, whom are bring forthing an official study about the slaughter, say that Harris and Klebold were neer portion of the Trench Coat Mafia. # 8220 ; Whereas the truth of such a validly drawn tax write-off does non vouch the truth of the premiss from which it is therefore validly deduced, its falseness does resolutely show the falseness of that premiss # 8221 ; ( Flew 1998, p. 138 ) . Klebold and Harris did non wear coats to arouse some reverberation of the Trench Coat Mafia. They wore coats for logistical and practical grounds ; in fact to cover the # 8220 ; dashing armory of arms # 8221 ; and # 8220 ; military web gear # 8221 ; they harnessed. ( Cullen 1999, p. 3 ) . The research workers reached the sensible decision that Klebold and Harris were neer closely involved with the Trench Coat Mafia. This decision disagrees with # 8220 ; the myth # 8221 ; put frontward by most of the media covering the calamity. Neverthelesss, one must convey to mind T.H. Huxley # 8217 ; s observation that # 8220 ; The great calamity of scientific discipline # 8212 ; the murder of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact # 8221 ; ( Flew 1998, p. 37 ) . In other words, no unfastened proposition can of all time be confirmed with # 8220 ; matching decisive conclusiveness # 8221 ; ( Flew 1998, p. 37 ) , without echt counterexamples projecting uncertainty. A point of view about scientific discipline by Sir Karl Popper is some solace. He is quoted as authorship that scientific discipline is # 8220 ; a affair of eternal nisus and of eternal enquiry # 8221 ; ( Flew 1998, p. 37 ) to make the point at which # 8220 ; even Homer sometimes nods # 8221 ; ( Flew 1998, p. 38 ) . Cullen, Dave. Everything you know about the Littleton violent deaths is incorrect. But the truth may be scarier than the myths. Salon.com: Sept. 23, 1999. Flew, Anthony. How to believe heterosexual: An debut to critical logical thinking. New York: Prometheus, 1998. Macke, Frank. Reading images. Macon, GA: Mercer University, 1999. Toulmin, Stephen. The utilizations of statement. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1958.