Indoctrinating children, philosophy homework help

1. write a discussion for this topic(at least 200 words for this discussion):

As we all know, children are very credulous, at a certain age, they believe just about anything they are told (e.g., the common belief in the existence of Santa Claus).  Writer Richard Dawkins notes this can be a good thing, it is a great way for human beings to learn important truths about the world (i.e., “fire will hurt you”) at a very early age.  

Dawkins has also notes that while parents rarely attempt to shape their very young children into “Marxist children” or “Conservative Republican Children,” they do very commonly mold them into “Christian Children” or “Muslim Children.” Moreover, most people have no problem with this common practice.  Many reason that we can always change our minds on our own at some later time.  Even though it seems that as we mature, we are more capable of “making up our own minds,” it also remains a fact that religious belief is transmitted primarily in a “horizontal” fashion, from parents to children, to their children, etc.  The vast majority of catholics have catholic parents; the vast majority of Hindus have Hindu parents, and so on.  This shows that in a very real sense–from a statistically probabilistic standpoint–this religious indoctrination does in fact work, and rather well at that. Of course, the effectiveness of this process does not discriminate between the “true” and the “false,” or the harmful and the benign.  Extremist and exclusive religious beliefs can be programmed into children just as easily as very moderate and permissive ones. 

Is the common practice of indoctrinating children into a set of particular religious beliefs wrong, just fine, morally indifferent, desirable, or?  Please formulate a clear and detailed argument in defense of the position that you think is correct and defend your position againt any anticipated objections.

2. write a reply for this discussion(at least 100 words)

I am currently going through an argument with one of my best friend about how music. I was telling him about the Iheartradio Music Festival performances that I saw and how they went. One of the performers was Pitbull and I told my friend “Pitbull did incredibly well, he was so positive and was bringing light to the issues we have today on racism and immigration.” My friend thought with my statement that I was saying Pitbull is unique because he talks about social issue while other artists don’t. He responded with “I love how talking about social issues makes an artist positive, as if that’s something unheard of or even unexpected.” I thought my reasoning for my statement was fairly clear but it seem that it was not. I made a claim about how I enjoyed Pitbull that night, not a taking away from any artist at all. I also did mention other artists and how much I enjoyed their performance as well. I believe the fallacy that occurred in our argument was Ambiguity Fallacy, when a phrase or statement is unclear and can have multiple definitions. I could have easily explained myself more and made sure that my description was not unclear. I know my friend well and he tends to get confused by my statements at times. He drew a conclusion based on the premise that may have been unclear. 

3. write a reply for this discussion(at least 100 words)

Fallacies occur everyday and we may not notice it until we are asked to think about whether we’ve experienced it or not. My first year of college was spent at Iowa State University, where I found a common fallacy that occurred was that because I was quiet, other students assumed I was an international student. During some interactions with new students, I noticed they talked in a different tone with simpler words and at a slower pace, and once I responded in clear English, their tone changed and conversation would move quicker. I also had people tell me later on once they got to know me, that they thought I was an international student because I was not as interactive. I have met plenty of international students and some are quiet, while others are very outgoing. It baffled me how there were people that assumed I was foreign because I was quiet. That reasoning does not correlate at all; being quiet is a trait that anyone can have. After going through examples of fallacies, I noticed that a lot occur by being close-minded, being judgmental, or simply by making assumptions. Fallacies, such as the one I experienced, can easily be avoided. My situation could have been easily avoided if others have gotten to know me before making a quick assumption. I was much more of an introvert at my first year of college, but that is a personal trait that again, anyone can have. To say, “if I were an extrovert, people would have heard me speaking fluent English and not make the assumption that I was an international student,” would be incorrect to say as well. Yes if others heard me speak, they would know I was not international, but then I would be supporting the fallacy that “because he/she is quiet, he/she must be an international student.” I believe this experience is a little tricky when it comes to finding a solution to how this kind of fallacy can be avoided. In my perspective, it is unavoidable altogether, but it can be a lesson to all to get to know someone before making an assumption about him/her.

"Looking for a Similar Assignment? Order now and Get 10% Discount! Use Code "Newclient"