I just finsihed writing a paper for Sociology. I had to answer/address the following question:
"Do you think low-wage factory’s of multi-national corporations represent exploitation or opportunity? Why?"
Once upon a time I would have just answered the damned question, but no, now due to my philosophy and communications classes I began my paper with this:
"Either/or questions in argumentative rhetoric like the one above force a reader to think in terms of black and white, right and wrong, and in this case opportunity or exploitation as if there was not an entire world of thought soaked in gray to be considered. The false dilemma is that there are only two possible answers and life is not that simple, not for the factory workers, or for the multi-national corporations that hire them."
Honestly, I could have written an essay on the fallacies in the question alone. False dilemma, appeal to emotional belief, loaded question, guilt by association, etc, etc.
After my opening paragraph I then went on to define the terms and discuss cultural relativism to come out with a surprising essay, even for myself.
I once read that going to college makes a person move from cocksure ignorance (primary certituide) to questionable uncertainty on issues. I am certainly experiencing this but in so many classes where so much time is spent "unpacking" the meaning of a question we never really answer any. This forces me to ask myself; does college create a world of thinkers when really we need a world of doers? Did you notice, I just committed all of the same fallacies as the question above. Fuck.