Friday, December 9, 2011

Kung Fu Panda Effect: Everyday Philosophy

        We have a course called Critical Thinking that basically deals with the use of logic (formal and informal) and  the evaluating of arguments. On the first session of the week, I usually deal with examples culled from daily life. Frequently in our daily lives, one encounters commercials with products that have ludicrous claims. Sometimes, these products take advantage of the placebo effect. Well, I just call that the "Kung Fu Panda Effect."
Examples of such products? Quite easy to determine. Does the product have supposedly medical effects and is not itself medicine? Are all the effects "good" and does the product then claim "no side effects"? This list of questions can go on. Someone (here you can put: friend, celebrity, etc.) says it works. But whose to say it wasn't the Kung Fu Panda effect?

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