Beginnings

It's already well into the New Year, and I'm only just getting organized. As I move into my studies in professional communications, it seemed to me that this might be as good a place as any to maintain a journal.

The PCOM 560 course is off to a great beginning, and I like the narrative approach. I discovered Walter Fisher's Narrative Paradigm on p. 8 of the course text, and I like his "good reasons" approach to narrative fidelity.

The logic good of reasons is set out in the book by asking two related sets of questions as follows:

The Logic of Reasons
1. Are the statements that claim to be factual in the narrative really factual?
2. Have any relevant facts been omitted from the narrative or distorted in its telling?
3. What are the patterns of reasoning that exist in the narrative?
4. How relevant are the arguments in the story to any decision the listener may make?
5. How well does the narrative address the important and significant issues of this case?

The Logic of Good Reasons
1. What are the implicit and explicit values contained in the narrative
2. Are the values appropriate to the decision that is relevant to the narrative?
3. What would be the effects of adhering to the values embedded in the narrative?
4. Are the values confirmed or validated in lived experience?
5. Are the values of the narrative the basis for ideal human conduct?