Metapost: another quarter of blogging

This second quarter my blogging has improved upon the weaknesses of my first quarter's posts, while still leaving room for improvement in arguing for my points of view. Last quarter I criticized the slow development of my blogs to provide a clear thesis concerning my view on the subject matter. This quarter, from the outset, my first blog "Freedom's boundaries" makes my position clear on the management of civil liberties in wartime: "I do not believe anyone should be allowed to preach violence against fellow americans in the name of a supposedly 'greater cause', religious or not." This articulation of my thesis is present in each of my blogs this second quarter.

Improving on my first quarter's blogging, I have made sure to include source links more frequently in my posts. Posts which address current affairs, such as "Virtual Worlds", give reference to an article in order to factually support my arguments. Posts which address theoretical discussions e.g. "Adolescence, adulthood and the in between" do not. While such posts address theoretical questions, such as the definition of adulthood, the issues discussed still apply to modern day society and so reference to news articles could have still helped strengthened my argument in showing its relevance today, e.g. how the behavior of today's adolescence affects the way we ought to define adulthood.

Since the start of the quarter my blogs have progressed in the elaboration of my arguments. In one of my earlier blogs, "The enemy", I state my opinion without truly showing the thought process behind it, "While this was my initial reaction, my thoughts changed quickly. While wars are a clash of force between two countries to settle a conflict, how we conduct wars determines our moral status." I describe my thoughts, without the reasoning that led me to them. In my final post, "Right and Wrong", I provide the reasoning behind my opinion: "If others held opposing viewpoints, by which infidelity was perfectly acceptable, there would be no apparent logical process by which I could prove them wrong. The issue would come down to a clash of viewpoints..." In this post I show the reasoning behind my viewpoint that an absolute standard for morals is undefinable. The argument is developed in greater depth further on in the post.

Although my development of argument has progressed, this coming semester I should take greater care to address the opposing side of the argument, something I have for the most part failed to do, and which can only lend stronger credibility to my own argument.

My best post: "Right and wrong"