Arguments in Action Flashcards
What are the four sentence types?
- Statement
- Question
- Command
- Exclamation
What sentence type is used in an argument?
Statement
What is a statement?
A sentence with truth value that you can assert or deny without evidence
What is an argument?
A collection of statements that aim to persuade you of something. You can prove or refute it with evidence
Conclusion Indicators
4
- Therefore
- Consequently
- So
- Hence
Premise Indicators
4
- Since
- Because
- Moreover
- Assuming that
What is standard form?
3
- When you list the premises and conclusion of an argument in a logical format
- You can draw and interference line between the premises and conclusion
- Turning an argument into standard form helps us to analyse it as it is in a logical sequence
What is a hidden premise?
A premise that is assumed but not stated in an argument
What is a valid argument?
Where the conclusion necessarily follows from the premises
What is an invalid argument?
Where the conclusion doesn’t necessarily follow from the premises
What is a sound argument?
An argument that must be valid and have premises which are actually true
What is an inductive argument?
When the conclusion of the argument is probable at best
What is a deductive argument?
When the conclusion of the argument is certain
What is a conductive argument?
An inductive argument where the premises independently support the conclusion
What is an intermediate conclusion?
A conclusion in the middle of an argument which leads to the main conclusion
What is a fallacy?
An error in reasoning
What are the two fallacy types?
- Informal
- Formal
What are the informal fallacies?
5
- Slippery Slope
- Ad hominem
- Appeals to authority
- Appeals to emotion
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc
Slippery Slope definition
When someone claims that one thing will inevitably lead later to a usually worse event, without any logical connection between the two events
Slippery slope example
“If we legalise cannabis for medicinal use everybody will become addicted to cannabis and soon we will have a country filled with drug addicts”
Ad hominem types
3
- Abusive
- Circumstancial
- Tu Quoque
Ad hominen abusive definition
A verbal attack on the person instead of their argument
Ad hominem abusive example
“You’re totally wrong about hotdogs being the best food because you’re ugly”
Ad hominen circumstancial definition
Asserting that the person making the claim is making it out of self interest
Ad hominen circumstancial example
“I won’t buy that car off of the car salesman because he’s only trying to sell it to me so he can make more money”
Ad hominem tu quoque definition
Focusing on someones past words or actions instead of the truth of their current claims - hypocrisy
Ad hominem tu quoque example
“You can’t tell me to not eat cheeseburgers, I saw you eating one last week!”
When is an ad hominem attack not fallicious?
If the attack they make is relevant to the argument
Legitimate ad hominem example
“You can’t say that eating five cheeseburgers a day is healthy, you haven’t been to medical school!”
Appeals to authority types
2
- Legitimate
- Illegitimate
What should legitimate appeals to authority contain?
3
- Be making a claim within their area of expertise
- Have sufficient expertise in a relevant subject
- Be free of significant bias
Legitimate appeal to authority example
“As a mathematician, I think that maths is easy because it is straightforward and easy to learn”
Illegitimate appeal to authority definition
When a claim is accepted because a person asserts it to be true, but the person has no authority on the matter
Illegitimate appeal to authority example
“I am a mathematician, and I think that skechers are the only good shoe on the market”
Post hoc ergo propter hoc definition
When someone falsely assumes that because one event was followed by another it was caused by the first event - mistakes correlation with causation
Post hoc ergo propter hoc example
“I wore my blue socks and passed my driving test, so I passed my driving test because I wore my blue socks”
Appeals to emotion definition
When someone uses emotion in place of reason to attempt to win an argument - a form of manipulation
Appeals to emotion example
“You should give me that job promotion because I’ve just gotten a divorce, I’ve lost my house and I’m feeling really sad”
When is an appeal to emotion not fallicious?
When the emotion is relevant to the argument
What are the formal fallacies?
2
- Denying the antecedent
- Affirming the consequent
What are the antecedent and consequent in an argument?
If I have caffeine (antecedent), I will be awake all night (consequent)
Denying the antecedent definition
2
- An argument in the form: If P, then Q. Not P, therefore not Q.
- This is the error of mistaking a sufficient condition for a necessary condition
Denying the antecedent example
“If I am in Paris, I am in France. I am not in Paris, so I am not in France.”
Affirming the consequent definition
2
- Any argument in the form: If P, then Q. Q, therefore P
- This is the error of mistaking a necessary condition for a sufficient condition
Affirming the consequent example
“If I am in Paris, I am in France. I am in France, therefore I am in Paris”
What are the types of argument diagrams?
3
- Linked arguments
- Convergent arguments
- Serial arguments
Linked argument definition
When all the premises are necessary (and linked to eachother) to establish the conclusion
Linked argument example
P1: Jeff goes to work everyday in his car (AND)
P2: Jeff’s car hasn’t moved in a week (AND)
P3: It hasn’t broken down (THEREFORE)
C: Jeff is dead
Convergent argument definition
When all premises independently support the conclusion
Convergent argument example
P1: Jeff has no lights on in his house, day or night (ALSO)
P2: Jeff drives to work, and I haven’t seen his car move in over a week (ALSO)
P3: Jeff’s mailbox is overflowing (THEREFORE)
C: Jeff is dead
Serial argument definition
When all premises are necessary to support the conclusion, but one of them serves as an intermediate conclusion
Serial argument example
P1: Jeff has no lights on in his house, day or night (THEREFORE)
P2: Jeff is either dead or on holiday (THEREFORE)
P3: I should investigate further (THEREFORE)
C: I will phone jeff’s mobile or chap his front door
What is an analogical argument?
An argument that attempts to establish that two things are similar in some respect because they have some other feature in common
What is an inappropriate analogy / disanalogy?
An analogical argument that has significant and relevant differences which outweigh the similarities of what is being compared
What are the two types of ambiguity?
- Lexical
- Syntactic
What is lexical ambiguity?
A writing error that occurs when a sentence that contains a word with more than one meaning, which obscures the writers intent and confuses the reader
What is syntactic ambiguity?
When a sentence has more than one possible meaning, which is confusing
What is confirmation bias?
Involves seeking evidence that confirms your belief and ignoring evidence that would disprove what you already believe
What are counter examples used for?
To show that a universal statement or claim is false, this could be a way to show that a conclusion in a deductive argument can’t be true
What features should a premise have to be acceptable?
6
- Is known a priori to be true
- Is known to be true or can be accepted as true
- Is a matter of common knowledge
- Is plausible to be true
- Is unambiguous
- Appeals to an appropriate authority
What features should a premise have to be relevant?
4
- Provides some justification to support the conclusion
- Gives support to another relevant premise
- Contains an appropriate analogy
- Attacks the claim rather than the person putting forward the claim
What is sufficiency?
Exactly what is needed - no more, no less
What makes premises sufficient to draw the conclusion?
If they meet the necessary conditions of being acceptable and relevant
