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Philosophy > Chapter 4-8 > Flashcards

Chapter 4-8 Flashcards

1
Q

Argument Reconstruction

A
  • Identify the premises and conclusions
    ~ First identify the conclusion (mark with C)
    ~ Second identify the premises ( bracketed then label P1, P2, P3, etc)
    ~ Lastly identify the missing premises (mark with MP2, MP3, MP4, etc)
    ~ The more you practice the easier you’ll understand what’s missing
    ~ Helps strengthen reasoning skills
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2
Q

T- arguments

A
  • premises offer dependent support for the conclusion
    ~ both (of all) premises must be true in order for either (or any) to support the conclusion
    ~ The premises must be taken together to support the conclusion
    ~ MP is almost always supporting the premises
    ~ If you can find one to be false then the argument is not resonable for the conclusion.
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3
Q

V- arguments

A
  • premises offer independent support for the conclusion
    ~ each premise may support the conclusion apart from the others
    ~ an individual premise may support the conclusion, even if the other premises turn out to be false
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4
Q

Diagramming arguments

A
  • [Everyone who knows Jose likes him] P1, and [Kim knows him] P2. MC: Kim likes Jose (T- argument)
  • [The test didn’t happen on Monday] P1, and [it didn’t happen on Wednesday] P2. [It’s set for this week} P3, so it will happen on Friday C, because [ the only days of class are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.] P4 (T- argument)
  • [The weather forecast calls for rain.]P1 [Everyone outside is carrying their umbrellas.] P2 [ There are very dark clouds gathering in the west.] P3 I think it’s going to rain. C (v- argument)
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5
Q

3 criteria for a good argument

A
  • Acceptable premises
  • Relevant premises
  • Adequate premises
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6
Q

Fallacy

A

flawed or misleading argument; faulty reasoning

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7
Q

Standards of argument assessment

A
  • it is important to have standards to measure the degree of strength of an argument
    ~ When we encounter an argument whose conclusion we think is wrong, the standards will help us locate the problem and state our objections
    ~ When we encounter an argument whose conclusion we agree with, the standards help us resist the temptation of giving the argument more weight than it deserves
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8
Q

Correspondence Theory

A
  • The view that a statement is true if what ist says agrees with aan objective state of affairs (the facts)
    ~ Truth and falshood of a belief depend on something exterior to belif itself
  • Objections
    ~ Statemetns with on corresponding facts
    ~ We have no access to facts independently of the statements and beliefs we hold
    ~ Statment and facts are a different kind of things
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9
Q

Coherence Theory

A
  • The view that the truth of a statement consists in its being a member of some consistent (or coherent) body of other statements
    ~ We test beliefs for truth in the light of other beliefs
    ~ We cannot step outside our own beest system of belief, to see how it matches up with the world
  • Objections
    ~ There is no way to establish which among a number of coherent bodies of statements is the true one
    ~ Choerent paranoiac belief system
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10
Q

Pragmatism

A
  • The view that the truth of a statement can be defined in terms of the usefulness of accepting it
    ~ The truth of a statement consists of its usefulness in solving a real problem
    ~ Evolutionary basis: successful belief system are products of adaptation to environmental problems
  • Objections
    ~ There are things that are false that are also useful to accept
    ~ Relies on correspondence and coherence
  • What difference does it make?
    ~ Example of belief
  • Steel is harder than flesh
  • There is a lion roaming the hall outside this room
  • God exists
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11
Q

Types of truth claims

A
  • Empirical Truth Claims
    ~ Empirical Statements: claim about some observable phenomenon
  • General Empirical Statements
    ~ About categories of things of events
    ~ Two types: statistical and universal
    ~ Statistical Empirical Statements
  • Make a claim about a proportion of a category of things or events
    ~ Universal Empirical Statements
  • Make a claim about every member of a category or class
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12
Q

Non-empirical truth claims

A 
- Empirical evidence is not sufficient for verification or falsification
~ Analytic statements
~ Normative statement
~ Evaluative statement
~ Aesthetics statements
~ Religious statements
~ Foundational statements
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13
Q

Assessing Acceptability

A
  • Acceptability: there is a good reason to believe that the premises are true
  • To assess acceptability, consider each premise on its own
  • Some fallacies to the acceptability:
    ~ Begging the question
    ~ False Dilemma
    ~ Equivocation
    ~ Inconsistency
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14
Q

Begging the Question

A

-Using premises that presuppose, directly or indirectly, the truth of the conclusion (this means failing to support the conclusion)
- Example:
~ “We can be sure that Barry never cheated in his professional baseball career because he never once circumvented the rules designed to ensure fair play among competitors.”
~ “God exists. We know that God exists because the Bible says so, and we should believe what the Bible says because it’s the word of God.”

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15
Q

False Dilemma (False Dichotomy)

A
  • Asserting that there are only two alternatives to consider when in reality there are more than two
  • Examples:
    ~ “Gery says that students who cheat on exams should not automatically be expelled from school. But it’s ridiculous to insist that students should never be punished for cheating.”
    ~ “I’m against giving aid to countries in which people are starving. We will never be able to eradicate starving entirely, so it is a waste of time even trying.”
  • Another variation: Line-Drawing Fallacy
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16
Q

Equivocation

A
  • Occurs when a word switches meaning in the middle of an argument (when it expresses one concept in one premise and another concept in another premise or in the conclusion)
  • Examples:
    ~ “Some newspapers censor speech by refusing to publish controversial authors. Censorship violates the First Amendment. So, those newspapers violate the First Amendment by refusing to publish controversial authors.”
    ~ “Only man is rational. No woman is a man. Therefore, no woman is rational.”
17
Q

Inconsistency

A
  • Arises when an argument contains, implicitly or explicitly, a contradiction, usually between two premises (or else between a premise and the conclusion)
  • Examples:
    ~ “I didn’t break your lawnmower! First of all, it was fine when I returned it. Second, it was already damaged when you lent it to me. And, in any case, I never even borrowed your lawnmower!”
    ~ “There are no philosophical truths more certain than this: all claims in the domain of morality are purely subjective and a matter of opinion.”
18
Q

Assessing Relevance

A
  • Relevance: A premise is relevant to the conclusion if it makes it more likely that the conclusion is true
  • To assess relevance, consider how each individual premise relates to the rest of the argument
  • Some fallacies of relevance:
    ~ Appeal to Pity
    ~ Appeal to Popularity
    ~ Ad Hominem
    ~ Straw Man
    ~ Appeal to Force
19
Q

Appeal to Pity

A
  • Appealing to people’s sense of sorrow and compassion rather than good reasons that logically support the conclusion
  • Examples:
    ~ “You should hire me for this open position at your company. If I don’t get a job soon my wife will leave me, and I won’t have enough money to pay for my mother’s operation.”
    ~ “If I don’t get a ‘B’ or higher in this class, I’ll lose my financial aid.”
20
Q

Appeal to Popularity (Bandwagon)

A
  • Arguing that a claim must be true merely because a substantial number of people believe it
  • Examples:
    ~ “Jurassic World is one of the greatest movies ever made. After all, it is one of the highest-grossing movies of all time.”
    ~ “Most people approve of the government’s new security measures, even though innocent people’s privacy is being violated. So, I guess the measures must be fine.”
21
Q

Ad Hominem (attacking the person)

A
  • Substituting irrelevant personal or circumstantial information discrediting the author of a statement of genuine evidence that the statement is false
  • Tu Quoque: “you too”; using partnership in guilt as a substitute for good reasons
  • Example:
    ~ “According to the supporters of capital punishment, the death penalty is an effective deterrent against murder. That’s not true. Those people aren’t interested in deterrence, they want vengeance. These are the folks who love movies like KILL BILL and DIRTY HARRY: they get excited watching bad guys get killed.”
    ~ “Linda argues that we should expand our use of solar energy technologies because it would allow us to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. We shouldn’t listen to her, though; she has a stock in the largest solar panel manufacturer in the area.”
    ~ “You claim that cheating on income taxes is wrong. Yet I seem to remember you cheating on taxes just last year!”
22
Q

Straw Man

A
  • Attacking a position that appears similar, but is in fact different from, an opponent’s position, and then concluding that the opponent’s real position has been refuted
  • Example:
    ~ “People who oppose capital punishment believe that the lives of convicted murderers are more important than the lives of the policemen and prison guards who protect us.”
23
Q

Appeal to Force

A
  • Trying to get someone to accept a claim on the basis of a threat (direct coercion, the threat of ridicule, etc.)
  • Example:
    ~ “You will agree to the new company policy if you know what’s good for you.”
24
Q

Assessing Adequacy

A
  • The reason given provide enough support for the conclusion
    ~ The amount of evidence we should consider adequate varies according to the context in which an argument is made
  • To assess the adequacy, consider how all the premises together relate to the conclusion
  • Some fallacies of adequacy:
    ~ Appeal to Ignorance
    ~ Slippery slope Fallacy
    ~ Appeal to Authority
25
Q

Appeal to Ignorance

A
  • Defending a claim by appealing to the fact that there’s no evidence against it
    ~ “Leprechauns exist, that’s for sure. No scientist has ever proved that they don’t exist.”
26
Q

Slippery Slope Fallacy

A
  • Arguing, without good reasons, that taking a particular step will inevitably lead to a further, undesirable step (or steps)
    ~ “Medical Marijuana should be legal in this country. If medical marijuana is banned, the next thing they’ll ban is prescription medication, and before you know it you won’t be allowed to buy cough drops anymore.”
  • Premise: If A happens, then B will happen. If B happens, then C will happen.
  • Premise: We don’t want C to happen.
  • Conclusion: So, we can’t let A happen.
27
Q

Appeal to Authority

A
  • Using testimonial evidence for a claim when the condition for credibility are not satisfied or the use of such evidence is inappropriate
    ~ Often used in advertising, e.g., when an athlete praises his/her favorite soda, or a famous actor praises the virtues of luxury cars.
28
Q

Conditions for a legitimate appeal to authority

A
  • Authority must be identified
    ~ Example: “Experts say that _____” is not legitimate
    ~ P1: Person A is purported to be an expert on subject X
    ~ P2: Person A makes claim P about subject X
    ~ C: P is true
  • Authority must be recognized by experts in the field
    ~ Credentials
    ~ Certification
    ~ Field Work
    ~ Credibility
  • The subject matter must be within the authority’s area of expertise
    ~ Example: Referencing the comments made by a renowned physicist on matters of psychology is not a legitimate appeal to authority
  • The field must be a genuine area of expertise
    ~ Example: An argument that relies on the claims of a “master psychic” commits a fallacious appeal to authority
  • There must be a consensus among experts
    ~ Why is consensus important?
  • The appeal to authority is only appropriate when the issue requires specialized knowledge
    Example: Value judgments and political views are not cases in which an appeal to authority is appropriate
29
Q

Causal Fallacies

A
  • Post Hoc
  • Confusing Cause and Effect
  • Common Cause
30
Q

Post Hoc Fallacy

A
  • After that, therefore because of that
  • Confusing cause with temporal order
  • Example:
    ~ “I just washed my car, and then it started to rain. Washing my car caused rain!”
    ~ “I wore my green shirt on Monday and aced the math quiz. That shirt is good luck!”
  • Just because one event precedes another event doesn’t mean the earlier event caused the later one.
31
Q

Confusing Cause and Effect

A
  • This error is committed when an effect is identified as a cause and the cause is identified as the effect
  • Example:
    ~ “I’ve noticed that healthy people tend to exercise regularly and eat well. I guess being healthy makes people exercise and eat well.”
32
Q

Common Cause

A
  • This error is committed when it is claimed that there is a causal connection between two events, when in fact a third factor is the cause of both events.
    -Example:
    ~ “I’ve been sneezing a lot lately and my eyes are red and watery. Sneezing must cause red, watery eyes.

Philosophy (6 decks)

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