Exam 1

Question 1

What is the Ad Hominem Fallacy?

Answer 1

When someone attacks the person who made an argument rather than the argument itself.
It doesn’t work in debates as it doesn’t address the validity of the argument

Question 2

What is Slippery Slope Fallacy

Answer 2

When it’s assumed something will lead to further events without proper evidence.
This doesn’t work as it’s practically predicting the future without any evidence.

Question 3

Argument Soundness

Answer 3

Eg: Argument: “All birds can fly. Penguins are birds. Therefore, penguins can fly.”
Evaluation: The argument is unsound because the first premise is false

Question 4

Inductive vs Deductive

Answer 4

Inductive: taking specific ideas into broad
Deductive: taking broad ideas into specific

Question 5

What Is the principal of charity?

Answer 5

When you interpret someone argument in the best way without diminishing their argument

Question 6

What is Strawmans fallacy

Answer 6

The opposite of the principal of charity, instead of seeing their argument in good light you nitpick it and focus on the parts you deem wrong.

Question 7

What is standard form?

Answer 7

P1: premise 1
P2: premise 2
C: conclusion

Question 8

Types of Arguments

Answer 8

Reductio Ad Absurdum, argument by analogy,

Question 9

What is Reductio Ad Absurdum

Answer 9

When you perceive an argument in the most over the top way, seeing the conclusion in a ridiculous way

Question 10

What Is argument by analogy?

Answer 10

Drawing an argument with the comparison of two things to show similarities

Question 11

What are cognitive biases?

Answer 11

Eg: The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where individuals with low ability at a task overestimate their ability, while those with high ability may underestimate it.
- Impact: Someone affected by this may ignore valid criticism and fail to improve their arguments.
- Example: a gold valorant player may think he should be in diamond but doesn’t know what he does wrong

Question 12

What is confirmation bias?

Answer 12

Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms pre-known beliefs.
Eg: Someone who believes in astrology might only notice predictions that come true while ignoring the ones that do not, reinforcing their belief in astrology

Question 13

What are attributes described of God

Answer 13

Omnipotent: All powerful, issue: can God make a rock so heavy he can’t lift it?
Omnibenelovent: All good, issue: how can an all good God have evil still exist?
Omniscient: All knowing , issue: if God knows everything, do we have free will?

Question 14

What is the problem of evil?

Answer 14

Eg: how does evil and suffering exist when theres an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God.
Theist Response: Free will defense argues that evil is a result of human free will, which God does not interfere with to preserve moral freedom.

Question 15

Materialism vs. Idealism

Answer 15

Materialism: Belief that reality consists only of of physical matter.
Idealism: Belief that reality is practically only mental or spiritual.
Example: In a video game, materialism would see the character as just code and pixels, while idealism might view the game world as only real because of the player .

Question 16

Cosmological Argument

Answer 16

Argues for the existence of God as the first cause of the universe.
Counter-Argument: Some argue that the universe could be self-causing or that the cause does not have to be God.

Question 17

What are the beliefs in free will?

Answer 17

Libertarianism: Belief in free will, rejecting determinism.
Determinism: Belief that all events, including human actions, are determined by prior causes.

Question 18

What is Occam’s Razor?

Answer 18

The principle that the easiest explanation, with the fewest assumptions, is chosen.
Usage: In arguments about God’s existence, one might use Occam’s Razor to argue that naturalistic explanations are simpler than invoking a deity.

Question 19

What is Justified True Belief (JTB)?

Answer 19

JTB defines knowledge as a belief that is true and justified.
Example: Knowing Paris is the capital of France because you learned it from a reliable source and it is factually correct.

Question 20

Gettier Problem

Answer 20

Shows that having justified true belief does not necessarily equate to knowledge, as one can have true beliefs by luck.
Eg: Believing a clock shows the correct time (justified and true) but not knowing the clock stopped exactly 24 hours ago

Question 21

What Is Regress Problem

Answer 21

When you can’t have the foundations for knowledge as justifying that claim comes with how to justify the justification.

Question 22

Correspondence vs. Pragmatic Theory of Truth

Answer 22

Correspondence Theory: Truth is what makes sense to reality.
Pragmatic Theory: Truth is what is useful and works in practical terms.
Contrast: Correspondence focuses on factual accuracy, while pragmatic emphasizes utility.

Question 23

What is Epistemological Relativism

Answer 23

The view that truth and knowledge are relative to individual perspectives or cultural contexts.
Eg: Different cultures may have varying beliefs about ethical practices, each considered true within their context.

Question 24

Reliabilism vs. Coherentism

Answer 24

Reliabilism: Knowledge is true if it is made by a reliable through process.
Coherentism: Knowledge is justified if it coherently fits within a many beliefs.
Difference: Reliabilism emphasizes the process of belief formation, while coherentism focuses on the consistency of beliefs.