Foundations of Reason and Logic

Question 1

Allegory of the Cave

Answer 1

Plato in his book the Republic, Cave where people are chained and see the shadows of objects from the fire. They would think the shadows were real.
One person is freed and they go out and see the truth/are enlightened and that everything he knew before was illusion
Adjusts to the burning light of the sun and goes back into the cave so that he could help others understood
Allegory for knowledge

Question 2

Inductive vs. Deductive reasoning

Answer 2

Deductive: Valid or invalid, Logical entailment when the conclusion and premises are true - when you have a conclusion and it is applied
E.g. All men are mortal, Socrates is a man, socrates is mortal - true
A stone is a substance, you are a substance, you are a ton - not true

Inductive: Strong or weak - Conclusion based on probability - have data, form conclusion, and apply it
E.g. Every year I get a raise, I will get a raise next year
Strong and weak inductive arguments - based on probability and what is likely to happen

Question 3

Ad hominem

Answer 3

Fallacy - attack on the person - attacking the arguer and not their argument - e.g. saying someone is stupid therefore should not be listened to

Question 4

Ad ignorantium (appeal to ignorance)

Answer 4

2 forms - there is no evidence for the truth of p, so p is false
there is no evidence for the falsehood of p, so p is true

Question 5

Composition

Answer 5

The whole is not always greater than the parts but it can be different e.g. the brain is not capable of consciousness because the minuscule parts do no possess consciousness
Not all compositions are fallacies

Question 6

Begging the question

Answer 6

Circular argument where the conclusion is included in the premise
E.g. God must exist because the Bible says so. How do you know the bible is right? Because God wrote it

Question 7

Ad misericordia (appeal to pity)

Answer 7

When pity is appealed to in order to get the conclusion accepted
E.g. Shouldn’t get a traffic ticket because I was on my way to see a dying loved one in the hospital

Question 8

Appeal to authority

Answer 8

Forming a conclusion under the assumption that someone is authoritative - person is not an expert/would not know

Question 9

False Analogy

Answer 9

When two events are similar (A and B) and because A is equal to P then B must also - false analogy occurs when A and B are different in a way that affects P
E.g. Employees are like nails, nails must be hit in the head, so must employees

Question 10

Contradiction Fallacy

Answer 10

When the argument is contradictory and can’t be true

E.g. The only thing that is certain is uncertainty

Question 11

Red Herring

Answer 11

Attempting to redirect the argument to something else that the redirector can better respond to

Question 12

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Answer 12

Thinking that with two successive events the latter happened because of the former