Groundwork Flashcards
define argument
a group of statements, some of which, the premises, are offered in support of another statement
define premise
A statement that provides support for a conclusion (or sub-conclusion) in an argument.
define conclusion
A statement that is the endpoint of an argument; what we want others to believe. Often, the answer to a question.
define premise indicator
A word or phrase that are used to indicate that the following statement is a premise. Most premises don’t have indicators, and not all indicators are reliable.
define conclusion indicator
a word or phrase that is used to indicate that the following statement is a conclusion. Not all conclusions have indicators or are reliable
define disposition
An underlying tendency to have an attitude; a part of your character or personality.
define open-mindedness
A disposition to consider different ideas, beliefs, points of view, approaches, and assumptions.
define psychological bias
A tendency to think in certain ways that can lead to systematic deviations from a standard of rationality or good judgment. Also known as a cognitive bias.
define confirmation bias
A psychological bias towards hearing only agreement with your views by interpreting arguments as supporting your views when they don’t, or ignoring those that don’t.
define worldview
A personal set of assumptions, defaults, heuristics, priorities, and values that distorts and limits everyone’s critical thinking.
what is a statement?
a self-contained sentence (or part of a sentence) that is either TRUE or FALSE
what is a non-statement?
is a sentence that is not a statement. Can’t be true or false
examples of non-statements
questions commands greetings exclamations arguments, and sentences that refer to other sentences.
what is a rhetorical questions
a question used to express a statement. (should be rephrased into a statement)
examples of premise indicators
because since supposing that assuming that given that
examples of conclusion indicators
therefore thus hence consequently so
examples of non-arguments
opinion piece in newspapers
talk-back radio
talking to friends
stating a belief
types of non-arguments
advice
reports
instructions
explanations
what is an explanation.
a statement or collection of statements describing why or how something is the case
what is a vague sentence
a sentence (or word) which has a range of possible meanings that blur together. has a lack or clarity or meaning
what are the two types of vagueness
- not specifying relevant details
2. using generic words instead of precise terms
what is an ambiguous sentence
a sentence or word which has several distinct non-overlapping meanings
what are the three types of ambiguity
- lexical ambiguity
- prosodic ambiguity
- syntactic ambiguity
what is lexical ambiguity
when words have more than one meaning
what is prosodic ambiguity
when emphasis of different words makes the sentence have more than one meaning
what is syntactic ambiguity
when sentences have different grammatical structures causing them to have different meanings
what is a generalisation
is a statement that applies to classes of objects or events, rather than to an individual
what are the three types of generalisation
- conceptual generalisation
- empirical generalisation
- social generalisations
what is a conceptual generalisation
a statement that says one concept is part of another
e.g. all cats have four legs
what is an empirical generalisation
a statement that says all the individual real objects or events in a class each have a specific property e.g. most cats have four legs
what is an social generalisation
a statement which (the most influential part of) society currently assumes is true regardless of evidence.
e.g. normally, cats have four legs
what is a conditional generalisation
a hypothetical statement, usually containing ‘if’, ‘unless’, or a similar word.
e.g. if an animal is a cat, it has four legs
what are the three types of conditional generalisations
- definitions
- predictions
- counterfactuals
what is a conceptual definitions
definitions that require a stricture criteria including
- necessary conditions
- sufficient conditions
example of a necessary condition
being warm-blooded is a necessary condition to be a primate. no primate is cold-blooded
example of a sufficient conditions
being enrolled in an Architecture course at University is sufficient to count as a student
what is a cluster definition
definitions which have sufficient conditions, and near-necessary conditions that allow for exceptions.
e.g. MRS GREN
what is an institutional definition
definitions which are explicit sociological constructs, based on the evaluation of experts affirmed by relevant institutions
things which define a person’s worldview
religion culture ethnicity gender family upbringing
what is the veil of ignorance
putting oneself in a neutral situation by pretending to have amnesia
what are assumptions
identify and recognise them
what is a capacity
something a person is capable of
E.g. both an impulsive and patient person have the capacity to keep calm.
However, the impulsive persons lacks the disposition to keep calm when appropriate
