L2 Ch2 Rationality, Bias, Language Flashcards
What are the 5 steps of argument assessment?
- Develop a critical disposition
- Learn to recognize (the elements of) arguments
- Learn to reconstruct arguments
- Logical assessment (look at whether the premises and conclusion logically follow)
- Factual assessment (premises and conclusion true/false in reality?)
Example of implicit premise and conclusion showing the effectiveness of argument reconstruction
Donald Trump’s tweet:
‘‘Healthy young child goes to doctor, gets pumped with massive shot of many vaccines, doesn’t feel good and changes - AUTISM. Many such cases!’’
When we reconstruct the argument:
P1 Many people developed autism after getting vaccinated
(P2 If X happens after Y, Y is the cause of X)
(C Vaccination causes autism)
We see that the premise and the conclusion are implicit and that there is a fallacy (not important now). Not a valid argument
What is ambiguity?
There is more than one possible way of interpreting a statement in the context it’s being used at
- can be used to obscure or confuse the content of the argument, or rhetorically to obscure a persuader’s true point (sometimes deliberate)
When deciding which is the most likely interpretation, rewrite the ambiguous sentence so as to eliminate the ambiguity
What is lexical ambiguity?
A word or phrase with multiple different extentions → all the things that the word might refer to in real world (more meanings)
- if we know the context it might not be ambiguous even though the word/phrase has more meanings
- so when interpreting sentences which are lexically ambiguous, we have to focus on the context
What are homonyms?
Words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings
What is syntactic ambiguity?
A sentence that can be interpreted in terms of different clear propositions
- E.g. Add the coriander, finely chopped (if desired)
↪ It could mean this, or that but it’s unclear which one the arguer means
- Sometimes more difficult to interpret on the basis of context than lexical ones
The ambiguity arises because the order of the words in the sentence creates different possible interpretations
What is vagueness
The meaning of a word or expression is vague if it is indefinite or if it is uncertain what is conveyed by the word in the context under consideration
What is the difference between ambuguity and vagueness in terms of possibilities to reconstruct an argument?
- If a term that’s crucial for an argument is vague, there’s no good way to be able to assess that argument → can’t make it into precise proposition
- If it’s ambiguous we can make it into a clear proposition, we are just unsure which precise intepretation applies here → possible to reconstruct
- But a statement can be both vague and ambiguous at the same time
What is primary connotation?
Something falls within the extension (a range of things to which the term applies to) of a term if, and only if it fits a certain rule associated with the use of that word
- literal definition of the term
E.g. tsunami - large ocean wave
What is a secondary connotation?
Characteristics that the things within the extension usually exhibit, but not necessarily
- all things that we strongly associated with the term but are not part of the definition
E.g. tsunami - cause of many deaths and major economic damage
How do primary and secondary connotations contribute to the vagueness of a word?
It’s difficult the pin down precise meaning of a word because its primary connotation is very difficult to pin down and its secondary connotation is so rich
- In the case of vague words, the distinction between primary and secondary connotation tends to be difficult to draw
How does a metaphor work?
It works on the basis of the secondary connotation
Often, the primary connotation is not true of the object/person
E.g. A tsunami of Islamisation - human suffering, economic impact…
- Hard to counterargue such a metaphor - vaguely connected to the term but difficult to pin down
- Make rethoric effective
- Have to be careful not to treat metaphors as literal claims and not to confue a metaphorical use of a word with an ambiguous one
Sjors is depressed - is it vague or ambiguous or both?
When we can apply mutliple interpretation of the proposition when we are reconstructing the argument, ambiguous
- If we come to the conclusion this is vague, there is nothing to do about it because we don’t know what to make of it
Sjors suffers from a chemical imbalamce in her brain - ambiguous or vague?
This is vague because we can’t make any clear intepretation from this - could be any disorder (confusing)
- It’s more metaphorical than just categorising a person as being depressed
- People might think it’s more precise just because of the scientific terminology
Gene-environment interaction causes trait X - ambiguous or vague?
- Often senteces like this in scientific papers - doesn’t mean it’s for sure precise
Different interpretations:
1. X & Y both play a role
2. X & Y influence each other
3. Statistical effects of genes depend on the effects of the environment (or vica versa)
Hence, ambiguous
What is a rhetorical question and why is it used?
Takes the form of a question but indirectly assert a proposition
- Not used as a question but to make an indirect point
- Unclear what stance the arguer is taking
- Always should rewrite it as a declarative sentence for clearer interpretation
What is irony?
Claims that take the form of language that, taken literally, would comvey the opposite of what a person wishes to convey or something otherwise very different from it
What are implicitly relative sentences?
Sentence that make a comparison with some group of things, but that comparison is not explicitly mentioned
E.g. Great Uncle Eddie is a fast runner
- To which group are we comparing him to? If with a fast runner Usain Bolt, then this claim would be false. If with 90-year olds who haven’t run in many years, then the claim would be true.
- Once we interpret the claims in the terms of its context then they are more likely to have a definitive truth-value
What are quantifiers?
Words or phrases that tell us how many/much of something there are/is, or how often something happens
Not all quantifiers specify an exact quantity of the thing; rather, they provide a rough guide
E.g. All cars drive too fast.
Politicians are often self-serving.
Nearly all the students passed the test.
Nine hospitals will be closed tomorrow.
She never closes the door behind her.
Problems with quantifiers
- Arguers don’t always use quantifiers with sufficient precision
- Some quantifier words and phrases are themselves vague (e.g. Some doctors support the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes.)
- Often people simply omit quantifiers (e.g. Lecturers don’t give students a chance to complain → could be unserstood as: No lecturer ever gives a student a chance to complian.)
What is a generalisation?
A statement about a category of things → vague
- Not all statements that include quantifiers are generalisations
- Two types of generalisations: soft and hard
