Lecture 14 Flashcards
What is a deductive argument?
An argument where premises provide logically conclusive support for the conclusion
It is either ‘valid’ or ‘invalid’, and if valid with all true premises, it is ‘sound’.
What is an inductive argument?
An argument where premises provide only probable support for the conclusion
It is either ‘strong’ or ‘weak’, and if strong with all true premises, it is ‘cogent’.
List the forms of inductive argument.
- Enumerative Induction
- Statistical Syllogism
- Argument by Analogy
- Causal Argument
- Inference to the Best Explanation
Define a categorical statement.
A statement that describes how certain categories of things are, or are not, included in other categories of things.
What is a syllogism?
A deductive argument made up of three statements: two premises and a conclusion.
What is a categorical syllogism?
A syllogism consisting of three categorical statements (A, E, I, or O) interlinked in a specific way.
Provide an example of a categorical syllogism.
All politicians are elected officials. All elected officials are civil servants. Therefore, all politicians are civil servants.
What is enumerative induction?
An argument where premises are about the distribution of a property in a sample, leading to a conclusion about the whole group.
Define a causal claim.
A statement about the causes of things.
What is a causal argument?
An inductive argument whose conclusion is a causal claim.
What is the difference between causation and correlation?
Causation indicates a cause-and-effect relationship, while correlation indicates a relationship without implying causation.
What is a sufficient condition?
A condition that guarantees the occurrence of an event.
What is a necessary condition?
A condition without which an event cannot occur.
What are Mill’s methods?
- Method of Agreement
- Method of Difference
- Joint Method of Agreement and Difference
- Method of Concomitant Variation
- Method of Residues
What does the Method of Agreement state?
If multiple occurrences of a phenomenon share only one relevant factor, that factor must be the cause.
What does the Method of Difference state?
If a phenomenon occurs in one case and not another due to the presence of a single factor, that factor is the cause.
What is the Joint Method of Agreement and Difference?
Combines the previous two methods to find a factor present in all cases of occurrence and absent in all cases of non-occurrence.
What does the Method of Concomitant Variation imply?
If phenomena vary together, they are linked through some causal relationship.
