Logic and Fallacies Flashcards
-Tool we can use to different correct and incorrect
-Organized body of knowledge, or science that evaluates arguments
-To develop a system of methods and principles that we may use as criteria for evaluating the
arguments
Logic
- Represent concepts, ideas, characteristics or attributes, and relationships
- Also refer to places, things, events, or even persons.
- It is the smallest unit of meaning.
Words
-Ideas formed through abstraction (the process of creating general ideas from particulars/specifics)
Concepts
Are the building blocks of our knowledge. They may be
precise, vague, or ambiguous.
Words and concepts
- Creates confusing meaning because of projecting limitless possibilities.
- It has unclear and indefinite scope (ex. many/few, soon, big/small, near/far); too broad
Vagueness
- Is characterized by two or more meanings present in one usage
- Eg. the foreigners are hunting dogs (are they dogs? are they hunting?)
Ambiguity
- Offer thoughts or ideas that “come to us one after another”
- Mere enumeration of facts or ideas
Thinking
-Conscious “linking together of thoughts or ideas to make up inferences”
Reasoning
- A sentence that is either true or false
- Usually a declarative sentence
Statement
- The meaning or information, content of a statement
- Any statement which has a truth value
- Statements and _____ are represented by uppercase letters
Proposition
A group of statements, one or more of which (the premises) are claimed to provide support for, or reasons to believe, one of the others (the conclusion)
Arguments
-Statement/s that set forth the reasons or evidence
-Indicators: since, in that, seeing that, in as much as, given that
owing to, for, as, for the reason that, because, may be inferred from, as indicated by
-Support
Premise
- Statement that the evidence is claimed to support or imply the statement that is claimed to follow from the premises
- Indicators: therefore, accordingly, entails that, wherefore, we may conclude, for this reason, we may infer, as a result, ergo, so, implies that, consequently, it follows that, it must be that, thus, hence
Conclusion
- Reasoning process in the argument
- Not in argument form
- Can link together ideas
Inferences
-Mistakes in form/structure in arguments
Formal Fallacy
-Mistakes in reasoning which could only be found when the content of the argument is examined
Informal fallacy
-Premise are irrelevant
Fallacies of Relevance
- The thrust is directed, not at a conclusion, but at the person who asserts or defends it
- Insulting others as an argument
Argumentum ad Hominem (Attacking the Person)
- Replaces the laborious task of presenting evidence and rational argument with expressive language and other device calculated to excite enthusiasm, anger or hate
- Trying to be pitied
Argumentum ad Misericordiam (Appeal to Pity)
- Causes the acceptance of some conclusion by way of an appeal to coercion or force
- “Do this or else”
Argumentum ad Baculum (Appeal to Force)
-“Sophism”
Confusing meanings of words and phrases in arguments
Fallacies of Ambiguity
-This is committed “when we confuse the several meanings of a word or phrase –accidentally or deliberately – we are using the word equivocally in the different
parts of the argument”
-2 or more meanings of a word used in 1 argument
-Eg. light = no weight and light = not dark
Equivocation
- Occurs “when its meaning is indeterminate because of the loose or awkward way in which its words are combined”
- A lot of possibilities because of how the sentence was structured
- Eg. John told Henry that he was wrong (who has wrong? John or Henry?)
Amphiboly
-Not strong support for conclusion
Fallacies of Insufficient Evidence
