Midterm 2 Flashcards
A (particular) argument is _______ _______ if it is an instance of a valid argument form.
deductively valid
An argument form is _______ _______ if and only if its truth table contains no counterexamples.
deductively valid
A ________ for an argument form is a row of its truth table in which all the premises are true and the conclusion is false.
counterexample
A sentence is ________ if it logically contains another complete sentence as a component.
compound
A sentence is ________ if it is not compound.
simple
A _______ _______ is a pattern of words (or symbols) and blanks such that, whenever the blanks are filled with complete sentences, the result is a complete sentence.
sentential operator
A sentential operator is _______-________ if the truth or falsity of a compound sentence containing that operator is completely determined by the truth or falsity of its compound sentences.
truth-functional
The sentences that fill in the blanks for a conjuction are called ________.
conjuncts
The sentences that fill in the blanks of a disjunction are called ________.
disjuncts
The sentence that fill in the first blank of a conditional is called the ________.
antecedent
The sentence that fills in the second blank of a conditional is called the _________.
consequent
A well-formed formula (wff) is defined “recursively”:
- Any sentence letter (e.g. A;B;C; : : :) is a wff.
- If is a wff, so is .
- If and are wffs, so are ( & ), ( _ ), ( ! ), and ( $ ).
- And that’s all.
The ______ _______ of a wff is the last operator that was added as the wff was constructed.
major operator
A statement form is a ________ if every substitution instance of that form is true; that is, it is true in every row in its truth table.
tautology
A statement form is a ________ (or inconsistent) if every substitution instance of that form is false; that is, it is false in every row in its truth table.
contradiction
A statement form is a _________ if some substitution instance of that form is true and some is false; that is, it is true in at least one row in its truth table and false in at least one row in its truth table.
contingency
Two statement forms are ________ ________ if an instance of the first form is true just in case the corresponding instance of the second form is true; that is, the columns below their major operators in their truth tables are identical.
logically equivalent
An __________ is a set of determinately true or false sentences with three elements: 1. One
or more premises, which provide evidence or support. 2. One conclusion, which follows from
or is supported by the premises. 3. A claim about the connection between the premises and
the conclusion.
argument
A sentence is ______ if it has absolute borderline cases.
vague
A ________ _________ is an argument in which the premise(s) are claimed to lend
absolute support to the conclusion.
deductive argument
An _________ ________ is an argument in which the premise(s) are not claimed to
lend absolute support to the conclusion. Instead, the premises are claimed to make the
conclusion probable or likely.
inductive argument
An argument is _______ _______ if it has no counterexamples
deductively valid
An argument is DEDUCTIVELY INVALID otherwise.
An argument has ______ ________ ______ if the truth of the conclusion is
very likely given the truth of the premises.
high inductive probability
An argument has LOW INDUCTIVE PROBABILITY otherwise.
A _________ to an argument is a possible situation (or possible world) in which
all of the premises of the argument are true, and the conclusion false.
counterexample
An argument is _______ if its premises are true and it is deductively valid.
sound
A kind of reasoning is _________ if adding new premises will not make an argument
that succeeds in providing the claimed support for its conclusion fail to do so
monotonic
A kind of reasoning is ____-___________ if adding new premises could make an
argument that succeeds in providing the claimed support for its conclusion fail to do so.
non-monotonic
A ________ is a faulty argument or a faulty kind of argument.
fallacy
A person commits a ________ ___ ________ if she supports her conclusion with
premises that are not relevant to the truth of the conclusion.
fallacy of relevance
A person commits a ________ ________ if her argument relies on words or phrases
with ambiguous or vague meanings.
semantic fallacy
A person commits a __________ _________ if she claims that the truth of her premises
would provide absolute support for the truth of the conclusion when in fact the truth of the
premises would not.
deductive fallacy
A person commits an _________ __________ if she claims that the truth of her premises
would provide a certain degree of support for the truth of the conclusion when in fact the
truth of the premises would only provide some significantly weaker degree of support.
inductive fallacy
a _______ is a sequence of statements, each of which is either a premise or a statement that is obtained from one or more earlier statements by applying one of the rules inference
proof
