Midterm Flashcards
The three criteria for evaluating an argument are
Acceptability
Relevance
Sufficiency
Which best describes critical thinking?
The careful application of reason in the determination of whether a claim is true
What is a premise?
The claim offered as a reason for believing another claim
What is an opinion?
A view or judgement formed about something not necessarily based on fact or knowledge
What is a belief?
The acceptance of a truth value concerning a statement/claim-namely, whether it is or is not the case
What is a statement, claim, or assertion?
The things we say aloud or in writing to covey information the t
The premise to an argument is acceptable on the basis of testimony if:
You learn the premise from a trustworthy person who is in a position to know whether the premise is true
A premise to an argument is relevant to that arguments conclusion if
The truth of the premise counts in favor of the arguments conclusion
The premise of an argument are sufficient if:
The premises taken together give a strong enough reason to accept the conclusion
An argument in which the conclusion can not be false, if the premises are true
A deductive argument
An argument in which the conclusion is held to be improbable, if the premises are true
An inductive argument
A defect in an argument that consists in something other than merely false premises
A fallacy
What is a philosophical argument?
Offering a set of reasons or evidence in support of a conclusion
Aristotle’s belied THAt “a statement cannot be at the same time and in the same regard both true and false” is called
The law of non contradiction
An argument is cogent if
The acceptable relevant premises are sufficient to support the conclusion
An argument is valid if
It is impossible for the premises to be true while the conclusion is false
W.k. Clifffords assertion that “it is wrong always everywhere and for anyone to believe anything on in insufficient evidence,” is associated with what idea?
Epistemic responsibility
What does Patrick stones maintain is wrong with saying “I’m entitled to my opinion”
It creates a false equivalence between experts and non experts
Why did Clifford maintain that “there is no such thing as private belief”
Because beliefs determine actions
The branch of philosophy concerned with the formal rules governing reason and argumentation
Logic
What is the main difference between an argument and explanation?
Explanations merely seek to inform whereas arguments seek to persuade
WhT is the basis for determining the relative weakness of strength of an argument?
The amount of support the premises provide for the conclusion
Judgments concerning the matter of taste or ethical determinations are frequently said to be what
Value judgments
An argument that proceeds from our knowledge of the last to s claim about the future
A prediction
An argument which depends upon the existence of some similarity between two things or states of affaire
An argument of analogy
An argument which proceeds from the knowledge of a cause to a claim about its supposed effects
A casual inference
Word which carry strong emotive value or associative power
Dysphemisms
The discipline or practice frequently referred to as the art of persuasion
Rhetoric
Common tendencies which can negatively effect an arguments clarity
Vagueness, ambiguity, generality, and failure to properly define terms
The fallacy of sljding from one meaning of a term to another in the middle of an argument. Using an ambiguous term in more that one sense, thus making an argument misleading
Equivocation
A person who stands to gain something from our belief in a claim is know as
Interested party
A person who stands to gain nothing from our belief in a claim is known as
A disinterested party
Tools of persuasion used to influence an audiences or individuals perception of certain information
Rhetorical devices
When a mild or indirect word or expression is substituted for a term considered too direct, blunt, harsh, unpleasant, embarrassing etc, the speaker is using
Euphemism
Reduction of a group of people to some essentializing category usually negative
Stereotype
A subtle way of getting a point across without explicitly saying the thing you wish to convey
Innuendo
An attempt to make something less important than it is
Downplaying
The attempt to delegitimize or downplay an individual or argument through mockery
Ridicule
The exaggeration of something for dramatic or rhetorical effect on
Hyperbole
When a new or old term is designated to mean something distinct within a specific context it is said to have
A stimulative definition
When the emotions of anger hatred or rage are substituted for evidence in an argument with
Appeal to anger
When a threat is issued by an argued towards their audience either explicitly or implicitly if they fail to agree with The argues conclusion
Argumentum ad baclum
Appeal to force
When substituting pride of membership in a group got reason and deliberation in arriving at a position on an issue
The groupthink fallacy
When the argues attacks the person rather than that person argument
Argument against the person
A form of ad hominem fallacy that occurs when is us asshned that an argument is wrong if the source making the claim has itself spoken or acted in a way inconsistent of.
Tu quoque
You also
The fallacy that a claim must be true merely because a substantial number of people believe it
Appeal to popularity
The fallacy of distorting weakening or oversimplifying someone’s position so that is can be more easily attacked or refuted
The straw man fallacy
The fallacy of arguing a claim must be true bc it has not been proven false
Appeal to ignorance
The fallacy of deliberately raising an irrelevant issue during an argument as a diversion or distraction from the main topic
Red herring fallacy
The error of thinking that devious events can affect the probabilities in the random event under consideration
The gamblers fallacy
The fallacy of drawing a conclusion about a target group based upon inadequate sample size
Hasty generalization
The fallacy that the soundness of an argument stands or falls on the identity of the arguer
Appeal to identity
The fallacy of pre-providing information which will create a bias against the speaker before they have a chance to offer their argument
Positioning the well
The fallacy of arguing that a claim must be true because it is part of tradition
Appeal to common practice
Argumentum ad antiquitatem
The fallacy of citing a source whose credibility is in question
Argumentum as verecundian
Appeal to unqualified authority
The fallacy of claiming that a moderate or sensible action will inevitably lead to an extreme action, therefore the moderate action should not be taken
The fallacy of slippery slope
The fallacy of presenting an argument which relies upon a questionable or insufficiently similar comparison between two things or situations
The fallacy of weak analogy
A fallacy involving circular reasoning wherein the conclusion to the argument is assumed or stated in one or more of the premises
Petitio principii
Begging the question
The fallacy of presenting two scenarios-one desirable and one undesirable-as if they are the only alternatives available
False dichotomy
False dilemma
The term describes the weight of evidence or argument required by one side in a debate or disagreement
Burden of proof
A form of reasoning which moves from a premise or premises about a state of affairs to an inference to the best explanation for that state of affairs
Abduction
The whole collection of individuals under a study
Target group
The observed member of a target group in an observational study
A sample
A sample that is selected randomly from a target group in such a way as to ensure that the sample is representative
Random sample
A sample that resembles the target group in all relevant ways
Representative sample
A condition for the occurrence of an event without which the event cannot occur
Necessary conditions
A condition for the occurrence of an event that guarantees that the event occurs
Sufficient condition
The fallacy that states “since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X”
Post hoc ego prompter hoc
Post hoc fallacy
The fallacy wherein somebody applies standards, principles and or rules to others, while making onseself or certain circumstances exempt from the same critical criteria, without providing adequate justification. “Double standard” or “moving the goalpost”
Special pleading
The tendency for individuals to seek out or favor information that supports their established beliefs or opionions, while correspondingly disregarding or avoiding Info that does not support their belief structure
Confirmation bias
The fallacy that states if I cannot imagine how it could be true, it must therefore be false
Argument from incredulity
When somebody maintains a hasty generalization by simply excluding a counterexample from that generalization
No true Scotsman fallacy
The fallacy of dismissing an argument or complaint due to existence of more information problems In the world, regardless of whether those problems bear relevance to the intial argument
The fallacy of relative privation
A form of argument which attempts either to disprove by showing it inevitably leads to a ridiculous, absurd or impractical conclusion or to prove one by showing that if it were not true the result would be absurd or impossible
Reductio as absurdum
Reduction to absurdity
