Philosophical Argument Flashcards
Explain what is meant by a deductive argument.
A deductive argument specifically is one where, if valid, the truth of the premises necessitates the truth of the conclusion. Therefore valid deductive arguments give us certainty rather than probability regarding any conclusions drawn.
What is an inductive argument?
An inductive argument involves generalising about how the world is or will be. There are two types:
• generalising from past to future
• generalising from a restricted number to an unrestricted number
Inductive arguments involve speculation and lead to uncertain conclusions as they exceed the information given in the premises. So while we cannot guarantee certainty, they do allow us to expand upon what we already know.
What is an abductive argument?
An abductive argument can also be known as ‘inference to best explanation’ as they use inductive understanding but differ due to the direction of their reasoning. They form from effect to possible cause and involves inference to find a suitable explanation for a certain observation. This means that abductive arguments do not draw certain conclusions as they exceed the information given in the premises but instead provide a probable conclusion.
What is a valid argument?
A valid argument is a deductive argument where the premises succeed in providing conclusive support for the conclusion but the premises may not actually be true (not factually correct)
What is a sound argument?
A sound argument is a deductive argument that is trying to establish conclusive support for its conclusion. The argument is valid: the premises, if true, would guarantee that the conclusion is also true. It would be irrational not to believe the conclusion of a sound argument because the premises are actually (factually) correct.
What is a cogent argument?
A cogent argument is a strong non-deductive argument that has true premises. It’s non-deductive which means its premises are intended to establish a probable, but non conclusive, support for the conclusion. As the premises are known to be true, we can say that it is highly probable that the conclusion of a cogent argument is also true.
What is a hypothetical claim?
A hypothetical claim has two parts; they are the ‘it’ (antecedent) and ‘then’ (consequent) statements. They tell us what would be the case ‘if’ the antecedent is true. If the additional premises tells us the antecedent is true, we can conclude that the consequent is also true.
What is a proposition?
A sentence or statement that contains information about a particular state of the world.
What is a premise?
A proposition used as the basis of, or to support an argument. They support the conclusion.
What is a conclusion?
A statement that comes as the end of an argument - or at the end of a section of an argument - that is supported by the premises.
What is an argument?
A series of propositions intended to support a conclusion(s).
What is Standard Logical Form?
Also known as SLF. It is a way of presenting an argument which makes clear which statements are premises, how many premises there are, and which statement(s) is/are the conclusion(s).
What is a syllogism?
A syllogism is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two premises that are asserted or assumed to be true. For example:
Bob is a man (P1)
All men are mortal (P2)
Bob is mortal (C)
