PHILOSOPHY EXAM Flashcards
what is the focus ethics?
The discipline with what is morally good and bad and morally right and wrong.
what is the focus of metaphysics
Examines the nature of being and asks big questions like:
What exists? What is real? Can we talk about things that do not exist, such as unicorns? What is the meaning of life?
what is the focus of logic?
Deals with the pursuit of the truth and reason
what is the focus of aestetics?
The philosophical study of beauty and taste
What is beauty? What is art? What is the role of art in society?
what is the focus of Social and Political Philosophy
Examines the way that society organizes itself
How should we govern ourselves? What is justice?
what is the focus of epistomology
the study and theory of knowledge
What does it mean when we say that we “know” something? How do we obtain knowledge? Is knowledge universal?
what is a fallacy?
common erros in logic that undermind the logic of your argument
ese can be made on purpose or by mistake.
Fallacy: appeal to ignorance
There is no evidence for the truth of X, so X is false. There is no evidence for the falsehood of X, so X is true
There are unicorns. After all, no one has been able to prove that there are no unicorns.
Fallacy: slippery slope
someones make a cliam about somethign that would lead to a further series of unfourunate events
If you don’t pass tomorrow’s math exam, then you can’t take calculus next year. If you don’t take calculus, you won’t be accepted into the master’s program you want.
Fallacy: improper appeal to authority
the logical error lies in the content of the argument
An appeal to authority is fallacious because it does not provide enough evidence to substantiate the claim, regardless of whether the claim is true or not.
Fallacy: problamatic premise
This happens when an unproven idea, which should be explained or supported, is used to support a conclusion.
All birds can fly, and penguins can’t fly, so penguins aren’t birds.
Fallacy: Appeal to pity
when soemone tries to win an argument by exploiting someones feelings of pity o guilt
You should not find the defendant guilty of murder, since it would break his poor mother’s heart to see him sent to jail.”
Fallacy: Attack on the motive
This happens when someone’s argument is dismissed because of their biases or motives, even though their argument could still be valid
Economist Milton Friedman has argued in favour of reducing taxes, but his argument should be discounted. He’s a millionaire who would benefit greatly from a reduction in taxes.
Fallacy: Straw Man
the misrepresentation or distortion of someon’s character The misrepresentation or distortion is usually a weaker argument. The person then attacks the distorted argument.
Person 1 - I think pollution from humans contributes to climate change. Person 2- So, you think humans are solely responsible for extreme weather? What about volcanoes? Are we responsible for that too?
Fallacy: False dichotomy
presenting only two choices, or options when there are more avaliable
Jim often criticizes capitalism, therefore he must be a communist.
fallacy: Bandwagon
appeal to what is accepted by many, even if it is wrong.
Everyone is going out to get the new smartphone this weekend. Why aren’t you?
Fallacy: two wrongs
If you try to justify an act/belief by pointing out in others a similar act/belief.
This place of employment treats their employees poorly, therefore it is ok to steal from them.
Fallacy: decomposition
It occurs when a property of the whole is erroneously ascribed to the parts.
The brain is not capable of consciousness because the miniscule parts that make up the brain do not possess consciousness.
Fallacy: faulty analogy
assuming that because two things are alike in one or more respects, they are necessarily alike in some other respect.
Bananas and telephones are both shaped to fit our hands, so telephones must, like bananas, be edible.
What is a faulty analogy?
Assuming that because two things are alike in one or more respects, they are necessarily alike in some other respect.
Bananas and telephones are both shaped to fit our hands, so telephones must, like bananas, be edible.
What does equivocation refer to in logical arguments?
Using a term that has two different meanings in a way that presents the two meanings as one.
A slice of cucumber is better than nothing. Nothing is better than being in love. Therefore, a slice of cucumber is better than being in love.
What is begging the question or a circular argument?
A conclusion is assumed in one of the premises.
The belief in God is universal. After all, everyone believes in God.
What is a hasty generalization?
Making a claim based on evidence that is too small.
This clinic makes a lot of money. Each psychologist who works here must earn a large income.
What does false causality imply?
Incorrectly assuming that a causal relation exists between two things or events.
Every time I wash my car, it rains!
What is the accident fallacy?
Occurs when exceptional or accidental factors are overlooked while arguing a general rule should be applied.
Lying is wrong. When Deirdre lied to her mother about her mother’s hairstyle, even though it was to protect her mother from the ugly facts, she acted immorally.
What is composition in logical fallacies?
When features of the parts are erroneously assigned to the whole.
Mehra was allowed to hand in her assignment late, after she recovered from surgery. So, everyone else in the class should be allowed to hand in the assignment late.
fallacy: loaded term
using manipulative language (instead of facts or evidence) to convince someone that a claim is true.
Lucky Charms cereal is healthy because it contains whole grains.
Fallacy: Appeal to tradtion
ignoring the evidence that something must be changed because we have been doing something for a long time.
It is our tradition for a bride’s family to provide a large dowry to the groom. I know you want to argue that gender equality is changing this, but it’s how it’s always been.
Fallacy: attack on the person
this involves attacking the arguer and not the actual argument itself. It shifts the focus from the argument to the person’s personality.
But he is nothing other than a nationalistic, simple-minded war-mongerer bent on bullying the world with his military toys.
early philosophers
Plato
- He was a student of Socrates and later taught Aristotle.
- His contributions include ethics, cosmology, and metaphysics.
- Plato was a classical philosopher from Greece. Plato was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle.
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Socrates
- He was the first Greek philosopher to seriously explore questions of ethics.
- Socrates believed that philosophy should achieve practical results for the greater well-being of society. He attempted to establish an ethical system based on human reason rather than theological doctrine.
- Socrates pointed out that human choice was motivated by the desire for happiness. Ultimate wisdom comes from knowing oneself.
Immanuel Kant:
- as a German philosopher and one of the foremost thinkers of the Enlightenment.
- Kant argued that we can only have knowledge of things we can experience.
- transcendental idealism, which emphasizes a distinction between what we can experience and what we cannot
Aristotle:
- was Plato’s student.
- Also a Greek philosopher
- He developed the first formal system of logic, known as syllogistic logic.
- Aristotle studied biology, physics, and astronomy. He believed in observing the natural world and classifying organisms.
Rene Descartes:
- “I think, therefore I am,”
- He is also attributed with developing mind-body dualism, the metaphysical argument that the mind and body are two different substances which interact with one another.
