Exam 4 Critical Thinking

Question 1

euphemism/ dyphemism

Answer 1

DEFINITION: an agreeable or less offensive expression in place of one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant

EXAMPLES: enhanced interrogation (used for “torture”)/ friendly fire

Question 2

dysphemism

Answer 2

DEFINITION: the use of an intentionally harsher word or expression instead of a more polite one

EXAMPLES: Pro-abortion/regime (government)/bureaucrat (gov official)

Question 3

weasel words

Answer 3

DEFINITION: a word or phrase used to “hallow out” the content of the claim/also called “hedging”

EXAMPLES: save up to 40%/tax cuts MAY lead to economic recovery/i PROBABLY will be done by friday

Question 4

proof surrogate

Answer 4

DEFINITION: alluding to the existence of evidence, without actually any evidence

EXAMPLES: studies show that…./everyone knows that…./ i read on the internet that….

Question 5

innuendo

Answer 5

DEFINITION: alluding to something without actually stating it. Sometimes also called “slanting”

EXAMPLES: he didnt lie, this time/ i am one candidate in this race that doesnt have a drinking problem/ marks been spending a lot of time with allison if you know what i mean

Question 6

rhetorical questions

Answer 6

DEF: questions that are not designed to be answered - typically not questions at all but a roundabout way of making a claim

AKA: loaded question

EX: have you stopped beating your wife?

Question 7

Rhetorical use of passive/active voice

Answer 7

same sentence can be structured in one of two ways

ACTIVE: “the boy hit the ball”

PASSIVE: “the ball was hit by the boy”/ “i’m sorry you were hurt”

passive is often used to soften the force of a sentence

Question 8

Relativity

Answer 8

DEFINITION: when a property is considered qualitatively different than a given standard of comparison

EXAMPLES: she is tall for a girl/ id rather watch a movie than a documentary tonight/ the chili is better than you usually make it

Question 9

vagueness

Answer 9

DEFINITION: a concept which had blurry or imprecise boundaries

EXAMPLES: tall/happy/red/many

Question 10

ambiguity

Answer 10

DEFINITION: when a word or sentence corresponds to two or more distinct meanings

EXAMPLES: “good” - good student/good food/good person

Question 11

Three types of ambiguity

Answer 11

semantic

syntactic

grouping

Question 12

semantic ambiguity (equivocation)

Answer 12

DEFINITION: when a sentence means more than one thing based on an ambiguity in meaning of a given word

EXAMPLES: tom is cool (chilly or awesome?)/ experts called to testify before the committee, nut there was not a singe woman amongst them (no women or no unmarried women?)

Question 13

syntactic ambiguity (amphiboly)

Answer 13

DEFINITION: when a sentence means more than one thing based on the STRUCTURE of the sentence

EXAMPLES: he brushed his teeth on the carpet/ you look more like your brother than your father

Question 14

grouping ambiguity (composition/division)

Answer 14

DEFINITION: when ambiguity concerns individuals or classes

EXAMPLES: secretaries make more money than lawyers (This is true if we are referring to the group of secretaries as a whole, since there are more secretaries than lawyers. This is false if we take each as individuals, since lawyers on average make more than secretaries.)

Question 15

aesthetic judgements

Answer 15

NORMATIVE: they express value

use values such as beauty, elegance, complexity/ or more vague and metaphorical values like vision and influence

Question 16

ethical judgements

Answer 16

evaluative

value right/wrong

Question 17

virtue slides

Answer 17

Kant says don’t lie

Question 18

virtue ethics

Answer 18

originating from the moral philosophy of Aristotle, this moral theory emphasizes development of character as the source of moral goodness

Question 19

deontology

Answer 19

originally credited to Immanuel Kant, this theory emphasizes duty and intention as the source of moral goodnes

Question 20

consequentialism (aka Utilitarianism)

Answer 20

originates from the British phil. Bentham and Mill, emphasizes consequences of an action as a way to evaluate its moral quality

Question 21

cognitive vs emotive meaning

Answer 21

COGNITIVE: its definition

EMOTIVE: connotation

rhetoric is caused by the reliance upon emotive meaning rather than cognitive meaning

a good definition (cognitive) should be neutral and descriptive

EXAMPLES: horse vs steed/ particular vs peculiar/ terrorist vs freedom fighter

Question 22

types of definition

Answer 22

1. ostensive definition
2. extensional definition
3. intensional (lexical) definition
   4.definition by synonym

Question 23

uses of definition

Answer 23

1.stipulative definition
2.definitions used to ‘draw lines’
3. theoretical definitions
4. persuasive definitions

Question 24

ostensive definition

Answer 24

definition which stipulates a correlation between word and object, often by pointing, or some other non verbal clue as to the object being defined

EX: (pointing to cat) this is a cat

Question 25

extensional definition

Answer 25

definition by specifying a class of objects to which the word refers EX: by a 'real punk band' i mean the Ramones or the Exploited- not Blink 182!

Question 26

intensional (lexical)

Answer 26

the set of all and only those properties an object must have to correspond to a given word (necessary and sufficient conditions) EX: a bachelor is an unmarried man/ a square is a four-sided equiangular plane figure

Question 27

definition by synonym

Answer 27

defining a word with another word which can be used to replace the word to be defined EX: an octogenerian is someone who is 80 years old/ hit me means to give me another card

Question 28

stipulative definition

Answer 28

used to define new words EX: electron is a negatively charged atomic particle/ a wiki is a website which is user written and edited

Question 29

definitions used to 'draw lines'

Answer 29

definitions can be used for the purposes of reducing vagueness EX: 'full time student' means a student taking 12 credit hours/ adult legally means a person at least as 18 years old

Question 30

theoretical definitions

Answer 30

a definition that connects a word with other words within a theory EX: death means cessation of brain functioning/ force is mass times acceleration

Question 31

persuasive definition

Answer 31

definitions that carry rhetorical force EX: homosexuality is the sinful and unnatural desire to engage is sexual activity with someone of the same gender

Question 32

use vs mention

Answer 32

EX: 1. blue is a color 2. blue is four letters long 1. blue refers to the word as it means (color blue) and 2. is used to talk about 'blue' (the word blue)

Question 33

indexicals

Answer 33

some words are indexical, where their reference is relative to the circumstances of their being uttered EX: saying 'my name is tom' is true only when said by someone named tom/ saying 'it is 3:30' is true at most twice a day

Question 34

subjectivity

Answer 34

subjective impressions are typically important in making judgements about art, that is not to say it is entirely subjective. contrary to the cliche, beauty is not just on the "eye of the beholder"

Question 35

authority/expertise

Answer 35

often is not as cogent when applied to aesthetic matters, since aesthetics is not a domain of knowledge

Question 36

ethical relativism

Answer 36

the enemy of any comprehensive ethical theory. it denies any objective standard of right and wrong. instead claims that values can be evaluated relative to an individual or a given culture