General

Question 1

Terminology/theory

Answer 1

Definition/s

Question 2

principle of identity

Answer 2

Everything is identical to itself

Question 3

principle of sufficient reason

Answer 3

Everything that happens/exists must have a sufficient cause/basis/explanation

Question 4

a priori knowledge (vs) a posteriori knowledge

Answer 4

A priori knowledge is (propositional) knowledge that is justifiable independently of experience (ie justified without needing any experience).

Question 5

an a priori argument (vs) an a posteriori argument

Answer 5

The former are arguments in which all of the premises are a priori; The latter are arguments in which at least one premise is a posteriori.

Question 6

analytic proposition (truth/falsehood)

Answer 6

A proposition whose truth or falsity depends ONLY upon the meanings of its constituent terms/concepts (and how they’re combined).

Question 7

synthetic proposition (truth/falsehood)

Answer 7

A proposition whose truth or falsity depends upon how reality is (and not only on the meanings of its constituent terms/concepts (and how they’re combined))

Question 8

antecedent (and) consequent

Answer 8

In a hypothetical/conditional “if….then…” statement, the antecedent is the “if” part of the statement and the consequent is the part that follows the word “then”.

Question 9

argument from analogy

Answer 9

An inductive argument in which (known) similarity is used as a basis to infer further similarity. It has the form: A is similar to B in certain (known) respects, A has some further feature F, therefore, B also (probably) also has the feature F. For example, two novels have a similar plot, and are in the same genre and have the same author, one is very boring, so the other (probably) is too.

Question 10

assertion/claim

Answer 10

An utterence / kind of speech act, typically carried out by the utterance of a declarative sentence in which a proposition is presented as true.

Question 11

a circular definition/explanation

Answer 11

When the term being defined/explained is part of the (ultimate) definition/explanation of the term.

Question 12

p is conceivable

Answer 12

p is able to be thought. Normally it is assumed that we mean by this, “p is able to be thought without contradiction”.

Question 13

consistent (vs) inconsistent

Answer 13

Propositions (fully specified) are consistent there is at least one possible world in which they are all true; They are inconsistent if there is no possible world in which they are all true.

Question 14

dilemma

Answer 14

A situation/argument in which all options are, in some sense, unsatisfactory.

Question 15

deductive argument / deduction

Answer 15

An argument which the proponent intends to be valid - i.e. for the conclusion to follow from the premises with logical necessity

Question 16

inductive argument

Answer 16

An argument which the proponent intends to be strong - i.e. they intend for the premises to give us good reasons to accept the conclusion as probably true. (NB: the proponent knows full well that the argument is not valid and that the conclusion does not follow from the premises with logical necessity)

Question 17

introspection / introspective access / introspective self-knowledge

Answer 17

The process by which one is directly aware of one’s own mind now and one’s current mental states.

Question 18

p is metaphysically possible

Answer 18

Reality could have been such that p is true (p is consistent with the essential natures of things)

Question 19

necessary (truth) (vs) contingent (truth)

Answer 19

The former is a proposition that is true in all logically possible worlds (i.e. it could not (possibly) have been false); The latter is a proposition that is true in the actual world (and maybe in other possible worlds) but false in at least one possible world (i.e. it could (possibly have been false)

Question 20

paradox

Answer 20

Where sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from what seem to be true premises, leads to a conclusion that seems logically unacceptable or self-contradictory.

Question 21

phenomenology

Answer 21

The study of structures of consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view / how things seem from the first-person point of view

Question 22

sound argument

Answer 22

A sound argument is an argument that (a) is valid (i.e. the truth of the premises logically guarantees the truth of the conclusion) and (b) has premises that are all in fact true.

Question 23

unsound argument

Answer 23

An unsound argument is an argument that either (a) is not valid (i.e. the truth of the premises does NOT logically guarantees the truth of the conclusion) or (b) has at least one false premise or (c) both.

Question 24

tautology

Answer 24

An analytic truth: A true proposition whose truth depends ONLY upon the meanings of its constituent terms/concepts (and how they’re combined).

Question 25

valid argument

Answer 25

An argument in which the truth of the premises logically guarantees the truth of the conclusion; if the premises are true then the conclusion must be true; it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false

Question 26

invalid argument

Answer 26

An argument in which the truth of the premises does NOT logically guarantee the truth of the conclusion; it is possible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false.

Question 27

verification principle (Ayer)

Answer 27

A proposition is meaningful if and only if either: (1) it is analytically true/false or (2a) (Strong version) its truth can be conclusively empirically verified in practice; or at least (2a) (Weak version) its probable truth could be empirically verified in principle.