Midterm 1 Flashcards
(30 cards)
Arguments
• Arguments are statements that involve premises and conclusion → premises support conclusion
o Goals are to convince and persuade
• My dog was sick (premise) that’s why we went to the vet (conclusion) ie. 2 thoughts
o They can be any length and on any topic
o Intent is to arrive at the conclusion
o They can be deductive, inductive, sound, strong, weak, valid & invalid
Deductive Arguments
• An argument that is intended to be deductively valid → to provide a guarantee of the truth of the conclusion provided that the argument’s premises are true
o I.e. It is sunny outside. If it is sunny outside, he wont be carrying an umbrella. So, he wont be carrying an umbrella
• The only choice is to accept the conclusion
Inductive Arguments
• An argument that is meant to establish or increase the probablility of its conclusion → the premises are intended to only be so strong that, if they were true, then it would be unlikely that the conclusion is false
o Most birds fly. Sam is a parrot. Sam probably flies
Validity
• An argument is valid if the truth of the premises logically guarantees the truth of the conclusion → it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false
o I.e. All fish read Russian novels. Goldie is my fish therefore Goldie reads Russian novels
Deductively Invalid
• A deductive argument that is invalid. The argument could have true premises, but still have a false conclusion
o I.e. if you don’t wear swim goggles, you can lose your contact lenses. Susan lost her contact lens so she must not have worn swim goggles
• A deductively invalid argument is where deductive goes wrong and is no longer a logical process
Sound Argument
• An argument is sound if and only if it is valid and all its premises are true
• A sound argument is necessarily valid but a valid argument need not be sound **
• An unsound argument can have true or false conclusion
o I.e. Benny is a cat. All cats are mammals. Benny is a mammal. → this is valid and sound if we accept there is an entity called Benny and it is a cat
What is language?
• Language is a tool of communication and a system of symbols.
Aristotle
• The reference theory of meaning - the meaning is what the word refers to
John Locke
• The idea theory of meaning: associated with the name of the British philosopher
-the meaning is the idea/image associated with the word
Ludwig Wittgenstein and John Austin
we understand the meaning of words by the sentences in which we use them
Main Function of Language
• Language can be descriptive, evaluative, emotive, evocative, persuasive, interrogative, directive, performative, recreational
Definition
• A definition is an explanation of a word and the meaning of the word is the set of rules or conditions that govern its use
Definition - Sense & Reference
o Sense is also known as connotation of the word and it is what we understand when we understand the meaning of a word
• All words have sense but not all have reference
o Ie. the, and, unlike etc.
o Reference and denotation is the class of things that the word belong sto
• The word plate means a flat dish for serving food – it refers to all such objects in the world from past, present and future
Reportive Definition
this is the dictionary, standard meaning of a word
Essentialist Definition
have to be understood as compressed theories. They refer to more abstract words or concepts such as good, love, philosophy etc. and tend to be longer and more paragraph like
Stipulative Definition
aim at more specific meanings of words. Also, when we invent new words, we stipulate their meaning. new or currently-existing term is given a specific meaning for the purposes of argument or discussion in a given context
o ie. crash is understood here as a total loss of computer programs and data – specific because you need to know what a computer and data is
Methods of Definition - genus-species
we specify the class of which the word/concept is a member of and then we distinguish it from the other members of the same class o I.e. curette – is a spoon-shaped surgical instrument (distinguishing the group it belongs to) used to remove tissue from a body cavity (further distinguish what it does)
Methods of Definition - • By ostentation
pointing to the object
o I.e. the woman to the left of your father wears blue pullover. This is what we call Turkish blue. (useful for colours, descriptive words)
Methods of Definition - by synonym
i.e. flat means the same thing as apartment
Methods of Definition - by operation
when we specify when exactly a word is applied and when it is not
o I.e. genius – everyone that scores more than 140 on a standard IQ test – this is hard to define because it is overused. If we had to REALLY describe what is means, that is what we would say that. We mean someone with a really high IQ score
Methods of Definition - by context
when we specify the meaning of a word other than its standard meaning
o I.e. sound argument in logic means that the premises which are true support the conclusion which as a result is also true
Circular Definition
Reportive, essentialist and stipulative definitions can also be circular. A circular definition is when the defining phrase includes the term that is being defined
Obscurity
reportive, stipulative and essentialist definitions can also be obscure. It happens when the defining phrase uses metaphorical ambiguous language
o I.e. Informal logic is best defined as a travel guide to the world of correct reasoning– trying to define something that is supposed to be specific and going into some poetic description which is fine if you aren’t trying to specifically describe something to someone
Analytic Statement
true by definition, they are self-evident truths, tautologies, also called necessary truths. They have to be false by definition
o I.e. all squares have 4 sides – true statement is ALL contexts
