Test Terms Flashcards
(44 cards)
Logic
- From greek word logos, meaning word
- The study of good reasoning (inference) and the rules that govern it
Where do beliefs come from?
Parents and Family Friends and Community Places of worship TV, Movies Internet and Social Media Reading Books and Magazines Your own thinking about all the information that you have been exposed to
Basic Toolbox of Critical Thinking
- Statement
- Premise
- Conclusion
- Argument
Statement (aka claim or preposition)
An assertion that something is or is not the case
- Can be true or false
- Can be positive or negative
- Can be used in arguments as either premises or conclusions
Eg. The earth is not flat
Purpose of an argument
- Intended to persuade the listener
- Used to explore the implications of a premise
Premise
A statement given as a reason in support of another statement
Conclusion
A statement that premises are used to support
- What the speaker wants the audience to accept
The role of intention
In Identifying the argument and its parts, what matters is the speaker’s intention
Infrence
The process of reasoning from premise to conclusion
Premise Indicators
Because, since, given that.. etc.
Conclusion Indicators
Therefore, thus, so, ergo… etc.
Critical Thinking
The systematic evaluation or formulation of beliefs, or statements, by rational standards.
Explanation
A statement or statements intended to tell why or how something is the case
Appeal to popularity
The fallacy of arguing that a claim must be true merely because substantial number of people believe it
Peer Pressure
Group pressure to accept or reject a claim solely on the basis of what one’s peers think or do
Problems With What We Think
Philosophical skepticism
The view that we know much less than we think we do or that we know nothing at all
Problems With What We Think
Social Relativism
The view that the truth is relative to societies
Stereotyping
Drawing Conclusions about people without sufficient reasons
Problems With What We Think
Subjective relativism
The idea that truth depends on what someone believes
Subjectivist Fallacy
Accepting the notion of subjective relativism or using it to try to support a claim
Worldview
A philosophy of life; a set of fundamental ideas that help us make sense of a wide range of important issues in life. A worldview defines for us what exists, what should be, and what we can know
Affirming the antecedent (modus ponens)
Valid
If A, then B
A
Therefore B
Denying the consequent (modus tollens)
Valid
If A, then B
Not B
Therefore Not A
Hypothetical Syllogism
Valid
If A, Then B
If B, Then C
Therefore If A, Then C
