PHI2010 Midterm Review Definitions and Distinctions 1 Arguments basic unit of reasoning set of statements one or more of which called premises are offered in support of another statement the conclusion Attempts to show that a statement conclusion is true 2 Validity an argument is valid if and only if it is impossible for all the premises to be true and the conclusion false For example Has to do with the relationship between premises and the conclusion not the actual truth or falsity of the premises For example the following is valid 1 All dogs are mammals 2 Jinx is a dog 3 Therefore Jinx is a dog 1 All dogs are reptiles 2 Jinx is a dog 3 Therefore Jinx is a reptile Can have all false premises 1 All republicans are Canadian 2 Obama is a republican 3 Therefore Obama is Canadian An invalid argument can have a true conclusion For example 1 All German Shepherds are mammals 2 Dogs are mammals 3 Therefore German Shepherds are dogs 3 Soundness Deductive argument that is valid and has all true premises soundness validity true premises if an argument is invalid or has one false premise it is unsound 4 Deductive Argument aims at establishing a conclusion with certainty 5 mathematical arguments A good deductive argument guarantees the truth of its conclusion aims to be valid and sound Inductive Argument aims at establishing the high probability of the conclusion do not aim at certainty Evaluated as strong or weak validity and soundness are not applicable when evaluating Can have false conclusion but all true premises For example 1 My cat has a tail 2 The cat next door has a tail 3 All the cats on the block have tails 4 Every cat I ve seen has had a tail 5 Therefore all cats have tails 6 Explanations not arguments different goal from an argument Premises offered to convince the unconvinced of the truth of the conclusion Attempts to show why a statement is true For example Susan is in a good mood because she won the lottery Truth of the conclusion assumed and explanation offered to help fill in details shed light on why it s true We see Susan is happy but why 7 Begging the Question a premise of an argument contains a direct or indirect assumption that the conclusion is true offering a circular argument circular reasoning For example God can only do good deeds because God is good 8 Affirming the Consequent arguing from the truth of the consequent the second half of a conditional statement to the truth of the antecedent the first half of a conditional statement if then The following statement proves that when reversing the statement the meaning changes For example If Jordan is a man then Jordan is a mortal Jordan is a mortal therefore Jordan is a man 9 Denying the Antecedent arguing from the falsity of the antecedent to the falsity of the consequent For example If Jordan is a man then Jordan is mortal Jordan is not a man therefore Jordan is not a mortal 10 Ad Hominem Fallacy rejects an argument based upon some irrelevant characteristic of the person who offered the argument For example We should reject Sally s argument in support of the claim that porn is harmful to women because Sally is lonely 11 Straw Man Fallacy mischaracterize your opponent s view and attack the weakened ridiculous version of their view For example It s ridiculous to think we should allow anyone who wants to live in America just walk across the border 12 Necessary Condition required for something else to be true but does not guarantee the truth of the further statement there may be other requirements For example In order to graduate we must all take a science with a lab 13 Sufficient Condition guarantees the truth of a further statement but may not be required For example We all must take a science with a lab therefore taking biology with a lab would fit these requirements However we don t have to take biology we can take whichever science and lab we want it is sufficient if we take biology it is not necessary Dog is sufficient to be a mammal Mammal is necessary to be a dog 14 A Priori a proposition is known as a priori if we can know that it is true by simply reflecting reasoning For example The parts must be smaller than the whole 15 A Posteriori a proposition is known as a prosteriori if we must appeal to experience or observe to know that it s true For example There are more undergraduate students at FSU than graduate students 16 Analytic if it s true in virtue of the meanings of the words used to make it up For example Bachelors are unmarried 17 Synthetic if it s not analytic For example Obama is the president of the U S 18 Contingent facts true but could have been false For example The sky is blue and we breathe oxygen Often analyzed in terms of possible worlds contingent facts are true in some but not all worlds 19 Necessary facts those that could not have been false For example 2 2 4 True in all possible worlds 20 Socratic Method method of teaching by question and answer used to produce truths from students 21 Counterexample an exception to a proposed general rule For example The statement All students are lazy Would be proven false with a single example of a diligent student 22 Skepticism not a single unified theory there is certain knowledge that is impossible For example Does God exist their justification 23 Foundationalism some beliefs are basic and do not rely on other beliefs for 24 Rationalism some ideas do not come from experience and these are the most dependable For example I know the desk but the color and sound of it come from the senses and are not as dependable as experiences 25 Category Mistake a logical error that comes from confusing two things as being the same sort of thing when they are not For example What does green taste like Saying that a unicorn and a horse with a party hat for a horn are the same thing 26 Behaviorism not a denial of the existence of mental processes behaviors but a denial that mental processes behaviors can be prepared to physical processes A behaviorist would say that there is no knowable difference between two states of mind unless there is a demonstrable difference in the behavior associated with each state 27 Idealism physical world doesn t exist qua physical world rather everything physical can be reduced to mental phenomena George Berkley 28 Materialism mental world doesn t exist qua mental world rather everything mental can be reduced to physical phenomena David Armstrong Daniel Dennett and Paul Churchland 29 Dualism the theory that the mental and the physical mind