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PHIL 180: FINAL EXAM
Critical Thinking |
The skill of correctly evaluating arguments made by others and composing good arguments of your own
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Argument |
An attempt to provide reasons for thinking that some belief is true
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Statement |
A sentence that makes a claim that can be either true or false |
Conclusion |
The statement an argument is intended to support |
Premises |
The statements that are intended to support the conclusion |
Unstated Conclusion |
Occurs when the author doesn't explicitly state the argument's conclusion |
Unstated Premise |
Occurs when an author (1) believes that a statement is true, (2) intends for this statement to be a premise of an argument, but (3) doesn't include any sentence that asserts the statement
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Things that are not arguments |
Assertions, descriptions, questions, instructions, and explanations
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Standard Form |
(1) If S1 gets bigger, S2 will fall
(2) S1 will get bigger
Therefore,
(3) S2 will fall
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True premises and proper form |
What are the two characteristics of a good argument? |
Proper form |
An argument has _______ when if the premises were true, they would support the conclusion |
Deductive Argument |
An argument that claims that the truth of the premises shows that the conclusion must be true |
Valid |
A deductive argument that passes the proper form test |
Invalid |
A deductive argument that does not pass the proper form test |
Sound |
A deductive argument that is valid with all true premises |
Unsound |
A deductive argument that is either (invalid) or (valid with false premises) |
Inductive Argument |
An argument that claims that the truth of the premises shows that the conclusion is likely to be true |
Weak |
An inductive argument that fails the proper form test |
Strong |
An inductive argument that passes the proper form test |
Cogent |
An inductive argument that's strong and has all true premises |
Uncogent |
An inductive argument that is either (invalid) or (valid with false premises) |
Relevant |
Premises are ________ when the truth of the premises provide some evidence that the conclusion is true
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Irrelevant |
Premises are ________ when the truth of the premises provides no evidence that the conclusion is true
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Independent Premise |
A premise that's intended to provide some support for the argument's conclusion even when the rest of the argument's premises are removed |
Dependent Premise |
A premise that's intended to provide support for the argument's conclusion only when combined with another premise in the argument |
Easy Target Fallacy |
Exaggerating someone's viewpoint to the point where it makes it easier to argue against |
Appeal to Popularity Fallacy |
When you claim something is true simply because it's widely approved of or believed to be true
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Appeal to Novelty or Tradition Fallacy |
Claiming a certain way is the right way to do something because it's the newest way possible or because it's what has always been done in the past |
Ad Hominem Fallacy |
Claiming someone's statement is false just because there is something objectionable about them (arguing their character instead of their claim) |
Guilt by Association Fallacy |
Attacking people's arguments based on their association with a person, group, or viewpoint that's considered objectionable
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Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy |
Claiming something is true simply because it hasn't been shown to be false
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Begging the Question Fallacy |
Occurs when a premise of an argument asserts the conclusion of the argument (uses the conclusion to prove itself) |
Empirical Statements |
Statements that report what people observe through their senses
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Definitional Statements |
A report about how a word is used; How you are proposing to use a word |
Statement by Experts |
A statement from people who have specialized knowledge about a particular field
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Credentials |
Evidence that a person provides to show they really are an expert |
Appropriate Area of Expertise |
A statement by an expert should only be used as an assumed premise if the statement falls within the expert's ________ |
Inappropriate Expertise Fallacy |
When an expert makes a premise or claim outside their area of expertise and one uses that claim in their argument
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Expert Consensus |
When multiple experts agree on the truth/falseness of a premise or conclusion |
Strength and Scope |
Two features that are crucial to assessing the conclusions of argumetns |
Strength of Conclusions |
1. It's possible inflation will rise next year
2. There's a good chance inflation will rise next year
3. It's certain that inflation will rise next year
Each of these conclusions expresses the same statement "Inflation will rise next year" but with different degrees of strength
As conclusions get stronger, they require more evidence to support them
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Scope of Conclusions |
When the conclusion is about a group of things, the conclusion will have a _______
1. There is at least one person taller than the authors of this book
2. About half of all people are taller than the authors of this book
3. Everyone is taller than the authors of this book
The first statement is true (narrow scope) and the last statement is false (very wide scope)
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Class Terms |
Terms that refer to a group of things
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Extensions |
For a class term, the collection of things in its class
For the class term "planet", the ______ are mercury, venus, earth, etc.
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Intension |
For a class term, the collection of features that all the members have in common
For the class term "planet", the ______ is an object that does not produce its own light and revolves around a star
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Genus |
A group of which the thing being defined is a member
Ex: Airplane - vehicle |
Species |
The feature or features that set the particular thing to be defined apart from the other things in the group
Ex: Airplane - flies through the air at top speeds |
Dictionary Definitions |
Definitions that state the common usage of the word
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Technical Definitions |
Gives the word a meaning that doesn't match common usage
Ex: "Gorillas are persons." This wouldn't make sense unless you knew that a philosopher's definition of person is "any beings that have a right to life"
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Narrow Extension |
A definition that excludes some members of the class being defined
Ex: Human beings are bipedal primate mammals that can speak a langauge
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Broad Extension |
A definition that includes entities that don't belong in the class
Ex: Human beings are animals that are toolmakers |
Correct Intension |
Accurate definitions have _______ if they correctly point to the central features of everything belonging to the thing being defined |
Persuasive Definition |
A definition that looks like its stating a dictionary definition but actually gives the words a technical definition to be used in an argument |
Ambiguous |
A passage is _______ when it doesn't make clear which of two or more meanings it's intended to have |
Fallacy of Equivocation |
Occurs when an argument trades on ambiguity (committed when one meaning of a word is used in a premise and another meaning of the word is used in a different premise or the conclusion)
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Vague |
A word is ______ when the boundaries of its extension are unclear
Ex: "Old" is an adjective that refers to a person who is over 40 years old, but you don't suddenly become old when you turn 40 |
Emotional Charge |
Words have an _________ when they generate or suppress emotions |
Appeal to Emotions Fallacy |
Occurs when someone uses emotionally charged language in the place of arguments
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Euphemism |
Words of phrases that suppress emotions and make things sound better than they actual are
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Descriptive Statistics |
Report and analyze data about things people have observed |
Average |
A way of describing the center of a data set
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Mean |
Calculated by adding numbers together and dividing by the numbers in that set
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Weighted Mean |
Mean where some components have more of an effect than other components |
Mode |
Most frequently occurring value in a data set |
Midrange |
Sum of the highest and lowest value divided by two |
Median |
Number you get when you arrange the numbers from highest to lowest and pick the middle number
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Outliers |
Data points far away from other data points in the set |
Low Resistance |
A measure of center of a data set that is greatly influenced by outliers
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High Resistance |
A measure of center of a data set that isn't affected very much by outliers |
Standard Deviation |
Measure of the spread of data away from the mean
|
Bimodial Distribution |
Distribution with two peaks when graphed |
Normal Distribution |
Distribution with one peak and smooth equal sides when graphed |
Regression Line |
A line that best fits the data in the data set |
General Statistical Argument |
An argument that takes the data from a sample and uses it to make a conclusion about part of the population in the sample |
Particular Statisical Argument |
An argument that takes the data from a sample and then uses it to make a conclusion about something that wasn't included in the original sample
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Proper Form Test for Statistical Arguments |
Guideline 1: Size: The larger the sample, the more likely that it is representative
Guideline 2: Variety: The more varied the sample, the more likely that it is representative |
Simple Random Sample |
All the things in the target population have an equal chance of being in the sample
|
Stratified Random Sample |
The target population is first divided into subgroups and then a simple random sample is taken from each subgroup |
Systematic Sample |
A sample where you select every Nth thing from a list of all the things in the target population |
Voluntary Response Sample |
Composed of people who voluntarily choose to respond to a call for data |
Haphazard Sample |
Chooses sample things for no reason at all |
Convenience Sample |
Sample consists of things that are easiest for the researcher to reach (geographically limited)
|
Undercoverage |
Occurs when some groups in the target are underrepresented |
Hasty Generalization Fallacy |
Occurs when a statistical argument uses a sample size that's too small |
Biased Sample |
Occurs when a sample has a serious lack of variety |
Biased Questions Fallacy |
Occurs when a survey asks for information with questions that are worded in a way that tends to encourage a particular response |
Cause |
Event or state of affairs that produces another event or state of affairs, the effect |
Event |
Something that happens at a particular time |
Causal Necessary Condition |
An event that's required for the production of another event |
Causal Sufficient Condition |
An event that, all by itself, will always produce another event |
Contributory Cause |
When the first event has an effect and helps to cause a second event but is neither a necessary nor sufficient cause
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Primary Cause |
When someone picks out a particular necessary, sufficient, or contributory cause for special attention, they're identifying the _________
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Proximate Cause |
Cause that is close in time to its effect |
Remote Cause |
Cause that's far in time from it's effect
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Causal Argument |
An argument whose conclusion asserts that one event(s) caused another event(s)
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Particular Causal Claim |
A causal argument whose conclusion asserts that one particular event causes another particular event |
General Causal Argument |
A causal argument whose conclusion asserts that one kind of event causes another kind of event |
Standard Form of a Causal Argument |
(1) E1 is correlated with E1
(2) E2 is not the cause of E1
(3) There is no E3 that caused E1 and E2
(4) E1 and E2 are not correlated by coincidence
Therefore,
E1 is a cause of E2 |
Binary Features |
Features of events that the event either does or doesn't have |
Scalar Features |
Features of events that the event has to a greater or less degree
|
Positive Binary Correlation |
E1 and E2 have _______ when E1 is present when E2 is present and when E1 is absent when E2 is absent |
Negative Binary Correlation |
E1 and E2 have _______ when E1 is present when E2 is absent and when E1 is absent when E2 is present |
Positive Scalar Correlation |
E1 and E2 have _________ when E1 rises as E2 rises and when E1 falls as E2 falls |
Negative Scalar Correlation |
E1 and E2 have _________ when E1 rises as E2 falls and when E1 falls as E2 rises
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Hasty Cause Fallacy |
Occurs when someone argues that one event caused another simply because the two events are correlated
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Causal Slippery Slope Fallacy |
When a person makes a series of causal claims, one or more of which commit the Fallacy of Hasty Cause |
Post Hoc Fallacy |
Occurs when someone misunderstands the relationship between causation and time |
Enthymeme |
An argument missing a premise or conclusion |
Non-Sequiter |
An irrelevant premise |
Homophony Ambiguity |
Type of ambiguity where the same word has 2 different meanings (bank-bank) |
Polysemy Ambiguity |
Type of ambiguity when the same word has 2 related meaning
Ex: "I was just reading the paper" - Could mean newspaper or a blank piece of paper |
Clustering |
The process where random events seem to cluster more than they should |
Regression to the Mean |
When data the starts out extreme ends overtime becomes more like the average
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Self-fulfilling prophecies |
Expresses a belief that causes behavior that makes the claim true
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Seemingly-fulfilled prophecy |
Expresses a belief that causes behavior that leads one to be unable to tell if the claim is true
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Observational Selection Effects |
Widespread dispersal of confirming information which causes people to remember/notice confirming data only |
Lake Wobegon Effect |
The tendency for humans to overestimate their beliefs and capabilities in relation to others (think they are always above average)
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Sharpening |
Emphasizing the parts of the story that support the moral |
Leveling |
Deemphasizing the parts of the story that don't support the moral
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False Consensus |
Overestimating the extent to which other share our beliefs and tendencies
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Sorites Argument |
Paradox involving the example with the grains of sand. If n is not a heap, than n+1 is not a heap. (what happens when you end up with billions?) |
Optional Stopping |
When people conducting an experiment stop collecting data after the observed data has proved their argument |
Truth Table |
Lists the truth values of a compound preposition for all the possible combinations of truth values for its single components
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Tautology |
Necessarily true, cannot be false; Truth table has all T's under main operator (used to define statements) |
Self-Contradictory Statement |
Necessarily false, cannot be true; Truth table has all F's under the main operator (used to define statements) |
Contingent Statement |
Truth value varies based on the truth value of its components; Truth table has at least one T and one F under the main operator (used to define statements)
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Logically Equivalent |
Truth tables show the same truth value on EVERY LINE under the statements' main operators (used to define a set of statements) |
Contradictory Statements |
Truth tables show opposite truth values on EVERY LINE under the statements' main operators (used to define a set of statements) |
Consistent |
At least one row where the statements are all true together (used to define a set of statements) |
Inconsistent |
No row where the statements are all true together (used to define a set of statements) |
Valid (truth tables) |
There is no truth value assignment under the main operators where the statements come out true and the conclusion comes out false (used to define an argument)
|
Invalid (truth tables) |
There is a type of truth value assignment that makes all the premises true and the conclusion false (used to define an argument) |
Universal Affirmative (UA) |
All G1 are G2 |
Universal Negative (UN) |
All G1 are not G2 |
Particular Affirmative (PA) |
Some G1 are G2 |
Particular Negative (PN) |
Some G1 are not G2 |
Quantifier |
(Standard form categorical prepositions)
Specifies how much of the subject is included in the predicate
"All" in "All eagles are birds" |
Subject term |
(Standard form categorical prepositions)
Main subject noun
"Eagles" in "All eagles are birds" |
Copula |
(Standard form categorical prepositions)
Word that links subject and predicate terms
"Are" in "All eagles are birds" |
Predicate term |
(Standard form categorical prepositions)
Main predicate nouns
"Birds" in "All eagles are birds" |
Gambler's Fallacy |
Mistakingly thinking that a pattern of random events will affect the event that happens next (6 heads in a row, so tails is due to come up next)
|
Reverse Gambler's Fallcy |
Thinking "I'm on a roll, heads will definitely come up again next" after tossing 6 heads in a row |
Fair Gambling Setup |
A ____________ is unbiased towards an outcomes and outcomes are independent |
Equality |
Two propositions that have the same probability
Ex: Pr(rolling a 3) and Pr(rolling a 2) |
Equivalence |
Two propositions that always happen in the same situation
Ex: Pr(rolling an even number) and Pr(rolling a 2, 4, or 6) |
Mutually Exclusive |
Two events that can't both be true (No overlap possible) |
Mutually exclusive and Jointly exhaustive |
Two events that cover all possibilities |
Independence |
Probability of one event does not influence the probability of another event
|
Compound Events |
Consists of two or more independent (simple) events
|
Decision Theory |
The logic of arguments in favor of one act/decision/chance over others (conclusion: "this is the best choice given your values and beliefs")
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Conditional Probability |
Pr(A/B) = Pr(A&B)/Pr(B)
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Categorical Statement |
A proposition that relates two categories of things |
Counterexample Method |
Coming up with statements to fit an argument from to prove its invalidity |
Coherence |
The bayesian idea that probabilities must be rational and follow all the rules of probabilities |