Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
40 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
Claims, judgments, and arguments
|
The basic elements of persuasion and communication
|
|
|
Claims and Propositions
|
A statement that something is the case.
Are either true or false |
Ex: Ice is cold.
|
|
Objective Claims
|
Claims that are true or false regardless of our beliefs or opinions. It doesn't matter what you think, it's either true or false.
|
Ex: The world is round.
|
|
Subjective Claims
|
Claims whose truth and falsity depends on our beliefs and opinions.
|
Ex: Gandalf is cooler than Magneto.
|
|
Moral Subjectivism
|
The theory that all moral claims are subjective.
|
Ex: Gay marriage is immoral.
|
|
Beliefs, Judgments, and Opinions
|
The "mental attitude" we take towards a proposition.
Not objective or subjective. |
Ex: I believe that Italy is a beautiful country.
|
|
Argument
|
What you build out of the basic elements.
A set of premises and the conclusion that they support. |
Ex: Premise 1: If something is an apple, then it is also a fruit.
Premise 2: This is an apple. Conclusion: So this is a fruit. |
|
Premise
|
A claim that helps support the conclusion of an argument.
|
Ex: Premise 1: I am either alive, or dead.
Premise 2: I am not dead. Conclusion: I am alive. |
|
Conclusion
|
The claim supported by the premises. The point of the argument.
|
Ex: Premise 1: Eating meat is murder.
Premise 2: Murder is wrong. Conclusion: So eating meat is wrong. |
|
Deductive Argument
|
An argument such that if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true.
|
Ex: Premise 1: I am either a potato or a lobster.
Premise 2: I am not a potato. Conclusion: I am a lobster |
|
Valid, Validity
|
When, if the premises are true, the conclusion would have to be true too.
Not about the truth of the premises, but the hypothetical possiblity that they could be true. |
|
|
Sound
|
When an argument is valid AND the premises really are all true.
|
|
|
Inductive Argument
|
An argument where, if the premises are true, the conclusion is PROBABLY true.
|
Ex: P1: Most refined women prefer to study in the library.
P2: Claire is a refined woman. C: Claire prefers to study in the library. |
|
Strong
|
If the truth of the premises makes the conclusion very likely
|
Ex: P1: 70% of women pump iron.
P2: She is a woman. C: She pumps iron. |
|
Weak
|
When the truth of the premises does not make the conclusion likely.
|
Ex: P1: 2% of men pump iron.
P2: He is a man. C: He pumps iron. |
|
Balance of considerations
|
A kind of inductive reasoning that compares competing arguments of both deductive and inductive types.
|
Ex: Cost-benefit analysis
|
|
Inference to the best explanation
|
A kind of inductive reasoning that chooses among competing arguments/claims by identifying the "best" explanation.
|
We don't know whether the church was destroyed by a storm or by a dragon. However, since there hasn't been a dragon here for at least 3 years, it was a storm.
|
|
Vagueness
|
When the group of things a word or phrase applies to has borderline cases.
|
Ex: The USA does not condone torture.
|
|
Generality
|
The less detail a claim provides, the more it is this.
|
Ex: "I like Harry Potter." vs. "I am the number one Harry Potter fan in the Western Hemisphere."
|
|
Ambiguity
|
When a word or phrase has more than one meaning.
|
Ex: Kids make nutritious snacks
|
|
Semantic Ambiguity
|
Refers to the meaning of a word.
When a phrase contains a homonym- a single word with two meanings. |
Ex: He gave his grandma a ring.
|
|
Grouping Ambiguity
|
Whether a word refers to a group of people, or to the individuals in that group.
|
Ex: Human beings eat 40 billion lbs of food each day.
|
|
Syntactic Ambiguity
|
Ambiguity that arises because of sentence structure.
|
Ex: For your homework, read chapter 5 or chapter 6 and chapter 7.
|
|
Definition
|
A statement that conveys the meaning of a word or phrase without using the word itself.
|
|
|
Lexical Definition
|
Tells us what the word ordinarily means.
|
Ex: A bachelor is an unmarried man.
|
|
Stipulative Definition
|
Assigns a new name to a thing or description.
|
Ex: Anytime we have an orange-colored, citrus fruit, we'll call it an orange.
|
|
Precising Definition
|
Used to eliminate ambiguity.
|
Ex: (In a contract) Daniel Pilchman, hereafter "Professor," shall be expected to perform the following duties.
|
|
Persuasive (Rhetorical) Definition
|
"Pseudo-definitions" that act like they are defining something in order to persuade you of something.
|
Ex: Republicans are politically backwards rednecks.
|
|
Definition by example
|
Defining something by giving an example
|
Ex: This is a projector
|
|
Definition by synonym
|
Defining a word by giving another word with the same meaning.
|
Ex: Fastidious means fussy.
|
|
Analytical definition
|
Specifies features/Criteria/characteristics that a thing of that kind must possess.
|
Ex: A refrigerator is a kitchen appliance that keeps food cool.
|
|
Credibility
|
A claim has this if you should believe it.
|
Ex: I am a credible philosophy professor.
|
|
Two parts of assessing the credibility of a claim
|
1. The credibility of the claim itself.
2. The credibility of the source. |
|
|
Conflicts with observation
|
A claim is not credible if it conflicts with what we have observed ourselves through our senses
|
|
|
Conflicts with your background knowledge
|
A claim is not credible when it conflicts with what (you think) you know.
|
|
|
Conflicts with other credible beliefs
|
A claim is not credible when it conflicts with other credible claims.
|
|
|
Three factors that influence a source's credibility
|
1. Speaker's interest (Interested party)
2. Physical and other characteristics 3. Expertise |
|
|
Speaker's interest (Interested Party)
|
A source that stands to benefit/gain from your believing or disbelieving a claim.
|
Ex: A car salesman wants you to believe their cars are the best, because that is how they make money.
|
|
Physical and other characteristics
|
What a speaker is like.
|
|
|
Expertise
|
Speaker's special knowledge or training.
|
|