CT EXAM 2

• a connected series of sentences, statements or premises that are intended to give reasons of some kind for a conclusion
• arguments aim to provide justificaton
• aim to convince that something is true

• includes bribes,threats, or emotional reasons to believe a claim
• not intellectual
• ie. They'll burn me at stake if I don't believe

• provides a justified belief
• also known as cosmological arg.

• tells us why something happened
• reduce suprise
• answers ques.
• are never complete

• since
• because
• for
• as
• given
•  infalliable guide

• Therefore
• hence
• thus
• then
• it follows
• falliable guide

• an arg. can be valid if & only if it is not possible that all the premises be true and its conclusion false
• arguments can be true even if it's premises be false

• Valid
• 1.P -> Q
• 2. P
• 3. Therefore, Q

• Invalid
• 1. P->Q
• 2.Q
• 3. Therefore, P

• Valid Arg w a conditional premise
• 1. P ->Q
• 2. Not Q
• 3. Therefore, Not P

• Invalid arg w/ conditional premise
• 1. P ->Q
• 2. Not P
• 3. Therefore, NOT Q

• an arg. is sound only if it's valid & it's premises are true
• important because a sound arg. must be valid
• only deductive arg. are sound

• we can't associate a precise meaning w/ the expression
• ie. the prostitute can appeal to the Pope

• arg. in which apparently good reasoning takes us from apparently true premises to an apparently false conclusion.
• ie "This sentence is false": If the sentence is true it must be false, if its false it must be true

paradox involves 1. vague preidicate (bald) 2. an obviously true claim (Obama is not bald) 3. An incremental diff to the true claim (If Obama loses one hair, he won't be bald) leading to 4. An obviously false claim (If Obama lose all but one hair he wont be bald.)

aim to show that there is no geniuine diff. btwn cases on a continium so everything has the property in question

• there is no reason to distinguish btwn. diff. kinds of things.
• ie: taxes on food are bad & we use cars to get food so we should fight taxes on luxuary cars.

• problem of distinguishin diff. kinds of cases that might recieve same diff. treatment
• ie. abortion is wrong vs. abortion to save a life of preggo women

• one event would lead to a undesirable event thus the 1st event is indesirable
• ie. if you have a kid, it will die one day so "Don't have kids, you are killing them"

• this undesirable event will lead to a good event
• ie. getting fired

• it's unclear which meaning of a word is associated w/ the expression
• ie: fram appeal

ambiguity of an individual term or word "Obama smokes"

• ambiguity of a phrase or sentence
• ie: time for football & meatball stew

• when an arg. uses the same expression in diff. senses in diff. parts
• ie.1.The polar bears are disappearing 2.if the polar bear are disappearing we should chase after them. 3. Therefore, we should save the polar bears by chasing them
• distinguish all possible meanings & restate
• determine if any cases are true

• dictionary definitions
• ex: car-automobile

• definition stipulated for the purpose of an arg or discussion
• ie. "worst cook in the world" =my father

• def. that are defined by ostending (pointing towards) something
• ie THAT is a chair

revelence

• good arg are relevant to the truth of their conclusions
• BAD arg are NOT relevant
• ie. I been thinking about buying a donkey so you should take hang gliding lessons

arg. directed against the person who makes the claim rather than the argument itself

• ad hominem that deny theh truth of the claim of argument
• ie. bob's a redhead so whatever he says is false

• adhominem deny the right of persons to speak
• ie.you all are men so why should you speak on abortion

• adhominems dismiss the speaker as unreliable or untrustworthy
• ie.  shes a liar so we can't trust her

• dismiss an idea on the basis of it's origin
• ie. pythagoreans thought it was immortal to eat bens so discredit

• take an auth. w/ respect to to a certain subj. & treat it as authority on another subject.
• ie Obama as auth. of Rennaisance paintings

• use tradition as a reason to justify a claim
• ie. Spanish bullfighting is trad. so it should not be outlawed

• when the fact that a claim is true is widely accepted determines whether it is true or not
• popular opinion
• ie. gasoline taste poorly

• draws on emotions to prove a claim
• someones or somthings poor state
• ie MJ is dead so we shouldn't accuse him of rape

• draws our focus to possible & undesirable outcomes & argue that we should take a course of action based on fear
• ie. flu ->hazmat suits

• if & only if one of the premises that is used directly or indirectly to support a conclusion equiv. to the conclusion itself
• ie. no honest person would sell organs on the black market
• therfore, only evil ppl sell sell organs on the black market

• when reasons or rationale for the premises are just one that accepts the conclusion
• no independent reasons
• ie. murder is wrong, euthanasia is murder, therefore euthanasia is wrong

• arg. or positions constructed such that no evidence can refute them
• ie astrology.