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argument
a set of statements in which one or more of the statements attempts to provide reasons or evidence of truth of another statement
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premise
reasons that are given for a conclusion; a statement in an argument that serves to provide evidence for the truth of a claim
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conclusion
point one is trying to make; the statement in an argument that the premises are claimed to support or imply
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premise indicators [list examples]
since, because, for, given that
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conclusion indicators [list examples]
therefore, so, hence, thus, consequently
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logic
the study of methods for evaluating arguments and reasoning
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deductive argument
argument that aims at certainty; close relationship between premise and conclusion; the conclusion necessarily follows the premises
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inductive argument
probabilistic reasoning; an argument whose premises make the conclusion highly probable
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valid argument
an argument in which it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false
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invalid argument
an argument in which the truth of the conclusion fails to logically follow from the premises
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sound argument
a valid argument with true premises
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strong argument
an inductive argument in which true premises would make the conclusion highly probable
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cogent argument
a strong argument that has true premises
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epistemology
[G: episteme, "knowledge"; logos, "rational discourse"] the philosophy of knowledge; the area of philosophy that deals with questions concerning knowledge and that considers various theories of knowledge
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Sophists
traveling educators during Socrates' day who would offer practical courses for a fee and who taught the doctrine of skepticism
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skepticism
the belief that we cannot have knowledge
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ethics
also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice, etc.
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metaphysics
a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world; "what is reality like?"
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wisdom
knowing what to do (and all this entails)
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virtue
ability to habitually follow the guidance of wisdom; acting in conformity with your better judgement
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inner peace
the internal harmony (of mind, emotion, and body) that comes from living virtuously
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Socratic method (7 steps)
- teaching by asking questions
- 1. identify philosophical issues in an everyday topic
- 2. isolate key terms for analysis
- 3. Socrates professes ignorance [Socratic Irony]
- 4. Companion proposes definition of key term
- 5. Socrates exposes weakness of definition by asking questions
- 6. Companion tries again
- 7. Companion must face his own ignorance [Socratic Wisdom]
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Socratic Wisdom
the knowledge that you do not know anything; intellectual humility; open-mindedness
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conditional statement
IF antecedent, THEN consequent
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fallacy
an argument form that is logically defective because the premises provide little or no support for the conclusion
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hasty generalization fallacy
forming a generalization about a group with an insufficient sample; [sample of the ocean & declaring total pollution]
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false cause fallacy
someone assumes correlation equates causation; the assumption that because event X occurred before event Y, X caused Y; [black cat & event]
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false analogy fallacy
statements not relevant to conclusion; premises are based on two or more cases that contain more differences than similarities; [blue cars & performance]
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ad hominem
- "against the person"
- abusive: rejecting a person's conclusion by attacking the person making the claim
- circumstantial: dismissal of a person's arguments by suggesting that their circumstances are the sole reason why they embrace the conclusion; biased
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