Philosophy 1

a set of statements in which one or more of the statements attempts to provide reasons or evidence of truth of another statement

reasons that are given for a conclusion; a statement in an argument that serves to provide evidence for the truth of a claim

point one is trying to make; the statement in an argument that the premises are claimed to support or imply

since, because, for, given that

therefore, so, hence, thus, consequently

the study of methods for evaluating arguments and reasoning

argument that aims at certainty; close relationship between premise and conclusion; the conclusion necessarily follows the premises

probabilistic reasoning; an argument whose premises make the conclusion highly probable

an argument in which it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false

an argument in which the truth of the conclusion fails to logically follow from the premises

a valid argument with true premises

an inductive argument in which true premises would make the conclusion highly probable

a strong argument that has true premises

[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

traveling educators during Socrates' day who would offer practical courses for a fee and who taught the doctrine of skepticism

the belief that we cannot have knowledge

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.

a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world; "what is reality like?"

knowing what to do (and all this entails)

ability to habitually follow the guidance of wisdom; acting in conformity with your better judgement

the internal harmony (of mind, emotion, and body) that comes from living virtuously

• 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]

the knowledge that you do not know anything; intellectual humility; open-mindedness

IF antecedent, THEN consequent

an argument form that is logically defective because the premises provide little or no support for the conclusion

forming a generalization about a group with an insufficient sample; [sample of the ocean & declaring total pollution]

someone assumes correlation equates causation; the assumption that because event X occurred before event Y, X caused Y; [black cat & event]

statements not relevant to conclusion; premises are based on two or more cases that contain more differences than similarities; [blue cars & performance]

• "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