Arguments in Action

Arguments in Action

1. Arguments are composed of statements

   • statements can only assert or deny a claim
     • statements can be true or false
   • Arguments are used to support, refute or deny a claim
     • Deductive arguments attempt to draw certain conclusions from premises
       • (in) valid and (un) sound
         • can be thought of offering proof
           • usally any argument where the where the premises guarentee a conclusion
             • all cats have tails, felix is a cat, therefore he has a tail
     • Inductive arguments attempt to draw probable conclusions from premises
       • can be strong/weak or cogent/not cogent
         • attempt to draw probable conclusions from the premises
           • can be thought of as offering evidence
             • every cat i've seen has a tail. Felix is a cat, therefore he has a tail
               • usally any argument where the premise does not garentee a conclusions

2. Fallacies are common errors in resoning

   • formal fallacy: invalid structure or form
     • denying the antecedent: a formal fallacy with the stucture if P then Q, not P therefore not Q
     • Affirming the consequent: a formal fallacy with the structure If P then Q, Q, therefore P. invalid
   • informal fallacy: problem with the contents rather than the structure
     • illigitamate appeals to authority: a claim someone makes becuase they are a celeb for example or high up to others and the claim is not in their expertise
     • attacking the person (Ad Hominem): not using logic to prove a point and attacking the person
       • Post hoc ergo propter hoc (after this, therefore because of this): e.g. I did badly in the exam because I didn't bring my lucky charm and conclude that's why you did badly
         • Slippery slope: the claim suddenly leads to a worse case of affairs with no justification
           • Appeals to emotion: attempting to gain acceptance of a claim by appealing to emotions rather than a reason for the facts

3. Philosophical techniques

   • Thought experiments: generally an imagined scenario that is intended to provide evidence for a claim
   • analogical arguments: basic structure of arguments. A and B are similar so what is true of A will also be true of B
   • Counter examples: used to show a universal statement is false
   • Appeals to intuition: often attempted by the telling of plausible stories
   • Confirmation bias: to notice or seek out information that confirms existing opinions and to avoid or reject information that suggests out opinions are wrong
     • Plausibility: a claim is plausible if it seems reasonable and is worthy of belief
       • Ambiguity: a word or statement that has 2 possible meanings