PHIL 103: Critical Thinking

T or F: A valid argument is one in which the conclusion is guaranteed by the premises.

True

T or F: Anything that is physically possible is also logically possible.

True

An argument that is not valid but contains a conclusion supported by the premises is:

Strong

An object cannot both lack and have a property at the same time.

Law of non-contradiction

Any given event will either occur or not occur.

Law of excluded middle

Every object is identical to itself and only itself.

Law of identity

“Everybody loves the artwork of Norman Rockwell, so it is obvious that Norman Rockwell is the most talented painter in history.”

Appeal to popularity/the masses

An argument in which the very conclusion to be argued for is already assumed as a premise.

Begging the question

“Whispers on the Wind” is an example of a(n)

Category mistake

When in the course of an argument a person uses a word in more than one sense without identifying the shift in meaning.

Equivocation

Constructive perception is:

The mental process of constructing what you perceive to be reality from incomplete data.

When people perceive an object to be a certain size or color because they know or think they know what size or color the object is supposed to be, it is an example of:

Perceptual constancy

We have good reason to be skeptical of our own or another's experience if it is reasonable to believe that some peculiarity of the mind like constructive perception could be at work, or the conclusion is at odds with all known previous experience, or…

it is uncorroborated.

A proposition is a statement that…

is either true or false.

Does the correlation of two events guarantee a cause and effect relationship between the two events?

No.

Does a correct belief guarantee knowledge of a certain matter?

No

For a correct belief to count as knowledge we should…

Have well established supporting reasons for our belief.

The belief that knowledge required certainty is part of…

Pyrrhonian Skepticism

Ockam's Razor is the principle that states:

“All things being equal the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.”

The more reasonably justified background information a proposition conflicts with…

the more reason there is to doubt it.

Hume's Fork refers to two realms of inquiry that Hume believed were open to meaningful and worthwhile investigation:

Matters of Fact and Relations of Ideas.

A recent poll indicates that 90% of Americans believe in angels

Weak Inductive Argument

"As a practicing dental hygienist, I can assure you that adding fluoride to our drinking water will cause serious mental illness"

Weak appeal to authority.

“Valuable objects were absent from the house. Either someone was hiding them or it was the result of a burglary. Nobody was hiding them. So it must have been a burglary.”

Valid

The tendency to look exclusively for evidence that confirms our own views:

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to rely only on evidence which is vivid and memorable instead of reliable or trustworthy.

Availability Error

To make a judgement about a group of things based on anecdotal evidence concerning only a few members of that group:

Fallacy of Hasty Generalization

When phenomena observed are more limited and restricted than what you would expect if the hypothesis were true

Argument from Unwarranted Design

Failure to realize that the probability of two events occurring together is less than the probability of one of them occurring alone:

Conjunction Fallacy

If one intentionally ignores evidence that can disprove one's belief then it is known as

Cherry picking

T or F: A claim should be regarded as extraordinary if it conflicts with well established information and/or the cost of being mistaken about the claim could lead to disaster.

True

If a claim is considered extraordinary then

The evidence required to justify the claim must be of a higher quality than otherwise necessary for non-extraordinary claims

"Ninety percent of my clients are well educated professionals"

Meaningless Statistic

"There are Nine Million rats in New York City"

Unknowable Statistic

Uri Geller claims to be able to bend spoons with the power of his mind. Yet, he is only able to bend spoons that he has previously handled. This is an example of:

Unwarranted Design

"Either this house is being haunted by several ghosts or there is some historical event replaying over and over again in this place."

False Dilemma

"Same-sex marriage will lead to interspecies marriage"

Slippery Slope Fallacy

An argument that draws a conclusion about one object or event because the same can be said about a different object or event is:

an argument from analogy

"No report of extraterrestrial visitation has been substantiated, therefore there are no true cases of extraterrestrial visitation."

Appeal to Ignorance

"Crime and alienation has been on the rise during the twentieth century and so has belief in the theory of evolution. This makes it obvious that the theory of evolution has created a moral crisis."

Post Hoc Error

"Rob is lives in Monroe County. Rochester is in Monroe County. Therefore Rob lives in Rochester."

Invalid

"Rob is lives in Rochester. Rochester is in Monroe County. Therefore Rob lives in Monroe County."

Valid

Claims in the form of hearsay are considered

Anecdotal

T or F: It is never appropriate to explain one extraordinary event with another extraordinary event.

True

T or F: Anecdotal evidence is another term for scientific evidence

False

T or F: Anecdotal claims tend to play a very large role in the formation of conspiracy theories

True

T or F: Anecdotal claims or observations may provide a reason to conduct a scientific investigation but should never count as supporting evidence

True

One sign of pseudo-scientific investigation is an attempt to explain a mysterious phenomena by…

appealing to another equally or more mysterious phenomena.

Cherry picking involves

Intentional Confirmation Bias

"Skeptics tend to be closed minded cynical people who are unwilling to admit that there are forces they cannot understand."

Poisoning the well

The first Western thinkers seeking to understand the Kosmos outside of religion and myth were known as

Pre-Socratics

Branch of philosophy that concerns itself with the fundamental nature of "what is."

Metaphysics

Thinker that posits "flux," under the imperceptible guidance of logos as the fundamental nature of reality.

Heraclitus

Thinker that posits water to be the fundamental nature of reality

Thales

Thinker that posits being as the "static and eternal one."

Parmenides

T or F: One advantage of abstract explanation is that it serves to organize seemingly diverse examples of data

True

In modern usage sophistry has come to refer to…

Fallacious manipulation

Sophist claiming that "Justice is the virtue of the strong."

Thrasymachus

Sophist claiming that "man is the measure of all things"

Protagoras

One problem with relativism, according to Plato, is that it is

Self-refuting

Which philosopher managed to blend aspects of Heraclitus' and Parmenides' thinking into his own metaphysical postulate about reality?

Plato

Reductio ad absurdum

refers to the technique of following a claim to its logical conclusions in order to find implausible consequences

Philosopher that wrote the Apology

Plato

Philosopher that claims "the unexamined life is not worth living."

Socrates

Process of cross examination involving an attempt to scrutinize concepts for contradictory implications

Socratic Method

True or False: If something is logically possible it must also be physically possible

False

Aristotle thought that a defining trait of the human animals is

Rationality

Ancient attempts to determine the "good life" for the human being belong to the philosophical branch known as…

Aesthetics

This philosopher first organized the basic rules and principles of logic

Aristotle

This branch of philosophy studies the rules of argumentations

Logic

This period of philosophy beings around the death of Alexander the Great and continues until the Roman/Imperial period

Hellenistic period

These philosophers advocated happiness through a dispassionate state of mind

Stotics

The philosophers advanced pleasure through the avoidance of pain

Epicureans

These philosophers advocated happiness through recognizing the impossibility of certainty

Pyrrhonists

Hellenistic school of thought that advocated Ataraxia through self-reliance and non-conformity

Cynicism

School of Skepticism associated with Plato's school of philosophy

Academic Skepticism

According to Cicero this trope in particular was emphasized by the Academic Skeptics

Disagreement

This Skeptical trope suggests that all observations are relative to our own particular circumstnces

Subjectivity

This Skeptical trope suggest that any justification must itself be justified and so there is no possibility of a final justification for any claim

Infinite regress

This Skeptical trope suggest that arguments rooted in an unjustified claim commit the fallacy known as "Begging the Question:

Circularity

This Skeptical trope suggest that any claim is not worth taking seriously unless it can be justified

Unsupported assumption

This Skeptical trope suggests that fro any rational argument an equally rational counter argument can be proposed

Disagreement

Plato wrote in what form?

Dialogue

Agrippa's Trilemma focuses on the tropes of Assumption, Infinite regress and

Circularity

Cogito Ergo Sum translates as

I think, therefore I exist

The "cogito" was made famous by

Rene Descartes

An argument that is not valid but contains a conclusion supported by the premises is

Strong