Philosophy Unit 1

inference

accepting something that is clear but not directly stated

example of an inference

Kal is a long-haired cat —> Kal is a cat

example of an inference

the marker cap is entirely red —> the cap is not green

premises

claims in an argument that support the conclusion

premise indicators

my reason is, the evidence for this is, on the basis of, given that, because, etc.

true (ex. “given that we didn’t make backups, we can’t restore the data” is an explanation)

there can be false premisory indicators

extraneous material

phrases that aren’t part of the actual argument

extraneous material examples

well of course / we all know that cats are mammals, while I respect my opponents position…, etc.

standard form

particular way of presenting an argument

1. Kal is a cat

2. all cats are mammals

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3. Kal is a mammal (1,2)

put “Kal is a cat, and since all cats are mammals, he must be one too” in standard form

subconclusions

conclusions that are drawn based on premises but are not the final conclusion

1. Kal is a cat

2. all cats are mammals

3. all mammals are warm-blooded

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4. Kal is a mammal (1,2)

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5. Kal is warm-blooded (3,4)

put “Kal is a cat, and since all cats are mammals, he must be one too. since all mammals are warm-blooded, he must be too” in standard form

argument

set of propositions where one is the conclusion and the rest are premises

conclusion

the claim the argument is trying to convince you of

ambiguity

when there is more than one way to interpret a sentence in context

extension

what a word refers to (the thing or person in the world)

intension

the meaning of a word (definition - ex. vixen means being female & a fox)

lexical ambiguity

ambiguity due to words having more than one meaning (extension)

syntactic ambiguity

ambiguity due to arrangements of words / punctuation

example of lexical ambiguity

he is a curious child

example of syntactical ambiguity

the president cancelled a trip to canada to play golf

vagueness

when words aren’t specific enough to determine meaning

examples of vagueness

big, small, bald, city, etc.

can it be kind of __?

how can you test for vagueness

degrees

vagueness comes in…

being unclear

when you aren’t sure what’s being conveyed (what do you even mean?)

example of unclearness

although the speculative moment negates the contradiction, it is a determinate or defined nothingness because it is the result of a specific process

primary connotation

intension of a word (definition)

secondary connotation

properties commonly exhibited by things in extension of word

example of secondary connotation

change usually sounds good

rhetorical questions

questions not meant to be answered that imply something

example of a rhetorical question

well who hasn’t? (in response to an accusation)

irony

words that literally mean the opposite of what’s intended (sarcasm)

example of irony

that’s a great idea

implicitly relative sentences

making a comparison that doesn’t make the object / scale obvious

example of an implicitly relative sentence (in price, quality, compared to others?)

above-average restaurant

true (ex. Kory is tall - how tall & compared to what?)

sentences can be implicitly relative and vague

quantifiers

words that define how many / often / much / etc.

examples of quantifiers

all, none, some, majority, etc.

false (must be paired with something - ex. almost all)

“almost” is a quantifier on it’s own

wrong, ex. some swans are black

provide a counterexample to the quantifier for “all swans are white”

true (ex. “some” is often unclear, students __ implies all students, etc.)

many people don’t use or use the incorrect quantifiers

generalization

description that covers a certain group

soft generalization

a generalization that is typically true

hard generalization

a generalization that is always true, no exceptions

example of a soft generalization

cats are friendly

example of a hard generlization

passengers must have photo id

true

generalizations don’t have to be about all members or innate qualities of the group

implicature

meanings that aren’t explicit but implied

example of implicature (implied that the other hat also looked silly)

this hat doesn’t make you look as silly as the other one

use vs. mention

talking about the word’s extension vs. talking about the word itself

example of use

Amherst is in MA

example of mention

‘Amherst’ is in MA

rhetoric

attempt to persuade without logic, usually with an emotionally charged sentiment

rhetorical force

rhetorical aspect of a sentence’s meaning, separate from the propositional content

example of sentences with and without rhetoric

that young man left early vs. that lazy so & so snuck off early

rhetorical ploys

specific strategies for rhetoric

appeal to novelty

emphasizing how new or modern the thing is so that people will think it’s better or trendy

example of appeal to novelty

come see the all new subaru outback

appeal to tradition

emphasizing that something is “tried & true” or “the way we’ve always done it”

example of appeal to tradition

get yourself a good old-fashioned real christmas tree this holiday season

appeal to popularity

emphasizing how popular something is to imply that it is the best or will make the user popular as well

example of appeal to popularity

it’s the biggest movie of the summer

appeal to compassion / pity / guilt

making the audience feel compassion / pity / guilt to persuade them of something

example of appeal to compassion / pity / guilt

those adoption videos with “in the arms of an angel” playing

appeal to cuteness / sexiness

associating something with something cute or sexy to make it more desirable

example of appeal to cuteness

politicians taking pictures with babies or puppies

appeal to status

associating something with being rich or upper class, implying that something will elevate your status

example of appeal to status

luxury goods

appeal to fear

making something seem scary for an unwarranted reason to influence people

examples of appeal to fear

most anti-immigration ads / arguments

true (ex. docotor telling you you’ll die if you leave the hospital while bleeding profusely is not appeal to fear)

the fear must be unwarranted for it to count as a rhetorical ploy

appeal to ridicule / suspicion

making something appear ridiculous or suspicious when it is not

examples of appeal to ridicule / suspicion

scare quotes (ex. “asylum seekers” vs asylum seekers)

direct attack

simple, straightforward sentence telling you to do / not do something, idea being that authoritativeness replace logic

example of a direct attack

political slogans like “vote debbie”

hard sell

essentially a repeated direct attack to wear down the audience / make them familiar

example of a hard sell

hundreds of signs saying “vote debbie”

gaslighting

casting doubt on another speaker’s claim with the intent to make them unsure, insisting without logic or even against logic

example of gaslighting

i didn’t turn out the lights, you’re crazy

equivocation

using a word in different ways throughout a single argument on purpose

example of equivocation (man meaning humankind and then male person)

only man is rational, no woman is a man, no woman is rational

misleading implicatures

sentence that purposely implies something false without directly stating it to mislead audience

example of a misleading implicature (implies the government is considering raising taxes even if they aren’t)

if the government increase taxes, it would put a larger burden on middle class families

misleading question

a question that purposely implies something false to mislead the audience

example of a misleading question (implies that debbie supports this even if she doesn’t)

would you be less likely to vote for debbie if you knew she supported unlimited access to heroin?

changing the subject

avoiding a question or issue through distraction or criticizing an argument based on tone rather than content

example of changing the subject

I broke the vase but she didn’t do her homework

buzzwords

provocative words with rhetorical power, mostly relies on the secondary connotations of words (ex. change implies good)

jargon

specific, technical terms used to make the speaker look smarter or the audience look dumber

examples of buzzwords

synergy, circle back, development, etc.

examples of jargon

prognosis, actue, homeopathy, etc.

true (ex. doctors talking to each other)

jargon is not a rhetorical ploy if the other person should reasonably know what it means

spin

using rhetorical techniques to put a “spin” on events, make them look better or worse

example of spin

the government injected liquidity into the financial sector (instead of the government gave money to banks)

statement as argument

saying something authoritatively to avoid giving a reason

example of statement as argument (if the speaker did not continue)

some say increasing regulations is good, but I would argue it violates peoples’ freedoms

argument vs explanation

an argument is trying to convince the audience of something, while an explanation is just explaining how or why it is that way

what would someone’s reason be for sending this to me in a text?

a good way to differentiate between an argument and an explanation is to ask…

an explanation

if the sentence could be an answer to “why?” it is probably…