Unit 3: Reasoning and Argumentation in PHIL 1230

Argument

Group of STATEMENTS some of which (the premises) are offered up as REASONS or EVIDENCE for another (the conclusion).

Premises

Statements offered as reasons for the conclusion.

Conclusion

Statement supported by premises in an argument.

Purpose of Arguments

To provide reasons for believing claims true.

Competitive Functions

Arguments used to impress or show-off.

• some use them to show-off e.g. bar scene in Good Will Hunting

Epistemic Functions

Arguments aimed at discovering truths.

As Socrates discussed in Plato’s Meno, this is the process of providing reasons for a belief, turning "true belief" into knowledge.

Rationalization

Post-hoc justification for beliefs held.

The process of generating reasons to justify a belief, decision, or action after it has already been adopted or taken. Rather than forming beliefs based on evidence, individuals frequently form beliefs based on emotion, intuition, or bias, and then construct a logical-sounding, retrospective narrative to justify them.

Self-Regarding Purpose

Helps arguer find good reasons for believing certain claims.

Other-Regarding Purpose

Helps listener/readers find good reasons for believing in claims.

Gorgias

Philosopher using rhetoric for persuasion, not truth.

Ethical Dimension

Good argumentation is not just about finding the truth and avoiding error; it’s also about benefiting others and avoiding harm.

Clifford's Evidentialism

Beliefs must be based on sufficient evidence.

e.g. in the old ship example

Impact of Beliefs

Beliefs influence actions and can harm others.

Moral Evidentialism

The ethical view that one is morally obligated to form and maintain beliefs solely based on the evidence available. It states that holding beliefs without sufficient evidence is not only epistemically irrational but morally wrong.

Epistemic Evidentialism

A person is justified in believing a proposition if and only if their evidence supports that belief

E.g. A core example is believing it is raining outside because you see wet streets, hear rain, and feel cold air, rather than believing it simply because you want to stay indoors.

Wishful Thinking

Forming beliefs based on desires, not evidence.

Intellectual Guilt

Responsibility for beliefs lacking sufficient evidence.

Obama's Argument

Encourages argumentation to uncover truths. There is a factor of other-regardingness in the argument, helping other uncover important truths.

Argumentation

Process of reasoning to persuade or inform.

Truth-Seeking

Aim of arguments to discover factual claims.

Public Impact

Beliefs affect societal actions and decisions.

Philosophical Inquiry

Critical examination of beliefs and arguments.

Clifford Thought Experiment

The argument asks us to imagine a shipowner selling, tickets for a voyage across the Atlantic. The shipowner is aware that the ship is in need of repairs, but knows that such repairs would be costly and time consuming. Due to these costs, the shipowner forms the belief that the ship must be seaworthy, pushing aside the evidence to the contrary. He sold tickets on the ship, wished the passengers farewell, and quietly collected on the insurance when the ship sank.

According to Clifford, the moral fault here lies in the shipowner's unjustified beliefs. By forming beliefs based on emotions and monetary considerations instead of facts, the shipowner did something immoral and is ethically responsible for the deaths of those people, not because he did something wrong, but because he believed things that he knew were unjustified.

In fact, even if the ship had not sank. the shipowner would still be morally culpable, because the truth of his beliefs does not matter, simply whether or not he was justified in holding them.

“IT IS WRONG, always, everywhere, and for anyone to beleive anything upon insufficient evidence [argument]”

Moral Duties

Obligations to have evidence for beliefs.

Good Arguments

Arguments that are sound or cogent.

Inductive Argument

Argument where premises support probable conclusion.

Deductive Argument

Argument where premises guarantee conclusion's truth.

Strong Argument

Inductive argument with high probability of truth.

Weak Argument

Inductive argument with low probability of truth.

Valid Argument

Deductive argument where premises ensure conclusion.

Invalid Argument

Deductive argument where premises do not ensure conclusion.

Cogent Argument

Inductive argument that is strong and true.

Non-Cogent Argument

Inductive argument that is weak or false.

Sound Argument

Deductive argument that is valid and true.

Unsound Argument

Deductive argument that is invalid or false.

Regress Skepticism

Endless justification of beliefs is impossible.

The regress argument for skepticism poses that justifying any belief requires another justifying belief, ad infinitum, creating a chain that never ends, circles back, or stops arbitrarily.

Foundationalism

Beliefs justified without evidence or argument.

Law of Identity

A is A; self-evident truth.

Incorrigible Belief

Belief that cannot be wrong, like pain.

Common Sense Beliefs

Widely accepted beliefs requiring little justification.

Controversial Claims

Claims needing strong justification due to debate.

Private Beliefs

• Private Beliefs/Sensations: "I have a headache" is known immediately and directly by you (first-person authority). It does not require external evidence or a rigorous argument to be justified to you.

Public Claims/Communication: The moment you communicate this to someone else (e.g., your boss), it becomes a "public claim." The listener demands public justification (evidence, proof, or good reasons) because your inner state is not directly accessible to them.

Public Claims

Assertions needing higher standards of justification.

Properly Basic Beliefs

Beliefs justified/rational without needing further evidence or arguments.

Foundational convictions e.g. I see a chair

Purpose: They stop the infinite regress of justification

Properly Basic Assertions

Assertions that are justified/rational without needing further evidence or arguments.

made with the intent to communicate truth, often expressing a judgment.

• Assertion of Fact: "The earth is spherical in shape".

Sextus Empiricus

Greek philosopher advocating for regress skepticism.

Evidentialism

Belief justification requires adequate evidence.

Philosophy of Language

Study of meaning and use of language.

Philosophy of Mind

Study of consciousness and mental processes.