AICE Thinking Skills Paper 2

ad hominem

a fallacy which attacks the arguer

ambiguous

something with more than one meaning and is not clear which meaning is intended

analogy

an argument using parallel situations situations to encourage you to accept the conclusion

analyze/analysis

to break an argument down

anecdotal evidence

evidence based on someone's version of a story

appeal to authority

a fallacy in which you claim your conclusion is right

appeal to force

a fallacy in which you agree with the statement due to a threat

appeal to history

a fallacy which supports a conclusion by referencing historical trends

appeal to ignorance

a fallacy in which you argue that your conclusion must be correct since there is no evidence against it

appeal to popularity

a fallacy which supports a conclusion by reference to a belief by a large amount of people

warranted

justified

weight of evidence

the preponderance of evidence; how strong or conclusive the proof is

argument

statement or statements offering logical support

argument as a whole

argument saying that just because we find flaws, that doesn't mean we should reject the overall argument

valued judgements

a claim that is an opinion about the value or worth of something

argument from fairness

form of argument saying that something is unfair

argument from harm

argument saying that something is harmful and that it should be banned

unpacking

analyzing an argument by taking it apart

tu quoque

a flaw which attempts to justify an action on the basis that someone else is doing it.

argument indicators

words or phrases that reasons are being presented in support of a conclusion

assertion

another word for a claim

syllogism

a structure of deductive logic in which the major and minor premises lead to a conclusion, consisting of three propositions

assumption

implicit reason or belief

beg the question

circular argument in which the conclusion was included in the premise

supposition/suppositional reasoning

a sentence that begins with "suppose" or "what if?"

sufficient conditions

conditions that are necessary but are missing an important element

straw man(straw person)

a fallacy what deliberately creates a weakened, distorted version of an argument

blocking the hole

technique of anticipating a counter argument

sound

safe, reliable and free from faults

slippery slope

a flaw based on the idea that one small change will inevitably lead to a dramatic change

challenge an argument

to question by demanding an explanation or proof

scientific thinking

drawing conclusions from observation and/or experimentation

circular argument

argument that starts and ends with the same point

circumstantial evidence

evidence based off of the circumstances

restricting the options

a fallacy that presents a false and/or limited version of the choices available to encourage a particular course of action

reliability

consistent and trustworthy

conclusion

result of a chain of reasoning

relevance

having a significance or importance because it is germane to the point being discussed

confusing conditions

reasoning that confuses conditions in an argument

refute/refutation

to prove an opponent's conclusion is false by exposing the flaws

refutation based on absurdity

the thesis must be true or otherwise it is absurd

consistent claim

two or more claims that can be true at the same time

correlation

two claims that negate each other

reasonable doubt

a standard of validity

counter argument

argument with an opposing line of reasoning

principle of charity

rule that say we should interpret a supposed argument in a favorable way

counter example/ counter reason/ counter assertion

a challenge to a general claim

secondary source

second-hand source

primary source

first-hand source

credentials

qualifications that improve a witness' credibility

credible

able to be believed and convincing

premise

another word for a reason

deduction

process of reasoning from general to specific

plausible

seemingly real, true or believable

distractors

statements designed to look true but take you away from the correct conclusion

dubious

doubtful likely and suspicious

non sequitur

a fallacy where the conclusion does not follow from the claims because it is illogical

necessary conditions

conditions required for something to be true

metacognition

thinking about your thinking

explicit claim

specific assertion or statement

mapping

diagram that explains how reasons lead to a conclusion

main conclusion

statement that says you should/should not do or believe that is supported by a reasoning in the argument

extrapolate

to extend the application of a method or conclusion

judging the balance

evaluating evidence to see how well it supports the argument

intermediate conclusion

conclusion formed en route to the main conclusion

inference/infer

an educated guess based off of prior knowledge

fallacy

fault in the pattern of reasoning

flaw of causation

fallacy that assumes that if two things occur in succession or together that one is the cause of the other

induction

process of reasoning from specific to general

inconsistent

two or more claims that cannot be true at the same time

general principle

statement that applies to a wide range of situations

implicit claim

claim that is understood to be true but it is not clearly stated

generalization

fallacy that draws a general conclusion from specific evidence

hypothesis/hypothetical

claim that is put forward for consideration to be investigated rather than presented as true

grounds

foundation, basis or justification