CHAPTER 3: Evaluating Moral Arguments

Vocabulary-focused flashcards covering key terms from evaluating moral arguments, including argument structure, validity, premises, conclusions, and common fallacies.

Statement

An assertion that something is or is not the case; it can be true or false.

Claim

A statement that a particular assertion is true; what someone argues to be the case and hopes others will accept.

Premise

A supporting statement in an argument that provides reasons for the conclusion.

Conclusion

The statement that is supposed to be supported by the premises.

Indicator words

Words that signal premises or conclusions (e.g., therefore signals the conclusion; because signals a premise).

Argument

A group of statements, one of which (the conclusion) is supported by the rest (the premises).

Deductive argument

An argument intended to give logically conclusive support to its conclusion.

Inductive argument

An argument that offers probable, not conclusive, support for its conclusion.

Valid argument

A deductive argument whose premises, if true, guarantee that the conclusion is true.

Invalid argument

A deductive argument whose form allows the premises to be true while the conclusion is false.

Strong argument

An inductive argument that, if the premises are true, makes the conclusion probably true.

Weak argument

An inductive argument that does not provide probable support for the conclusion.

Sound argument

A valid argument with true premises.

Cogent argument

A strong argument with true premises.

Implicit premises / Implied premises

Premises not stated but assumed or hidden in an argument.

Unstated premises

Premises that are not explicitly stated but are needed to connect the premises to the conclusion.

Counterexample

An example that shows an argument form or generalization to be false or that a conclusion does not follow.

Counterexample method

Testing validity by constructing a twin argument with the same form but true premises and a false conclusion.

Modus ponens

If p, then q. p. Therefore, q. A valid argument form.

Modus tollens

If p, then q. Not q. Therefore, not p. A valid argument form.

Denying the antecedent

If p, then q. Not p. Therefore, not q. An invalid form.

Affirming the consequent

If p, then q. q. Therefore, p. An invalid form.

Hypothetical syllogism

If p then q. If q then r. Therefore, if p then r. A valid form.

Conditional

A sentence of the form if p, then q; the statement is a conditional.

Antecedent

The 'if' part of a conditional (the p in if p, then q).

Consequent

The 'then' part of a conditional (the q in if p, then q).

Moral statement

A statement affirming that an action is right or wrong, or that a person is good or bad.

Nonmoral statement

A statement about a state of affairs that does not assert rightness or wrongness.

Moral premise

A general moral principle or standard used to derive a moral conclusion.

Nonmoral premise

A fact about a state of affairs (nonmoral) used to connect a moral principle to a specific case.

Diagramming

Diagramming arguments to identify premises, conclusions, and their relationships.

Begging the Question

Arguing in a circle; using the conclusion as a premise (p is true because p is true).

Equivocation

Using a term with two meanings in different senses within an argument.

Appeal to Authority

Relying on the opinion of someone not truly an expert in the designated field.

Slippery Slope

Arguing that a first action will lead inevitably to disaster without solid justification.

Faulty Analogy

Using a weak or irrelevant analogy to support a conclusion.

Appeal to Ignorance

Arguing that lack of evidence proves something true or false.

Straw Man

Misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.

Ad Hominem (Appeal to the Person)

Rejecting a claim based on the person who makes it rather than the claim itself.

Hasty Generalization

Drawing a broad conclusion from a small or unrepresentative sample.

Moral reasoning

Ordinary critical reasoning applied to ethics and moral issues.

Moral argument

An argument whose conclusion is a moral judgment about right/wrong or good/bad.