Critical Thinking Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms related to sentences, propositions, arguments, and non-arguments from the notes.

Sentence

A group of words that express a thought or idea and are used for communication; typically has subject, predicate, thought, and punctuation.

Subject

The part of a sentence about which something is said; what the sentence is about.

Predicate

What is said about the subject or a description of the subject.

Thought

The meaning or sense conveyed by a sentence.

Punctuation

Signs that help interpret the content of a sentence (e.g., question marks, exclamation points).

Declarative sentence

A sentence that states information and can be descriptive, explanatory, or assertive.

Interrogative sentence

A sentence that asks a question; can be rhetorical, brief, or descriptive.

Imperative sentence

A sentence that gives a command, request, or plea.

Exclamatory sentence

A sentence that expresses strong emotion.

Proposition

The content or meaning within a declarative sentence that can be true or false; it has truth-bearing ideas and is not a command or question.

Truth value

The property of a proposition to be true or false; propositions must have a truth value.

Premise

A statement or proposition used as evidence in an argument to support a conclusion.

Conclusion

The statement that follows from the premises and is proved or supported by them.

Deductive argument

An argument where the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises; if premises are true, the conclusion must be true; it has formal validity.

Inductive argument

An argument where the conclusion is probable and based on observation or evidence; not guaranteed to be true.

Validity (logical)

A property of a deductive argument where, if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true.

Sound argument

A deductive argument that is valid and has true premises.

Non-argument

Passages that appear to be arguments but lack a claim that something is proved; they have no valid premises or conclusions.

Warning (non-argument type)

A type of non-argument aimed at alerting someone to danger, and lacking supporting evidence.

Explanandum

The statement describing the event or phenomenon to be explained; the explanans are the statements that do the explaining.

All mammals have fur. Dogs are mammals. Therefore, dogs have fur.

Argument

Look out! A car is coming.

Non-Argument (Warning)

I think classical music is boring.

Non-Argument (Opinion)

The alarm clock did not go off. Consequently, I was late for work.

Argument

If you want to stay healthy, you should eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Non-Argument (Advice)

The Earth is the third planet from the sun.

Non-Argument (Factual statement)

Since all cats are felines and my pet is a cat, my pet is a feline.

Argument

The company’s sales increased by 5% last quarter, and profits rose by 2%.

Non-Argument (Report)

A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape.

Non-Argument (Expository)

Every time I've dropped a pen, it has fallen to the ground. Therefore, pens always fall when dropped.

Argument

Many fruits are high in Vitamin C; for example, oranges, lemons, and grapefruits.

Non-Argument (Illustration)

The sky is blue because of the scattering of sunlight by the Earth's atmosphere.

Non-Argument (Explanatory)

Smoking causes lung cancer. John smokes heavily. Therefore, John is at a high risk of developing lung cancer.

Argument

Beware of the dog!

Non-Argument (Warning)

This movie is the greatest film ever made.

Non-Argument (Opinion)

All reputable scientists agree that climate change is occurring. Thus, climate change is a reality.

Argument

You should check your tires regularly to ensure they are properly inflated.

Non-Argument (Advice)

Water freezes at 0^\circ C.

Non-Argument (Factual statement)

No birds are fish. All robins are birds. Therefore, no robins are fish.

Argument

The accident occurred at the intersection of Main Street and Oak Avenue at approximately 3:00 PM.

Non-Argument (Report)

Photosynthesis is the process used by plants to convert light energy into chemical energy, which fuels the organism's activities.

Non-Argument (Expository)

The traffic is heavy every morning this week. It will probably be heavy tomorrow morning as well.

Argument

Many reptiles are cold-blooded animals, such as snakes, lizards, and turtles.

Non-Argument (Illustration)

Magnets attract iron due to the alignment of magnetic domains within the material.

Non-Argument (Explanatory)

If it rains, the grass gets wet. It is raining. Therefore, the grass is wet.

Argument

Do not touch the hot stove!

Non-Argument (Warning)

Pineapple on pizza is disgusting.

Non-Argument (Opinion)

Past experience shows that high interest rates lead to slower economic growth. The interest rates are currently high, so we can expect slower economic growth.

Argument

To improve your public speaking, practice regularly and record yourself.

Non-Argument (Advice)

The earth orbits the sun.

Non-Argument (Factual statement)