philosophy unit 1 quiz

metaphysics

studies the nature of reality

where did the world come from? is there a God?

epistemology

studies the nature and scope of knowledge

is the world really what i think it is? what is true?

ethics

studies and evaluates human conduct

what is right? what is wrong? how should humans live with one another?

aesthetics

studies the nature of beauty and art

what is beauty? what is beautiful?

deductive argument

beginning with general information to give a specific and usually obvious conclusion

C→A→B or A→B→C

deductive format

idea → observations → conclusion

valid argument

an argument in good order (not necessarily true)

sound argument

when an argument is valid and all its premises are certain

inductive argument

beginning with specific information to make general conclusions

inductive format

observations→ analysis→ theory

either/or fallacy

when someone asserts that we must choose between two things, when in fact we have more than two alternatives

strawman fallacy

misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack

slippery slope argument

assuming that if we allow A to happen, Z will happen consequently

false equivalence fallacy

making it seem like two different things appear to be logically equivalent when in fact they are not, even if they share a common trait

hasty generalization fallacy

generalizing about something based on a small or poor sample

begging the question fallacy

a circular argument in which the conclusion is included in the premise

ad hominem

attacking your opponent’s character or personal or physical traits in order to undermine their argument

no true scotsman

redefining a group to exclude relevant criticisms or flaws in the argument

tu quoque

dismissing someone’s argument because he is inconsistent in that very thing

genetic

dismissing something as good or bad due to where or who it comes from

argument from ignorance

assuming something is true because it has not been proven false yet or false because it has not been proven true yet