Logic and Critical Thinking Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering basic concepts of logic, philosophy, categorical statements, argument structures, definitional techniques, critical thinking standards, and informal fallacies from PHIL 101.

Philosophy (Etymological Meaning)

Derived from the Greek words philo ("love") and sophia ("wisdom"), literally meaning "love of wisdom."

Metaphysics

The branch of philosophy that studies the ultimate nature of reality or existence.

Cosmology

A subset of metaphysics that studies theories about the origin, nature, and development of the universe as an orderly system.

Ontology

A subset of metaphysics that studies the nature of existence, or what it means for anything to exist.

Epistemology

The branch of philosophy that studies the nature, scope, source, and validity of knowledge.

Skepticism

The epistemological position claiming that human beings cannot acquire reliable knowledge and that any search for truth is in vain.

Agnosticism

A profession of ignorance regarding the existence or nonexistence of God.

Empiricism

The view that knowledge is primarily acquired through sensory experience and observation.

Rationalism

The view that reasoning, thought, or logic is the central factor in acquiring knowledge.

Axiology

The philosophical study or theory of value, derived from the Greek words axios ("value" or "worth") and logos ("study of").

Ethics (Moral Philosophy)

The branch of axiology that deals with the philosophical study of moral principles, values, and standards used to determine good or bad, right or wrong human conduct.

Normative Ethics

The branch of ethics that attempts to establish moral rules, principles, and standards by which human conduct and decisions are evaluated.

Meta-ethics

The philosophical discipline that investigates the meaning of ethical terms and critically examines how ethical statements can be verified.

Applied Ethics

A branch of normative ethics that applies general moral rules and principles to specific moral issues such as capital punishment or abortion.

Aesthetics

The branch of axiology that deals with art, beauty, sensory and emotional values, perception, and matters of taste.

Logic

The study or theory of the principles of right reasoning, dealing with criteria for evaluating the validity and soundness of arguments.

Critical Thinking

Reasonable, reflective, responsible, and skillful thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do, using logical principles as its fulcrum.

Statement

A declarative sentence that possesses a truth value of either true or false.

Argument

A group of statements, one or more of which (the premises) are claimed to provide support or evidence for another statement (the conclusion).

Premise

A statement in an argument that sets forth the reason or evidence given for accepting the conclusion.

Conclusion

The statement in an argument that is claimed to follow from, or be established by, the premises.

Explanandum

The component of an explanation that describes the event or phenomenon to be explained.

Explanans

The component of an explanation consisting of the statement or group of statements that purports to do the explaining.

Antecedent

The component statement in a conditional statement immediately following the word "if".

Consequent

The component statement in a conditional statement immediately following the word "then".

Sufficient Condition

A condition $A$ whose occurrence guarantees or is all that is needed for the occurrence of $B$.

Necessary Condition

A condition $B$ without whose occurrence $A$ cannot occur.

Deductive Argument

An argument incorporating the claim that it is impossible for the conclusion to be false given that the premises are true.

Inductive Argument

An argument incorporating the claim that it is improbable, rather than impossible, for the conclusion to be false given that the premises are true.

Categorical Syllogism

A syllogism in which each statement begins with one of the words "all," "no," or "some."

Hypothetical Syllogism

A syllogism having a conditional ("if… then…") statement for one or both of its premises.

Disjunctive Syllogism

A syllogism having a disjunctive ("either… or…") statement as a premise.

Valid Deductive Argument

A deductive argument structured such that if its premises are assumed true, it is impossible for its conclusion to be false.

Sound Argument

A deductive argument that is both valid and possesses all true premises.

Strong Inductive Argument

An inductive argument structured such that if its premises are assumed true, it is improbable for its conclusion to be false.

Cogent Argument

An inductive argument that is strong and possesses all true premises.

Term

Any word or arrangement of words (such as proper names, common names, or descriptive phrases) that may serve as the subject of a statement.

Intensional Meaning (Connotation)

The qualities or attributes that a term connotes, also known as its sense.

Extensional Meaning (Denotation)

The members of the class that a term denotes, also known as its reference.

Definiendum

The word or group of words that is supposed to be defined in a definition.

Definiens

The word or group of words in a definition that assigns meaning to the definiendum.

Stipulative Definition

A definition that assigns a meaning to a word for the first time, either by coining a new word or giving a new meaning to an existing word.

Lexical Definition

A definition used to report the meaning that a word already has in a language, such as dictionary definitions.

Précising Definition

A definition intended to reduce the vagueness of a word or term by imposing precise limits on its conventional meaning.

Theoretical Definition

A definition providing a theoretical characterization or picture of the entities denoted by the definiendum to suggest deductive consequences for scientific or philosophical investigation.

Persuasive Definition

A definition designed to engender a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward whatever is denoted by the definiendum by assigning value-laden or emotionally charged language.

Demonstrative (Ostensive) Definition

An extensional definition that assigns meaning to a term by pointing directly to the objects denoted by that term.

Enumerative Definition

An extensional definition that assigns meaning to a term by naming individual members of the class denoted by the term.

Definition by Subclass

An extensional definition that assigns meaning to a term by naming subclasses of the class denoted by the term.

Synonymous Definition

An intensional definition in which the definiens is a single word that connotes the exact same attributes as the definiendum.

Etymological Definition

An intensional definition that assigns meaning to a word by disclosing its linguistic ancestry in its own language and ancestral languages.

Operational Definition

An intensional definition that assigns meaning to a word by specifying experimental procedures that test whether the term applies to a given phenomenon.

Definition by Genus and Difference

An intensional definition that assigns meaning to a species term by identifying a broader genus class and specific difference attributes that distinguish that species within the genus.

Clarity

The critical thinking standard concerned with ensuring concepts and language are clearly understood and free of obscurity or vagueness.

Precision

The critical thinking standard of being exact, detailed, and meticulous when examining issues and problems.

Egocentrism

A major barrier to critical thinking defined by a self-absorbed perspective that views one's own opinions, interests, and values as superior to those of others.

Self-Interested Thinking

The barrier to critical thinking characterized by accepting and defending beliefs simply because they align with one's personal self-interest.

Fallacy

A logical defect, flaw, or fault in an argument's reasoning process, structural form, or content for reasons other than merely having false premises.

Formal Fallacy

A fallacy committed purely due to a defect in the formal structure or logical arrangement of a deductive argument.

Informal Fallacy

A fallacy committed due to problematic content or context in an argument, rather than a defect in abstract formal structure.

Appeal to Force (Argumentum ad Baculum)

An informal fallacy committed when an arguer defends a conclusion by posing a physical or psychological threat to those who do not accept it.

Appeal to Pity (Argumentum ad Misericordiam)

An informal fallacy committed when an arguer attempts to secure acceptance of a conclusion by evoking pity rather than offering logical evidence.

Appeal to the People (Argumentum ad Populum)

An informal fallacy committed when an arguer plays on the listener's desire to be accepted, popular, or valued by a crowd to win acceptance of a conclusion.

Argument Against the Person (Argumentum ad Hominem)

An informal fallacy in which an arguer attacks an opponent's character, circumstances, or consistency instead of addressing the opponent's actual argument.

Fallacy of Accident

An informal fallacy committed when a general rule or truth is misapplied to a specific case that the rule was not intended to cover.

Straw Man Fallacy

An informal fallacy committed when an arguer distorts, exaggerates, or misrepresents an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack and refute.

Missing the Point (Ignoratio Elenchi)

An informal fallacy committed when the premises of an argument logically point toward one conclusion, but a completely different and unwarranted conclusion is drawn instead.

Red Herring Fallacy

An informal fallacy committed when an arguer diverts the attention of the audience by changing the topic to an irrelevant issue.

Appeal to Unqualified Authority (Argumentum ad Verecundiam)

An informal fallacy committed when an argument cites a authority or witness who lacks genuine expertise or credibility in the field under discussion.

Appeal to Ignorance (Argumentum ad Ignorantiam)

An informal fallacy committed when an arguer asserts that a claim is true because it has not been proven false, or false because it has not been proven true.

Hasty Generalization

An informal fallacy committed when an arguer draws a general conclusion about a group based on an inadequate or unrepresentative sample.

False Cause Fallacy

An informal fallacy committed when the link between premises and conclusion depends on an imagined or improper causal connection.

Slippery Slope Fallacy

An informal fallacy committed when an arguer assumes, without sufficient evidence, that an initial event will unleash an uncontrollable chain reaction of undesirable events.

Weak Analogy Fallacy

An informal fallacy committed when an argument relies on an analogy between two entities that are not similar enough in relevant respects.

Begging the Question (Petitio Principii)

An informal fallacy committed when an argument assumes or restates in its premises the exact conclusion it is supposed to establish.

False Dichotomy

An informal fallacy committed when an arguer presents two choices as the only possible options when additional realistic options actually exist.

Suppressed Evidence

An informal fallacy committed when an arguer deliberately ignores or conceals critical evidence that outweighs the presented premises and leads to a different conclusion.

Complex Question Fallacy

An informal fallacy committed when multiple questions are combined into a single question in a misleading manner that traps the respondent into an implicit admission.

Equivocation

An informal fallacy committed when a key word or phrase is used in two different senses within the same argument.

Amphiboly

An informal fallacy committed when a misleading conclusion is drawn from a statement that is ambiguous due to faulty grammar or sentence structure.

Fallacy of Composition

An informal fallacy committed when attributes belonging to the individual parts of a whole are wrongly attributed to the whole entity itself.

Fallacy of Division

An informal fallacy committed when attributes belonging to a whole entity are wrongly attributed to its constituent individual parts.