Comprehensive Study Guide on Metaphysics, Logic, Science, and Artificial Intelligence

Metaphysics: Concerned with the nature of reality.
Ethics: The study of morals, values, and judgments.
Critical Thinking: The systematic evaluation or formulation of beliefs, or statements, by rational standards.
Term: A word or phrase that states an idea.
- Comprised of a Subject Term and a Predicate Term.
- Truth Value: A term can be true or false: False.
Statement: A claim that expresses a proposition.
- Truth Value: A statement can be true or false: True.
Argument: A group of statements intended to provide support for a conclusion.
- Truth Value: An argument can be true or false: False.

Inductive Reasoning: A form of reasoning based on probability and whether the link between premises and conclusion is strong or weak.
- Strong: The premises provide good support, making the conclusion likely to be true.
- Weak: The premises provide little or no support for the conclusion.
- Cogent: An inductive argument that is strong and has true premises, making its conclusion well-supported.
Deductive Reasoning: A form of reasoning based on certainty and can be either valid or invalid.
- Valid: A person has to have certainty about the argument or statement. The logic is such that if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true.
- Invalid: The conclusion does not logically follow from the premises, meaning the premises could be true while the conclusion is false.
- Sound: A deductive argument that is valid and has true premises.
Logical Fallacies: Errors in reasoning.
- Formal Logical Fallacy: An error in the structure or form of an argument that makes the conclusion invalid, even if the premises are true.
- Informal Logical Fallacy: An error in an argument caused by its content, language, or reasoning, rather than its structure.

Science: Seeks to acquire knowledge and understanding of reality. It does so throughout the formulation, testing, and evaluation of theories.
Scientism: While science is a reliable way of gaining knowledge about the world, it is not the only way to justify our beliefs.
Expert: A person with extensive knowledge, education, training, or experience in a particular field.
- Necessary Criteria for Expertise:
  - Education and training from reputable institutions or programs in the relevant field.
  - Experience in the field.
- Additional Helpful Criteria:
  - Reputation among peers.
  - Professional accomplishments.
Andrew Wakefield: A former British doctor who produced a fake study that falsely linked vaccines to autism.
- Consequences: His paper was retracted, and he subsequently lost his medical license.
W.K. Clifford’s Dictum: ‐It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence‐.
Carl Sagan: An American astronomer and science communicator.
- Baloney Detection Kit: A specific set of critical thinking tools developed by Sagan used to evaluate claims and detect faulty reasoning or pseudoscience.
Roy and Vosoughi's Study: A study on the spread of information online (specifically Twitter) published in the journal ‐Science‐.
- Findings: False news spreads faster, farther, and reaches more people than true news.

Strong AI: Artificial intelligence that truly thinks, understands, and possesses human-like consciousness.
Weak AI: Artificial intelligence designed to perform specific tasks without true understanding or consciousness.
Machine Learning: A subset of AI where computers learn from data and improve their performance without being explicitly programmed for every task.
Algorithm: A step-by-step set of instructions a computer follows to solve a problem or complete a task.
Algorithmic Bias: Bias in an algorithm that produces unfair or discriminatory outcomes because of biased data or design.
Lethal Autonomous Weapons System (LAWS): A weapon system that can identify and attack targets without direct human control.
AI Slop: Low-quality, mass-produced AI-generated content that is often repetitive, inaccurate, or misleading.
AI Psychosis: When someone develops irrational beliefs or becomes detached from reality after placing excessive trust in AI-generated responses.
Historical AI Benchmarks:
- IBM Deep Blue: A chess-playing computer that became the first to defeat a reigning world chess champion, Garry Kasparov.
- IBM Watson: An AI system that defeated human champions on the quiz show ‐Jeopardy‐.

Equivocation: Alternating between the different meanings of a word in the argument's premises.
False Dilemma: Asserting that there are only two alternatives when there are actually more than two.
Genetic Fallacy: Arguing that a claim is true or false solely because of its origin.
Division: Assuming that what is true of the whole must also be true of each of its parts.
Composition: The fallacy of assuming that what is true of the individual parts must also be true of the whole.
Ad Baculum (Appeal to Force): Uses threats, fear, or force instead of evidence or reasoning to persuade someone.
Ad Hominem (Appeal to the Person / Personal Attack): Attacks the person making an argument instead of addressing the argument itself.
Ad Verecundiam (Appeal to Illegitimate Authority): This fallacy is committed when we rely on the ‐expert‐ opinion of bogus experts.
Ad Populum (Appeal to the Masses / Popularity): Claims something is true or right simply because many people believe or support it.