Term
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Definition
If Fido is a collie, then Fido is a dog. Fido is a collie. Therefore, Fido is a dog.
1. If P, then Q.
2. P
3. Therefore, Q. |
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Term
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Definition
If Fido is a collie, then Fido is a dog. Fido is not a dog. Therefore, Fido is not a collie.
1. If P, then Q.
2. Not Q.
3. Therefore, not P. |
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Term
| Fallacy of Affirming the Consequent |
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Definition
If Fido is a collie, then Fido is a dog. Fido is a dog. Therefore, Fido is a collie.
1. If P, then Q.
2. Q
3. Therefore, P. |
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Term
| Fallacy of Denying the Antecedent |
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Definition
If Fido is a collie, then Fido is a dog.
Fido is not a collie.
Therefore, Fido is not a dog.
1. If P, then Q.
2. Not P.
3. Therefore, Not Q. |
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Term
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Definition
If tuition continues to increase, then only the wealthy will be able to afford a college education.
If only the wealthy will be able to afford a college education then class divisions will be strengthened.
Therefore, if tuition continues to increase, then class divisions will be strengthened.
1. If P, then Q.
2. If Q, then R.
3. Therefore, if P, then R. |
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Term
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Definition
Either Michelangelo painted Guernica or Picasso painted it. Michelangelo did not paint Guernica.
Therefore, Picasso painted it.
OR Either experimentation on live animals should be banned or experimentation on humans should be permitted (e.g. on the terminally ill).
Experimentation on humans should not be permitted. So, experimentation on live animals should be banned
1. P or Q.
2. Not P.
3. Therefore, Q.
Also
1. P or Q.
2. Not Q.
3. Therefore, P. |
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Term
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Definition
Either Donna knew the information on her tax returns was inaccurate or her tax preparer made a mistake.
If Donna knew the information was inaccurate then she should pay the fine.
If her tax preparer made a mistake, then he should pay the fine.
Therefore, either Donna should pay the fine or her tax preparer should pay the fine.
1. If P or Q.
2. If P, then R.
3. If Q, then S.
4. Therefore, R or S. |
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Term
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Definition
arguing that a claim is true or false solely because of its origin.
Example: We should reject that proposal for solving the current welfare mess. It comes straight from the Democratic Party. |
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Term
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Definition
arguing that what is true of the parts must be true of the whole.
Example: The atoms that make up the human body are invisible. Therefore, the human body is invisible. |
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Term
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Definition
arguing that what is true of the whole must be true of the parts.
Example: This machine is heavy. Therefore, all the parts of this machine are heavy. |
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Term
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Definition
(or ad hominem, meaning “to the man”): rejecting a claim by criticizing the person who makes it rather than the claim itself.
Example: We should reject Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion. After all, he dabbled in alchemy. |
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Term
| Personal Attack (Abusive Ad Hominem) |
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Definition
| Example: You can’t believe anything Morris says about welfare reform. He’s a bleeding heart liberal. |
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Term
| Accusation of Inconsistency |
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Definition
| Example: Dr. Weebles says that he thinks God exists. But you can’t take him seriously. After all, he is a philosopher and all philosophers are atheists! |
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Term
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Definition
| Example: A lot of Hollywood liberals tell us that we shouldn’t drive SUVs because the cars use too much gas and are bad for the environment. But they drive SUVs themselves. What hypocrites! I think that we can safely reject their stupid arguments. |
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Term
| Circumstances (Circumstantial Ad Hominem) |
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Definition
| Example: In his book Professor Smith presents a lengthy case against abortion. But he is a philosophy professor at a Catholic university, so you shouldn’t take his arguments seriously. |
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Term
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Definition
| the use of a word in two different senses in an argument. |
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Term
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Definition
is a disguised stipulative definition, in which the redefinition of the term plays a crucial role in the argument.
Example: Capital punishment is murder. But murder is immoral. So capital punishment is immoral. |
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Term
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Definition
arguing that a claim must be true merely because a substantial number of people believe it.
Example: Of course the war is justified. Just ask anyone. They will agree. |
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Term
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Definition
arguing that a claim must be true just because it’s part of a tradition.
Example: Acupuncture has been used for a thousand years in China. It must work! |
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Term
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Definition
arguing that a lack of evidence proves something.
Example 1: No one has shown that ghosts aren’t real, so they must be real.
Example 2: No one has shown that ghosts are real, so they must not exist. |
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Term
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Definition
the use of emotions as premises in an argument.
Example: You should hire me for this network analyst position. I’m the best person for the job. If I don’t get a job soon my wife will leave me, and I won’t have enough money to pay for my mother’s heart operation. Come on, give me a break. |
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Term
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Definition
the deliberate raising of an irrelevant issue during an argument.
Example: Every woman should have the right to an abortion on demand. There’s no question about it. These anti-abortion activists block the entrances to abortion clinics, threaten abortion doctors, and intimidate anyone who wants to terminate a pregnancy. |
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Term
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Definition
the distorting, weakening, or oversimplifying of someone’s position so it can be more easily attacked or refuted.
Example: Senator Kennedy is opposed to the military spending bill, saying that it’s too costly. Why does he always want to slash everything to the bone? He wants a pint-sized military that couldn’t fight off a crazed band of terrorists, let alone a rogue nation. |
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Term
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Definition
| An inductive argument pattern is one in which we reason from premises about some members of a group to conclusions about the group as a whole. |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| An inductive argument whose conclusions contains a causal claim. |
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Term
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Definition
| An argument asserting that an action is right or wrong or that something is good or bad. |
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Term
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Definition
James: Milk, tuna salad, candy bar are followed by nausea.
David: Tuna salad, coke, potato chips are followed by nausea.
Susan: Milk, tuna salad, chocolate cake are followed by nausea.
Frank: Apple, orange juice, tuna salad are followed by nausea.
Mary: Tuna salad, milk, carrots, cupcake are followed by nausea.
What caused the nausea? |
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Term
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Definition
| The other day when we where running the microwave, the washer and the dryer, there was terrible static on the television. I thought that these appliances were interfering with the reception. When I turned off the microwave, the static stopped. I guess the microwave was responsible for the bad reception. |
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Term
| Joint Method of Agreement and Difference |
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Definition
Tom, Tanya, and Teri went out to eat.
Tom had rice, squid and salad.
Tanya had rice, octopus and salmon.
Teri had rice, squid and cucumber roles.
After the meal, Tom and Teri had nausea but Tanya did not.
What caused their nausea? |
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Term
| Method of Concomitant Variation |
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Definition
By his second martini Bob noticed that he was feeling intoxicated.
He drank another and the feeling increased.
After the third, the room began to spin.
What should Bob conclude? |
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