Phil 012 Exam 1

Front 1

Proposition

Back 1

• a true or false sentence

Front 2

Argument

Back 2

• a series of propositions the complete expression of which is divided into assumptions and conclusions by an inference indicator

Front 3

Logical Contradiction

Back 3

• any proposition that is never true, or that is false under any circumstances, no matter what the world happens to be like, or that is true just in case its negation is true

Front 4

Logical Impossibility

Back 4

• the truth of a proposition or the occurrence of a condition is logically impossible if and only if the proposition or the adequate description of the state of affairs it proposes involved a logical contradiction

Front 5

Logical Necessity

Back 5

• the truth of a proposition or the occurrence of a condition is logically necessary if and only if its falsehood or the nonoccurrence of the state of affairs it proposes is logically impossible

Front 6

Deductively Valid Argument

Back 6

• an argument that is such that it is logically necessary that id its assumptions are true, then its conclusions are true, or such that it is logically impossible for its assumptions to be true and its conclusions false

Front 7

Sound Argument

Back 7

• a deductively valid argument with only true assumptions

Front 8

subject term

Back 8

- subject of the proposition
- Alice is friendly.

Front 9

predicate term

Back 9

- the object of the proposition
- Alice is friendly

Front 10

Copula

Back 10

- Verb of the proposition
- Alice is friendly.

Front 11

Assumption

Back 11

- The ideas from which the conclusion are to follow

Front 12

Conclusion

Back 12

- The idea that is supposed to follow from the assumptions

Front 13

inference indicator

Back 13

- ‘thus,’ ‘hence,’ ‘therefore,’ etc.

Front 14

reconstructed argument

Back 14

1.) If the salmon are running then the river has melted
2.) But the river has not melted
3.) The salmon are not running

Front 15

principle of charity

Back 15

- Requires that whenever possible, we try to reconstruct arguments as deductively valid before criticizing their logical form or content

Front 16

imagination test for deductive validity

Back 16

Try to imagine the situation or set of circumstances in which the assumptions of an argument are true and the conclusions false. If you can do so, then there is a strong reason to believe that the argument is deductively invalid; if you cannot do so, then there is a strong reason to believe that the argument is deductively valid

Front 17

conditional statement

Back 17

‘if-then’ statement

Front 18

antecedent

Back 18

If P,

Front 19

Consequent

Back 19

Then Q

Front 20

conditional argument

Back 20

Contains at least one proposition that has an ‘if-then’ form

Front 21

modus ponens

Back 21

If P, then Q
P_______
Q

Front 22

modus tollens

Back 22

If P, then Q
Not Q_______
Not P

Front 23

affirming the consequent

Back 23

If P, then Q
Q_________
P

Front 24

denying the antecedent

Back 24

If P, then Q
Not P_______
Not Q

Front 25

Contrapositive

Back 25

If P, then Q
If not P, then not Q

Front 26

hypothethical syllogism

Back 26

If P, the Q
If Q, then R
If P, then R

Front 27

disjunctive syllogism

Back 27

P or Q
Not P
Q

Front 28

constructive dilemma

Back 28

P or Q
If P, then R
If Q, then R
R

Front 29

reductio ad absurdum

Back 29

P
Q_____
R and not R
Not-P