PHI 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Economy 7

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 1101
• Professor: Alexander Liepins

Document Summary

Introduction: argument: a set of claims (called premises) along with a further claim, which is called the conclusion. Cavities hurt a lot and dental work is expensive. So if your teeth hurt, you should just ignore it. Explanations and arguments: explanations can be mistaken for arguments. Answers the question why and does not try to convince. Even though he finished first in the 100 metre race in the 1988 olympics, ben. Johnson did not win the gold medal, because he was disqualified for doping. Not trying to convince but rather explain why he didn"t win. Simple and complex arguments: most arguments only take one inference, complex arguments have one or more conclusions that are drawn from subsequent premises. Example: either the chauffeur or the butler killed tickson. Explain: here, we see that the claim the butler didn"t do it functions both as a premise and as a conclusion. These claims are called intermediate conclusions of complex arguments.