PHIL 210- Midterm Exam Guide - Comprehensive Notes for the exam ( 75 pages long!)
4 Oct 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
An argument is premises given in support of a conclusion. Property of argument that succeeds in supporting its conclusion is soundness: this property can be broken down into two sub-properties: that is it valid, and that is has all true premises. Taken together, the premises make it reasonable to believe the conclusion. An arguments being sound does not mean that anyone believes, or ought to believe, that it is sound. By definition, a sound argument proves its conclusion. Inference the act of reaching a conclusion on the basis of some premises: premises [entail; logically imply; establish] conclusions, conclusions [are a logical consequence of; follow from] premises, people [draw; infer] conclusions. But in some situations, this produces such unwelcome consequences that we should limit the application of non-contradiction. Understanding valid argument forms: an argument that would not support its conclusion even if its premises were true can be rejected without checking out the truth of its premises.
