PHI 1101 Midterm: The Basic Concepts of Critical Thinking

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 1101
• Professor: Laura Byrne

Document Summary

The most basic concept of critical thinking is that of the statement: definition: a statement is a sentence used to make a claim. Statements are capable of being either true or false. This property of being either true or false distinguishes statements from sentences which are not capable of being either true or false: commands, questions and expressions of volition (wishes). Science of the true and the false: concept ~~~~ statement. Expression of volition: oh, that socrates were a man. Let"s use two simple propositions as an example. For the sake of clarity and brevity, logicians and philosophers sometimes like to represent statements with symbols. They find it convenient to represent statements with letters such as a, b, c or p, q, r. Socrates is not a man not-p (can also be written ~p or -p) The sentences we are dealing with obey what is known as the law of.