PHI 1101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Cephalus, Enthymeme

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

Document Summary

P3: the rulers make the laws to their own advantage. C: justice is the advantage of the stronger. P1: justice is telling the truth and paying your debts. (this is cephalus"s definition. ) P2: justice is not harmful. (unstated premise: the argument is, therefore, an enthymeme. ) P3: telling the truth and paying your debts is harmful. (in the case of the insane man and his weapons. ) C1: therefore, justice is not harmful (by p2) and justice is harmful (by p3). (contradiction) Conclusion 2: therefore, the statement justice is telling the truth and paying your debts is false. (by reductio ad absurdum; because of the law of non-contradiction) Conclusion 3: therefore, the statement, it is not the case that justice is telling the truth and paying your debts is true. (because of the law of excluded middle)