PHI 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Hasty Generalization

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 1101
• Professor: Sascha Maicher

Document Summary

The fallacy of overestimating the strength of the argument by citing too few supporting cases. Arriving at a general statement or rule by citing an atypical. Generalizing one group (animals) how do we know it apply to us (human) We have to know some way we are generalizing. Involve overestimating the strength base on a bias. Occurs when a speaker/writer incautiously base a generalization about a large population on an atypical/skewed sample. Occurs when we apply a general rule to a specific case in which they don"t apply. Can be a problem cantic ethic. Weak argument based on a debatable/unimportant similarity between two or more things. 1st essential question: are they alike in the same matter. Case #1: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10. Case #2: 2, 3, 4 (10: say that case #2 have 10 because it shares some characteristic with case #1, case #1 2, 3, 4, must be directly related to 10 (necessary connected to 10)