PHI 1101 Chapter Notes - Chapter units 4-8: Modus Tollens, Modus Ponens, False Dilemma

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

Document Summary

Identifying: the premises, the conclusion, the relationship between them. Guidelines: the specific words in the reconstruction need not be the actual words used by the author. It may be necessary to revise the words used to clarify the meaning or remove ambiguity: do not violate the author"s intent or the principle of charity. Consider the context: add premises that increase the argument"s logical strength, add premises that are as plausible as possible. Types of missing premises: type one: supplies information the speaker presumably knows or believes, type two: contains an assumption or presupposition which explains why the speaker believes the premises support the conclusion. The principle of charity: whenever two or more interpretations are possible, adopt the one which makes the opponent"s views as reasonable, plausible or defensible as possible unless something in the context suggests that another interpretation is intended. Assumptions or presuppositions: more theoretical than factual. Revealing the relationship between premises and conclusions.