English 205 Critical Thinking Midterm Chapters 2-6 Flashcards

Front 1

PARADIGM


ch.2

Back 1

A theoretical framework.

Front 2

THE THREE LAWS OF THOUGHT


ch.2

Back 2

1. The law of noncontradiction ~ Nothing can both have a property & lack it at the same time.

2. The law of identity ~ Everything is identical to itself.

3. The law of the excluded middle ~ For any particular property, everything either has it or lacks it.

Front 3

REDUCTIO AD ABSURDUM


ch.2

Back 3

An effective technique of refuting a position by reduction to absurdity.

Front 4

THE FALLACY OF APPEAL TO IGNORANCE

ch.2

Back 4

All a lack of evidence shows is our own ignorance; it doesn't provide a reason for believing anything.

Front 5

A CLAIM'S TRUTH IS ESTABLISHED


ch.2

Back 5

By the amount of evidence in its favor, not by the lack of evidence against it.

Front 6

THE FALLACY OF COMPOSITION


ch.2

Back 6

The false assumption that what is true of the parts is also true of the whole.

Front 7

JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE DOESN'T MEAN IT IS

ch.2

Back 7

probable.

Front 8

PERCEPTION IS


ch.3

Back 8

constructive.

Front 9

PERCEPTION IS DETERMINED NOT ONLY BY WHAT OUR EYES & EARS & OTHER SENSES DETECT, BUT ALSO BY

ch.3

Back 9

a. What we know

b. What we expect

c. What we believe

d. What our physiological state is.

Front 10

PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCIES ARE


ch.3

Back 10

Our tendency to have certain perceptual experiences even in the absence of relevant input from our senses.

Front 11

OUR MEMORIES ARE


ch.3

Back 11

constructive & selective.

Front 12

THE GAMBLER'S FALLACY ~


ch.3

Back 12

The idea that previous events can affect the probabilities in a current random event.

Front 13

SUBJECTIVE VALIDATION ~


ch.3

Back 13

When people ignore facts that contradict their beliefs & look for those that confirm them.

Front 14

SCIENCE IS A SYSTEMATIC ATTEMPT TO GET AOUND THE LIMITS OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE BY:

ch.3

Back 14

a. using objective measurements

b. insisting on the corroboration of findings

c. demanding public evidence open to public scrutiny

d. objective evidence

Front 15

REALISTS ~


ch.4

Back 15

Do not believe that reality depends on our thoughts about it.

Front 16

RELATIVISTS ~


ch.4

Back 16

Believe that the way the world is depends on what we think about it.

Front 17

SUBJECTIVISM ~


ch.4

Back 17

The belief that each of us creates our own reality.

Front 18

FALLACY OF APPEAL TO THE MASSES ~

ch.4

Back 18

A common but fallacious form of reasoning is "It must be true (or good) because everybody believes it (or does it)."

Front 19

A CONCEPTUAL SCHEME ~


ch.4

Back 19

a set of concepts for classifying objects.

Front 20

THE MOST SERIOUS FLAW OF RELATIVISM IS

ch.4

Back 20

a purely logical one. It is self-refuting because its truth implies its falsity.

Front 21

A FACT IS


ch.5

Back 21

a true proposition.

Front 22

FOR PLATO, KNOWLEDGE IS


ch.5

Back 22

true belief that is grounded in reality. What grounds our beliefs in reality are the reasons we have for them.

Front 23

REASONS CONFER _________ ON PROPOSITIONS.

ch.5

Back 23

probability

Front 24

PHILOSOPHICAL SKEPTICISM IS


ch.5

Back 24

the view that we can't know what isn't certain.

Front 25

TO HAVE KNOWLEDGE, WE MUST HAVE ADEQUATE

ch.5

Back 25

evidence, & our evidence is adequate when it puts the proposition in question beyond a reasonable doubt.

Front 26

THE SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE INVOLVES ELIMINATING

ch.5

Back 26

inconsistencies among our beliefs.

Front 27

COMMONSENSE SKEPTICISM CONSIDERS

ch.5

Back 27

everything that lacks adequate evidence suspect.

Front 28

THE FALLACY OF APPEAL TO AUTHORITY IS WHEN

ch.5

Back 28

we cite someone who is not an authority in the field in question.

Front 29

TO BE CONSIDERED AN EXPERT, YOU MUST HAVE DEMONSTRATED

ch.5

Back 29

an ability to correctly interpret data & arrive at conclusions that are justified by the evidence.

Front 30

PERCEPTION ~


ch.5

Back 30

a source of knowledge about the external world.

Front 31

INTROSPECTION ~


ch.5

Back 31

a source of knowledge about the external world.

Front 32

REASON ~


ch.5

Back 32

is the ability to discern the logical relationships between concepts & propositions.

Front 33

FOUR TRADITIONAL SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE ARE:

ch.5

Back 33

perception, intorspection, memory, & reason.

Front 34

FAITH ~


ch.5

Back 34

belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.

Front 35

CONFIRMATION BIAS ~


ch.6

Back 35

The tendency to look for & recognize only evidence that confirms our own views.

Front 36

THE AVAILABILITY ERROR OCCURS WHEN:

ch.6

Back 36

people base their judgments on evidence that's vivid or memorable instead of reliable or turstworthy.

Front 37

THE FALLACY OF HASTY GENERALIZATION ~

ch.6

Back 37

Making a judgemnt about a group of things on the basis of evidence concerning only a few members of that group.

Front 38

A SUPERSTITION IS:


ch.6

Back 38

a belief that an action or situation can have an effect on something even though there is no logical relation between the two.

Front 39

AN ARGUMENT IS:


ch.6

Back 39

a group of statements that attempt to justify a claim.

Front 40

THE CONCLUSION OF AN ARGUMENT ARE

ch.6

Back 40

is the claim that the statements in an argument attempt to justify.

Front 41

THE PREMISES OF AN ARGUMENT ARE

ch.6

Back 41

the statements that supposedly justify the conclusion of an argument.

Front 42

AN ENTHYMEME IS


ch.6

Back 42

an argument with unstated premises or conclusions.

Front 43

A VALID ARGUMENT IS SUCH THAT


ch.6

Back 43

if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true.

Front 44

DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS CAN ESTABLISH THEIR CONCLUSIONS WITH __________; BUT INDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS CAN ONLY ESTABLISH THEIR CONCLUSION WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF ________.

ch.6

Back 44

certainty;

probability.

Front 45

THE MODUS PONENS DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENT CAN BE REPRESENTED AS FOLLOWS:

ch.6

Back 45

If p then q.

P

Therefore q.

Front 46

THE MODUS TOLENS DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENT CAN BE REPRESENTED AS FOLLOWS: (2nd one)

ch.6

Back 46

If p then q.

Not q.

Threfore, not p.

Front 47

A SOUND DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENT IS WHEN

ch.6

Back 47

the argument is valid & its premises are true.

Front 48

AN INDUCTIVE ARGUMENT THAT WOULD ESTABLISH ITS CONCLUSION WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF PROBABILITY IF ITS PREMISES WERE TRUE IS KNOWN AS A _________ ARGUMENT.

ch.6

Back 48

strong

Front 49

A STRONG INDUCTIVE ARGUMENT WITH TRUE PREMISES IS KNOWN AS A _________ ARGUMENT.

ch.6

Back 49

cogent

Front 50

EMUNERATIVE INDUCTION HAS THE FOLLOWING FORM:

ch.6

Back 50

X percent of the observed members of A are B.

Therefore, X percent of the entire group of A are B.

Front 51

ANALOGICAL INDUCTION HAS THE FOLLOWING FORM:

ch.6

Back 51

Object A has properties, F, G. H, etc. as well as the property Z.

Object B has properties F, G. H, etc.

Therefore, object B probably has property Z.

Front 52

INFERENCE TO THE BEST EXPLANATION HAS THE FOLLOWING FORM:

ch.6

Back 52

Phenomena p.

If hypothesis b were true, it would provide the best explanation for p.

Therefore, it's probably that b is true.