Philosophy chapter 1

fallacy

A common but bad argument.

invalid argument

A deductive argument that fails to provide conclusive support for its conclusion.

valid argument

A deductive argument that succeeds in providing conclusive support for its conclusion.

analytic statement

A logical truth whose denial results in a contradiction.

argument

A statement coupled with other statements that are meant to support that statement.

deductive argument

An argument intended to give logically conclusive support to its conclusion.

inductive argument

An argument intended to give probable support to its conclusion.

reductio ad absurdum

An argument of this form: If you assume that a set of statements is true, and yet you can deduce a false or absurd statement from it, then the original set of statements as a whole must be false.

statement (claim)

An assertion that something is or is not the case and is therefore the kind of utterance that is either true or false.

______________________________________ include straw man, appeal to the person (ad hominem), appeal to popularity, genetic fallacy, equivocation, appeal to ignorance, false dilemma, begging the question, slippery slope, composition, and division.

Common types of bad reasoning i

_____________________________are evaluated as structurally correct or incorrect (valid or invalid), while inductive arguments are evaluated as probable or improbable (strong or weak).

Deductive arguments

_________________________________________ Plato privileges rationalism over empiricism, or reason over the senses, as the way we know. Unaided by the senses, reason will come to contemplate the Forms.

Following Parmenides,

According to Plato, these real things are ___________

Forms.

approaching the text with an open mind; reading actively and critically; identifying the conclusion first, then the premises; outlining, paraphrasing, or summarizing the argument; and evaluating the argument and forming a tentative judgment.

Four approaches to reading philosophy are

___________________________ provide good reasons for accepting a conclusion, while bad arguments do not.

Good arguments

One of two major influences on Plato's thought, ______________ holds that opposites ultimately find harmony in the principle of the logos, which orders the world.

Heraclitus

logos

Heraclitus's central idea—the principle, formula, or law of the world order.

premise

In an argument, a statement supporting the conclusion

conclusion

In an argument, the statement being supported.

sophists

Itinerant professors who, for a fee, would teach a range of subjects that could be of practical or intellectual benefit.

He further argues that he cannot both be an atheist and a creator of new divinities, but not before he explains the origin of the animosity toward him. His reputation, he claims, is the result of his new accusers—Meletus and Anytus, among others—being raised by a previous generation who resented Socrates's activities. Of singular importance to this series of events is the__________________________

Oracle at Delphi.

The other most significant influence on Plato's thought, _______________ set the stage for later theoretical divisions between reason and sensation

Parmenides,

As a discipline,___________________ is typically categorized among the humanities; it is a field out of which others—such as biology, physics, and psychology, and political—have evolved.

Philosophy

_______________________________________________, among other things, how we come to the proper use of our reason to know the Forms.

Plato's Allegory of the Cave explains

___________________________is one of the most famous of the itinerant teachers, the Sophists, whose views and methods Plato—and most of Athens, for that matter—largely reviled. Arguably, Protagoras's single most important view was moral relativism.

Protagoras

Socratic method

Question-and-answer dialogue in which propositions are methodically scrutinized to uncover the truth.

________________________________is the tool for determining the state of one's knowledge about ethical concepts and so also whether one is virtuous: for Socrates, one's ethical state generally cannot be divested from one's epistemological state

Socrates's method

______________________consists of a directed question and answer. A 'What is X?' question is asked, where X is some ethical concept, such as friendship, courage, justice, and so on.

Socrates's method

Socrates's method for seeking definitions to ethical terms, known now as the ____________method, was thought by Socrates to be essential to the well-being of the soul.

Socratic method

rhetoric

The art of verbal persuasion.

relativism

The doctrine that the truth about something depends on what persons or cultures believe.

appeal to ignorance

The fallacy of arguing either that (1) a claim is true because it hasn't been proven false or (2) a claim is false because it hasn't been proven true.

slippery slope

The fallacy of arguing erroneously that a particular action should not be taken because it will lead inevitably to other actions resulting in some dire outcome.

false dilemma

The fallacy of arguing erroneously that since there are only two alternatives to choose from, and one of them is unacceptable, the other one must be true.

composition

The fallacy of arguing erroneously that what can be said of the parts can also be said of the whole.

division

The fallacy of arguing erroneously that what can be said of the whole can be said of the parts.

appeal to popularity

The fallacy of arguing that a claim must be true not because it is backed by good reasons but simply because many people believe it.

genetic fallacy

The fallacy of arguing that a statement can be judged true or false based on its source.

equivocation

The fallacy of assigning two different meanings to the same significant word in an argument.

straw man

The fallacy of misrepresenting of a person's views so they can be more easily attacked or dismissed.

begging the question

The fallacy of trying to prove a conclusion by using that very same conclusion as support

pre-Socratics

The first philosophers, most of whom flourished before Socrates (5th century BCE)

________________________is the harmonious and just soul guided by reason. This is the soul in which each of the two lower parts, appetite and spirit, are kept in alignment by reason.

The moral soul

logic

The study of correct reasoning.

epistemology

The study of knowledge.

ethics (moral philosophy)

The study of morality using the methods of philosophy.

metaphysics

The study of reality, an inquiry into the fundamental nature of the universe and the things in it.

axiology

The study of value, including both aesthetic value and moral value.

philosophical method

The systematic use of critical reasoning to try to find answers to fundamental questions about reality, morality, and knowledge.

ancient atomism

The theory that reality consists of an infinite number of minute, indivisible bits called atoms moving randomly in an infinite void, or empty space.

empiricism

The view that our knowledge of the empirical world comes solely from sense experience.

subjective relativism

The view that right actions are those endorsed by an individual.

rationalism

The view that through unaided reason we can come to know what the world is like.

empiricists

Those who believe that our knowledge of the empirical world comes solely from sense experience.

_________________________________ which can only tell us about this or that sensation, reason can think both about particulars and general concepts. Since the Forms are the most general things there are, the only way we can consider them is by way of our rationality. Moreover, Plato holds that our souls learned about the Forms before we were born, so we already know them—we have innate knowledge that needs to be elicited through the Socratic method.

_UNlike the senses

The state of one's soul

____________________ is revealed by answers to the questions Socrates asks

As a process, it is a mode of deep reflection called

a method

An_______________ is a series of statements, one of which, the conclusion, is supported by the other(s).

argument

This arrangement lends itself to an_______________________________________________________This privilege is, however, practically speaking a burden. Doing what's best for society means thinking always and only about the right way to govern, the right way to achieve a unified state. The society Plato envisions is one he thinks can alone ensure people get their due. This, he thinks, is a meritocracy, or system of rule whereby people are distinguished by their abilities and achievements.

aristocracy, a society ruled by a privileged class, rather than a democracy.

Democritus is one of two

atomists.

For Plato, there is a distinction between believing and knowing. Since there are objective truths to be known, we may believe X, but ____________ does not guarantee we are correct

belief alone

Hence, "what is, is, and

cannot not be."

The two modes of argument are ___________________ & _________________-

deductive and inductive.

His Academy developed thinkers such as Aristotle. Plato spent time writing dialogues, typically divided into stages: ________________________________________,___________________,____________________.

early, middle, and late.

This is because the method aims at _______________ while ignorance harms the soul.

eliciting knowledge,

Socrates's method almost inevitably _______________________________ his interlocutors—to be shown ignorant where you have professed knowledge usually does the trick.

embarrasses and angers

Premises are the statements provided as __________________ in an argument

evidence

Socrates's interlocutor provides an answer. That answer is examined and ____________________ The process then begins again.

found wanting

Because philosophy is about________________________ on which others logically depend—it is important to study them to better understand those that depend on them.

fundamental ideas and beliefs

His interrogations of those who he thought must be wiser than himself yielded the conclusion that, although he wasn't wise, he was at least wiser than these men because ______________________________________________________________

he did not presume to have knowledge he didn't actually possess.

He argues that many young Athenian men liked to observe the conversations Socrates had—ones that resulted in___________________________________—but that he didn't actively corrupt them.

humiliation for the interlocutor

The soul is __________________, according to Plato. In various dialogues, specifically the Phaedo, Plato articulates the relation between philosophy and the soul, where the activity of philosophy prepares the soul for a good death and afterlife. In this dialogue, Plato offers several arguments in support of the claim that the soul is immortal, one of which hearkens back to the theory of recollection demonstrated in the Meno. (See Ch. 3.) Another argument involves the idea that there are two types of being, one of which is associated with perishable things, like human bodies, and another that is associated with imperishable things, like the soul.

immortal,

Democritus's view of the atom does bear similarities to Parmenides's view of reality, namely that it is ____________________________ even if it varies in size and shape from other atoms.

indestructible and solid

One obvious ________________________according to Socrates, is preoccupation with wealth, social status, power, and pleasure

indicator of an unhealthy soul

In several of Plato's dialogues, this tension is used to great effect. One's outer appearance is nothing in comparison to ___________________________

inner goodness—virtue.

Philosophy

is a discipline and a process.

Plato believed that there are truths to be discovered; that knowledge ______________________________.

is possible.

Underneath, rational and divine ____________steers all things.

logos

These reflect developments in his thinking; he extended and effectively completed Socrates's interest in ethics to a systematic philosophy encompassing ideas in _____________________________________.

metaphysics and epistemology.

The four main branches of philosophy are

metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, and logic.

The individual is a _____________________________The harmonious state is one in which each person performs his or her role according to his or her most prominent part of the soul or our nature: appetitive, spirited, or rational. The person driven most by his or her appetitive side is a producer, while the auxiliary is the spirited person, and the guardian is most rational. The producers are the laborers, carpenters, artists, and farmers of society; the auxiliaries are the soldiers, warriors, and police; and the guardians are the leaders, rulers, or philosopher-kings

microcosm of the state

Even if he does corrupt them, Socrates argues, he should be educated, _________________________, since he does not corrupt them intentionally.

not punished

All these distract ____________________________which is to say, from pursuing the right way to live. (Even if these were indicators of the right way to live, they'd need to be established as such.)

one from pursuing knowledge,

Forms are the eternal and immutable blueprints or models for everything that is. Consequently, they are more real than their _________________

particulars.

thinking philosophically involves careful argumentation, which is the ___________________________________________

philosopher's rational mode of inquiry.

He holds a ___________________of the universe: there are infinitely many atoms and the void. The void is not nothing, but it is also not equivalent to Parmenides's One.

pluralistic view

Philosophy is also of ___________________importance, since when we improve our philosophical lives, other parts of our lives are also improved.

practical

n an argument, reasons are called ______________________

premises.

Since truth is objective, our knowledge of true propositions must be about___________________

real things

According to Parmenides, _________________that reality is one, not many. The many appears, but that is the extent of its reality.

reason dictates

The _________________________________is the mechanism whereby answers are found to be inadequate. Whether a definition of justice is too broad, too narrow, or deficient in some other way, the error is ferreted out by this mechanism of assuming a statement to be true, and deducing from it a false or logically incompatible statement (the absurdity). The resulting statement shows that the initial assumption is false.

reductio ad absurdum

Moreover, he held that truth is not, as the Sophists thought, ____________ Instead, _________________________; it is that which our reason, used rightly, apprehends. Through his systematic philosophy, he developed a formidable rejection of skepticism, the view that we lack knowledge in some fundamental way.

relative., it is objective;

Socrates's activities eventually ____________________________Faced with charges that he corrupts the youth, worships false gods, and creates new divinities, Socrates boldly declares that he would not stop his activities.

resulted in his death

A ________________ is a sentence that is true or false—that has a truth-value.

statement

Milesian philosopher Thales's view that the world is constituted by or originated from water is defended on the grounds

that water appears to be elemental.

Because_____________________________________, they explain what is—we can understand what is by understanding the Forms. We can also extrapolate from particulars to get closer to contemplating the Forms. This extrapolation process is made possible by the way that reason works.

the Forms make particulars possible

appeal to the person

the fallacy of rejecting a statement on the grounds that it comes from a particular person, not because the statement, or claim, itself is false or dubious.

Anaximander, another Milesian philosopher, is said to be a pupil of Thales. His view of the origin of things derives from the principle of opposites, and is traceable back to the imperishable apeiron. This formless substance is

the source of all things.

skepticism

the view that we lack knowledge in some fundamental way

After the oracle told one of Socrates's friends that Socrates ____________________________________ Socrates set out to determine the meaning of the claim—especially since he could not believe himself wise.

the wisest man in Athens,

Philosophy's ______________benefit is that, like other disciplines, the student of philosophy gains understanding for its own sake.

theoretical

The soul consists of _________________________: appetitive (appetites or urges), spirited (emotional), and rational. When one of the first two is not in control, the soul is in a state of disarray. In such a condition, individuals make poor choices and live unhappy lives

three parts

There are three necessary and sufficient conditions, according to Plato, for one _______________ (1) the proposition must be believed; (2) the proposition must be true; and (3) the proposition must be supported by good reasons, which is to say, you must be justified in believing it. Thus, for Plato, knowledge is justified, true belief.

to have knowledge:

Socrates's _____________________________contrasts with his remarkable charisma, courage, and intellect, the latter of which are among the things that make him so appealing to many of Athens's youth.

unattractive appearance

To avoid this ___________________________________________ Socrates could, for example, simply lecture on ethical topics. He does not do this, however, for several reasons: (1) he did not think himself a Sophist — one who teaches, and does so for a fee; (2) his method and views about the soul are inextricable, so that the wellness of a soul, living the good life—and preparing oneself for an afterlife—depends on the sort of self-examination the method employs; (3) related to (2), the connection between virtue and knowledge is such that one has to discover for oneself whether or not one knows what one claims.

uncomfortable situation

After his mentor, Socrates, ________________________________ a disgusted Plato left Athens. He returned in 387 to found the Academy, often considered the first university.

was executed in 399 bce,

Born into an aristocratic and influential Athenian family, and raised during the Peloponnesian War, Plato's family expected him to go into politics, but he fell in love _____________

with philosophy.