ASCI 1120
Hume's maxim
"No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle unless the testimony be of such a kind that its falsehood would be more miraculous than the fact which it endeavors to establish"
Definition of Anchoring
-A cognitive bias wherein one relies too heavily on one trait or piece information -Uses what you do know to estimate what you don't know
What is fruitful discussion?
-Presumes that the parties know what will count as evidence toward or against it -If you cannot identify what counts as evidence you are not open to the influence of evidence, there is no point in arguing or discussing it
Give an example of anchoring relating to the population size of Canadian societies
-Torontonian (2.7 million) asked the population of Kingston -Knows its a big city but not as large as Toronto so estimate 1/10th (270,000) -Ottawan (1mil), might guess 100,000
Provide 3 examples of why who we are and how we act are not identical
1. Behaviour/Person 2. Proclivity/Identity 3. Preferences/Values
Slippery slope
A fallacy that assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented
Straw man
A fallacy that occurs when a speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example in order to ridicule and refute an idea.
inductive reasoning
A type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations.
Do what I say, not what I do.
Actions speak louder than words Need for consistency Strive to be non-arbitrary Fundamental theme in the rule of law
example of availability heuristic
After seeing several news reports about car thefts, you might make a judgment that vehicle theft is much more common than it really is in your area.
Pervasive fallacy
Argument against the person Evidence and arguments and points of view are distinct from the people who hold them Don't get upset or offended by a (person or) argument Examine it for its contents, logic and evidence
What is ad hominem
Argument against the person Evidence, arguments and points of view are distinct from the people who hold them
Ad hominem- Abusive
Arguments that attempt to avoid the issue by insulting an opponent with abusive language.
What is the herd mentality?
As more and more people answer a question a certain way, you are more likely to say that answer (even if you suspect it is false)
Example of an appeal to ignorance
Because we don't know it must have some supernatural origin
Contradictions words and actions
Can occur in reason as well as in behaviour One cannot each respect through disrespecting someone Dont hit your sister
Definition of Veracity
Conformity to facts
Equality feel like...
Constraint to the privileged
Life is a spectrum of
Disorder
Unmoved mover
Does belief in a specific anthropomorphic creator (remember that we are "hyperactive agency detection devices") any more believable than not doing so Putting a creator before the big bang only begs the question of what created the creator
Cling-ons
Dont cling to things, Consider your property something that the universe (whatever you believe this to be) has bestowed to you temporarily. Keep in mind that it can recoup this (or more) in the blink of an eye
Naturalistic fallacy
Facts say nothing desirability Natural is a factual claim Policy is a prescriptive undertaking
Example of status quo bias
Free trials - count on you getting used to netflix and then just continue to receive and pay after the free trail ends
Relationship between knowledge and freedom
Fundamental connection between science and the continuing struggle for freedom Fundamentally ant-arbitrary power
Circular reasoning
God exists How do you know The bible says so How do you know what the bible says is true Because it is the word of God
exponential growth
Growth pattern in which the individuals in a population reproduce at a constant rate
False analogy
How can you tell your children not to take money from others when their government does it all the time
Spinoza's dictum
I have made ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them,'
Example of representative heuristic
If a player has been scoring lots of goals this would suggest you would not bench them
What is an argument from consequences
If god does not exist everything is permitted therefore God exits The truth of something does not depend on its consequences
Nature abhors a vacuum
If there is a gap, something will fill it.
Beware of the double blind
Immigrants are taking our jobs Immigrants are a drain on social programs Either way they are damned
Capitalization
In our society we believe so strongly that premeditated murder is wring that premeditated murderers will be premeditatedly murdered
How do you define lazy?
Is the laziness in the welfare recipient or in the person who refuses to get the facts about poverty The idea that welfare recipients are all lazy is lazy thinking
Relationship between fact and value
Just as we need to separate the person from the argument, we need to separate fact from value
Know that you do not know
Know thyself Know that you know a lot less than you think Epistemological humility
Ad Hominem Tu Quoque
Like the appeal to authority and ad populum fallacies, the ad hominem ("against the person") and tu quoque ("you, too!") fallacies focus our attention on people rather than on arguments or evidence. In both of these arguments, the conclusion is usually "You shouldn't believe So-and-So's argument." The reason for not believing So-and-So is that So-and-So is either a bad person (ad hominem) or a hypocrite (tu quoque). In an ad hominem argument, the arguer attacks his or her opponent instead of the opponent's argument.
We all have a contribution to make
Limiting each other (and ourselves) through pre-conceived notions hurts us all Don't bench half your team play everyone for fuller realization of societal potential and success
What is certainty?
May not be the standard Avoid absolutes and unqualifieds Try more gradual nuanced, subtle, REALISTIC language
definition of availability heuristic
Mental shortcut that helps us make a decision based on easy it is to bring something to mind
Definition of representative heuristic
Mental shortcut that helps us make a decision by comparing information to our mental prototypes
Fake news
Might it be partly motivated by loss avoidance (fear of "losing" assumptions, behaviours, practices, prejudices, worldview) Might it be an irrational overvaluation of loss (an undervaluation of potential gain)
What is Hume's Fork?
Naturalistic fallacy Statements about (relations between) ideas - These are analytic, necessary, and knowable a priori (all batchelors are unmarried males) Statements about (relations between things) in the world - These are synthetic contingent, and knowable a posteriori -'The Sun will rise tomorrow"
Definition of Essentialism
Normal and acceptable are conflated Common becomes to be expected (that something is the case says nothing about its acceptability) We are in a constant state of socially constructing ourselves and our behaviours Hard to say anything about what is some sort of human nature
Hasty G
Particulars are used to miscreate a general rule
Internet Architecture
Physically connected through color-coded fiber optic cables and supernodes
Rewards
Proactive and prospective What you will do
facts and values Descriptive
Proposition Has a truth value (No, its not raining) denotation
Destructive prejudice
Racism Misogyny
Deduction (deductive reasoning)
Reasoning that begins with a general principle and concludes with a specific instance that demonstrates the general principle. Reasoning from the general to the particular.
Definition of validity
Refers to how well a test measures what it says it measures.
Punishment
Retroactive and retrospective What you did
How can a statement of fact vs a prescriptive statement change an individuals perspective?
SOF "There is a fire in the building!" Prescriptive "Get your asses out!" How rude I am not going to listen to that person (Stay and burn)
Heart disease in women
Science has failed it own more valued tenets by succumbing to gender bias Turns out men are not the ideal type template for normalcy, human medicine, sex, gender, safety
sunk cost fallacy
Stop spending good energy, time, money after bad This can apply to things or relationships Short term pain
Relationship between necessary and sufficient
Sufficiency requires the coming together of all the necessary conditions
Facts and Values Prescriptive
Suggestion, exhortation, command, advocacy Has no truth value Connotation
Example of a false alternative
The only answer to a bad guy with a gun is a good gun with a gun
What is Hume's principle of believability
The truth of a claim has to be more believable than its falsehood
Appeal to Irrelevant Authority
This is a logical fallacy that occurs when--in the course of an argument--an expert person is used to strengthen the validity of an argument; however, that person is not truly an expert on that subject.
The irony of power
Those with the most power are the least inclined to redistribute it Those in a position to change the system are the least inclined to do so
What would benefit all?
To have a more equitable distribution of resources, wealth and power
Example of a false cause
Trailer parks cause tornadoes
What are the gestational origins of all human life
We all come from a female environment We owe our lives to it Stop disrespecting the very conditions of our own possibility
Example of Change the frame
We always lose to this team (We are going to lose again) We have yet to win against this team (Today might be the day)
Stewards of a set of relations
We are the beneficiaries of the quality of our relationships and our knowledge
What is intersectionality?
We each inhabit many social spaces and identities One factor influence is rare The plain truth is, truth is not plain
Composition/Division Fallacy
You assumed that one part of something has to be applied to all, or other, parts of it; or that the whole must apply to its parts.
prospect theory
You work harder to avoid losing something than you do to gain something people are generally sadder about loss
cognitive behavioral therapy
a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)
Difference is not
a threat
Kanheman and Tuersky
studied overconfidence
What is status quo bias?
tendency to do nothing when faced with making a decision
The whole is greater..
than the sum of its parts
Gabor Mate
the idea that addiction is socially constructed and largely individualized like so many other things Tobacco exes are respectable members of the golf and country club while heroine, fentanyl etc addicts are the riff raff
Epigenetics
the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change
endowment effect
the tendency of people to be unwilling to sell a good they already own even if they are offered a price that is greater than the price they would be willing to pay to buy the good if they didn't already own it
Equivocation
the use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself; prevarication
elucidate
to make clear
Social Engineering
using deception to obtain unauthorized access to information resources
Ad Hominem Circumstantial
when someone's argument is rejected based on the circumstances of the person's life