PHI 205 exam 1

But there are 2 bad rules with conditionals. Denying the Antecedent, on. top Affirming the Consequent, on bottom

(1) If P then Q Not P Not Q (2) If P then Q Q P

Avoiding Fallacies (c)Reduction ad absurdum

(pp.14-15). A reductio is a legitimate method of (dis)proof. The authors are cautioning against arguments that lead to a reductio ad absurdum (dis)proof. 1)assume premises or conclusion to be true 2) then to show a contradiction or absurd situation 3)if contradicted the conclusion is false, if implausible an absurdity is found

Deductive Logic (b) Rule Modus Tollens (MT),

, "the mode denying." Not Q Not P

(b) BELIEF PERSISTANCE

- there is a tendency for people persist in their beliefs even when they know that the evidence has been overturned.

Avoiding Fallacies (e) Hasty Generalization

(p.16) is a violation of the rule of quantity for induction, as mentioned already. the sample size is too small and does not accurately represent the population

Avoiding Fallacies (d) Equivocation

(p.16). More serious case, return to their discussion of "clarity" (p.8) One shouldn't read "human" in some special person sense in 1 and in some purely genetic sense in 2. A key word in the argument shifts meaning

Avoiding Fallacies (f) False Analogy

(p.17) is a violation of the strong analogy requirement for induction by analogy. argument based on an analogy that has important dissimilarities between the premises that will change/ disprove the argument's conclusion

Evaluating Induction Principle of Quality

A good inductive argument must have must have a VARIETY of different kinds within the class of sample objects If this condition is not met, the argument commits the fallacy of "forgetful induction."

Newer Teleological Design Argument Fine-Tuning & Intelligence example (c) The Goldilocks Principle:

habitable planets must not be too close or too far from their suns for life to occur.

Consistency with established truths

or things currently accepted as true by the best science (sometimes called a principle of conservatism). E.g., you may need to check your eyes, or your measurements, if you think you just observed a violation of gravity.

SUPPORT COSMO ARGUMENT (1) No Unending Series Recall premise (v). (v) An unending series of causes is impossible

pg 57 What's wrong with an infinite series? Following the mathematician David Hilbert, the philosopher William Craig thinks the idea of an "actual" infinite series (vs a "potential" one) leads to counterintuitive results. Hilbert's Hotel: every room is full, but, being actually infinite (for any room n, n+1), it can still take in more guests. Skeptical Counter to Craig The result of "shifting" in Hilbert's Hotel makes perfect sense mathematically.

Logical reasons"

supply good evidence that conforms to the rules of logic.

Categories of Reason Religion (b) NATURAL ATHEOLOGY

the attempt to use logical arguments to establish negative things about religion, e.g., that God does not exist. "The Christian god may exist; so may the gods of Olympus, or of ancient Egypt, or of Babylon. But no one of these hypotheses is more probable than any other: they lie outside the region of even probable knowledge, and therefore there is no reason to consider any of them" -- Bertrand Russell, Why I am Not a Christian

Categories of Reason Religion (a) NATURAL THEOLOGY =

the attempt to use logical arguments to establish positive answers about religion, e.g., that God exists. "There is a twofold mode of truth in what we profess about God. Some truths about God exceed all the ability of the human reason. Such is the truth that God is triune. But there are some truths which natural reason also is able to reach. Such are that God exists, that He is one, and the like" -- St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, Bk. 1, chap. 3.

Variations on Reasons 1) Non-Reason Views (a) FIDEISM (Latin, "fides," faith):

the reliance on faith rather than reason in matters of religion. This is an "exclusionary" view Not a "reasoned faith" or Aquinas' dual position. Closer to belief by authority alone. Examples: "credo quia absurdem est" -- Tertullian "reason is a *****" -- Martin Luther

Variations on Reasons (b) MYSTICISM:

the reliance on subjective feeling or experience rather than reason in matters of religion. Once again it is an "exclusionary" view. Examples: "To test the teaching, reach now for that saintly rapture, so bright, so pure, so hard to fathom" -- Buddhist Theragatha "Life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be lived." -- Soren Kierkegaard

"PHILOSOPHY"

understanding the logical reasons that pertain to the fundamental issues of human life (God, Morality, Persons, etc.).

Computational Theory of Mind

viewing the mind/brain as a computer or logic machine. Philosophers from Aristotle forward developed logical concepts and logical systems. The philosopher C. S. Peirce (in letter to Marquand, 1886) showed how to represent logical concepts in electrical circuits. " 'P AND Q' is true if and only if both are true" becomes implemented in circuit

Deductive Logic (a) Rule Modus Ponens (MP),

"the mode affirming." It affirms the antecedent of the conditional. If P then Q P Q

Newer Teleological Design Argument Fine-Tuning & Intelligence example (d) Joint Improbabilities: Abraham Morrison, Seven Reasons Why a Scientist Believes in God (1962)

"By unwavering mathematical law we can prove that our universe was designed and executed by a great engineering intelligence. Suppose you put ten pennies, marked from one to ten, into your pocket and give them a good shuffle. Now try to take them out in sequence from one to ten, putting back the coin each time and shaking them all again. Mathematically we know that your chance of first drawing number one is one in ten; of drawing one and two in succession, one in 100; of drawing one, two, and three in succession, one in a thousand, and so on; your chance of drawing them all from number one to number ten in succession, would reach the unbelievable figure of one chance in ten billion. By the same reasoning, so many exacting conditions are necessary for life on the earth that they could not possibly exist in proper relationship by chance. The earth rotates on its axis one thousand miles per hour; if it turned at one hundred miles an hour, our days and nights would be ten times as long as now, and the hot sun would then burn up our vegetation each long day while in the long night any surviving sprout would freeze ..."

Greek "philosophia" is a compound of

"philia" (love) and "sophia" (wisdom).

COSMO ARGUMENT CRITICISM (1) A Possible Inconsistency Theistic Responses:

(a) Craig's premise (i) is slightly different and more specific that (i*): (i) If a thing begins to exist, it must have a cause By this principle, as long as God is not a thing, that begins to exist, he does not need a cause. Also, (i) might be plausible independently of the more general (i*) that creates a contradiction. (b) Aquinas: The first cause is not an effect, so it doesn't have a cause.

Evidence for the Natural Model

(a) Fossil record E.g., with the strata, there are large complex creatures at top layers, very small simple creatures at bottom layers, which fits evolution. (b) Genetics Observable similarities are underscored by genetic similarities. Humans share 98.5 % genes with chimps (c) Evolution Observed E.g., viruses mutate so that vaccines which once killed the old kind no longer kill the new mutation. (d) Patchwork Effects E.g., Panda's Thumb is not a real thumb but rather an extension of the radial sesamoid bone in the wrist.

"cognitive biases" studied in psychology and cognitive science.

(a) I think the explanation for cases like Jim Jones do not have anything specific to do about religion per se. Non-reason is the problem.

Newer Teleological Design Argument Fine-Tuning & Intelligence example (b)John Barrow, The Constants of Nature (2002).

(b) Life depends on, among other things, a balance of carbon and oxygen in the universe. If the strong nuclear force were different by 0.4%, there would not be enough of one or the other for life to exist (Oberhummer, Csótó, and Schlattl 2000). Varying this constant either way "would destroy almost all carbon or almost all oxygen in every star"

(3) Formal Presentation Of Cosmological argument

(i) If a thing begins to exist, it must have a cause (ii) The world is a thing that begins to exist (iii) The world has a cause [(i), (ii), MP] (iv) Either this cause is an unending series or the series ends in a First Cause. (v) An unending series of causes is impossible (vi) The series ends in a First Cause [(iv), (v), DA]. (vii) the First Cause satisfies some of God's descriptions (e.g., it causes the world, it is not caused by anything else)

Evaluating Induction Principle of Quantity

A good inductive argument has a LARGE NUMBER of sample objects.

Inductive Simple Enumeration

1 sample swan (A) is white (B) 2 sample swan (A) is white (B) 3 sample swan (A) is white (B) .... Probably all swans are white (All As are Bs) generalization beyond the sample data to all members of the class A.

Teleological Argument Read Paley, "Watchmaker Argument," pp. 270-271, 274.

1) the world resembles the objects of human design (argument by analogy) coming across.a watch it is to think it has a human designer, therefore reasonable to think that coming across the frame of nature to have a Godly designer

Teleological Argument Hume's Cleanthes, quoted by Blackburn, pp292-293.

1) the world resembles the objects of human design (argument by analogy) coming across.a watch it is to think it has a human designer, therefore reasonable to think that coming across the frame of nature to have a Godly designer 2) argument is "posteriori": argues from experience, from what we know of the world as we found it

(c) An argument is deductively SOUND

= (i) it is Valid, and (ii) its Premises are True (See p. 9) Valid(follows logic rules) Sound (truth)

An 'argument' in logic

= group of propositions where at least one is a premise and another a conclusion.

Inductive Argument

= if its premises are true, the conclusion is MORE PROBABLE Induction involves a correlation between two properties established by observation.

(a) An argument/rule is deductively VALID

= if its premises are true, then the conclusion must also be true (see also p.7). Follows logical rules Rules such as (MP), (MT), and (DA) are valid.

PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

= understanding the logical reasons that pertain to the fundamental issues of religious life.

Premise

= what gives evidence

Conclusion

= what is supported by the evidence

Inductive Induction by Analogy

A different form of induction is this: 1 sample swan (A) is white (B) 2 sample swan (A) is white (B) 3 sample swan (A) is white (B) .... next sample n is a swan (A) Probably the next sample swan n is white (B). This type of induction differs from induction by simple enumeration only by having a singular rather than general conclusion.

Teleological Argument Example of Design in Nature

Analogy: a camera has a lens to focus light and a film to produce an image. The eyeball has a lens (cornea) to focus light and a film (retina) to produce an image. 1 sample has machine-like design (A) and it was made by intelligence (B), e.g., a watch or a camera. 2 sample has machine-like design (A) and it was made by intelligence (B), ... next sample n in nature has machine-like design (A), e.g., the solar system or the eye. Probably that sample n in nature was made by intelligence too (B).

Newer Teleological Design Argument (1) Fine-Tuning & Intelligence

Another popular argument concerns the idea of "fine-tuning." The main idea: so many variables had to be fine-tuned together for life to exist, and it is so improbable that the process could have occurred without intelligent design.

The Teleological Argument for the Existence of God

Basic Idea There is probably an intelligent God who is the cause of designs in nature "Telos" is the Greek word for PURPOSE or GOAL, here applied to the purposes for particular designs in nature.

The Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God A. Basics (1) General Idea

Basic claim: There must be a God who is the cause of the cosmos Versions of the argument are found in Plato's Laws, Aristotle's Metaphysics, al-Ghazali's Aims of Philosophers, Aquinas' Summa Theologica, Leibniz's Monadology, etc. Illustration: Richard Taylor's story of the Crystal Ball. We come to a clearing in the woods. There is a large crystal ball. We assume it has a cause. Size and material constitution does not matter. Now consider the cosmos ...

SUPPORT COSMO ARGUMENT 2) The Big Bang

Claim: God/First Cause is the cause of the initial Big Bang explosion The universe came from an explosion about 13-14 billion years ago, based on calculations by the Hubble Telescope Many defenders of the cosmological argument believe this supports their view. See Craig, reserve, p.60 The Big Bang is evidence for premise (ii): The universe is a thing that began to exist; and premise (v): there was no unending series of past causes Skeptical Counters Many physicists argue that the appeal to God as the First Cause of the Big Bang is a misunderstanding. (a) Time does not exist apart from or prior to or outside the space created by the Big Bang, so there is no time outside it and by which it is measured to begin. (b) At the early places of the Big Bang there are not 4 dimensions (3 space and 1 time). So a separate time dimension becomes meaningless. See Reichenbach, "The Cosmological Argument," Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, sec 6.5 The Big Bang is technically not an Event in time, so by Craig's principle it need not have a cause.

William Craig, on reserve Also read Aquinas, the "2nd Way," the argument from causation, p.268.

Cosmo argument Everything seen in the world can be explained by other principles 1) argument of motion: Whatever is in motion must be put into motion by another There is a necessity to come to the conclusion of a "first mover" this assumed to be God 2) Nature of Efficient Cause: There is an order to things can not go to infinity It is necessary to have a first cause 3)possibility and Necessity 4)graduation found in things

Teleological Argument responses (a) Limited Conclusion

Even if the argument is sound, it does not prove God's existence. E.g., one can't infer that the intelligence behind the designs is infinite, or good, or just one, etc. Those features are not even mentioned in the conclusion. The skeptic David Hume made this point in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (parts quoted in text by Blackburn).

Evolutionary Alternative (1) Mind Model vs Natural Model

Explaining design by mind or intelligence is an old & familiar strategy, used for human behavior Explaining design by natural forces is also a familiar strategy. 1)Extended Time (e.g., getting a hole-in-one while playing golf) 2)Chance Reshuffling (e.g., getting a straight flush while playing poker) 3)Darwinian Selection (e.g., Peppered Moths) 4)Mendelian Variation and mutation in DNA (e.g., keeping a step ahead of viruses) 5)Genetic Drift (e.g., Kodiak Bears)

Timmon's & Shoemaker's "justifying reason," p.253 Contrast beliefs that arise from propaganda, brain washing, mental illness, etc.

Explanatory reasons for belief in God For X'x belief B, there is an explanation, typically a causal story a story for why X believes B Justifying reasons for belief in God For X's belief B there is justification, causes reason for continued belief Reasonings for why X ought to believe B

Problems with Non-Reason Views a) LACK OF RELIABILITY

Generally speaking, beliefs adopted by processes that exclude reason are not reliable. E.g., one shouldn't take medicines accepted by mere faith, or superstition, or the opinions of the village idiot, but those based on good experimental reasons (probable beliefs by induction). Ditto for other matters, e.g., engineering, aviation, auto-mechanics, culinary arts, ...

5 fundamental issues of human life:

God Morality Individual Persons Societies

Read also the argument in Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, quoted by Blackburn, pp.290-291.

God is needed to explain the world/cosmos as we understand it, things in the universe are dependent upon beings

Teleological Argument responses (b) The Analogy is Weak

If we see a house, we conclude with the greatest certainty that it had an architect, because this is precisely the species of effect which we have experienced to proceed from that species of cause. But surely you will not affirm that the universe bears such a resemblance to a house" -- Hume, Dialogues, ii If the world were exactly like an artifact, or a machine, etc., then there would be no question. But the universe does not look like that ...

Newer Teleological Design Argument Fine-Tuning & IntelligenceResponses: (c) The conclusion about intelligent design does not follow.

Improbable events happen by pure chance. Compare getting a holer in one while playing golf.

Avoiding Fallacies (1) Informal Fallacies

Informal fallacies are rules of thumb or heuristics about kinds of reasoning that are good to avoid. You should study all the informal fallacies discussed in the text, pp.13-17.

COSMO ARGUMENT CRITICISM (2) Does not Prove God

Many contest the religious interpretation of the conclusion (vii) that the "First Cause" is God. The conclusion does not say the first cause is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, ... E.g., consider a hypothesis that "matter" is the First Cause ("matter is neither created nor destroyed"). The materialist might have trouble explaining why matter is eternal. But the theist might have equal trouble explaining why God is eternal (it is a divine mystery)

(2) Divine Features Omnipotent Omniscient Omnibenevolent Omnipresent Monotheistic Transcendent Creator Eternal

Omnipotent (all powerful), Omniscient (all knowing), Omnibenevolent (all good), Omnipresent (all over the place), Monotheistic (just one), Transcendent Creator (made the world and exists apart from the world) Eternal (never began to be) Test your intuitions: what if we discovered some very advanced ET planet makers? Any inclination to call them "God"? But they are very smart, made the earth, etc.

Avoiding Fallacies (a) Ad Hominem (against the person)

One should not reject an argument based upon facts about the person arguing rather than problems in the evidence. Their argument might be sound or strong in spite of their personal issues.

Teleological Argument responses Blackburn, pp293-294.

Part-whole problem Superficial similarities but one need to understand underlying mechanisms.

Logic is the province of philosophy

Philosophers from Aristotle to Bertrand Russell constructed systems of logic Various areas: deductive logic, inductive logic, n-valued logic, etc. Logic is a Normative practice about how to reason correctly, not a purely Descriptive practice about how people in fact reason. Logic versus the psychology of human reasoning

Criticism of the COSMO ARGUMENT (1) A Possible Inconsistency Read Blackburn, p. 291.

Russell argue that the general reasoning behind the cosmological argument is contradictory. (i*) If a thing exists, it must have a cause. But God is a thing that exists, so God would need a cause. Hence there cannot be a First Cause that does not have a cause, contrary to the conclusion: (iv) The series ends in a First Cause Compare Shopenhauer's old criticism: "the theist uses the causal principle like a taxi; he rides it till he gets to his destination, and then he gets off!"

Timmons and Shoemaker talk about the size of the sample (p.11) Timmons and Shoemaker also talk about "representativeness" (p.11)

Sample size- the more observations of the sample set, the more plausible the generalization will be If this condition is not met, the argument commits the fallacy of "hasty generalization" (pp.16-17). Representativeness- Random population of samples to draw from If this condition is not met, the argument commits the fallacy of "forgetful induction." neglecting relevant data

COSMO READINGS William Craig, on reserve Also read Aquinas, the "2nd Way," the argument from causation, p.268. Read also the argument in Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, quoted by Blackburn, pp.290-291.

Summary of Basic Themes: the world consists of a series of causes. But the series cannot continue forever -- the buck must stop somewhere. So the series must end with a First Cause, i.e., God.

(b) There are various methods of proving validity in logic.

The Diagram Method. Look at the argument, p.4 (vendiagram) The class of Mortals The class of Humans Socrates There is also the Truth-Table Method, which represents all possibilities for truth and falsity in an argument.

Newer Teleological Design Argument Fine-Tuning & Intelligence example (a) Robin Collins, "Evidence for Fine-Tuning," in God & Design: The Teleologicval Argument and Modern Science (2003)

The expansion rate of the universe is represented by the cosmological constant Λ. If Λ were slighter greater, there would be no energy sources, such as stars. If it were slightly less, the Big Bang would have quickly led to a Big Crunch in which the universe collapsed back onto itself. For life to be possible, Λ cannot vary more than one part in 1053

Problems with Non-Reason Views (b) HARMFUL CONSEQUENCES.

The good use of reason protects us from harm. So, when reason is ignored, harm can result. E.g., On November 18, 1978, More than 900 followers of reverend Jim Jones obeyed his orders and drank punch laced with cyanide, 276 children first, then the adults. Jones then shot Himself. With the murder of Congressman Ryan, the total number dead was 914.

COSMO ARGUMENT CRITICISM (3) A Dialectical Standoff

There are serious intuitions on both sides. On the positive side, there is discomfort with the idea of an actual unending series of causes, or an explosion without a cause, etc. On the negative side, there are scientific hypotheses that need no God, like uncaused quantum fluctuations, or cosmic singularities that are not events in time. But a standoff is not a proof for one side.

(b) Look at the third step in the inductive argument by analogy: "Next sample n is an A or is like/analogous to an A."

This requires a strong analogy between the samples and the next case n. Does bird n look like a swan? Any significant differences? Does solar system n look like a machine? ...

The Idea of God (1) Traditional Western View

We need to know WHAT will be argued for & against by the use of good reason. Premises: Conclusion: something about God (positive or negative) What is the CONCEPT of God? Whether a believer or no, most people in the U.S. have a particular "Western" concept of God.

Deductive Logic (c) Disjunctive Argument (DA),

a rule for "either-or" reasoning (process of elimination). Either Mary borrowed my Zep CD or Billy did Billy didn't borrow my Zep CD So Mary borrowed my Zep CD P or Q Not Q p

Avoiding Fallacies (b) Begging the Question/Circular Reasoning (pp.13-14)

an argument is valid but utterly empty of real content, premises are not sound 1) assuming argument without the premises of what it is trying to prove 2)answering the question with a question