Preview unavailable

Part 1: What is a Good Argument?

• Introduction

What is an Argument?

• What is an Argument?

• What is a Claim?

• What is a Good Argument (I)?

• Identifying Premises and Conclusions

• What is an Argument?: Quiz

What is a Good Argument?

• The Truth Condition

• The Logic Condition

• Valid versus Invalid Arguments

• Strong versus Weak Arguments

• What is a Good Argument (II)?

Deductive and Inductive Arguments

• Deductive Arguments and Valid Reasoning

• Inductive Arguments and Strong Reasoning

• Inductive Arguments and Scientific Reasoning

Part 2: All the Formal Logic You Need to Know For Critical Thinking

• Introduction

What is Propositional Logic?

• Introduction: What is Propositional Logic?

Compound Claims

• Conjunctions (A and B)

• Disjunctions (A or B)

• Conditionals (If A then B)

How to Think About the Logical Connectives in Propositional Logic

• Introduction to the Content in This Section

• How to Think About the Logical Connectives in Propositional Logic

• The Difference Between Natural Languages and Formal Languages

• Issues With Translating “AND” and “OR”

• Issues With Translating Conditionals: “If A then B”

Contradiction and Consistency

• Contradictories (not-A)

• Contradictories vs Contraries

• Contradictions (A and not-A)

• Consistency and Inconsistency

Contradictories of Compound Claims

• not-(not-A)

• not-(A and B)

• not-(A or B)

• not-(If A then B)

Ways of Saying “IF A THEN B”

• A if B

• A only if B

• A if and only if B

• A unless B

• The Contrapositive: If not-B then not-A

• (not-A) or B

• Necessary and Sufficient

Categorical Claims and Their Contradictories

• Categorical versus Propositional Logic

• All A are B

• Only A are B

• Some A are B

• The Square of Opposition

What I Wish I Knew About Logic Before Taking a Symbolic Logic Class

• What I Wish I Knew About Logic Before Taking a Logic Class

• Why Do Linguistics Majors Have to Study Logic?

• Natural Language Has a Logical Structure

• Formal Logic was Developed to Understand the Nature of Deductive Proof, Not Language

• Different Logical Systems Can Be Used to Model Different Fragments of Natural Language

• Aristotelian Logic: The Logic of Categories

• Propositional Logic: The Logic of Statements

• There Are Many Logics

• Predicate Logic: The Logic of Quantifiers and Variables

• Wrapping Up

Part 3: Formal Fallacies: Errors in Reasoning Due to Bad Logic

• Introduction: What Are Formal Fallacies?

Argument Forms Using Disjunctions (A or B)

• Valid Argument Forms Using OR

• Invalid Argument Forms Using OR

Argument Forms Using Conditionals (If A then B)

• Modus Ponens

• Modus Tollens

• Hypothetical Syllogism

• Affirming the Consequent

• Denying the Antecedent

Argument Forms Using Generalizations

• Valid and Invalid Argument Forms Using ALL

• Valid and Invalid Argument Forms Using SOME

Part 4: Informal Fallacies: A Guided Tour

• Introduction: What is an Informal Fallacy?

Introduction

• What is a Fallacy?

• Categorizing Fallacies: Pros and Cons

• The Rules of Rational Argumentation

Some Important Content Fallacies

• Ad Hominem (Abusive)

• Ad Hominem (Guilt by Association)

• Appeal to Hypocrisy (tu quoque)

• Appeal to Popular Belief (or Practice)

• Appeal to Authority

• False Dilemma

• Slippery Slope

Fallacies That Violate the Rules of Rational Argumentation

• Straw Man

• Red Herring

• Begging the Question (circular reasoning)

• Begging the Question (broader sense)