PHIL107 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Circular Reasoning, Ad Hominem, Trolley Problem
29 May 2018
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PHIL107
Lecture 2: intuition and argument
Thought experiments:
Device that engages our imagination
Principles of justice - original position
Mary's room - Frank Jackson
The trolley problem
Pull lever and kill 1 or leave it and kill 4
The Chinese room
The beetle in the box
The cow in the field
what can you know and under certain conditions what things can be known
Justified true belief
Sentences express complete thoughts or propositions
The criterion for being a complete thought or proposition "that for which the question of truth can
arise"
Not every use of language can qualify as a proposition
Propositions and truth values
Inescapable existential demand to investigate non trivial questions
The point of philosophical argument is not personal victory
Different types of arguments
Deductive - (facts) logical demonstration - logical conclusion based on premise
Different properties (valid/invalid- can't get secure results)
Inductive - probability
most swans are white
Cygnet is white
It is probable that cygnet is white
Enthymemes
Arguments with a missing or suppressed premise or conclusions. Most arguments in everyday
speech and writing are enthymemes
E.g any nations without worries is a great nation
Australia has no worries
Australia is a great nation
Things to avoid:
Affirming the consequent
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