PHIL 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Foodborne Illness, Omelette, Measles Virus
Document Summary
A causal argument is any argument the conclusion of which states a causal relationship. Many inductive arguments, including inductive generalizations, arguments from analogy, arguments from authority, can all be causal arguments. This chapter examines methods for discovering causes, and arriving at justifications for causal statements. John stuart mill was concerned to formulate standards for reasoning about causes that represented good scientific practice. His methods are equally useful in ordinary causal reasoning. He proposed rules about how to use observation and experiment to gain knowledge of causes: the method of agreement. Passengers had eaten food taken aboard during a stop in anchorage. All those who became ill had eaten omelets prepared by a cook in. After an investigation, it was discovered that this cook had an infected sore on his finger. It was concluded that bacteria from this infection was the cause of the food poisoning.
