PHL 302 Lecture Notes - Malice Aforethought, Deductive Reasoning, Logical Reasoning
Document Summary
A set of one or more propositions (or claims), called premises, advanced as proof or evidence for another proposition, called the conclusion. A cogent (or good) argument must meet three conditions. If these three conditions are met, one is warranted, or justified, in believing the argument"s conclusion. Almost every known human carcinogen causes cancer in animals. Thus it is reasonable to expect that compounds that cause cancer in animals are also human carcinogens. A deductive argument: all greeks are human beings, all athenians are greeks, therefore, all athenians are human beings. An inductive argument: x1, x2, x3, . Xcharlie have red hair and hot tempers: xdiane has red hair, therefore, (probably) diane has a hot temper. An inductive argument with a conclusion we know would be true: x1, x2, x3, . Xcharlie are both smokey and fiery: xmy house is smokey, therefore, my house is fiery. Jennifer hits michael over the head with a baseball bat.