PHI 1120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Logical Truth, False Premise, Deductive Reasoning
7 Nov 2016
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The backbone of critically reasoning generally and moral reasoning in particular is logical argument. Contemporary issues, fourth edition, norton, 2016, p. 6) Logic: the science and art of argument evaluation. However, logic is a vital part of moral reasoning. We will discuss further discuss moral reasoning in other lectures. Argument: a group of propositions, one or more of which (the premises) are meant to be evidence for the truth of another (the conclusion). Proposition: the content (meaning) of a thought, belief, sentence, or expression that is true or false. Two elements of a good inference: it starts from a premise or premises that are worth believing, it arrives at a conclusion that is justified on the basis of the premise or premises with which it started. In evaluating an argument, we must distinguish questions concerning the truth of its premises from questions concerning whether or not its premises would justify their conclusion on the supposition that they were true.
