Introduction to Arguments PDF

BIOM*3210 An Introduction to Arguments Brad Hanna, DVM, PhD Department of Biomedical Sciences ONTARIO VETERINARY COLLEGE Biomedical Sciences  Kahneman discussed heuristics (subconscious mental short-cuts) that help u...

BIOM*3210 An Introduction to Arguments Brad Hanna, DVM, PhD Department of Biomedical Sciences ONTARIO VETERINARY COLLEGE Biomedical Sciences  Kahneman discussed heuristics (subconscious mental short-cuts) that help us come to decisions quickly We have seen that they can bias our decisions in predictable ways Thinking These effects can help to explain common Rationally errors of reasoning that have been recognized for centuries  For example, Robert Gula, an American professor of logic, made observations about human reasoning that are consistent with the biases of System 1: People: tend to believe what they want to believe tend to generalize from a single event ‘How People form beliefs and then look for evidence that will support those beliefs. They readily ignore Tend to Think’ information that doesn’t support what they In: Gula, Robert J., Nonsense, Mount believe Jackson, VA: Axios Press, 2006 generally want to feel that issues are simple rather than complex  He made two additional observations: People generally want to have their beliefs confirmed People need to find an enemy to blame for their frustrations ‘How People He explained his observations were not meant to be Tend to Think’ judgemental; it was merely a recognition that people In: Gula, Robert J., Nonsense, Mount tend to think subjectively rather than objectively Jackson, VA: Axios Press, 2006  Hank Davis, University of Guelph evolutionary psychologist, adds one further observation: With respect to the formation of beliefs, social support can take the place of evidence ‘Caveman ‘Lots of people believe it, so it must be true’ Logic’ Davis, Hank, Caveman Logic, This is a predictable error, Since System 1 Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, confuses familiarity with truth 2009  Thinking rationally means connecting thoughts to evidence 1) Evidence = things and events that are observable & verifiable, as opposed to things that are imagined 2) Facts can be objective or subjective Preparing Things & events Feelings, preferences, the Mind for Can be independently measured or observed ideas Products of the mind Logic A building, a table, a wedding, etc. An emotion, a favourite song, McInerny, D. Q. Includes observable consequences of etc. Being Logical subjective facts (e.g., facial expressions & Cannot be independently measured Random House, 2004 behaviours stemming from emotions; or observed representations of fictional entities) but Limited to the person experiencing not the feelings or ideas themselves it  3) We can directly experience only a limited number of events, so in most cases we must rely on indirect evidence  important to consider the reliability of the source Preparing (news media, social media, scientific literature, etc.) the Mind for 4) It is surprisingly easy for people to delude themselves, and to believe things that can readily be Logic shown to be false McInerny, D. Q. Being Logical Random House, 2004  Establishing an objective fact Objective facts are based on observable evidence Example: You may have an idea in your mind, which you call “cow” Corresponding to that idea are existing things called “cows” Preparing Cows are therefore objective realities the Mind for Logic McInerny, D. Q. Being Logical Random House, 2004  But you could have another idea in your mind, which you call “centaur” You may sincerely believe in the existence of centaurs, and have all sorts of ideas about them But there are no corresponding things in the world (outside your imagination), so the idea “centaur” is a Preparing subjective fact, since it really exists in your mind the Mind for Details about subjective facts reveal the state of a person’s mind, not the state of the world Logic This is called “subjective reality” McInerny, D. Q. Being Logical Random House, 2004 The tendency for humans to believe claims without evidence is one of the reasons the scientific method was invented: “I have no reason to believe that the human intellect is able to weave a system of physics out of its own resources without experimental labour. Whenever the attempt has been made it has resulted in an unnatural and self- contradictory mass of rubbish.” - James Clerk Maxwell Aberdeen, Scotland, 1856 - James Clerk Maxwell Foundation  A comment on ambiguous language: Vague words inhibit effective communication because they do not have fixed, unmistakable meanings Others should not be forced to guess exactly what your words mean Words like justice, fairness, and freedom have been called “hooray words” because they can prompt others to agree with you instantly, even though the words can mean very different (and even opposite) things to different people - Paul Kinsella  We reason by making arguments What is an argument? Edward T. Damer Attacking Faulty Reasoning, 5th Edition Thomson-Wadsworth Toronto, 2005 - Anon An argument is not a disagreement  An argument is a claim supported by other claims It is not merely an opinion or an announcement of a belief It is a group of statements (premises) that support or What is an provide evidence for another (the conclusion) argument? In standard form: Since (premise) Edward T. Damer Attacking Faulty And (premise) Reasoning, 5th Edition - Anon And (premise) Thomson-Wadsworth Toronto, 2005 And (rebuttal premise) Therefore, (conclusion) - Attacking Faulty Reasoning, Edward T. Damer, 5th Edition, 2005, Thomson-Wadsworth, Toronto Rational thinking requires the focus to be on the reasons (evidence) for a belief  Example In a well- Since: structured argument, if Stealing is morally wrong, the premises What is an And failing to report all of your income on your tax form is stealing from your are true and sufficient, then argument? fellow citizens, the conclusion Edward T. Damer And you failed to report some of your must be true Attacking Faulty income on your tax form, Reasoning, 5th Edition Thomson-Wadsworth Therefore: Toronto, 2005 It was morally wrong of you not to report all of your income on your income tax form - Based on: Attacking Faulty Reasoning, Edward T. Damer, 2005  1. Structure Premises (i.e., reasons/evidence) are given in support of a conclusion The conclusion does not also appear as a premise Five criteria The conclusion is not simply an unsupported announcement 2. Relevance of a good Reasons should be directly related to the issue True but irrelevant facts can leave the illusion of support for the argument claim Edward T. Damer 3. Acceptability Attacking Faulty Reasoning, Reasons should be believable to a rationally mature person 5th Edition Thomson-Wadsworth 4. Sufficiency Toronto, 2005 Reasons should be sufficient in number, kind, and weight to support the acceptance of the conclusion 5. Rebuttal Should effectively address all serious challenges to the argument  Identify the conclusion: Mares always have male offspring if bred under male signs of the zodiac. Identify the reasons given: Since in my experience mares Writing an usually have male offspring if argument in bred under male signs of the zodiac (premise) standard And this generally fails only if form the wind is wrong (premise) And personal experience is the best source of information (premise) Therefore, mares always have male offspring if bred under male signs of the zodiac.  Writing an argument in standard form Mark Duncan, chief operating officer for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, the agency tasked with providing security at Canadian airports, says the system is sound. “Our last public opinion survey showed that 90 per cent of the people were satisfied with the security process. So we think we’ve delivered on the mandate we were given,” Duncan said. - CBC News, Nov 9, 2005 - Photo: CTV News  Identify the conclusion: Security at Pearson Airport is satisfactory. Since most airline passengers travelling through Pearson Airport believe that the security process is satisfactory Writing an (premise) argument in Therefore, security at Pearson Airport is satisfactory. standard Mark Duncan, chief operating officer for the Canadian Air form Transport Security Authority, the agency tasked with providing security at Canadian airports, says the system is sound. “Our last public opinion survey showed that 90 per cent of the people were satisfied with the security process. So we think we’ve delivered on the mandate we were given,” Duncan said. - CBC News, Nov 9, 2005  https://www.bbc.com/news/53108405 Rational decisions are based Some false medical claims are widely believed, based in on evidence part on social support/repetition It is rare for people to ask for evidence; we tend to simply believe claims as long as we feel they could be true (System 1 is biased to believe, and does not alert System 2 unless it cannot imagine the claim being true)  Rational progress cannot be made once a discussion ceases to be centered on evidence In science, a claim made by even the most highly Rational educated specialist is not accepted as fact without decisions evidence Einstein’s claim about the existence of gravitational waves are based was not accepted as true until such waves were verified by experimental evidence 100 years later on evidence Questions about what people want to be true or how they feel about issues are important, but those feelings do not change what is true  White House lawyer Pat Cipollone described what made Donald Trump’s presidency stand out from others in recent history: Trump and his closest advisors had "a general disregard for the importance of actually backing up what you say Rational with facts" decisions are based on evidence https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/jan6-wrap-1.6530115  A fallacy is an argument based on an error of reasoning Fallacies violate one or more criteria of a good argument – May lack proper structure – May contain irrelevant premises – They contain false/doubtful/unreasonable premises Logical – May not provide enough evidence to support the Fallacies conclusion – May fail to address important opposing views A fallacy is a pattern of invalid reasoning that is so well recognized that it has been given a name: Straw man fallacy Fallacy of the mean Etc.  We will look at 12 fallacies, beginning with these four: Logical Post-hoc fallacy Fallacies Appeal to tradition Appeal to popular opinion Faulty analogy