Logic and Critical Thinking Course Notes PDF

FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND HIGHER EDUCATION LOGIC AND CRITICAL THINKING COURSE CODE: PHIL 1011 By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 1  LOGIC AND CRITICAL THINKING MODULE C...

FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND HIGHER EDUCATION LOGIC AND CRITICAL THINKING COURSE CODE: PHIL 1011 By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 1  LOGIC AND CRITICAL THINKING MODULE COURSE CODE: PHIL101 COURSE CRDIT HOURS: 3 PREPARED BY: Mr. TEKLAY G/MESKEL (AKSUM UNIVERSITY) Mr. ADANE TEKLAY (MEKELLE UNIVERSITY) Mr. ZELALEM MAMO (HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY) AUGUST 2019 ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 2 ORGANIZATION OF THE MODULE: 1. Module Introduction: - Teklay G. (AkU) 2. Chapter One: - Teklay G. (AkU) 3. Chapter Two: - Teklay G. (AkU) 4. Chapter Three: - Adane T. (MU) 5. Chapter Four: - Zelalem M. (HMU) 6. Chapter Five: - Zelalem M. (HMU) 7. Chapter Six: - Adane T. (MU) By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 3 Table of Contents COURSE INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................ 8 COURSE OBJECTIVES............................................................................................................................ 10 CHAPTER ONE......................................................................................................................................... 11 INTRODUCING PHILOSOPHY............................................................................................................... 11 Chapter Overview................................................................................................................................... 11 Lesson 1: Meaning and Nature of Philosophy........................................................................................ 11 Lesson 2: Basic Features of Philosophy................................................................................................. 15 Core Fields of Philosophy....................................................................................................................... 19 Lesson 3: Metaphysics and Epistemology.............................................................................................. 19 3.1 Metaphysics............................................................................................................................ 20 3.2 Epistemology.......................................................................................................................... 22 Lesson 4: Axiology and Logic................................................................................................................ 26 4.1 Axiology................................................................................................................................. 27 4.2 Logic....................................................................................................................................... 30 Lesson 5: Importance of Learning Philosophy....................................................................................... 31 Chapter Summary................................................................................................................................... 33 Self Check Exercise................................................................................................................................ 35 References............................................................................................................................................... 36 CHAPTER TWO........................................................................................................................................ 37 BASIC CONCEPTS OF LOGIC................................................................................................................ 37 Chapter Overview................................................................................................................................... 37 Lesson 1: Basic Concepts of Logic: Arguments, Premises and Conclusions......................................... 39 Lesson 2: Techniques of Recognizing Arguments.................................................................................. 48 2.1 Recognizing Argumentative Passages.................................................................................... 49 2.2 Recognizing Non-argumentative Passages............................................................................. 52 Lesson 3: Types of Arguments: Deduction and Induction...................................................................... 63 3.1 Deductive Arguments............................................................................................................. 64 3.2 Inductive Arguments............................................................................................................... 65 3.3 Differentiating Deductive and Inductive Arguments.............................................................. 66 By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 4  Lesson 4: Evaluating Arguments............................................................................................................ 73 4.1 Evaluating Deductive Arguments: Validity, Truth, and Soundness....................................... 74 4.2 Evaluating Inductive Arguments: Strength, Truth, and Cogency........................................... 79 Chapter Summary................................................................................................................................... 84 Self Check Exercise................................................................................................................................ 86 References............................................................................................................................................... 87 CHAPTER THREE.................................................................................................................................... 88 LOGIC AND LANGUAGE....................................................................................................................... 88 Chapter Overview................................................................................................................................... 88 Lesson 1: Philosophy of Language: An overview.................................................................................. 89 1.1 What is Philosophy of Language?.......................................................................................... 89 1.2 A Brief Note on the Debates and History of Philosophy of Language................................... 90 1.3 Some Philosophical Approaches to the Nature of Meaning................................................... 91 Lesson 2: Logic and Meaning................................................................................................................. 93 2.1 The Functions of Language: Cognitive and Emotive Meanings............................................. 93 2.2 The Intension and Extension of Terms................................................................................. 100 Logic and Definition............................................................................................................................. 104 Lesson 3: Meaning, Types, and Purposes of Definitions...................................................................... 104 3.1 The Meaning of Definition................................................................................................... 105 3.2 The Types and Purposes of Definitions................................................................................ 105 Lesson 4: Techniques of Definition...................................................................................................... 111 4.1 The Extensional (Denotative) Definitional Techniques........................................................ 111 4.2 The Intensional (Connotative) Definitional Techniques....................................................... 114 Lesson 5: Criteria for Lexical Definitions............................................................................................ 118 Chapter Summary................................................................................................................................. 123 Self Check Exercise.............................................................................................................................. 125 References............................................................................................................................................. 126 CHAPTER FOUR..................................................................................................................................... 127 BASIC CONCEPTS OF CRITICAL THINKING................................................................................... 127 Lesson 1: Meaning of Critical Thinking............................................................................................... 128 Lesson 2: Standards of Critical Thinking............................................................................................. 132 By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 5  Lesson 3: Codes of Intellectual Conduct for Effective Discussion....................................................... 137 3.1 Principles of Good Argument............................................................................................... 138 3.2 Principles of Critical Thinking.............................................................................................. 143 Lesson 4: Characteristics of Critical Thinking..................................................................................... 148 4.1 Basic Traits of Critical Thinkers........................................................................................... 148 4.2 Basic Traits of Uncritical Thinkers....................................................................................... 149 Lesson 5: Barriers to Critical Thinking................................................................................................. 151 Lesson 6: Benefits of Critical Thinking................................................................................................ 158 Chapter Summary................................................................................................................................. 162 Self Check Exercise.............................................................................................................................. 163 References............................................................................................................................................. 163 CHAPTER FIVE...................................................................................................................................... 164 INFORMAL FALLACIES....................................................................................................................... 164 Chapter Overview................................................................................................................................. 164 Lesson 1: Fallacy in General................................................................................................................. 165 1.1 The Meaning of Fallacy........................................................................................................ 166 1.2 Types of Fallacies................................................................................................................. 167 Informal fallacies.................................................................................................................................. 169 Lesson 2: Fallacies of Relevance.......................................................................................................... 170 Lesson 3: Fallacies of Weak Induction................................................................................................. 188 Lesson 4: Fallacies of Presumption...................................................................................................... 203 Lesson 5: Fallacies of Ambiguity and Grammatical Analogy.............................................................. 211 5.1 Fallacies of Ambiguity.......................................................................................................... 212 5.2 Fallacies of Grammatical Analogy....................................................................................... 215 Chapter Summary................................................................................................................................. 219 References............................................................................................................................................. 220 CHAPTER SIX..................................................................................................................................... 221 CATEGORICAL PROPOSITIONS..................................................................................................... 221 Chapter Overview:................................................................................................................................ 221 Lesson 1: General Introduction............................................................................................................. 221 1.1 Standard-Forms of Categorical Proposition.......................................................................... 223 By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 6  1.2 The Components of Categorical Propositions....................................................................... 225 Lesson 2: Attributes of Categorical Propositions: Quality, Quantity, and Distribution....................... 227 Lesson 3: Venn Diagrams and the Modern Square of Opposition....................................................... 231 3.1 Representing Categorical Propositions in Diagrams............................................................. 231 3.2 Squares of Opposition: Traditional and Modern Squares of Opposition............................. 233 3.3 The Traditional Square of Opposition................................................................................... 234 Lesson 4: Evaluating Immediate Inferences: Using Venn Diagrams and Square of Oppositions........ 237 4.1 Logical Operations: Conversion, Obversion, and Contraposition........................................ 242 Chapter Summary................................................................................................................................. 252 Self-Check Exercises............................................................................................................................ 252 References............................................................................................................................................. 253 By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 7 COURSE INTRODUCTION Dear learners, The course, Logic and Critical Thinking, is a high-level thought course in the discipline of philosophy. It is a philosophical inquiry that takes argumentation and reasoning as its basic objects of investigation and attempts to introduce the fundamental concepts of logic and methods of logical argumentation and reasoning and critical thinking. It includes evaluation of the methods by which we form beliefs, weigh evidence, assess hypotheses and arguments, and analyze reasoning. Logic is concerned with the study of arguments, and it seeks to establish the conditions under which an argument may be considered as acceptable or good. It includes the development of standard methods and principles of arguments. Critical thinking is an exercise, a habit, a manner of perception and reasoning that has principles of logic as its fulcrum, and dynamically involves various reasoning skills that ought to be human approach to issues and events of life. Critical thinking means correct thinking in the pursuit of relevant and reliable knowledge about the world. In another way, critical thinking is the reasonable, reflective, responsible, and skillful thinking that focuses on deciding what to believe or do. To think critically is to examine ideas, evaluate them against what you already know and make decisions about their merit. A person who thinks critically can ask appropriate questions, gather relevant information, efficiently and creatively sort through this information, reason logically from this information, and come to reliable and trustworthy conclusions about the world that enable one to live and act successfully in it. When you think critically, you weigh up all sides of an argument and evaluate its validity, strengths and weaknesses. Thus, critical thinking skills entail actively seeking all sides of an argument: evaluating the soundness of the claims asserted and the evidence used to support the claims. Therefore, this course is designed to help students to develop not only the ability to construct reliable and logically defendable arguments of their own and rationally evaluate the arguments of others, but also the abilities and skills of critical thinking. All education consists of transmitting two different things to students: (1) the subject matter or discipline content of the course ("what to think"), and (2) the correct way to understand and evaluate this subject matter ("how to think"). We may do an excellent job of transmitting the content of our respective academic disciplines, but we often fail to teach students how to think effectively about this subject matter, By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 8 that is, how to properly understand and evaluate it. That means, we often fail to teach how to think critically. Hence, the primary aim of this course is to teach students essential skills of analyzing, evaluating, and constructing arguments, and to sharpen their ability to execute the skills in thinking and writing, and thus better prepare them to succeed in the world. The understanding of the methods by which we develop our own arguments, form beliefs, weigh evidence, assess hypotheses and arguments, and analyze reasoning will help you rationally evaluate the credibility of claims and arguments you encounter in media, in everyday conversation, and in the classroom. You will also learn to become aware of errors in reasoning and judgment, which we all occasionally commit. Finally, you will learn to develop your own arguments with clarity and precision. Dear learners, this module consists of six important chapters or modules1. The first chapter deals with the basic concepts of philosophy, the meaning and definition of philosophy, the core branches of philosophy, and the importance of learning philosophy. The second chapter of this module is devoted to the basic concepts of logic: the definition and components of arguments, the techniques of recognizing arguments, types of arguments, and evaluation of arguments. The third chapter deals with the relationship between logic and language. It discusses the cognitive and emotive meaning of words, the intensional and extensional meaning of terms, the types and purposes of definitions, and the intensional and extensional definitional techniques, from a philosophical point of view. The basic concepts of critical thinking, (i.e., the meaning and definition of critical thinking, the principles of critical thinking, the factors that affect critical thinking, and the standards of good arguments), is addressed in the fourth chapter. The fifth chapter discusses the various forms of logical errors in arguments, which are commonly known as ‗fallacies‘, with a special emphasis on the categories of informal fallacies. The components, attributes and representations of categorical propositions are discussed in the last chapter of the module. 1 In this teaching material, the terms ―Chapter‖ and ―Module‖ are equivalent and used interchangeably. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 9 COURSE OBJECTIVES After the successful accomplishment of the course, students will able to:  Understand the basic essence and areas of philosophy, and the necessity of learning it;  Recognize the components and types of arguments;  Develop the skill to construct and evaluate arguments;  Understand the relationship between logic and language;  Recognize the forms of meanings of words and terms;  Comprehend the types, purposes and techniques of definitions;  Understand the concept, principles, and criteria of critical thinking;  Cultivate the habits of critical thinking and develop sensitivity to clear and accurate usage of language;  Recognize the various forms of formal and informal fallacies; and  Understand the components, attributes and representations of categorical propositions. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 10  CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCING PHILOSOPHY Chapter Overview Logic is often treated simultaneously as a field of study and as an instrument. As a field of study, it is a branch of philosophy that deals with the study of arguments and the principles and methods of right reasoning. As an instrument, it is something, which we can use to formulate our own rational arguments and critically evaluate the soundness of others‘ arguments. Before logic itself has become a field of study, philosophers have been using it as a basic tool to investigate issues that won their philosophical attention, such as, reality, knowledge, value, etc. Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, law, justice, validity, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical enterprise that tries to answer fundamental questions through an intensive application of reason- an application that draws on analysis, comparison, and evaluation. It involves reason, rational criticism, examination, and analysis. In this chapter, we will learn the fundamental nature, concepts, features and areas of philosophy. Furthermore, we will discuss why it is so important to learn philosophy. Chapter Objectives: Dear learners, after the successful completion of this chapter, you will be able to:  Understand the meaning, nature and features of philosophy;  Recognize the major fields of philosophy; and  Understand why it is so important to learn logic and philosophy. Lesson 1: Meaning and Nature of Philosophy Lesson Overview Because of its universal nature, it is difficult to define philosophy in terms of a specific subject matter. However, we can define it etymologically as ‗love of wisdom‘. Thus, as a pursuit of By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 11 wisdom, philosophy refers to the development of critical habits, the continuous search for truth, and the questioning of the apparent. In this lesson, students will be introduced with the fundamental meaning, nature, and concepts of philosophy. Lesson Objectives: After the accomplishment of this lesson, you will be able to:  Recognize the basic concepts of philosophy.  Understand the meaning and nature of philosophy. Activity # 1: - Dear learners, do you have a prior awareness of philosophy? If so, how do you understand philosophy? Dear learners, it is important to note first that giving a clear-cut definition of philosophy is difficult. It may be easy to define other disciplines, such as, chemistry, physics, geography, etc in terms of a subject matter, for they have their own specific subject matters to primarily deal with. However, it is difficult to do the same with philosophy, because philosophy has no a specific subject matter to primarily deal with. Philosophy deals primarily with issues. What contents philosophy has are not the specific subject matters, but issues, which are universal in nature. However, this should not lead us into thinking that philosophy is incomprehensible. It is only to say that whenever you want to understand philosophy, it is better to read different thoughts of philosophers, consciously see its salient features by yourself, participate in it, and do it. Philosophy is not as elusive as it is often thought to be. Nor is it remote from our various problems. It is unanimously agreed that the best way to learn and understand philosophy is to philosophize; i.e., to be confronted with philosophical questions, to use philosophical language, to become acquainted with differing philosophical positions and maneuvers, to read the philosophers themselves, and to grapple with the issues for oneself. Socrates once stated that “Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder”. It is true that most of us may not have a clear knowledge about the history, nature, language, and issues of philosophy. But, we all think and reflect in our own way about issues that matter us most. We all have touched and moved by the feelings of wonder from which all philosophy derives. Thus, we By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 12 all participate, more or less, in philosophical issues, even though thinking alone cannot make us philosophers. If, however, you still want to find its clear-cut definition, it is better to refer to the etymology of the word itself, instead of trying to associate it with a certain specific subject matter. Etymologically, the word ―philosophy‖ comes from two Greek words: ―philo‖ and ―sophia‖, which mean ―love‖ and ―wisdom‖, respectively. Thus, the literal definition of philosophy is “love of wisdom”. The ancient Greek thinker Pythagoras was the first to use the word ―philosopher‖ to call a person who clearly shows a marked curiosity in the things he experiences. Anyone who raises questions, such as Does God exists? What is reality? What is the ultimate source of Being? What is knowledge? What does it mean to know? How do we come to know? What is value?, and the like, is really showing a curiosity that can be described as a vital concern for becoming wise about the phenomena of the world and the human experiences. Therefore, seeking wisdom is among the various essences of philosophy that it has got from its etymological definition. Nevertheless, this is not sufficient by itself to understand philosophy, for not all wisdoms are philosophy. Activity # 2: - Dear learners, what do you think is the wisdom that philosophers seek? The wisdom that philosophers seek is not the wisdom of the expertise or technical skills of professionals. Someone may be encyclopedic, and thus seemingly intelligent, but he may actually be foolish when it comes to understanding the meaning and significance of what he knows. According to Socrates, wisdom consists of a critical habit and eternal vigilance about all things and a reverence for truth, whatever its form, and wherever its place. Based on the Socratic understanding of wisdom, philosophy, as a pursuit of wisdom, is, thus, the development of critical habits, the continuous search for truth, and the questioning of the apparent. Activity # 3: - Dear learners, what do you think does it mean to question the apparent? Does it mean to deny the fact or the practical reality? To interrogate the obvious means to deal creatively with the phenomenal world, to go beyond the common understanding, and to speculate about things that other people accept with no doubt. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 13 But, questioning/criticism is not the final end of philosophy, though raising the right question is often taken not only as the beginning and direction of philosophy but also as its essence. Raising the right question is an art that includes the ability to foresee what is not readily obvious and to imagine different possibilities and alternatives of approaching the apparent. When we ultimately wonder about the existing world, and thus raise different questions about its order, each question moves us from the phenomenal facts to a profound speculation. The philosophical enterprise, as Vincent Barry stated, is “an active imaginative process of formulating proper questions and resolving them by rigorous, persistent analysis”. Therefore, philosophy is a rational and critical enterprise that tries to formulate and answer fundamental questions through an intensive application of reason- an application that draws on analysis, comparison, and evaluation. It involves reason, rational criticism, examination, and analysis. Accordingly, we can say that Philosophy has a constructive side, for it attempts to formulate rationally defensible answers to certain fundamental questions concerning the nature of reality, the nature of value, and the nature of knowledge and truth. At the same time, its critical side is manifested when it deals with giving a rational critic, analysis, clarification, and evaluation of answers given to basic metaphysical, epistemological, and axiological questions. The other thing, which is worthy of noting, is that philosophy is an activity. It is not something that can be easily mastered or learned in schools. A philosopher is a great philosopher, not because he mastered philosophy, but because he did it. It is not his theory, but his extraordinary ability to critically think, to conceptualize, to analyze, to compare, to evaluate, and to understand- i.e., to philosophize- that makes him so. Of course, the product of philosophizing is philosophy as a product. However, what makes someone a great philosopher is not the produced philosophy, but his/her outstanding ability to philosophize. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 14 Lesson 2: Basic Features of Philosophy Lesson Overview As an academic discipline, philosophy has its own salient features that distinguishes it from other academic disciplines, be it natural, social and humanistic disciplines. In this lesson, students will be introduced with the generally fundamental features of philosophy. Lesson Objectives: After the accomplishment of this lesson, you will be able to:  Recognize and understand the fundamental features of philosophy that makes it a unique academic discipline. Activity # 1: - Dear learners, list the possible features of philosophy you could think of based on our previous lesson (Lesson 1) and discuss about them with the student(s) beside you. Dear learners, the general features of philosophy can be summarized as follows: 1) Philosophy is a set of views or beliefs about life and the universe, which are often held uncritically. We refer to this meaning as the informal sense of philosophy or ―having‖ a philosophy. Usually when a person says ―my philosophy is,‖ he or she is referring to an informal personal attitude to whatever topic is being discussed. 2) Philosophy is a process of reflecting on and criticizing our most deeply held conceptions and beliefs. This is the formal sense of ―doing‖ philosophy. These two senses of philosophy-‖having‖ and ―doing‖- cannot be treated entirely independent of each other, if we did not have a philosophy in the formal, personal sense, then we could not do a philosophy in the critical, reflective sense. However, having a philosophy is not sufficient for doing philosophy. A genuine philosophical By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 15 attitude is searching and critical; it is open-minded and tolerant- willing to look at all sides of an issue without prejudice. To philosophize is not merely to read and know philosophy; there are skills of argumentation to be mastered, techniques of analysis to be employed, and a body of material to be appropriated such that we become able to think philosophically. To philosophize also means to generalize. Philosophers are reflective and critical. They take a second look at the material presented by common sense. They attempt to think through a variety of life‘s problems and to face all the facts involved impartially. The accumulation of knowledge does not by itself lead to understanding, because it does not necessarily teach the mind to make a critical evaluation of facts that entail consistent and coherent judgment. Critical evaluations often differ. Philosophers, theologians, scientists, and others disagree, first because they view things from different points of view and with different assumptions. Their personal experiences, cultural backgrounds, and training may vary widely. This is especially true of people living at different times and in different places. A second reason philosophers disagree is that they live in a changing universe. People change, society changes, and nature changes. Some people are responsive and sensitive to change; others cling to tradition and the status quo, to systems that were formulated some time ago and that were declared to be authoritative and final. A third reason philosophers disagree is that they deal with an area of human experience in which the evidence is not complete. Different people may interpret the evidence we do have in various ways. Despite these disagreements, however, philosophers continue to probe, examine, and evaluate the material with the hope of presenting consistent principles by which we can live. 3) Philosophy is a rational attempt to look at the world as a whole. Philosophy seeks to combine the conclusions of the various sciences and human experience into some kind of consistent worldview. Philosophers wish to see life, not with the specialized slant of the scientist or the businessperson or the artist, but with the overall view of someone cognizant of life as a totality. Although there are difficulties and dangers in setting forth any worldview, there also are dangers in confining attention to fragments of human experience. Philosophy‘s task is to give a view of the whole, a life and a worldview, and to integrate the knowledge of the sciences with that of other disciplines to achieve a consistent whole. Philosophy, according to this view, attempts to bring the results of human inquiry- religious, By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 16 historical, and scientific into some meaningful interpretation that provides knowledge and insight for our lives. 4) Philosophy is the logical analysis of language and the clarification of the meaning of words and concepts. Certainly, this is one function of philosophy. In fact, nearly all philosophers have used methods of analysis and have sought to clarify the meaning of terms and the use of language. Some philosophers see this as the main task of philosophy, and a few claim this is the only legitimate function of philosophy. Such persons consider philosophy a specialized field serving the sciences and aiding in the clarification of language rather than a broad field reflecting on all of life‘s experiences. This outlook has gained considerable support during the twentieth century. It would limit what we call knowledge to statements about observable facts and their interrelations i.e., to the business of the various sciences. Not all linguistic analysts, however, define knowledge so narrowly. Although they do reject and try to ―clean up‖ many non-scientific assertions, many of them think that we can have knowledge of ethical principles and the like, although this knowledge is also experientially derived. Those who take the narrower view neglect, when they do not deny, all generalized worldviews and life views, as well as traditional moral philosophy and theology. From this narrower point of view, the aim of philosophy is to expose confusion and nonsense and to clarify the meaning and use of terms in science and everyday affairs. 5) Philosophy is a group of perennial problems that interest people and for which philosophers always have sought answers. Philosophy presses its inquiry into the deepest problems of human existence. Some of the philosophical questions raised in the past have been answered in a manner satisfactory to the majority of philosophers. Many questions, however, have been answered only tentatively, and many problems remain unsolved. What are philosophical questions? The question ―Did Ram make a false statement on his income tax return?‖ is merely a question of fact. However, the questions ―What is truth?‖ and ―What is the distinction between right and wrong?‖ have philosophical importance. Sometimes we think seriously about fundamental life issues: What is life and why am I here? Why is there anything at all? What is the place of life in this great By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 17 universe? Is the universe friendly or unfriendly? Do things operate by chance or through sheer mechanism, or is there some plan, purpose, or intelligence at the heart of things? Is my life controlled by outside forces, or do I have a determining or even a partial degree of control? Why do people struggle and strive for their rights, for justice, for better things in the future? What do concepts like ―right‖ and ―justice‖ means, and what are the marks of a good society? Often men and women have been asked to sacrifice their lives, if need be, for certain values and ideals. What are the genuine values of life and how can it attained? Is there really a fundamental distinction between right and wrong, or is it just a matter of one‘s own opinions? What is beauty? Should religion count in a person‘s life? Is it intellectually valid to believe in God? Is there a possibility of a ―life after death?‖ Is there any way we can get an answer to these and many related questions? Where does knowledge come from, and can we have any assurances that anything is true? The above questions are all philosophical. The attempt to seek answers or solutions to them has given rise to theories and systems of thought, such as idealism, realism, pragmatism, analytic philosophy, existentialism, phenomenology, and process philosophy. Philosophy also means the various theories or systems of thought developed by the great philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Royce, James, Dewey, Whitehead, and others. Without these people and their thoughts, philosophy would not have the rich content it has today. Even though we may be unconscious of the fact, we are constantly influenced by ideas that have come down to us in the traditions of society. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 18 Core Fields of Philosophy Lesson 3: Metaphysics and Epistemology Lesson Overview Dear learners, we have said earlier that philosophy is a rational and critical enterprise that tries to formulate and answer fundamental questions through an intensive application of reason- an application that draws on analysis, comparison, and evaluation. It deals with the most basic issues faced by human beings. The content of philosophy is better seen as asking the right questions rather than providing the correct answers. It even can be said that philosophy is the study of questions. Van Cleve Morris has noted that the crux of the matter is asking the ―right‖ questions. By ―right‖ he meant questions that are meaningful and relevant- the kind of questions people really want answered and that will make a difference in how they live and work. Philosophy has different primary and secondary branches. This course deals only with the primary ones, namely Metaphysics, Epistemology, Axiology, and Logic. Metaphysics is the most important fields of philosophy that deal with the studies of ultimate reality and human knowledge, respectively. In this lesson, we will discuss the first two major fields, Metaphysics and Epistemology, and we will deal with the remaining two fields, Axiology and Logic, in the next lesson (Lesson 4). Lesson Objectives: After a successful completion of this lesson, you will be able to:  Understand the fundamental concern and issues that metaphysics and epistemology primarily deal with.  Identify the major subsets or aspects of metaphysical questions.  Recognize the fundamental philosophical, i.e., epistemological, debates concerning the sources of human knowledge. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 19  3.1 Metaphysics Activity # 1: - Dear learners, what do you think is metaphysics? List any question that you might think is a metaphysical question. Show your question to student(s) beside you, and discuss about your questions together. Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the ultimate nature of reality or existence. It deal with issues of reality, God, freedom, soul/immortality, the mind-body problem, form and substance relationship, cause and effect relationship, and other related issues. Metaphysicians seek an irreducible foundation of reality or ‗first principles‘ from which absolute knowledge or truth can be induced and deduced. The term metaphysics is derived from the Greek words “meta” means (―beyond‖, ―upon‖ or ―after‖) and physika, means (―physics‖). Literally, it refers ‗those things after the physics.‘ Aristotle‘s writings on ‗first philosophy‘ came after his treatise on physics, therefore, Aristotle‘s editor, Andronicus of Rhodes, named them metaphysics. Here are some of the questions that Metaphysics primarily deals with:  What is reality?  What is the ultimately real?  What is the nature of the ultimate reality?  Is it one thing or is it many different things?  Can reality be grasped by the senses, or it is transcendent?  What makes reality different from a mere appearance?  What is mind, and what is its relation to the body?  Is there a cause and effect relationship between reality and appearance?  Does God exist, and if so, can we prove it?  Are human actions free, or predetermined by a supernatural force?  What is human being? A thinking mind? A perishable body? Or a combination of both?  What is time?  What is the meaning of life? At first, questions like, ‗What is real?‘ seem too simple to bother asking. But consider George Knight‘s example about the existence of a floor and one will see that the question has far reaching implications: What is exactly the nature of the floor upon which you stand? It may seem By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 20 to have a rather straightforward existence. It is obviously flat, solid, and smooth; it has a particular color; it is composed of an identifiable material, such as wood or concrete; and it supports your weight. Suppose, however, that a physicist enters the room and questioned about the reality of the floor. She will reply that the floor is made of molecules; that molecules consist of atoms, electrons, protons, and neutrons; and these, finally, of electric energy alone. A third position is offered by a passing chemist. To him the floor is a hotbed of hydrocarbons associated in a particular way and subject to certain kinds of environmental influences, such as heat, cold, wetness, dryness, and oxidation. It is evident that the question of reality is not as simplistic as it appears. If the reality of a common floor is confusing, what about the larger problems that presents themselves as humankind searches for the ultimate reality of the universe? Metaphysical questions are the most basic to ask because they provide the foundation upon which all subsequent inquiry is based. Metaphysical questions may be divided into four subsets or aspects. i) Cosmological Aspect: Cosmology consists in the study of theories about the origin, nature, and development of the universe as an orderly system. Questions such as these populate the realm of cosmology: ―How did the universe originate and develop? Did it come about by accident or design? Does its existence have any purpose?‖ ii) Theological Aspect: Theology is that part of religious theory that deals with conceptions of and about God. ―Is there a God? If so, is there one or more than one? What are the attributes of God? If God is both all good and all powerful, why does evil exist? If God exists, what is His relationship to human beings and the ‗real‘ world of everyday life?‖ iii) Anthropological Aspect: Anthropology deals with the study of human beings and asks questions like the following: What is the relation between mind and body? Is mind more fundamental than body, with body depending on mind, or vice versa? What is humanity‘s moral status? Are people born good, evil, or morally neutral? To what extent are individuals free? Do they have free will, or are their thoughts and actions determined by their environment, inheritance, or a divine being? Does each person have a soul? If so, what is it? People have obviously adopted different positions on these questions, and By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 21  those positions influence their political, social, religious, and educational ideals and practices. iv) Ontological Aspect: Ontology is the study of the nature of existence, or what it means for anything to exist. Several questions are central to ontology: ―Is basic reality found in matter or physical energy (the world we can sense), or is it found in spirit or spiritual energy? Is it composed of one element (e.g., matter or spirit), or two (e.g., matter and spirit), or many?‖ ―Is reality orderly and lawful in itself, or is it merely orderable by the human mind? Is it fixed and stable, or is change its central feature? Is this reality friendly, unfriendly, or neutral toward humanity?‖ 3.2 Epistemology Activity # 2: - Dear learners, what do you think is epistemology? List any question that you might think is an epistemological question. Show your question to student(s) beside you, and discuss about your questions together. Epistemology is the other field of philosophy that studies about the nature, scope, meaning, and possibility of knowledge. It deals with issues of knowledge, opinion, truth, falsity, reason, experience, and faith. Epistemology is also referred to as ―theory of knowledge‖. Etymologically, the word epistemology has been derived from the Greek words episteme, meaning ―knowledge, understanding‖, and logos, meaning ―study of‖. In other words, we can say that Epistemology is the study of the nature, source, and validity of knowledge. It seeks to answer of the basic questions as ―What is true?‖ and ―How do we know?‖ Thus, epistemology covers two areas: the content of thought and thought itself. The study of epistemology deals with issues related to the dependability of knowledge and the validity of the sources through which we gain information. The following are among the questions/issues with which Epistemology deals:  What is knowledge?  What does it mean to know?  What is the source of knowledge? Experience? Reason? Or both?  How can we be sure that what we perceive through our senses is correct? By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 22   What makes knowledge different from belief or opinion?  What is truth, and how can we know a statement is true?  Can reason really help us to know phenomenal things without being informed by sense experiences?  Can our sense experience really help us to know things beyond our perception without the assistance of our reasoning ability?  What is the relationship and difference between faith and reason? Epistemology seeks answers to a number of fundamental issues. One is whether reality can even be known. Skepticism in its narrow sense is the position claiming that people cannot acquire reliable knowledge and that any search for truth is in vain. That thought was well expressed by Gorgias, the Greek Sophist who asserted that nothing exists, and that if it did, we could not know it. A full-blown skepticism would make intelligent action impossible. A term closely related to skepticism is agnosticism. Agnosticism is a profession of ignorance in reference to the existence or nonexistence of God. Most people claim that reality can be known. However, once they have taken that position, they must decide through what sources reality may be known, and must have some concept of how to judge the validity of their knowledge. A second issue foundational to epistemology is whether all truth is relative, or whether some truths are absolute. Is all truth subject to change? Is it possible that what is true today may be false tomorrow? If the answer is ―Yes‖ to the previous questions, such truths are relative. If, however, there is Absolute Truth, such Truth is eternally and universally true irrespective of time or place. Closely related to the issue of the relativity and absoluteness of truth are the questions of whether knowledge is subjective or objective, and whether there is truth that is independent of human experience. A major aspect of epistemology relates to the sources of human knowledge. If one accepts the fact that there is truth and even Truth in the universe, how can human beings comprehend such truths? How do they become human knowledge? Central to most people‘s answer to that question is empiricism (knowledge obtained through the senses). Empirical knowledge appears to be built into the very nature of human experience. Thus, when individuals walk out of doors on a spring day and see the beauty of the landscape, hear the song of a bird, feel the warm rays of By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 23 the sun, and smell the fragrance of the blossoms, they ―know‖ that it is spring. Sensory knowing for humans is immediate and universal, and in many ways forms the basis of much of human knowledge. The existence of sensory data cannot be denied. Most people accept it uncritically as representing ―reality.‖ The danger of naively embracing this approach is that data obtained from the human senses have been demonstrated to be both incomplete and undependable. (For example, most people have been confronted with the contradiction of seeing a stick that looks bent when partially submerged in water but appears to be straight when examined in the air.) Fatigue, frustration, and illness also distort and limit sensory perception. In addition, there are sound and light waves that are inaudible and invisible to unaided human perception. Humans have invented scientific instruments to extend the range of their senses, but it is impossible to ascertain the exact dependability of these instruments since no one knows the total effect of the human mind in recording, interpreting, and distorting sensual perception. Confidence in these instruments is built upon speculative metaphysical theories whose validity has been reinforced by experimentation in which predictions have been verified through the use of a theoretical construct or hypothesis. In general, sensory knowledge is built upon assumptions that must be accepted by faith in the dependability of human sensory mechanisms. The advantage of empirical knowledge is that many sensory experiences and experiments are open to both replication and public examination. A second important source of human knowledge is reason. The view that reasoning, thought, or logic is the central factor in knowledge is known as rationalism. The rationalist, in emphasizing humanity‘s power of thought and the mind‘s contributions to knowledge, is likely to claim that the senses alone cannot provide universal, valid judgments that are consistent with one another. From this perspective, the sensations and experiences humans obtain through their senses are the raw material of knowledge. These sensations must be organized by the mind into a meaningful system before they become knowledge. Rationalism in a less extreme form claims that people have the power to know with certainty various truths about the universe that the senses alone cannot give. In its extreme form, rationalism claims that humans are capable of arriving at irrefutable knowledge independently of sensory experience. Formal logic is a tool used by By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 24 rationalists. Systems of logic have the advantage of possessing internal consistency, but they risk being disconnected from the external world. Systems of thought based upon logic are only as valid as the premises upon which they are built. A third source of human knowledge is intuition- the direct apprehension of knowledge that is not derived from conscious reasoning or immediate sense perception. In the literature dealing with intuition, one often finds such expressions as ―immediate feeling of certainty.‖ Intuition occurs beneath the threshold of consciousness and is often experienced as a sudden flash of insight. Intuition has been claimed under varying circumstances as a source of both religious and secular knowledge. Certainly many scientific breakthroughs have been initiated by intuitive hunches that were confirmed by experimentation. The weakness or danger of intuition is that it does not appear to be a safe method of obtaining knowledge when used alone. It goes astray very easily and may lead to absurd claims unless it is controlled by or checked against other methods of knowing. Intuitive knowledge, however, has the distinct advantage of being able to bypass the limitations of human experience. A fourth influential source of knowledge throughout the span of human history has been revelation. Revealed knowledge has been of prime importance in the field of religion. It differs from all other sources of knowledge because it presupposes a transcendent supernatural reality that breaks into the natural order. Christians believe that such revelation is God‘s communication concerning the divine will. Believers in supernatural revelation hold that this form of knowledge has the distinct advantage of being an omniscient source of information that is not available through other epistemological methods. The truth revealed through this source is believed by Christians to be absolute and uncontaminated. On the other hand, it is generally realized that distortion of revealed truth can occur in the process of human interpretation. Some people assert that a major disadvantage of revealed knowledge is that it must be accepted by faith and cannot be proved or disproved empirically. A fifth source of human knowledge, though not a philosophical position, is authority. Authoritative knowledge is accepted as true because it comes from experts or has been sanctified over time as tradition. In the classroom, the most common source of information is some authority, such as a textbook, teacher, or reference work. Accepting authority as a source of By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 25 knowledge has its advantages as well as its dangers. Civilization would certainly stagnate if people refused to accept any statement unless they personally verified it through direct, firsthand experience. On the other hand, if authoritative knowledge is built upon a foundation of incorrect assumptions, then such knowledge will surely be distorted. Dear learners, it is important to note that one source of information alone might not be capable of supplying people with all knowledge. It might be important to see the various sources as complementary rather than antagonistic. However, it is true that most people choose one source as being more basic than, or preferable to, the others, and then use it as a benchmark for testing other sources of knowledge. For example, in the contemporary world, knowledge obtained empirically is generally seen as the most basic and reliable type. Lesson 4: Axiology and Logic Lesson Overview We have said earlier that philosophy deals with the most basic issues faced by human beings. Axiology is the philosophical study of value, which originally meant the worth of something. It includes the studies of moral values, aesthetic values, as well as political and social values. Logic, on the other hand, is a philosophical study of arguments and the methods and principles of right reasoning. In this lesson, we will discuss Axiology and Logic as the other two major fields of philosophy. Lesson Objectives: After a successful completion of this lesson, you will be able to:  Understand the fundamental concern and issues that axiology and logic primarily deal with.  Identify the major subsets or aspects of axiological questions: ethical, aesthetical, political and social questions.  Recognize the fundamental philosophical debates concerning the nature and sources of moral, political and social rules and principles. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 26 4.1 Axiology Activity # 1: - Dear learners, what do you think is Axiology? List any question that you might think is an axiological question. Show your question to student(s) beside you, and discuss about your questions together. Axiology is the study or theory of value. The term Axiology stems from two Greek words- ―Axios‖, meaning ―value, worth‖, and ―logos‖, meaning ―reason/ theory/ symbol / science/study of‖. Hence, Axiology is the philosophical study of value, which originally meant the worth of something. Axiology asks the philosophical questions of values that deal with notions of what a person or a society regards as good or preferable, such as:  What is a value?  Where do values come from?  How do we justify our values?  How do we know what is valuable?  What is the relationship between values and knowledge?  What kinds of values exist?  Can it be demonstrated that one value is better than another?  Who benefits from values?  Etc. Axiology deals with the above and related issues of value in three areas, namely Ethics, Aesthetics, and Social/Political Philosophy. I. Ethics Activity # 2: - Dear learners, how do you define ethics? What ethical rules, principles, and standards do you know and follow, and why? Discuss about it with the student(s) beside you. Ethics, which is also known as Moral Philosophy, is a science that deals with the philosophical study of moral principles, values, codes, and rules, which may be used as standards for determining what kind of human conduct/action is said to be good or bad, right or wrong. Ethics By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 27 has three main branches: meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Ethics raises various questions including:  What is good/bad?  What is right/wrong?  Is it the Right Principle or the Good End that makes human action/conduct moral?  Is an action right because of its good end, or it is good because of its right principle?  Are moral principles universal, objective, and unconditional, or relative, subjective and conditional?  What is the ultimate foundation of moral principles? The supernatural God? Human reason? Mutual social contract? Social custom?  Does God exist? If so, is He Benevolent and Omnipotent?  If God is Benevolent, why He creates evil things? If God does not create evil things, then, there must be another creator who is responsible to creation of the evil things? But, if it is so, how can God be an Omnipotent creator?  Why we honor and obey moral rules? For the sake of our own individual benefits?, or for the sake of others?, or just for the sake of fulfilling our infallible duty? Ethics, or ethical studies, can be grouped into three broad categories: Normative ethics, Meta- ethics, and Applied Ethics. Normative Ethics refers to the ethical studies that attempt to study and determine precisely the moral rules, principles, standards and goals by which human beings might evaluate and judge the moral values of their conducts, actions and decisions. It is the reasoned search for principles of human conduct, including a critical study of the major theories about which things are good, which acts are right, and which acts are blameworthy. Consequentialism or Teleological Ethics, Deontological Ethics, and Virtue Ethics are the major examples of normative ethical studies. Meta-ethics is the highly technical philosophical discipline that deals with investigation of the meaning of ethical terms, including a critical study of how ethical statements can be verified. It is more concerned with the meanings of such ethical terms as good or bad and right or wrong than with what we think is good or bad and right or wrong. Moral Intuitionism, Moral Emotivism, By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 28 Moral Prescriptivism, Moral Nihilism, and Ethical Relativism are the main examples of meta- ethical studies. Applied Ethics is a normative ethics that attempts to explain, justify, apply moral rules, principles, standards, and positions to specific moral problems, such as capital punishment, euthanasia, abortion, adultery, animal right, and so on. This area of normative ethics is termed applied because the ethicist applies or uses general ethical princes in an attempt to resolve specific moral problems. II. Aesthetics Activity # 3: - Dear learners, how do you define and understand aesthetics? What Discuss about it with the student(s) beside you. Aesthetics is the theory of beauty. It studies about the particular value of our artistic and aesthetic experiences. It deals with beauty, art, enjoyment, sensory/emotional values, perception, and matters of taste and sentiment. The following are typical Aesthetic questions:  What is art?  What is beauty?  What is the relation between art and beauty?  What is the connection between art, beauty, and truth?  Can there be any objective standard by which we may judge the beauty of artistic works, or beauty is subjective?  What is artistic creativity and how does it differ from scientific creativity?  Why works of art are valuable?  Can artistic works communicate? If so, what do they communicate?  Does art have any moral value, and obligations or constraints?  Are there standards of quality in Art? By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 29 III. Social/Political Philosophy Activity # 4: - Dear learners, how do you define politics and society? What political and social rules, principles, and standards do you know and follow, and why? Discuss about it with the student(s) beside you. Social/Political Philosophy studies about of the value judgments operating in a civil society, be it social or political. The following questions are some of the major Social/Political Philosophy primarily deal with:  What form of government is best?  What economic system is best?  What is justice/injustice?  What makes an action/judgment just/unjust?  What is society?  Does society exist? If it does, how does it come to existence?  How are civil society and government come to exist?  Are we obligated to obey all laws of the State?  What is the purpose of government? 4.2 Logic Activity # 5: - Dear learners, how do you define and understand logic? Discuss about it with student(s) beside you. Logic is the study or theory of principles of right reasoning. It deals with formulating the right principles of reasoning; and developing scientific methods of evaluating the validity and soundness of arguments. The following are among the various questions raised by Logic:  What is an argument; What does it mean to argue?  What makes an argument valid or invalid  What is a sound argument?  What relation do premise and conclusion have in argument?  How can we formulate and evaluate an argument? What is a fallacy?; What makes an argument fallacious? By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 30 Lesson 5: Importance of Learning Philosophy Lesson Overview Dear learners, we have seen in our first lesson that philosophy is a rational and critical enterprise that tries to formulate and answer fundamental questions through an intensive application of reason- an application that draws on analysis, comparison, and evaluation-, and deals with the most basic issues faced by human beings. In this lesson, we will discuss the fundamental benefits of learning philosophy. Lesson Objectives: After a successful completion of this lesson, you will be able to:  Understand the fundamental benefits philosophy could provide to humanity. Activity # 1: - Dear learners, can you list, based on our previous lessons, the possible benefits of studying philosophy? Who do you think needs philosophy? Why? Discuss with the student(s) beside you. Dear learners, if you ask any philosophy student ‗what is the necessity of studying philosophy‘, he/she may give you the following famous philosophical statement: ―The unexamined life is not worth living”. The ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, once said that “I tell you that to let no day pass without discussing goodness and all the other subjects about which you hear me talking and examining both myself and others is really the best thing that a man can do, and that life without this sort of examination is not worth living.…” Thus, among the various benefits of learning philosophy is that philosophy provides students with the tools they need to critically examine their own lives as well as the world in which they live. Let us clarify it more. Some modern psychologists point out that human beings have both maintenance and actualizing needs. The former refer to the physical and psychological needs that we must satisfy in order to maintain ourselves as human beings: food, shelter, security, social interaction, and the like. The later appear to be associated with self-fulfillment, creativity, self-expression, realization of one‘s potential, and being everything one can be. Although philosophy may not necessarily lead to this By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 31 sort of self-actualization, it can assist us to actualize ourselves by promoting the ideal of self- actualization. There are many characteristics of self-actualization to whose achievement studying philosophy has a primordial contribution. Here below are some of them. 1) Intellectual and Behavioral Independence:- This is the ability to develop one‘s own opinion and beliefs. Among the primary goals of philosophy, one is the integration of experiences into a unified, coherent, and systematic world views. Studying philosophy helps us not only to know the alternative world views but also to know how philosophers have ordered the universe for themselves. As a result, we can learn how to develop and integrate our experiences, thoughts, feelings, and actions for ourselves, and thus how to be intellectually and behaviorally independent. 2) Reflective Self-Awareness:- self-actualization cannot be realized without a clear knowledge of oneself and the world in which one lives. Philosophy helps us to intensify our self- awareness by inviting us to critically examine the essential intellectual grounds of our lives. 3) Flexibility, Tolerance, and Open-Mindedness:- by studying different philosophical perspectives we can understand the evolutionary nature of intellectual achievement and the ongoing development of human thought. As we confront with the thoughts of various philosophers we can easily realize that no viewpoint is necessarily true or false- that the value of any attitude is contextual. Finally, we become more tolerant, open-minded, more receptive, and more sympathetic to views that contend or clash with ours. 4) Creative and Critical Thinking: - this is the ability to develop original philosophical perspective on issues, problems, and events; and to engage them on a deeper level. From the study of philosophy, we can learn how to refine our powers of analysis, our abilities to think critically, to reason, to evaluate, to theorize, and to justify. 5) Conceptualized and well-thought-out value systems in morality, art, politics, and the like: - since philosophy directly deals with morality, art, politics, and other related value theories, studying philosophy provides us with an opportunity to formulate feasible evaluations of value; and thereby to find meaning in our lives. The other benefit of studying philosophy that should not be missed is that it helps us to deal with the uncertainty of living. Philosophy helps us to realize the absence of an absolutely ascertained By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 32 knowledge. But, what is the advantage of uncertainty? What Bertrand Russell stated in his book, The Problem of Philosophy, can be a sufficient answer for this question. The value of philosophy is, in part, to be sought largely in its very uncertainty. The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual benefits of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the cooperation or consent of his deliberate reason. To such a man the world tends to become definite, finite, obvious; common objects rouse no questions, and unfamiliar possibilities are contemptuously rejected. As soon as we begin to philosophize, on the contrary, we find… that even the most everyday things lead to problems to which only very incomplete answers can be given. Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom. Thus, while diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it greatly increases our knowledge as to what they may be; it removes the somewhat arrogant dogmatism of those who have never traveled into the region of liberating doubt, and it keeps alive our sense of wonder by showing familiar things in an unfamiliar aspect (Bertrand, 1912, P; 158). Chapter Summary Logic, as a field of study, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the study of arguments and the principles and methods of right reasoning. Etymologically, the term ‗philosophy‘ can be defined as “love of wisdom”, being wisdom a critical habit and eternal vigilance about all things and a reverence for truth, whatever its form, and wherever its place. Therefore, philosophy, as a pursuit of wisdom, is the development of critical habits, the continuous search for truth, and the questioning of the apparent. It is, however, important to note that ‗questioning the apparent‘ does not mean denying the obviously real. It simply refers to the extraordinary ability and curiosity to deal creatively with the phenomenal world, to go beyond the common understanding, and to speculate about things that other people accept with no doubt. Philosophy, as a rational and critical enterprise that tries to formulate and answer fundamental questions through an intensive application of reason, is a dual-sided universal discipline: critical and constructive sides. While, as a critical discipline, it deals with giving a rational critic, analysis, clarification, and evaluation of answers given to basic metaphysical, epistemological, and axiological questions, it attempts, as a constructive discipline, to formulate rationally defensible answers to certain fundamental questions concerning the nature of reality, the nature of value, and the nature of knowledge and truth. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 33 Philosophy, as an academic discipline, has its own salient features that distinguish it from other academic disciplines. Its systematic, logical and flexible approach to the ultimate reality of the universe, human life, knowledge experience, truth and values and its holistic and evolutionary nature are some the fundamental features of philosophy. Philosophy uses its major branches to deal with the most important issues human beings face, namely Metaphysics, Epistemology, Axiology, and Logic. Metaphysics deals with the studies of ultimate reality and existence. Epistemology deals with the study of the meaning, nature, source, scope and possibility of human knowledge. Axiology deals with the philosophical studies of human values, such as moral values, aesthetic values, as well as political and social values. Logic, on the other hand, is a philosophical study of arguments and the methods and principles of right reasoning. Philosophy provides various fundamental benefits to learners. It provides students with the tools they need to critically examine their own lives as well as the world in which they live, it assist them to actualize themselves by promoting the ideals of self-actualization. That is, studying philosophy helps to achieve the most important characteristic of self-actualization: Intellectual and Behavioral Independence, Reflective Self-Awareness, Flexibility, Tolerance, and Open- Mindedness, Creative and Critical Thinking, and Conceptualized and well-thought-out value systems in morality, art, politics, and the like. Moreover, studying philosophy helps us to deal with the uncertainty of living, meaning it helps us to realize the absence of an absolutely ascertained knowledge, and hence prepare ourselves to the ever growing human knowledge. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 34 Self Check Exercise 1. Define philosophy as a pursuit of wisdom. ______________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. It is said that ‗seeking wisdom‘ is one of the various essences of philosophy. Explain the wisdom that philosophers seek. _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 3. List and discuss the major features of philosophy. ______________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 4. Discuss briefly the core branches of philosophy. ______________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 5. Explain the major aspects of metaphysical study. _________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Discuss the fundamental epistemological debates concerning the source of human knowledge. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 7. Discuss briefly the major branches Ethics or Moral Philosophy. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 35  8. Discuss the importance of studying philosophy. ______________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ References Emmet, E.R. Learning to Philosophize, London, Penguin Books, 1964. Hurley, Patrick J. (2014) A Concise Introduction to Logic, 12th Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Jones Gerald, Cardinal Daniel, et al (2006) Moral Philosophy: a guide to ethical theory, London, Hodder Murray: A Member of the Hodder Headline Group. Mabott, J. D. (1966) An Introduction to Ethics, London, Hutchinson University Library, Hutchinson & Co Publisher. Mautner, Thomas (2000) The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy, London, Penguin Books. Plato „Republic: Book I‟, in Cahn, M. Steven (1999) Classics of Western Philosophy, 5th ed. United States of America, Indianapolis/Cambridge, Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Pojman, P. Louis (1998) Philosophical Traditions: A Text with Readings, United States of America. Wadsworth Publishing Company: A Division of International Thomson Publishing, Inc. Ratner, Joseph, ed. Intelligence in the Modern World: John Dewey‘s Philosophy, New York, The Modern Library, 1939. Woodhouse, Mark B. A Preface to Philosophy, (6th Edition) Belmont Wordsworth, 2000. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 36  CHAPTER TWO BASIC CONCEPTS OF LOGIC Chapter Overview Logic, as field of study, may be defined as the organized body of knowledge, or science that evaluates arguments. The aim of logic is to develop a system of methods and principles that we may use as criteria for evaluating the arguments of others and as guides in constructing arguments of our own. Argument is a systematic combination of two or more statements, which are classified as a premise or premises and conclusion. A premise refers to the statement, which is claimed to provide a logical support or evidence to the main point of the argument, which h known as conclusion. A conclusion is a statement, which is claimed to follow from the alleged evidence. Depending on the logical and real ability of the premise(s) to support the conclusion, an argument can be either a good argument or a bad argument. However, unlike all kinds of passages, including those that resemble arguments, all arguments purport to prove something. Arguments can generally be divided into deductive and inductive arguments. A deductive argument is an argument in which the premises are claimed to support the conclusion in such a way that it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false. On the other hand, an inductive argument is an argument in which the premises are claimed to support the conclusion in such a way that it is improbable that the premises be true and the conclusion false. The deductiveness or inductiveness of an argument can be determined by the particular indicator word it might use, the actual strength of the inferential relationship between its component statements, and its argumentative form or structure. A deductive argument can be evaluated by its validity and soundness. Likewise, an inductive argument can be evaluated by its strength and cogency. Depending on its actually ability to successfully maintain its inferential claim, a deductive argument can be either valid or invalid. That is, if the premise(s) of a certain deductive argument actually support its conclusion in such a way that it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false, then that particular deductive argument is valid. If, however, its premise(s) actually support its conclusion in such a By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 37 way that it is possible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false, then that particular deductive argument is invalid. Similarly, an inductive argument can be either strong or weak, depending on its actually ability to successfully maintain its inferential claim. That is, if the premise(s) of a certain inductive argument actually support its conclusion in such a way that it is improbable for the premises to be true and the conclusion false, then that particular inductive argument is strong. If, however, its premise(s) actually support its conclusion in such a way that it is probable for the premises to be true and the conclusion false, then that particular inductive argument is weak. Furthermore, depending on its actually ability to successfully maintain its inferential claim as well as its factual claim, a deductive argument can be either sound or unsound. That is, if a deductive argument actually maintained its inferential claim, (i.e., if it is valid), and its factual claim, (i.e., if all of its premises are true), then that particular deductive argument will be a sound argument. However, if it fails to maintain either of its claims, it will be an unsound argument. Likewise, depending on its actually ability to successfully maintain its inferential claim as well as its factual claim, an inductive argument can be either cogent or uncogent. That is, if an inductive argument actually maintained its inferential claim, (i.e., if it is strong), and its factual claim, (i.e., if all of its premises are probably true), then that particular inductive argument will be a cogent argument. However, if it fails to maintain either of its claims, it will be an uncogent argument. In this chapter, we will discuss logic and its basic concepts, the techniques of distinguishing arguments from non-argumentative passages, and the types of arguments. Chapter Objectives: Dear learners, after the successful completion of this chapter, you will be able to:  Understand the meaning and basic concepts of logic;  Understand the meaning, components, and types of arguments; and  Recognize the major techniques of recognizing and evaluating arguments. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 38 Lesson 1: Basic Concepts of Logic: Arguments, Premises and Conclusions Lesson Overview Logic is generally be defined as a philosophical science that evaluates arguments. An argument is a systematic combination of one or more than one statements, which are claimed to provide a logical support or evidence (i.e., premise(s) to another single statement which is claimed to follow logically from the alleged evidence (i.e., conclusion). An argument can be either good or bad argument, depending on the logical ability of its premise(s) to support its conclusion. The primary aim of logic is to develop a system of methods and principles that we may use as criteria for evaluating the arguments of others and as guides in constructing arguments of our own. The study of logic increases students‘ confidence to criticize the arguments of others and advance arguments of their own. In this lesson, we will discuss the meaning and basic concepts of logic: arguments, premises, and conclusions. Lesson Objectives: After the accomplishment of this lesson, you will be able to:  Understand the meaning.  Identify the subject matter of logic.  Understand the meaning of an argument.  Identify the components of an argument.  Understand the meaning and nature of a premise.  Comprehend the meaning and nature of a conclusion.  Recognize the techniques of identifying the premises and conclusion of an argument. What is the Meaning of Logic? Activity # 1: - Dear learners, how do you define Logic? Dear learners, the word logic comes from Greek word logos, which means sentence, discourse, reason, truth and rule. Logic in its broader meaning is the science, which evaluates arguments By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 39 and the study of correct reasoning. It could be also defined as the study of methods and principles of correct reasoning or the art of correct reasoning. Logic can be defined in different ways. Here below are some definitions of logic:  Logic is a science that evaluates arguments.  Logic is the study of methods for evaluating arguments. More precisely, logic is the study of methods for evaluating whether the premises of arguments adequately support or provide a good evidence for the conclusions.  Logic is a science that helps to develop the method and principles that we may use as a criterion for evaluating the arguments of others and as a guide to construct good arguments of our own.  Logic is the attempt to codify the rules of rational thought. Logicians explore the structure of arguments that preserve truth or allow the optimal extraction of knowledge from evidence.  Logic is one of the primary tools philosophers use in their inquiries. The precision of logic helps them to cope with the subtlety of philosophical problems and the often misleading nature of conversational language. In logic, as an academic discipline, we study reasoning itself: forms of argument, general principles and particular errors, along with methods of arguing. We see lots of mistakes in reasoning in daily life and logic can help us understand what is wrong or why someone is arguing in a particular way. What is the Benefit of Studying Logic? ―Logic sharpens and refines our natural gifts to think, reason and argue.‖ (C. S. Layman) Activity # 2: - Dear learners, what do you think is the benefit of studying logic? Discuss with the student(s) beside you. We use logic in our day-to-day communications. As human beings, we all think, reason and argue; and we all are subject to the reasoning of other people. Some of us may think well, reason well and argue well, but some of us may not. The ability to think, reason and argue well might partially be a matter of natural gift. However, whatever our natural gifts, they can be refined, improved and sharpened; and the study of logic is one of the best ways to refine one‘s natural By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 40 ability to think, reason and argue. Likewise, as academicians, our arguments must be logical and acceptable; and the tool to do so is provided by logic. In general, the following are some of the major benefits that we can gain from the study of logic:  It helps us to develop the skill needed to construct sound (good) and fallacy-free arguments of one‘s own and to evaluate the arguments of others;  It provides a fundamental defense against the prejudiced and uncivilized attitudes that threaten the foundation of a civilized and democratic society;  It helps us to distinguish good arguments from bad arguments;  It helps us to understand and identify the common logical errors in reasoning;  It helps us to understand and identify the common confusions that often happen due to misuse of language;  It enables us to disclose ill-conceived policies in the political sphere, to be careful of disguises, and to distinguish the rational from irrational and the sane from the insane and so on. The aim of logic, hence, is to develop the system of methods and principles that we may use as criteria for evaluating the arguments of others and as guides in constructing the arguments of our own in our day-to-day lives. Thus, by studying logic, we are able to increase our confidence when we criticize the arguments of others and when we advance arguments of our own. In fact, one of the goals of logic is to produce individuals who are critical, rational and reasonable both in the sphere of public and private life. However, to be full beneficial of the worth which logic provides, one must thoroughly and carefully understand the basic concepts of the subject and be able to apply them in the actual situations. What is an Argument? Activity # 3: - Dear learners, what do you think is an argument? What comes to your mind when you think of an argument? Discuss with the student(s) beside you. Dear learners, the word ‗argument‘ may not be a new word to all of us. For all of us encounter arguments in our day-to-day experience. We read them in books and newspapers, hear them on By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 41 television, and formulate them when communicating with friends and associates. If you look back at the above different definitions of logic and characterizations, you will certainly find one thing in common: argument. Moreover, we have said that of the various benefits of studying logic, identifying, analyzing and evaluating arguments is the most important one. It follows that argument the primary subject matter of logic. What is an argument then? Argument is a technical term and the chief concern of logic. Argument might have defined and described in different ways. When we define an arguments from logical point of view, it is a group of statements, one or more of which (the premise) are claimed to provide support for, or reason to believe, one of the other, the (conclusion). As is apparent from the above definition, the term ‗‗argument‘‘ has a very specific meaning in logic. It does not mean, for example, a mere verbal fight, as one might have with one‘s parent, spouse, or friend. Let us examine the features of this definition in detail. First, an argument is a group of statements. That is, the first requirement for a passage to be qualified as an argument is to combine two or more statements. But, what is a statement? A statement is a declarative sentence that has a truth-value of either true or false. That is, statement is a sentence that has truth-value. Hence, truth and falsity are the two possible truth- values of a statement. A statement is typically a declarative sentence. In other words, statement is a type of sentence that could stand as a declarative sentence. Look the following examples: a) Dr. Abiy Ahmed the current Prime Minister of Ethiopia. b) Mekelle is the capital city of Tigray Region. c) Ethiopia was colonized by Germany. Statement (a) and (b) are true, because they describe things as they are, or assert what really is the case. Hence, „Truth‟ is their truth-value. Whereas statement (c) is false because it asserts what is not, and „Falsity‟ its truth-value. N.B: Logicians used proposition and statement interchangeably. However, in strict (technical) sense, proposition is the meaning or information content of a statement. In this chapter, the term statement is used to refer premises and a conclusion. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 42 However, there are sentences that are not statements, and hence should be used to construct an argument. Examples: a) Would you close the window? (Question) b) Let us study together. (Proposal) c) Right on! (Exclamation) d) I suggest that you read philosophy texts. (Suggestion) e) Give me your ID Card, Now! (Command) In fact, sentence is a group of words or phrases that enables us to express ideas or thought meaningfully. However, unlike statements, none of the above sentences can be either true or false. Hence, none of them can be classified as statement. As a result, none of them can make up an argument. Second, the statements that make up an argument are divided into premise(s) and conclusion. That means, the mere fact that a passage contains two or more statements cannot guarantee the existence of an argument. Hence, an argument is a group statement, which contains at least one premise and one and only one conclusion. This definition makes it clear that an argument may contain more than one premise but only one conclusion. Activity # 4: - Dear learners, if argument is a combination of premise(s) and conclusion, what do you think are premise and conclusion? Argument always attempts to justify a claim. The claim that the statement attempts to justify is known as a conclusion of an argument; and the statement or statements that supposedly justify the claim is/are known as the premises of the argument. Therefore, a premise is a statement that set forth the reason or evidence, which is given for accepting the conclusion of an argument. It is claimed evidence; and a conclusion is a statement, which is claimed to follow from the given evidence (premise). In other words, the conclusion is the claim that an argument is trying to establish. By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 43  Activity # 5: - Dear learners, can you now try to construct an argument based on the above definition of an argument? Let us now construct arguments together. Example-1: Example-2: 1) All Ethiopians are Africans. (Premise 1) 2) Some Africans are black. (Premise-1) Tsionawit is Ethiopian. (Premise2) Zelalem is an African. (Premise-2) Therefore, Tsionawit is African. (Conclusion) Therefore, Zelalem is black. (Conclusion) In both arguments, the first two statements are premises, because they are claimed to provide evidence for the third statement, whereas the third statement is a conclusion because it is claimed to follow from the given evidences. The claim that the premises support the conclusion, (and/or that the conclusion follow from the premises), is indicated by the word ‗‗therefore.‘‘ All arguments may be placed in one of two basic groups: those in which the premises really do support the conclusion and those in which they do not, even though they are claimed to. The former are said to be good (well-supported) arguments, the latter bad (poorly-supported) arguments. For example, compare the above two examples. In the first argument, the premises really do support the conclusion, they give good reason for believing that the conclusion is true, and therefore, the argument is a good one. But the premises of the second argument fail to support the conclusion adequately. Even if they may be true, they do not provide good reason to believe that the conclusion is true. Therefore, it is bad argument, but it is still an argument. But how can we distinguish premises from conclusion and vice versa? Despite the purpose of logic, as the science that evaluates and analyses arguments, is to develop methods and techniques that allow us to distinguish good arguments from bad, one of the most important tasks in the analysis of arguments is to distinguish premises from conclusion and vice versa. Sometimes identifying a conclusion from premises is very tough. Premises and conclusions are difficult to identify for a number of reasons. Even though all arguments are By: Teklay G. (AkU), Adane T. (MU), and Zelalem M. (HMU) Page 44 ideally presumed to be composed of premises and a conclusion, in reality, sometimes arguments may contain other sentences as elements. Moreover, even though it is assumed, for the sake of argument, that all arguments are composed of premises and conclusion, identifying conclusion from argument is very difficult. Since it is impossible to analyze arguments without identifying a conclusion from premises, we need techniques that can help us to identify premises from a conclusion and vice versa. The first technique that can be used to identify premises from a conclusion and vice versa is looking at an indicator word. Frequently, arguments contain certain indicator words that provide clues in identifying premises and conclusion. Here below are some Conclusion Indicators: Therefore We may conclude Thus So Wherefore Entails that Consequently It follows that Accordingly Hence We may infer Provided that It shows that It implies that It must be that Whence As a result In argument that contains any of the conclusion indicator words, the statement that follows the indicator word can usually be identified as the conclusion. By the process of elimination, the other statements in the argument can