Logic and Critical Thinking
Logic and Critical Thinking
1. Philosophy is a set of views or beliefs about life and the universe, which
are often held uncritically.
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.
Philosophy
• 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.
3. Philosophy is the logical analysis of language and the
clarification of the meaning of words and concepts.
• 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..
• 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
5) philosophers always have required answers.
1. Metaphysics
i) Cosmological Aspect
ii) Theological Aspect
iii) Anthropological Aspect
iv) Ontological Aspect:
2. Epistemology
1. empiricism
2. Rationalism
5. Intuition
6. Revelation
7. Authoritative
3. Axiology
4. I 1. Meta-ethics 2. normative ethics, and 3. applied ethics II. Aesthetics III. Social/Political
Philosophy
4. Logic
metaphysics Con…
• Van Cleve Morris has noted that the bottom of the matter is asking the
―right‖ questions.
• people really want answered and that will make a difference in
how they live and work.
• 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 a complex foundation of reality or ‗first principles‘
from which absolute knowledge or truth can be induced and deduced.
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?
metaphysics Con…
• 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 What is exactly the nature of the floor
upon which you stand?
• It may seem 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 about the reality of the floor.
• the floor is made of molecules; that molecules consist of atoms, electrons, protons,
and neutrons; and these, finally, of electric energy alone.
• A 3rd position is offered by a passing chemist; 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, &oxidation.
metaphysics Con…
• 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?
i) Cosmological Aspect
ii) Theological Aspect
iii) Anthropological Aspect
iv) Ontological Aspect:
four aspects metaphysics
• ii) Theological Aspect: 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?‖
four aspects metaphysics con..
• iii) Anthropological Aspect: deals with the study of human beings
questions like the following:
• iv) Ontological Aspect: Ontology is the study of the nature of existence, or what it
means for anything to exist.
questions
―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
• Epistemology is the study at source of knowledge
• epistemology the Greek words
• episteme, meaning (knowledge, understanding) and logos, meaning (study ).
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.
Epistemology con..
• 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?
• Epistemology seeks answers to a number of fundamental issues. One is whether
reality can be known. However, one must decide through what sources reality may be
known, and must have some concept of how to judge the validity of their knowledge.
Epistemology con….
Example-1: Example-2:
• 1) All Ethiopians are Africans. (Premise 1)
Tsionawit is Ethiopian. (Premise2)
Therefore, Tsionawit is African. (Conclusion)
• 2) Some Africans are black. (Premise-1)
Zelalem is an African. (Premise-2)
Therefore, Zelalem is black. (Conclusion)
The premises really do support the conclusion
The1st premises has good reason for its conclusion which is true, and therefore, the argument
is good . But 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.
Methods to distinguish premises from conclusion and vice versa?
• Premises and conclusions are difficult to identify for a number of reasons.
• The first technique that can be used to an indicator word.
Here below are some Conclusion Indicators:
Therefore, wherefore, Accordingly,Provided that,It must be that, We may conclude,
Entails that, Hence, It shows that, Whence, Thus, Consequently
,We may infer, It implies that, As a result, So, It follows that
Example:
Women are mammals.
Zenebech is a woman.
Therefore, Zenebech is a mammal
Here below are some typical Premise Indicators
• Since, As indicated by, Because, Owing to, Seeing that, Given that, As, For
,In that, May be inferred from, Inasmuch as, For the reason that
a statement that follows the indicator word can usually be identified as a premise.
By same the process of elimination, the other remaining single statement will be a
conclusion.
Example:You should avoid any form of cheating on exams because cheating on
exams is punishable by the Senate Legislation of the University.
Based on the above rule, the premise of this argument is “cheating on exams is
punishable by the Senate Legislation of the University‖ because it follows the
premise indicator word ―because‖, and the other statement is a premise.
Here below are some typical Premise Indicators
• Sometimes a single indicator can be used to identify more than one premise.
Consider the following argument:
• Tsionawit is a faithful wife, for Ethiopian women are faithful wives and Tsionawit is
an Ethiopian.
• The premise indicator ‗‗for‘‘ goes with both ‗‗Ethiopian women are faithful
wives‘‘ and ‗Tsionawit is an Ethiopian”. These are the premises. By process of
elimination, ‗‗Tsionawit is a faithful wife‖ is the conclusion.
Some without premise indicator and conclusion without
indicators
• When this occurs, the reader/ listener must ask himself or herself such questions as:
• What single statement is claimed (implicitly) to follow from the others?
• What is the arguer trying to prove?
• What is the main point in the passage?
• The answers to these questions should point to the conclusion
Eg. Our country should increase the quality and quantity of its
military.(c) Ethnic conflicts are recently intensified(p1); boarder
conflicts are escalating(p2); international terrorist activities are
increasing(p3).
Con…
Ethnic conflicts are recently intensified. (P-1)
Boarder conflicts are escalating. (P-2)
International terrorist activities are increasing. (P-3)
Thus, the country should increase the quality and quantity of its military. (C)
Types of Arguments: Deduction and Induction
• We as human being may have different argument in our daily life i.e when we start our
life to begin, we need to ask questions like
I. What should I do to day?
II. How many class do I want to teach ?
III. What best technique I want to use in teaching?
To do those all questions every individual needs ,deductive and inductive arguments or
reasons in every moment.
• The reasoning process (inference) that an argument involves is expressed either with
certainty or with probability.
• If the conclusion is claimed to follow with strict certainty or necessity, the
argument is said to be deductive; but if it is claimed to follow only probably, the
argument is said to be inductive.
Deductive Arguments
• Example-1: Example-2:
Most African leaders are blacks. Almost all women are mammals.
Mandela was an African leader. Hanan is a woman.
Therefore, probably Mandela was black Hence, Hanan is a mammal
• Both of the above arguments are inductive. In both of them, the conclusion
does not follow from the premises with strict necessity, but it does follow
with some degree of probability
• the conclusion is claimed to follow from the premises only probably; or the
premises are claimed to support their corresponding conclusion with
probability.
Con…
• If we assume that the premises are true, then based on that assumption it is
probable that the conclusion is true.
example, assume that
most African leaders were blacks and that Mandela was an African
leader, then it is improbable that Mandela not been a black, or it is probable
that Mandela was black. But it is not impossible that Mandela not been a
black. Similarly, if we assume that almost
• all women are mammals and that Hanan is a woman, then it is improbable
that Hanan not be a mammal, or it is probable that Hanan is a mammal.
Differentiating Deductive and Inductive Arguments
• There are three factors that influence the decision about the deductiveness
or inductiveness of an argument‘s inferential claim.
1) The occurrence of special indicator words,
2) The actual strength of the inferential link between premises and conclusion,
and
3) The character or form of argumentation the arguers use
Decision deductive or inductiveness of an argument‘s inferential special
indicator
• Words like ―certainly, necessarily, absolutely, definitely‘‘ indicate that
the argument should be taken as deductive,
• words like, probable, improbable, plausible, implausible, likely,
unlikely, and reasonable to conclude suggest that an argument is
inductive.
• The point is that if an argument draws its conclusion, using either of the
deductive indicator words, it is usually best to interpret it as deductive, but
if it draws its conclusion, using either of the inductive indicator words, it
is usually best to interpret it as inductive.
• (Note that the phrase it must be the case that‘‘ is ambiguous; must‘‘
can indicate either probability or necessity).
The second factor interpretation of an argument as inductive or deductive con…
• Example-1: Example-2:
• All Ethiopian people love their country The majority of Ethiopian people are poor.
• Debebe is an Ethiopian. Alamudin is an Ethiopian
• Therefore, Debebe loves his country Therefore, Alamudin is poor
In the first example, the conclusion follows with strict necessity from the
premises. If we assume that all Ethiopian people love their country and that
Debebe is an Ethiopian, then it is impossible that Debebe not love his
country. So it is a deductive
The second factor interpretation of an argument as inductive or deductive con…
• In the second example, the conclusion does not follow from the
premises with strict necessity, but it does follow with some degree of
probability.
• If we assume that the premises are true, then based on that assumption
it is probable that the conclusion is true. the second argument as
inductive.
the third character or form of argumentation the arguer
uses
The character or form of argumentation the arguer uses