Logic and Critical Thinking

Irving M. Copi
Carl cohen
Kenneth McMahon
Philosophy

 According to UMER KHYAM the universe

is like an old manuscript Who's first and
last page are lost.
 Philosophy is the study of finding those
things
 philosophy is an activity people
undertake when they seek to
understand fundamental truths about
themselves, the world in which they live,
and their relationships to the world and
to each other.
Branches of Philosophy

 The main branches of Philosophy are:

1. Axiology: Study of the nature of value and valuation
2. Metaphysics: Study of the fundamental nature of reality
3. Epistemology: Study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge
4. Ethics Philosophy: Study of what is right and wrong in human behaviour
5. Aesthetics: Study of beauty and taste
6. Logic Philosophy: Study of the nature and types of logic
7. Political Philosophy: Study of government, addressing questions about the
nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions
Logic
 Logic studies the rules of valid/correct reasoning and argumentation
 The study of the methods, techniques and principles used to differentiate
correct reasoning from incorrect reasoning or differentiate valid or good
arguments from invalid or bad arguments.
 We can justify our judgment on the basis of reasons

REASONING
Thinking/speaking about something in a logical and rational way
Or reasoning is the process of drawing inferences from information
ARGUMENT= Claim + Reason
 Types of Logic
Inductive + Deductive
Inductive Reasoning
 The type of reasoning in which a general conclusion is derived from
specific instance or premise
 It is bottom-up reasoning because it starts with a probable conclusion and
induce premises.
 Example
 Specific premise
 Voters in USA vote for democratic candidates over republicans

 General Conclusion
 Therefore, its expected that the next senator will be a democrat
 Types of Logic
Inductive + Deductive
Deductive Arguments
 The type of reasoning in which a general premises are used to deduced a
specific Conclusion
 It is top-down reasoning because it goes from general and works its way
down more specific.
 Example
 General premise
 All cars have engines
 I have a car
 Specific Conclusion
 Therefore, my car has an engine
Argument
n everyday life, people often use "argument" to mean a quarrel
between people. But in logic and critical thinking, an argument is a
list of statements, one of which is the conclusion and the others
are the premises or assumptions of the argument.

P:Plato is a Man
P:Man is mortal
C: Plato is mortal

Premise: a proposition which support another proposition

Argument

 An argument is a statement or set of statements, that includes at least one

premise and a conclusion
 ARGUMENT= Premise + Conclusion
 Example
 Since carrots are full of vitamins it follows that your body will get benenfit if you
eat them
Premises
 A premise is a statement or sentence of an argument which includes the
reasons and evidence that supports a conclusion
 Examples
 Premises
 All Men are mortal all students are intelligent
 Plato is a man Ali is a student

 Conclusion
 Therefore, plato is mortal therefore, Ali is intelligent
 Proposition
 A proposition is a statement that can be either true or false; it must be one or
the other, and it cannot be both..
 It is the statement of facts
 Parts are proposition
 Subject Capula predicte
 Example
 She iis beautiful

 She subject
 Is capula
 Beautiful predicate
Types of Proposition
Simple proposition : get conclusion from one
premise
Compound proposition : get conclusion from
two or more premises

Types of compound proposition

• Hypothetical
• Disjunction
• Conjunction
 Proposition Table

 P Q
 Hypothetical Ͻ T F F
 Disjunction v F F F
 Conjunction . T T T
 Truth and validity
• Truth is the complete accuracy of whatever was, is, or will
be, error-proof, beyond doubt, dispute or debate, a final
test of right or wrong of people's ideas and beliefs
Name the thing as it is apparently exits
• Like chair is chair
• Cow is cow
• Validity is defined as the internal consistency of an
argument
Coke & pepsi
First, are the premise indicators, also sometimes called 'reason indicators' because they
make it clear that a reason for this argument is coming. Here are a few common
premise/reason indicators:
•Because
•Since
•For
•Due to the fact
•As shown by
•As indicated by
•Assuming that
•Owing to
•Considering that
•Follows from
•In as much as
Conclusion indicators let the audience know that the conclusion is coming and that this is
what your argument is all about. Common conclusion indicators include:
•So
•Therefore
•Thus
•Consequently
•This proves
•As a result
•This suggests that
•We can conclude
•From which it follows that
•Accordingly
•Prove that
•For this reason