LOGIC

PROF ROY SHAFF

Chapters 2-3
Key Terms for Ch 2-3
 Diagramming  Imperative  Ostensive definition
 Paraphrasing  Emotive language  Theoretical definitions
 Matrix Retrograde  Disagreement in attitude Intension
analysis  Emotively neutral  Connotative definition
 Brain teasers language  Extension Denotative
 Authorial intent  Disagreement in belief definition
 Informative discourse  Merely verbal disputes  Operational definition
 Expressive discourse  Apparently verbal  Quasi-ostensive definition
 Directive discourse disputes  Synonymous definition
 Ceremonial  Obviously genuine  Definition by example
disputes  Definition by genus and
 Performative
 Lexical definitions difference
 Declarative
 Precising definitions
 Interrogative
 Stipulative definitions
 Exclamatory
 Persuasive definitions
 Objectives
3

 When you complete this lesson, you will be able to:

 Paraphrase arguments and diagram arguments
 Identify interwoven, complex arguments
 Solve reasoning problems
 List and describe the three different types of disputes
 Describe the five different types of definitions
 Differentiate between extension and intension
 Describe the six techniques for creating definitions
 List the five rules for definition by genus and difference
Analyzing Arguments

 Arguments can be analyzed, once

recognized, by paraphrasing them or by
diagramming them.
Paraphrasing

 Paraphrasing involves setting forth the

argument in a clear and precise form.
Paraphrasing Exercises #1
 Premise: The Detroit Pistons are an all-around better team than the
San Antonio Spurs.
 Conclusion: The Pistons did not lose [the NBA finals, in 2005] because
of lack of ability.

 Premise: The Pistons will beat the Spurs two out of every three times;
and the Spurs will
 win one out of every three times.
 Premise: The Pistons had won the 5th and 6th games of the series —
two in a row, so if they
 had won the final game they would have won three out of three.
 Conclusion: The Pistons lost because of the law of averages.
Paraphrasing Exercises #2
 Premise: Universities have commonly offered
strange literary theories, and assorted oddities, in
place of the writing courses that ought to have been
offered. Students have been unknowingly
shortchanged.
 Conclusion: That is why vast numbers of students
cannot express themselves well in writing.
Paraphrasing Exercises #3
 Premise: People divided on ethnic lines tend not to
adopt programs that will give mutual support.
 Conclusion: (and premise of the following argument):
Therefore nations that are racially diverse tend to have
lower levels of social support than nations that are
racially homogenous.
 Conclusion: Therefore a welfare state is in tension with a
racially diverse population; the more racially diverse a
community is, the more difficult it is to maintain
comprehensive welfare programs.
Paraphrasing Exercises #4
 Premise: If freedom were a natural part of the
human condition we could expect to find free
societies spread throughout human history.
 Premise: We do not find that, but instead find every
sort of tyrannical government, from time
immemorial.
 Conclusion: it is simply false to say (as Orlando
Patterson does) that freedom is a natural part of
the human condition.
Paraphrasing Exercises #5
 Premise: if future scientists find a way to signal back
in time, their signals would already have reached
us.
 Premise: No such signals have ever reached us.
 Conclusion: Future scientists never will find a way to
signal back in time.
Paraphrasing Exercises #5
 Premise: if future scientists find a way to signal back
in time, their signals would already have reached
us.
 Premise: No such signals have ever reached us.
 Conclusion: Future scientists never will find a way to
signal back in time.
Paraphrasing Exercises #6
 Premise: Japanese and European whale-hunting
countries have no need to eat whales; they can choose
their diets.
 Premise: Eskimos live in an environment so harsh that
their survival obliges them to eat whales; they have no
choice in dietary matters.
 Conclusion: Permitting primitive Eskimos to kill some
whales for survival, while at the same time demanding
that modern societies cease to hunt whales, is fair and
reasonable, not hypocritical.
Paraphrasing Exercises #7
 Premise: The number of atoms in all of space is so
huge that we can never count them or count the
forces that drive them in all places.
 Conclusion: There must be other worlds, in other
places, with different kinds of men and animals.
Paraphrasing Exercises #8
 Premise: Where marriages are prearranged, divorce
rates are very low. Often one later comes to love the
person to whom one is married.
 Premise: Where marriages are formed on the basis of
romantic love, divorce rates are very high; often one
later comes not to love the person chosen on that basis.
 Conclusion: We ought not suppose that romantic love is
a necessary precondition of successful marriage.
Paraphrasing Exercises #9
 Premise: Our tax system depends upon the willingness
of persons to pay the taxes they owe.
 Premise: That willingness depends, in turn, upon the
widespread belief that almost everyone, including
competitor and neighbors, are also paying the taxes
they owe.
 Conclusion: If the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS)
cannot assure us that this fairness is reasonable for us to
suppose, the entire system of voluntary tax payments is
seriously(and perhaps irremediably) threatened.
Paraphrasing Exercises #10
 Premise: People and government are obsesses with
racism and talk about it endlessly.
 Premise: But we don’t listen and we don’t see, and
therefore we remain in a state of dental, thinking
ourselves absolved of all complicity in racism.
 Conclusion: invariably we conclude that it is the
other guy who is in the wrong.
Diagramming Arguments

 Diagramming involves the laying out the

structure of the argument in two-
dimensional spatial relations. Premise and
conclusion are numbered and arranged to
identify the relations of support between
propositions.
Paraphrasing Exercises #10
 Premise: People and government are obsesses with
racism and talk about it endlessly.
 Premise: But we don’t listen and we don’t see, and
therefore we remain in a state of dental, thinking
ourselves absolved of all complicity in racism.
 Conclusion: invariably we conclude that it is the
other guy who is in the wrong.
 Diagramming
19

(1) Contrary to what many people think, a positive

test for HIV is not necessarily a death sentence. For
one thing, (2) the time from the development of
antibodies to clinical symptoms averages nearly ten
years. For another, (3) many reports are now
suggesting that a significant number of people who
test positive may never develop clinical AIDS.

2 3

1
 Diagramming, continued
20

(1) If an action promotes the best interests of

everyone concerned and violates no one’s rights, then
that action is morally acceptable. (2) In at least some
cases, active euthanasia promotes the best interests of
everyone concerned, and violates no one’s rights.
Therefore (3) in at least some cases active euthanasia
is morally acceptable.

1 2

3
 Interwoven Arguments
21

(1) To hasten the social revolution in England is the

most important object of the International
Workingman’s Association. (2) The sole means of
hastening it is to make Ireland independent. Hence (3)
the task of the “International” is everywhere to put
conflict between England and Ireland in the
foreground, and (4) everywhere to side openly with
Ireland.
1 2

3 4
 Interwoven Arguments, continued
22

 Compressed argument
 Because(1) the greatest mitochondrial variations
occurred in African people, scientists concluded that (2)
they had the longest evolutionary history, indicating (3)
a probable African origin for modern humans.

3
 Interwoven Arguments, continued
23

1. The more mitochondrial variation in a people the

longer its evolutionary history;
2. The greatest mitochondrial variations occurred in
Africa;
1
Therefore African people have had the longest
evolutionary history.
2
1. African people have had the longest evolutionary
history;
2. Modern humans probably originated where people 3
have had the longest evolutionary history;
Therefore modern humans probably originated in Africa.
 Interwoven Arguments, continued
24

 Multiple arguments
 (1)It is not necessary – no, nor so much as convenient –
that the legislative should be always in being; but (2)
absolutely necessary that the executive power should,
because (3) there is not always need of new laws to be
made, but (4) always need of execution of the laws
that are made.

3 4

1 2
Diagramming Exercises #1
 In a recent attack upon the evils of suburban sprawl,
the authors argue as follows:
 The dominant characteristic of sprawl is that each
component of a community—housing, shopping centers,
office parks, and civic institutions—is segregated,
physically separated from the others, causing the
residents of suburbia to spend an inordinate amount of
time and money moving from one place to the next. And
since nearly everyone drives alone, even a sparsely
populated area can generate the traffic of a much
larger traditional town.34
 Diagramming Exercises #1

1 The dominant characteristics of sprawl

is that each component of a community –
housing, shopping centers, office parks,
and civic institutions – is segregated
physically separated from the others,
causing 2 the residents of suburbia to
spend an ordinate amount of time and
money moving from one place to the
next. And since 3 nearly everyone drives
alone, 4 even a sparsely populated area
can generate the traffic of a much larger
traditional town.
 Diagramming Exercises #2

1 At any cost we must have

filters on our Ypsilanti
Township library computers.
2 Pornography is a scourge
on society at every level. 3
Our public library must not
be used to channel this filth
to the people of the area.
 Diagramming Exercises #3

1 At this best, Lyndon Johnson was

one of the greatest of all
American Presidents. 2 He did
more for racial justice than any
president since Abraham Lincoln. 3
He built more social protections
than anyone since Franklin
Roosevelt. 4 He was probably the
greatest legislative politician in
American history. 5 He was also
one of the most ambitious idealists.
6 Johnson sought power to use it to
accomplish great things.
Diagramming Exercises #4

1Married people are healthier

and more economically stable
than single people, and 2
children of married people do
better on a variety of
indicators. 3 Marriage is thus a
socially responsible act. 4There
ought to be some way of
spreading the principle of
support for marriage throughout
the tax code.
Diagramming Exercises #5

1 Vacuum cleaners to insure

clean houses are praiseworthy
and essential to our standard
of living. 2 Street cleaners to
insure clean streets are an
unfortunate expense. Partly as
a result 3 our houses are
generally clean and 4 our
streets generally filthy.
Diagramming Exercises #6

1 We are part of
Europe. 2 It affects us
directly and deeply.
Therefore 3 we should
exercise leadership in
order to change
Europe in the direction
we want.
Diagramming Exercises #7

1 We are part of
Europe. 2 It affects us
directly and deeply.
Therefore 3 we should
exercise leadership in
order to change
Europe in the direction
we want.
Diagramming Exercises #8

1 We are part of
Europe. 2 It affects us
directly and deeply.
Therefore 3 we should
exercise leadership in
order to change
Europe in the direction
we want.
Complex Arguements
 Some arguments are exceedingly complex, involving
several arguments interwoven together.
 One must understand the author’s intent and capture the
flow of reasoning.
 Often, an argument can be analyzed in more than one way
and more than one plausible interpretation may be offered.
 Once the structure of the argument is revealed through
careful analysis, one can consider whether the premises
really do support the conclusion.
 Complex Argumentative Passages
35

(1) The Big Bang Theory is crumbling… (2) According to orthodox wisdom,
the cosmos began with the Big Bang – an immense, perfectly symmetrical
explosion 20 billion years ago. The problem is that (3) astronomers have
confirmed by observation the existence of huge conglomerations of galaxies
that are simply too big to have been formed in a mere 20 billion years...
Studies based on new data collected by satellite, and backed up by earlier
ground surveys, show that (4) galaxies are clustered into vast ribbons that
stretch billions of light years, and (5) are separated by voids hundreds of
millions of light years across. Because (6) galaxies are observed to travel at
only a small fraction of the speed of light, mathematics shows that (7) such
large clumps of matter must have taken at least one hundred billion years to
come together – five times as long as the time since the hypothetical Big
Bang. (3) Structures as big as those now seen can’t be made in 20 billion
years… (2) The Big Bang theorizes that matter was spread evenly through
the universe. From this perfection, (3) there is no way for such vast clumps to
have formed so quickly.
 Complex Argumentative Passages,
36

 Diagram
4 5 6

3 2

1
 Problems in Reasoning
37

 Alonzo, Kurt, Rudolph, and Willard are four creative artists of

great talent. One is a dancer, one is a painter, one is a singer,
and one is a writer, although not necessarily in that order. Can
you discern each man’s artistic field?

1. Alonzo and Rudolph were in the audience the night the

singer made his debut on the concert stage.
2. Both Kurt and the writer have had their portraits painted
from life by the painter.
3. The writer, whose biography of Willard was a best-seller,
is planning to write a biography of Alonzo.
4. Alonzo has never heard of Rudolph.
 Problems in Reasoning, continued
38

 Matrix

 Alonzo and Rudolph were in the audience the night

the singer made his debut on the concert stage.

Dancer Painter Singer Writer

Alonzo N
Kurt
Rudolph N
Willard
 Problems in Reasoning, continued
39

 Both Kurt and the writer have had their portraits

painted from life by the painter.

Dancer Painter Singer Writer

Alonzo N
Kurt N N
Rudolph N
Willard
 Problems in Reasoning, continued
40

 The writer, whose biography of Willard was a best-

seller, is planning to write a biography of Alonzo.

Dancer Painter Singer Writer

Alonzo N N
Kurt N N
Rudolph N
Willard N
 Problems in Reasoning, continued
41

 Writer is not Alonzo, Kurt or Willard, so it must be

Rudolph

Dancer Painter Singer Writer

Alonzo N N
Kurt N N
Rudolph N N N Y
Willard N
 Problems in Reasoning, continued
42

 Both Kurt and the writer have had their portraits

painted from life by the painter.
 Alonzo has never heard of Rudolph

Dancer Painter Singer Writer

Alonzo N N N
Kurt N N
Rudolph N N N Y
Willard Y N
 Problems in Reasoning, continued
43

 Since Willard is the painter, Kurt is the singer

Dancer Painter Singer Writer

Alonzo N N N
Kurt N Y N
Rudolph N N N Y
Willard N Y N N
 Problems in Reasoning, continued
44

 Since Kurt is the singer, Alonzo is the dancer

Dancer Painter Singer Writer

Alonzo Y N N N
Kurt N N Y N
Rudolph N N N Y
Willard N Y N N
 Disputes and Definitions
45

 Obviously genuine dispute

 Disputants unambiguously disagree, either in belief or in
attitude
 Merely verbal dispute
 Apparent differences are not genuine
 Resolved by coming to an agreement on how some word or
phrase is used
 Apparently verbal but really genuine disputes
 When the misunderstanding involving the terms is resolved,
there remains a disagreement that goes beyond the words
used
 Disputes and Definitions, continued
46

 Is there some ambiguity that can be eliminated?

 Does clearing up the ambiguity provide resolution?
 If yes, then merely verbal
 If no, then apparently verbal although really genuine
 Definitions and Their Uses
47

 Definitions of symbols
 Word is being defined or the thing itself is being
defined
 The word triangle means a plane figure enclosed by
three straight lines
 A triangle is (by definition) a plane figure enclosed by
three straight lines.
 Definitions and Their Uses, continued
48

 Definiendum
 The symbol being defined
 Definiens
 Thesymbol, or group of symbols, that has the same
meaning as the definiendum
 Definitions and Their Uses, continued
49

 Stipulative definition
 Proposal to arbitrarily assign meaning to a newly
introduced symbol
 Neither true nor false

 Neither accurate nor inaccurate

 Definitions and Their Uses, continued
50

 Lexical definition
 Reports
a meaning the definiendum already has
 May be either true or false
 Definitions and Their Uses, continued
51

 Precising definitions
 Used to eliminate ambiguity or vagueness
 Its difiniendum is not a new term

 Established usage must be respected, while making the

known term more precise
 Definitions and Their Uses, continued
52

 Theoretical definition
 Attempts to formulate a theoretically adequate or
scientifically useful description of the objects to which
the term applies
 As knowledge about some subject matter increases, one
theoretical definition may be replaced by another
 Different theories are accepted at different times
 Definitions and Their Uses, continued
53

 Persuasive definition
 Intended to influence attitudes or stir emotions
 Need to be guarded against when distinguishing good
reasoning from bad
 Extension, Intension, and the
54
Structure of Definitions
 Extension
 The collection of objects to which a general term is
correctly applied
 Intension
 The attributes shared by all objects, and only those
objects, to which a general term applies
 Extension and Denotative Definitions
55

 Denotative definition
 Based on the term’s extension
 Often impossible to enumerate all the objects in a
general class
 Ostensive definition
 Demonstrative definition
 Term is defined by pointing at an object

 Quasi-ostensive definition
 Uses gesture and a descriptive phrase
 Intension and the Intensional
56
Definitions
 Subjective intension
 Setof all attributes the speaker believes to be
possessed by objects denoted by that word
 Objective intension
 Totalset of characteristics shared by all the objects in
the word’s extension
 Conventional intension
 Public
meaning that permits and facilitates
communication
 Intension and the Intensional
57
Definitions, continued
 Synonymous definition
 Another word is provided, whose meaning is
understood, as the meaning of the word being defined
 Operational definition
 Limits
a term’s use to situations where certain actions or
operations lead to specified results
 Definition by genus and difference
 Identify the larger class of which it is a member and the
distinguishing attributes that characterize it specifically
 Rules for Definition by Genus and
58
Difference
 A definition should state the essential attributes of
the species
 A definition must not be circular
 A definition must be neither too broad nor too
narrow
 Ambiguous, obscure, or figurative language must not
be used in a definition
 A definition should not be negative where it can be
affirmative