What is the
real meaning of life?
Why
prefer one
thing to
another ?
Can we
trust observation ?
It’s raining
outside - how do you
know it is? I can see it’s raining.
How to
convince yourself its raining?
A
good reason to doubt - 49
other peaople have the
same opinion.
Falsifia
ble
→ possible
; not falsifi
ed
World disappeared in 2012 and got recreated 3 secs
later →
unfalsifiable -
cannot prove it’s
true/
wrong , cannot
provide any
tests to prove it.
Or - one or another but not
both → exclusive
- one or another (both) → inclusive (Invited those who are managers or specialists - both)
Arguments
valid or not -
logic is a
science where to decide it
Different arguments
lead to different methods.
1 - Recognizing arguments
What is an argument? An
argument is a group of statements, so that one or more of
them (cal ed the
premises ) is said to
provide
support for one of the
others (cal ed the
conclusion ).
When the course starts, you should listen
But the course has started
Therefore , you should listen.
What is a Statement ?
Statements are declared sentence.
A statement (or a
Proposition ) is a sentence that is either true or
false .
Truth and falsity are cal ed
Truth values .
Tal inn is the capital of Estonia - Statement (true/false)
- Sydney is the capital of Australia Example of sentences that
are not statements:
Let us go to have lunch (
invitation )
What time is it? (question)
Go
away ! (command)
What is an Inference ?
An argument has one or more premises and one conclusion.
The premises provide
evidence , support or
reasons to believe the conclusion.
The conclusion is said to fol ow from the premises.
The premises are said to imply the conclusions.
The reasoning
process expressed by an argument is cal ed an
Inference.
For convenience, when arguments are presented in standard form, we usual y list premises
first . Then,
the conclusion is listed after the premises.
Premises → Inference → Conclusion
What is logic?
Birds have Wings
Swans are Birds
Therefore, Swans have Wings.
This is a good argument, because the conclusion fol ows from the premises.
Logical y valid - good
argument.
Birds are animals
Dogs are animals
Therefore, dogs are birds.
This is a bad argument, because the conclusion does not fol ow from the premises.
Logic is the science of correct reasoning.
Logic helps us in constructing and evaluating arguments.
How to recognize an argument?
General y a passage contains an argument if it attemps to prove
something .
It
requires evidence presented (
premise (s)) and a
claim that is said to fol ow from the al eged evidence
(conclusion).
This inferential
relationship might be explicit or implicit.
The relationship
between the premises and the conclusion might be explicitly expressed
thanks to
words that
serve as
indicators to distinguish the premises from the conclusion.
Conclusion indicators
Swans are birds and birds have wings.
Therefore,
swans must have wings.
The word “Therefore” indicates the conclusion which are
claimed to fol ow from the premises.
Other conclusion indicators
include :
consequently
thus
so
hence it fol ows that
it implies that
we may infer that
etc.
Premise(s) indicators
Swans must have wings, since they are birds and birds do have wings. The word “since” indicates the premises which are claimed to support the conclusion.
Other premise(s) indicators include:
because
for
given that
as
for the reason that
may be inferred from
fol ows from
etc.
Two remarks on indicators: 1. The occurence of an indicator does not suffice. We need to
find also an inferential relationship.
a. Since
yesterday, it did not stop raining (temporal meaning)
b. Since
it is raining, I wil take my umbrel a (logical meaning)
2. Sometimes,
there are no indicators. It is then
necessary to inquire the implicit inferential
relationshio between the statements in
order to identify what statement fol ows from the other(s).
This might be tested by mental y inserting the world “Therefore” and
assessing whether it fits.
a. I real y need some money . I should get a job.
b. I real y need some money.
Therefore,
I should get a job. Non-arguments
Not al passages are arguments. Examples:
Simple non-inferential passages where
nothing is said to be proved.
●
Be careful! (Warning or
piece of advice)
● I believe that good behaviour is always rewarded (Statement of believe or opinion)
● The protest started at 3pm. The main place was crowded … (
Report about something)
Expository passages where we
develop an opening sentence (
without attempting to prove it).
● There are two types of elephants: the African elephant and the Asian elephant. African elephant has large ears and both females and males have tusks. The Asian elephant has smal er ears and
only males develop tusks. Conditional statements of the form “if...then…”.
● If it rains , then I wil take my umbrel a. Conditional itself is not an argument.
Conditionals are
formed by an
Antecendent (‘it rains’) and a
Consequent (‘I wil take my umbrel a’). The antecendent is a
sufficient condition for the consequent
while the consequent is a
necessary condition for the antecendent.
A (antecendent) then B (consequent).
If A happens, B has to
happen !
Umbrel a is necessary for the rain.
If I take my umbrel a, it’s not necessary that it rains.
Even if an inferential relationship might be
found , no claim is made about proving the consequent of the
conditional. So, conditionals are not arguments.
However , Conditionals are
important because they offer a pattern for antecendent and
prepare us to
infer the consequent when the antecendent is asserted.
If it rains, then I wil take my umbrel a
But it rains
Therefore, I wil take my umbrel a.
To recognise the presence of absence of an argument, we need to evaluate the presence of absence of
an inferential relationship. However, it is not always possible to
agree on the presence or absence of an
inferential relationship. It often involves some
interpretation . In
particular , expository passages, il ustrations, explanations and conditional statements might serve or
be re-expressed as to serve as arguments.
Example:
American Indians were cal ed Indians because early European explorers thought they reached India
when they actual y discovered America.
This passage might serve
both as an
explanation for those who
already knew/accepted that American
Indians were cal ed Indians and as an
argument for those who did not know/accept it.
Illustrations by giving an example to make clearer the meaninf of a word or a statement:
● A bird is an animal that has wings. For instance , swans are birds. Explanations (already
known ; not an argument) that
shed light on something that usual y is
already accepted. An argument
attempts to prove
that so-and-so, while an explanation attempts to show
why
so-and-so.
● American Indians were cal ed Indians because early European explorers thought they reached India when they actual y discovered America. Wason’s Test ( 1960s ) - Here are
four cards. They have a
letter on one side and a number on the other.
A D 4 7
We are
told that: If a card has an
A on one side, it must have a
4 on the other side.
Question: Which card(s) do you need to turn over in order to determine if this
rule is true or false?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Horizontal pattern
In the horizontal pattern, the
single conclusion of an argument is supported by two independent
premises.
This pattern is more solid that the
vertical because the invalidation of an inferential
link does not
affect the other one which stil supports the conclusion.
(3) The candidate is incompetent.
(2) The candidate is arrogant.
(1) We should no recruit the candidate.
Variation 1: Conjoint premises
Premises (two or more)
jointly support a conclusion.
(3) Al the actors in this movie are famous .
(2) He is an actor in this movie
(1) He is famous. Variation 2: Multiple conclusion
Premises (one or more) support multiple conclusions.
(3) He works hard.
(2) He deserves his salary.
(1) He needs to rest . Example 1
(1) When
parents get old, their
children should be obliged to take care of them. Indeed, (2) children
clearly owe a
debt to their parents since (3) the
latter took care of them when they couldn’t take care of
themselves. (4) This debt
could be compensated by obliging children to take care of their parents when
they get old.
Example 2 (1) Drones are a
growing danger and (2) there should be
laws to
control them. Indeed, (3) drones may
invade people’s
privacy , (4) they can disturb public
traffic and (5) there is no easy way to
trace their
owners.
Deduction and Induction
An inductive argument is an argument where the conclusion wil
probably, but not necessarily, fol ow
from the premises.
Al swans that humans have ever seen are white.
Therefore, al swans are white.
(probably)
A deductive argument is an argument where the conclusion
necessarily fol ows from the premises.
Al swans are white
These birds are swans
Therefore, these birds are white
(necessarily)
Evaluating (deductive) arguments?
Evaluating a deductive argument requires answering two
questions :
1. Does the conclusion fol ow from the premises?
2. Are the premises true?
Validity
To overcome the ambiguities of the commonsense
notion of ‘fol owing from’, we introduce the technical
notion of
validity.
Question:
1. ‘Does the conclusion fol ow from the premises?’
can be rephrased as:
1. Is the argument valid?
An argument is
valid if it is
impossible for its premise(s) to be (al of them) true and its
conditions false.
In a valid argument, if the premises are al true, then the conclusion is
necessarily
true.
Soundness
An argument might be valid even when some or al its premises are false and/or its conclusion is false.
No Human is mortal
Aristotle is a human
Therefore, Aristotle is not mortal.
The validity of an argument does not guarantee the truth of its conclusion.
An argument is
Sound if it is valid and has (al non-superflous) true premises.
Sound = Valid + (al ) true premises
It is important to remember the
difference between valid and sound argument.
A sound argument
must have a true conclusion!
Typology of deductive arguments
The form of an argument
The form of an argument is its structure of pattern of reasoning.
Al Birds are AnimalsA=BirdsAl A are B Al Swans are BirdsB=AnimalsAl C are A Therefore, Al Swans are AnimalsC=SwansTherefore, Al C are B In this example, the form of the argument was obtained
by the
substitution of
letters (A, B, C) in the place of the
terms (groups of things). This process is cal ed a
formalism .
Missing Premises
The determination of the form of an argument requires caution.
It is important to ensure that al premises are explicitly stated. Sometimes, an argument needs the
addition of an implicit premises to get the
complete form.
This figure is a square .
Therefore, this figure has four sides.
There is a missing premise:
Al squares have four sides.
So the ful argument is now apparent:
Al squares have four sides.
This figure is a square.
Therefore, this figure has four sides.
Validity/invalidity of forms
Let us
consider the fol owing
form:
Al A are B
Al C are A
Therefore, Al C are B.
When the premises are true, the conclusion is
necessarily true.
This is a valid form.
Let us consider the fol owing form:
Al A are B
Al C are B
Therefore, Al A are C
When the premises are true, the conclusion
can be true.
Example:
Al A are BA=SwansAl Swans are Animals Al C are BB=AnimalsAl Birds are Animals Therefore, Al A are CC=BirdsTherefore, Al Swans are Birds But when the premises are true, the conclusion is
not necessarily true.
Counter -example:
Al A are BA=BirdsAl Birds are Animals Al C are BB=AnimalsAl Dogs are Animals Therefore, Al A are CC=DogsTherefore, Al Birds are Dogs This is not a valid form.
An Example does not prove validity. A counter-example proves invalidity.
Let us consider the fol owing argument:
Al Swans are AnimalsA=SwansAl A are B Al Birds are AnimalsB=AnimalsAl C are B Therefore, Al Swans are BirdsC=BirdsTherefore, Al A are C This is not a valid form.
This argument does not have a valid form
Therefore, this argument is invalid.
Validity and Truth values
Valid Invalid False premises False conclusion False premises True conclusion True premises True conclusion True premises Nothing
False conclusion There is only one
case where the truth values of the premises and the conclusion determines the
validity/invalidity of the argument: If an argument has true premises and a false conclusion, then it is
necessarily an invalid argument.
The validity of an argument is general y not
determined by the
truth values of the premises and the
conclusion.
-The validity of an argument is determined by its form. -An argument is valid if it has a valid form. Example:
If I am Guilty, then I am Punished
But I am Not Guilty.
Therefore, I am Not Punished.
Let us consider the fol owing argument:
Al Bachelors are Persons
Al Unmarried men are Persons
Therefore, Al Bachelors are Unmarried men Since ‘Bachelor’ and ‘Unmarried men’ have the same meaning, it is possible to provide the fol owing
alternative form:
Al Bachelors are Persons A=BachelorsAl A are B Al Unmarried men are Persons B=Persons Al A are B Therefore, Al Bachelors are Unmarried men A=Unmarried menTherefore, Al A are A This is a valid form. Therefore, the argument is valid!
An argument that has an invalid form is not necessarily invalid.
An argument is invalid if it does not have a valid form.
The determination of the form should be achieved with caution.
Be careful!
What is wrong with the fol owing arguments?
A Sandwich is better than Nothing
Nothing is better than Eternal happiness
Therefore, a Sandwich is better than Eternal happiness.
We have a Duty to do what is Right
We have a Right to Eat a candy
Therefore, we have a Duty to Eat a candy.
A Mouse is an Animal
Therefore, a Large Mouse is a Large Animal.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remark on validity
Consider the fol owing argument:
I am happy
I am not happy
Therefore, Tal inn is the capital of Estonia It is
impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false (because the premises cannot be
true together anyway). Therefore, this is a valid argument.
This example shows that the notion of validity is to be
understood here in a technical
sense , not in the
commonsense of ‘fol owing from’.
This argument is valid but it cannot be sound. Therefore, it cannot prove its conclusion to be true.
Hence,
such arguments are not very useful in
practice and wil not trouble us.
An argument is
Sound if it is valid and has (al non-superflous) true premises.
Sound = Valid + (al ) true premises
A sound argument
must have a true conclusion.
Consider the fol owing argument:
Tal inn is the capital of Estonia
Tal inn is the capital of Estonia
Therefore, Tal inn is the capital Estonia
Is this argument valid?
Yes, this argument is valid and sound.
However this argument is uninteresting and useless because it is circular.
In a good argument, we attempt to justify a claim (conclusion) by citing statements (premises)
other than the claim itself and more likely to be accepted.
But how do we justify the premises?
If you justify them by citing more statements, then one might ask how to justify those new statements as
wel . And so on. We fal in an infinite
regress .
This is an important philosophical problem that we are not
going to
discuss !
In practice, we often appeal to argumentative
strategies so that our claims wil be accepted without
demanding further justification:
1. Assuring
2. Guarding
3. Discounting
These strategies are often helpful in argumentation but they should be used with caution.
Syllogisms
Arguments we discussed are far were mostly formed by 2 premises and 1 conclusion and contained 3
terms.
Al
Birds
are Animals
Al Swans are
Birds
Therefore, Al Swans are Animals
The
Middle Term (Birds) appears in both premises but not in the conclusion. Such arguments are cal ed
Syllogisms.
Question:
How many forms of syl ogisms are there?
A syl ogism has the fol owing form:
---- T ---- T
---- T ---- T Therefore, ---- T ---- T
The number of forms is determined by:
The types of the
propositions in the syl ogism (64
Modes )
The
position of the middle term (4
Figures ).
Hence, there are 256 possible forms of syl ogisms. Not al of them are valid.
The business of
syllogistic was to distinguish valid from invalid forms of syl ogisms.
Question:
How many
valid
forms of syl ogisms are there?
The ‘matematization’ of Logic
Syl ogisms have been the main form of argument studied in logic for 2000
years (from Aristotle to the
19th Century).
It was believed that al arguments, even every complex
ones , could ultimately be reduced to a
series/combination of syl ogisms.
However, in the 19th Century, the limitations of this theory became
clear and new formalisms were
developed . The
idea was to
handle more complicated problems, more efficiently, with the aid of
mathematical symbolism.
Propositions
In
Propositional Logic, the
fundamental units are statements (
propositions).
Propositions might be simple or compound.
A
Simple proposition does not
contain any other proposition.
It rains
Tal inn is the Capital of Estonia
A
Compound proposition contains at
least one simple proposition.
If
it rains,
then
I wil take my umbrel a.
It is not the case that
Tal inn is the Capital of Estonia.
Connectives
Simple propositions can be replaced by Letters: P, Q, R, S, T, etc.
Compound propositions are composed of connected simple proposition(s).
Such connections include:
Example:
I wil go to Spain or Greece provided that I find time.
= If
I find time
, then (
I wil go to Spain
or
I wil go to Greece
)
P=I find time
Q=I wil go to Spain
R=I wil go to Greece
First we replace the propositions by their letters:
If P, then (Q or R) Then we replace the connectives by their
symbols :
If P, then (Q or R) P → (Q v R) Provide the
formal expression of the fol owing statement:
For any two propositions, one of them necessarily implies the other
Let the two propositions be P and Q:
P implies Q or Q implies P
(P → Q) v (Q → P)
Well-formed formulas
An expression i
well-formed if the arrangement of its words is
syntactical y correct.
I know that Tal inn is the Capital of Estonia (correct)
I know that Tartu is the Capital of Estonia (correct)
Capital know Tal inn the I Estonia is of (uncorrect)
Similarly , a formula is
well-formed if the arrangement of its symbols is
syntactiacal y correct.
3+(5x2)=8 (correct)
3+(5x)2=8 (uncorrect)
P→ (Q v ¬ R) (correct)
P ¬ → (Q v R) (uncorrect)
Truth values
Propositions are either true or false.
Truth and falsity are
Truth-values.
The truth -
value of simple proposition is
not the business of propositional logic.
The truth-
value of compound propositions is determined by propositional logic.
It depends on the truth-values of the simple propositions that compose it and the connectives that
connect them.
Example:
Tal inn and Tartu are both nice cities
= Tal inn is a nice city and Tartu is a nice city
The definitions of connectives are given by their
Truth tables. Negation
Indicators: It is not the case that, not, it is false that, etc.
It rains It is not the case that it rains P ¬
P False (F)
True (T)
True (T)
False (F)
Negation
inverts truth values.
Implication
Indicators: If...then…, implies, given that, provided that, in case that, on the condition that, etc.
I find
cheap tickets I wil go to Spain
If I find cheap tickets,
then I wil go to Spain
P Q P → Q F
F
T
F
T
T
T
F
F
T
T
T
An implication is true,
except if its antecendent is true and its consequent false.
Note : Implication is true when its antecendent is false (
material interpretation).
Equivalence
Indicators: If and only if, is equivalent to, etc.
I wil be refunded
I
pass the course
I wil be refunded
if and only if I pass the
P
Q
course
P ↔
Q
F
F
T
F
T
F
T
F
F
T
T
T
An equivalence is true when its
elements have the same truth value.
Note: Equivalence is simply a shorter way to
express a double implication.
To construct the truth table of a compound proposition
Problem: We are
asked to determine the truth value of a compound proposition depending on the
various possible truth values of the simple propositions that compose it. For the
purpose :
1. We list al possible combinations of the truth values of the
elementary propositions. For
n simple
propositions, there wil be 2^n combinations.
2. For each combination, we calculate the truth value of the compound proposition.
We obtain the
Truth Table of the compound Proposition.
Example:
I wil go to Spain or Greece provided that I find time.
= If I find time, then (I wil go to Spain or I wil go to Greece)
= If P, then (Q or R)
P → (Q v R) F
T F
F F
F
T F
T T
F
T T
T F
F
T T
T T
T
F F
F F
T
T F
T T
T
T T
T F
T
T T
T T
Excercise Construct the truth Table of Compound Proposition:
P does not imply Q
¬ (P → Q)
¬
(P → Q) F
F
T
F
F
F
T
T
T
T
F
F
F
T
T
T
Tautologies and Contradictions
When a proposition is always true, it is cal ed a
Tautology.
Example: P ↔ P
P ↔ P F
T
F
T
T
T
When a proposition is always false, it is cal ed a
Contradiction.
Example: P ↔ ¬ P
P ↔
¬
P F
F
T
F
T
F
F
T
Using Truth-tables to evaluate Arguments
To evaluate the validity of an argument with a truth table, we proceed as fol ows:
1. We write on a single row the premises and the conclusion of the argument
2. We construct a
joint table for the premises and the conclusion, as if they were one single
proposition.
3. We search for a line where al premises are true and the conclusion is false.
a. If such a line exists, then the argument is not valid
b. If such a line does not
exist , then the argument is valid.
Example: Is the fol owing argument valid or invalid?
If I am Guilty, then I am PunishedIf G, then PG → P But I am Not Guilty,But Not G,¬
G Therefore, I am Not Punished.Therefore, Not P¬
P (G → P) ¬
G ¬
P F
T
F
T
F
T
F
F
T T
T F
F T
T
F
F
F
T
T
F
T
T
T
F
T
F
T
There is a case where al premises are true but the conclusion is false.
Therefore, the argument is not valid.
Valid forms
Modus Tollens
P → Q
¬ Q
¬ P
Example:
If it rains, then I’l take my umbrel a
But I do not take my umbrel a
Therefore, It does not rain.
Invalid forms
Affirming the Consequent
P → Q
Q
P
Example:
If it rains, then I’l take my umbrel a
But I’l take my umbrel a
Therefore, It rains.
Denying the Antecendent
P → Q ¬
P
¬
Q Example:
If it rains, then I’l take my umbrel a
But It doesn’t rain
Therefore, I wil not take my umbrel a.
Interlude: A logical paradox
If Carr is out, then (If Al en is out, then Brown is in) If Al en is out, then Brown is out
Therefore, Carr is in.
Let us put: X = ‘X is out’
C → (A → ¬ B)
A → B
¬ C
C → (A → ¬
B) A → B ¬
C F
T
F
T
T
F
F
T
F
T
F
F
T
F
T
F
T
F
T
T
T
F
F
T
T
T
T
F
T
F
F
T
F
F
T
T
F
F
T
T
T
T
T
F
T
T F
T
T
F
F
T F
F T
T
T
F
T
F
T
F
T
T
F
T
T
T
T
T
T
F
T
F
F
F
T
T
F
T
F
F
T
T
T
T
F
T
Joe’s Argument
1) Carr is in
Because
Suppose that: 2) Carr is out
We know that: 3) If Carr is out, then (If Al en is out, then Brown is in)
Therefore, 4) If Al en is out, then Brown is in
But we also know that: 5) If Al en is out, then Brown is out
And that: 6) Statements (4) and (5) are incompatible
Therefore: 1) Carr is in
Question: Where is the
error ?
Are (4) and (5) incompatible?
(4) If Al en is out, then Brown is in
(5) If Al en is out, then Brown is out
(4) A → ¬ B
(5) A → B
A → ¬
B A → B F
T
T
F
F
T
F
F
T
F
T
F
T
T
T
T
T
F
T
F
F
T
F
F
T
T
T
T
(4) And (5) are not incompatible. That’s Joe’s error.
A logical experiment
On the way, Joe was claiming that Carr was necessarily in the
shop .
Suppose Joe and Jim
arrived at the shop.
Question:
What does the actual presence or absence of Carr
teach Joe about his claim?
Case 1: Carr was in the shop.
It confirms but does
not
prove Joe’s claim.
Case 2: Carr was not in the shop.
It disconfirms and disproves Joe’s claim.
Confirmation and disconfirmation reasoning as
essential in
scientific method .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conditions
When we say that A is a condition for B, three meanings are possible:
1. A is a
Sufficient condition for
B. The occurence of A requires the occurence of B
Ex.
Being in Tal inn is a sufficient condition for being in Estonia. 2. A is a
Necessary condition for
B. The occurence of B requires the occurence of A
Ex.
Being in Estonia is a necessary condition for being in Tal inn. 3. A is a
Sufficient and Necessary condition for
B. Ex.
Being an Unmarried man is a sufficient and necessary condition for being a
bachelor.
Variations on Conditions
When an event happens:
-At least one of its sufficient conditions
happened .
-All its necessary conditions happened.
On sufficient conditions
The presence of a sufficient condition for an event requires the presence of the event.
The absence of a sufficient condition for an event
does not
require the absence of the event.
On necessary conditions
The presence of a necessary condition for an event
does not require the presence of the event.
The absence of a necessary condition for an event requires the absence of the event.
If
A, then
4
A is a sufficient, but not necessary condition for
4 The presence of
A requires the presence of
4
A → 4
The absence of
A
says nothing on the presence or absence of
4.
4 is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for
A.
The presence of 4 says nothing on the presence or absence of
A
The absence of
4 requires the absence of
A ¬ 4 → ¬ A
Philosophy of Science II
What is Philosophy?
What is Science?
What is Philosophy of Science?
Difficulty of providing a
definition To
define philosophy, we need to philosophise. Philosophy is inevitable!
What is ‘What is’?
Importance of Definitions
Definitions are important to
avoid
verbal disputes
( =/ factual disputes)
Example: ‘There is no one
outside’
The universe of discourse
Al
newspaper readers are
wel -educated → The universe of discourse = “persons”
Al
persons who are newspaper readers are
persons who are wel -educated.
Intension vs Extension
A
concept (term or expression) might be defined by its intension or its extension.
Intension
= sense
= what it connotes
= the
qualities commonly attributed to it
S = { x ∈ N, 1
Kõik kommentaarid