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1 Introduction 2 Arguments 3 Reasoning 4 Valid arguments 5 Fallacies 6 Formal fallacies 7 Informal fallacies 8 Causality 9 Evaluating arguments 10 Review
Pronunciation scaffolder Argument analyzer

Unit 10: Review

Learning outcomes

By the end of this unit you should:

  • know the 108 key logical terms
  • have practised explaining and comparing logical terms
Rubik

Argumentation terminology

Activity 1: Thinking

Work in alone, in pairs or threes. Explain the differences between the following terms.

  • declarative statement vs. interrogative statement
  • premise vs. conclusion
  • assumption vs. premise
  • truth vs. truth value
  • truth vs. validity
  • sound conclusion vs. unsound conclusion
  • sound conclusion vs. cogent conclusion
  • cogent conclusion vs. uncogent conclusion
  • subject vs. predicate
  • middle term vs. end term
  • universal case vs. particular case
  • inductive reasoning vs. deductive reasoning
  • inductive reasoning vs. abductive reasoning
  • denotive meaning vs. connotative meaning
  • snarl word vs. purr word
  • ambiguous vs. vague
  • modus pollens vs. modus tollens
  • hypothetic syllogism vs. disjunctive syllogism

Fallacy terminology

Activity 2: Thinking

Work in alone, in pairs or threes. Explain the differences between the following terms.

  • formal fallacy vs. informal fallacy
  • informal fallacy vs. rhetorical ploy
  • affirming the consequent vs. denying the antecedent
  • affirming the consequent vs. abductive reasoning
  • ad hominem vs. tu quoque
  • middle ground vs. black-or-white fallacy
  • ad hominem vs. appeal to authority

Explaining logical concepts

Activity 3: Thinking

Work in alone, in pairs or threes. Explain the following terms and provide an example for each.

  • unsupported assertion
  • hidden assumption
  • true premise
  • valid argument
  • sound conclusion
  • cogent conclusion
  • informal fallacy
  • formal fallacy
  • cognitive bias

Explaining causality

Activity 4: Thinking

Work in alone, in pairs or threes. Explain the differences between the following terms.

  • proximal cause vs. distal cause
  • necessary cause vs. sufficient cause
  • common cause (shared cause) vs. rival cause (competing cause)
  • common cause vs. root cause
  • distal cause vs. root cause
  • causal chain vs. causal network

108 logical terms

Activity 5: Vocabulary

Test yourself on the following terms. Can you describe, explain and provide examples for each term?

  1. declarative statement
  2. truth value
  3. true
  4. false
  5. correspondence theory of truth
  6. coherence theory of truth
  7. pragmatic theory of truth
  8. Plato's allegory of the cave
  9. premise
  10. reasoning
  11. conclusion
  12. argument
  13. valid argument
  14. sound conclusion

  15. validity
  16. truth
  17. soundness
  18. logical indicator
  19. inference bar
  20. subject
  21. predicate
  22. end term
  23. middle term

  24. deductive reasoning
  25. inductive reasoning
  26. abductive reasoning
  27. causal reasoning
  28. valid
  29. invalid
  30. sound
  31. unsound
  32. cogency
  33. cogent
  34. uncogent
  35. universal case
  36. particular case

  37. valid propositional arguments
  38. modus ponens
  39. modus tollens
  40. hypothetical syllogism
  41. disjunctive syllogism
  42. constructive dilemma
  43. denotation
  44. connotation
  45. snarl word
  46. purr word

  47. fallacies
  48. formal fallacies
  49. informal fallacies
  50. rhetorical ploys
  51. cognitive biases (e.g. confirmation bias)
  52. rhetorical devices

  53. antecedent
  54. consequent
  55. deny
  56. affirm
  57. invalid arguments
  58. affirming the consequent (AC)
  59. denying the antecedent (DA)
  60. undistributed middle term (UM)
  61. syllogistic fallacies
  62. fallacy of four terms
  63. illicit major
  64. illicit minor
  65. affirming a disjunct
  66. invalid references
  67. fallacy of composition
  68. fallacy of division

  69. red herring fallacies
  70. straw man
  71. genetic fallacy
  72. bandwagon fallacy (ad populum)
  73. emotional appeal (rhetorical ploy)
  74. wishful thinking
  75. ad hominem
  76. tu quoque
  77. appeal to authority
  78. black or white fallacy (false dilemma, false dichotomy)
  79. special pleading
  80. no true Scotsman
  81. the fallacy fallacy
  82. gambler`s fallacy
  83. non causa pro causa
  84. false cause
  85. cum hoc ergo propter hoc
  86. post hoc ergo propter hoc
  87. Texas sharpshooter fallacy
  88. vagueness
  89. equivocation (ambiguity)
  90. middle ground
  91. slippery slope
  92. appeal to nature
  93. weak analogy
  94. unrepresentative sample
  95. hasty generalization
  96. anecdotal fallacy
  97. misleading statistics

  98. root cause
  99. common cause (shared cause)
  100. rival cause (competing cause)
  101. proximal cause
  102. distal cause
  103. necessary cause
  104. sufficient cause
  105. Rashomon effect

  106. paradoxes
  107. Loki's wager
  108. Sorites paradox

From 2021 the following terms will be replaced and summative count adjusted:

  • to remove: (Unit 6) antecedent, consequent, deny, affirm
  • to add: (Unit 3) analytic, synthetic, a priori, a posteriori

Activity 6: Listening

Based on discussion in the forum and work submitted, I will upload advice for the final on ELMS and perhaps here, too.

Final examination

Activity 7: Online exam - extended annotation and analysis

The final exam is housed on ELMS. Check there for details.

Review

Make sure you can do the following:

  1. identify, name, explain and provide examples of arguments, formal fallacies, informal fallacies and causality
  2. explain the 24 fallacies in simple English in exam conditions
  3. critical evaluate simple arguments using simple written English in exam conditions
  4. annotate a long text showing logical features of arguments, fallacies and causality.