Unit 1 Arguments - L1

Philosophy 201: Critical Thinking
Dr. C. Klatt
Unit 1: Arguments
What is Critical Thinking?

We all have beliefs. I believe that plants need water to survive. I believe
that $200 is too much money to spend on a haircut. I believe that there are
limits to what we should allow in free speech. Some of these beliefs are easier
to evaluate than others. Not everyone is going to agree with my beliefs. How is
it that we are supposed to know when a belief is worth having? That is what
we are going to explore in this class. We are going to look at different
techniques that will help us decide what beliefs we want to hold true.
Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgement.

We need rational standards to help us decide whether or not a belief is
worth having.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates
Critical thinking is the process of evaluating the ideas and information

that you are presented with. When we behave as critical thinkers we don’t
immediately accept an idea that we’ve heard as true. We ask questions, we
demand reasons and evidence and then we evaluate those reasons and
evidence before we decide for ourselves whether some belief is worth having.
Critical thinking is work. Becoming a critical thinker is a lifetime endeavour.
In this class you will be exposed to techniques that will help you to become a
critical thinker.
What is an Argument?
How do we know if some statement is true? Well, sometimes we can
make an observation to see if it is true. If I want to know if the garbage has
been taken out to the curb for pick up, I just look out the window. But what if
the truth of a statement cannot be easily observed? Or what if we want to know
if an idea is true? What kind of observation do we make then? For instance,
what if we want to know whether or not the statement “all citizens should vote”
is true? We might disagree on the truth or falsity of this statement. I might
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think that it is important for the government to represent the will of all people,
and the best way to reach this goal is for everyone to vote. My friend Joe might
think voting is a useless activity because the available candidates don’t
actually represent his views. How do we know which person is right? What
Joe and I have been doing here is called arguing. We aren’t having a fight. It’s
not that kind of argument. Instead, we have each laid out a position to try to
convince you of something. I argued that it is true that all citizens should vote.
Joe argued that the same sentence is false.
An argument is a use of language that tries to convince someone that
some statement is true or false.
My argument looked like this:

It is important for the government to represent the will of all people.
The best way to have the government represent the will of all people is to
have all citizens vote. .
All citizens should vote.
The reasons that I give are called premises and they are listed above the line.
The statement that I’m trying to convince you is true is called the conclusion.
It goes below the line. Writing the argument in this way (premises above the
line, conclusion below the line) is called writing the argument in standard
form.
An argument is made up of statements that are either true or false.

The dog has fleas. Unhand that man!
An argument tries to convince you that some statement is true. (That is,
there is an inference made.)
The premises are given as reasons to believe the conclusion.
Here are a couple of examples of arguments. In each argument, some

kind of error has been made. Let’s see if we can determine what has gone
wrong in each case.
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People who are poor do not have good-paying jobs.
If you don’t have a good-paying job then you are lazy.
So, poor people are lazy.
All snakes are reptiles.

All snakes are legless.
Therefore, all reptiles are legless.
So, there are a number of problems that can arise in arguments. You
can be given false or irrelevant evidence in the premises so that your
conclusion doesn’t actually follow. Or, the evidence may be good but there is a
problem with the pattern of reasoning that the argument follows. That kind of
error is called a mistake of the form of the argument. We will learn how to
identify both of these problems.
Examples
“It is difficult to gauge the pain felt by animals, because pain is
subjective and animals cannot talk.”
The Ethics of Animal Testing, The Economist, April 7, 1984, p. 87
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Poverty offers numerous benefits to the nonpoor.
Antipoverty programs provide jobs for middle-class professionals in

social work and public health.
Such workers’ future advancement is tied to the continued growth of

bureaucracies dependent on the existence of poverty.
You have neglected your duty on several occasions, and you have been
absent from work too many times. Therefore, you are not fit to serve in
your current capacity.
Racial profiling is not an issue for white people, but it is a serious issue
for visible minorities.
… a decaying satellite can look like an incoming warhead to a sensor,

That is the reason we have a man in the loop.
General J. Hartlinger, interview in “Nuclear War by Accident – Is it
Possible?”, U.S. News and World Report. Dec. 19, 1983, p. 27.
Our days on the Earth are few, so laugh and be merry!
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There are words that can help us determine which sentences are meant
to be premises and which one is the conclusion. These are called indicator
words. The indicator word is placed in front of the sentence that it applies to.
Premise Indicators Conclusion Indicators

since therefore
because thus
for so
as then
as shown by hence
given that accordingly
assuming that consequently
inasmuch as which implies that
as indicated by it follows that
due to the fact that as a result
Example
Since London is north of Chatham, and Chatham is north of Ridgetown,
it follows that London is north of Ridgetown.
Note: Just because a sentence has one of these indicators words does not
guarantee that the sentence is part of an argument. You must determine that
there is an argument first, and if it is an argument, the indicator words will
help you determine which sentences are premises and which sentence is the
conclusion.
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Since Kleo graduated from medical school her income is probably very
high.
Since Kleo graduated from medical school there have been many changes
in medical techniques.
Explanations
We use language for a whole host of purposes. In addition to arguments,
we can use language to provide illustrations, expositions, tell stories and to
express emotion. One expression of language that is often confused with
arguments is the explanation.
Instead of trying to convince us that a statement is true, an explanation

tells us why (or how) a statement is the case.
Can you see the difference between these two examples?
Adam stole the money; three people saw him do it.
Adam stole the money because he needed it to buy food.
To determine if the passage is an argument,

1) Pretend that it is an argument and determine which sentence
would have to be the conclusion.
2) Determine if the other sentences in the passage are used to
convince us that the conclusion is true. If yes, then it is an
argument. If no, then the passage is something other than an
argument.
HINT: If the conclusion is obviously true then the passage is
probably not being used to convince you that it is true.
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Examples – Are the following passages arguments? If they are, then
identify the conclusion.
The Sun shines yellow because its light travels with a wavelength of 570
– 580 nm.
A COVID-19 vaccine should be given to health professionals first. They

are the greatest people at risk of catching the disease.
If we don’t fight for equal treatment under the law then we cannot have a
just society.
If we don’t fight for equal treatment under the law then we cannot have a
just society. Having a just society should be our highest priority, so we
must fight for each person’s equal treatment under the law.
Alonzo asserted that the government should be able to arrest and

imprison anyone if they are suspected of terrorist acts. But that’s
ridiculous. Doing that would be a violation of basic civil liberties
guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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A person never becomes truly self-reliant. Even though he deals
effectively with things, he is necessarily dependent upon those who have
taught him to do so. They have selected the things he is dependent upon
and determined the kinds and degrees of dependence. -- B. F. Skinner,
Beyond Freedom and Dignity
My grandfather doesn’t like using computers. He finds the technology

changes too quickly.
Mammals are warm-blooded animals that have a backbone and are fed
milk by their mothers. Thus, dolphins and orcas are mammals whereas
sharks are not.

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Philosophy 201: Critical Thinking

What is Critical Thinking?

Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgement.

Critical thinking is the process of evaluating the ideas and information

My argument looked like this:

An argument is made up of statements that are either true or false.

The premises are given as reasons to believe the conclusion.

Here are a couple of examples of arguments. In each argument, some

All snakes are reptiles.

Antipoverty programs provide jobs for middle-class professionals in

Such workers’ future advancement is tied to the continued growth of

… a decaying satellite can look like an incoming warhead to a sensor,

Our days on the Earth are few, so laugh and be merry!

Premise Indicators Conclusion Indicators

Instead of trying to convince us that a statement is true, an explanation

Adam stole the money because he needed it to buy food.

To determine if the passage is an argument,

A COVID-19 vaccine should be given to health professionals first. They

Alonzo asserted that the government should be able to arrest and

My grandfather doesn’t like using computers. He finds the technology

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