Those who oppose dove hunting are hypocrites. It’s OK to order a Big Mac from McDonald’s, but it is wrong to kill a pigeon-like bird? Give me a break! EVERYONE is responsible for the death of animals. An animal died for your dinner last night, for the clothes you are wearing right now and for the habitat that was lost to build your house. You anti-hunters are so disconnected from nature that you can’t even see the blood on your hands. (LSJ, 11/28/03)
P1) There is nothing wrong with killing animals for food, clothing and shelter.
P2)
If there is nothing wrong with killing animals for food,
clothing and
shelter, then there is nothing wrong with dove hunting.
C) There is nothing wrong with dove hunting.
-
An
animal died for your diner last night
-
An
animal died for the clothes you are wearing
-
Animals died
for the house
you are living in
C) Those
who oppose dove hunting are
hypocrites.
H1) It is
hypocritical to accept animal
deaths for food, clothing, and housing but not to accept animal deaths
from
hunting.
Materialist have a strange view.
On their view you are just a physical object, without a soul.
Think for a
minute about what that means for your prospects after death. You’ll die
and
then, presumably, you will be buried somewhere. You will gradually
decompose as
microorganisms, worms and the like slowly eat away at your flesh.
Eventually
you will dissolve into nothing. Such a scenario can’t possibly be true.
Furthermore, a view that gives us nothing to look forward to is a view
that
only an extreme pessimist would endorse. I personally like to be more
optimistic about things.
First Extraction
P1) According
to materialism when you die you gradually decompose as microorganisms,
worms
and the like slowly eat away at your flesh
P2) If
(P1), then materialism is a false and pessimistic view
C) Materialism
is a false and pessimistic view
P1) If
Materialism is true, then when you die you would gradually decompose as
microorganisms, worms and the like slowly eat away at your flesh
P2)
It
is false that when you die you gradually decompose as microorganisms,
worms and
the like slowly eat away at your flesh (support: such a view is
pessimistic)
C)
Materialism
is not true.
P1) Any
view that claims there are no prospects after death, only
decomposition, is
pessimistic and false.
P2) Materialism
claims that we are physical objects that will only decompose into
nothing upon
death.
C)
Therefore,
materialism is a false and pessimistic view.
P1) Materialist
views claim you have no soul, and you dissolve into nothing.
P2) It
cannot be true that you have no soul and you dissolve into nothing
P3) It
is pessimistic to claim that you have no soul and you dissolve into
nothing
C)
Materialist
views are incorrect and pessimistic.
P1) Only
pessimists would endorse this materialist view
P2) Materialists
are pessimists
C)
Therefore, pessimists have a strange view
P2) You
will dissolve into nothing
P3) View
that gives us nothing to look forward to is a view that only an
extreme pessimist would endorse
C)
Materialists have a strange view
Premises
Don’t Capture Reasoning
P1) Materialists have an incorrectly negative outlook on life and death
P2) No
materialists are optimists
C)
All materialists are pessimists
·
Evaluate
Premises
·
Evaluate
Reasoning from premises to conclusion
Cogent – An argument is cogent if
i) the premises are rationally acceptable and ii) the premises provide
rational
support for the conclusion.
If you can’t find anything
wrong with either the premises or the reasoning of the argument then
you are
obligated to accept the conclusion.
A – Acceptability of its premises. Premises
are reasonable (may or may not be certain).
R – Relevance. Premises are relevant to
the conclusion.
G – Grounds. Premises provide sufficient
or good grounds for the conclusion.
If the premises provide good
grounds or sufficient evidence or reasons, then it is rational to
believe the
conclusion.
Deductive
Entailment – If a set of
premises
deductively entails a conclusion, then it is logically impossible for
the
premises to be true and the conclusion to be false.
P1) A mathematical proof is
an intellectual exercise.
P2) Some computers can do
mathematical proofs.
C) Therefore, Some computers can do intellectual exercises.
Other
Connections between Premises and Conclusion – Inductive support through
empirical generalization and analogy.
P1) All 5000 participants in the study who received drug X lowered their cholesterol.
So, probably
C) Anyone who takes
drug X will lower his
cholesterol.
Presumption – Unobserved cases are likely
to resemble observed cases. But there is no logical impossibility that
someone
could take drug X and not lower his cholesterol.
Analogy – Inject
birth control shot into rats (two conclusions)
1)
That the
birth control shot
causes cancer in rats (inductive)
2)
That the
birth control shot
might cause cancer in humans (analogy)
Just because an argument is not cogent does not mean that the conclusion is false!
P1) If it is cold,
then I am happy
P2) I am happy
C) Therefore,
it is cold
What does an
Argument do?
1)
Asserts
the premises
2)
Asserts
that if the premises are true (or acceptable) then conclusion is true
(or
acceptable)
3)
Asserts
the conclusion
Mistakes
People Make in Argumentation
·
Give
an argument in which the conclusion is assumed in the premises (known
as a
circular argument)
·
Respond
to the conclusion and ignore the premises (confirmation bias)
Necessary
vs. Sufficient
Conditions
P1) There are no weapons of
mass destruction in Iraq
C)
Therefore, the war in Iraq was not justified
Missing Premise: Only the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq could have justified the war.
Necessary
·
In
order to receive a college diploma, you must pay your tuition bill.
·
Paying
your tuition bill is necessary to receive a college diploma.
·
If
you have a college diploma, then you must have paid your tuition bill.
·
All
people who receive college diplomas have paid their tuition bill.
Sufficient
·
One
way to become a U.S. citizen is to be born in the U.S.
·
If
you are born in the U.S., then you are a U.S. citizen.
·
Anyone
who is born in the U.S. is a U.S. citizen.
·
In
order to be a U.S. citizen it is sufficient to have been born in the
U.S.