Critical ThinkingLecture 7

Clear Thinking and Clear Writing

By David Kelsey

Guidelines

• Here are some general guidelines for writing a philosophy paper:

• 1. Your philosophy paper will make an argument.

• 2. The philosophy paper you will write in this course will be of 2 kinds:– a. The positive approach:

– b. The negative approach:

Keep it modest & starting the writing process

• 3. Keep the scope of your paper modest.

• 4. How do you start the paper writing process?– Read and think about it

– Work backwards

Start early &be simple

• 5. Start the paper early, at least a few weeks in advance of the due date.– Finding your thoughts on a subject can be difficult.

• 6. Be Simple:– Simple straightforward prose

Make the structure obvious and Be concise yet fully explain

• 7. Make the structure of your paper obvious:

• 8. Be concise yet fully explain– Cover one or two small points but do fully explore them

Chuck out what’s unnecessary

• 9. Chuck out unnecessary paragraphs:– Each paragraph should be necessary in making your argument

– Each sentence should be a necessary part of its paragraph

– Each word should be a necessary part of its sentence

Avoid vagueness and ambiguity, anticipate objections & editing your draft

• 10. Avoid vagueness and ambiguity.

• 11. Anticipate objections:Imagine the reader of your paper is a devil’s advocate in the worst kind of way.

• 12. Read and re-read your draft

Vagueness

• A vague statement is one whose meaning is indistinct, imprecise or lacks details.

• Degrees: Vagueness isn’t all or nothing. It comes in degrees.– Apartment example

Clarifying vagueness

• Desirable vagueness: sometimes vagueness is actually desirable.– Being Romantic

• Clarify: If we come across a vague statement we can simply try to clarify the lack of detail or indistinct-ness.

– Job example

Vagueness and Propositions

• A vague statement– it is unclear what proposition the sentence asserts at all.

– It could be any one of a number of propositions

Ambiguous Claims

• An ambiguous claim is one that is subject to more than one interpretation.

• Claim x•

– P1 P2

Semantic Ambiguity

• A sentence that is semantically ambiguous is one which contains an ambiguous word or phrase.

• For example:

• Fixing the ambiguous word

Syntactic Ambiguity

• A sentence is syntactically ambiguous when it is ambiguous because of its grammar or the way it has been structured or put together.

• When you have come across a semantic ambiguity you can simply alter the grammar

• Or you might need to re-write the claim altogether.

Grouping Ambiguity

• Grouping ambiguity: – unclear whether some word in the sentence is referring to a group or an

individual.

– Secretaries and Physicians

– Lawnmowers and dirt bikes

Composition and Division

• The fallacy of Division: – When we think that what is true of a

group of things taken collectively is automatically true of the same things taken individually.

– The Giants example:

• The fallacy of Composition: – When we think that what holds for a

group of things individually holds automatically for the entire collective group.

– The Patriots example:

Stipulating Definitions

• Stipulating definitions:– Terms are used that we don’t fully understand.

– A term used is unusual or unfamiliar.

– A brand new word

– A familiar word is being used in a new way

Precising Definitions

• Precising definitions:– Used to reduce vagueness or to eliminate ambiguity.

– Some examples:

• Justice:

• Permissible:

Definitions:by Example & by synonym

• Definition by example:– We define a term by example when we point to, name or describe one or more

examples of something to which the defined term applies.

• Definition by synonym:– We define a term by synonym when we give another word or phrase that means the

same thing as the term being defined.

– Bachelors example

Analytical Definitions: their form

• An Analytical definition is composed of a definiendum and a definiens.– The definiendum:

– The definiens:

• Form: the form of a definition is this:– X =df _____

• Which is the definiendum and which is the definiens?

– For example,

• Knowledge =df true belief

Necessary andsufficient conditions

• We can think of a definition as a set of necessary and sufficient conditions.

• X is a necessary condition of Y if and only if (or iff) we cannot have Y without also having X.

– Oxygen and Combustion

• X is a sufficient condition of Y iff X is all that is needed to get Y.– Being born in the US and citizenship

Necessary and Sufficient Conditions #2

• X is both a necessary and sufficient condition of Y iff both – 1) we cannot have Y without also having X &

– 2) X is all that is needed to get Y.

• Knowledge is JTB

Correct Definitions

• For a definition to be adequate the definiendum and definiens must be co-extensive.

• For the defiendum and definiens of any definition to be co-extensive it must be the case that:

– 1) – 2)

– What is the extension of a concept?

Co-extensiveness:An example

• So if your definition of KNOWLEDGE as TRUE BELIEF is correct then:

– Everything in the extension of KNOWLEDGE is in the extension of TRUE BELIEF and vice versa.

Testing definitions

• To determine if a definition is adequate:– determine if its definiendum and definiens are co-extensive.

– Is there any item in the extension of one that isn’t in the extension of the other?

– Example: Knowledge is true belief

• All Knowledge is true belief.

• All true belief is knowledge.

• Universal generalizations and counterexamples

Counterexamples

• A counterexample: a case that violates a universal generalization.

• If we define knowledge as true belief we just need one counterexample to show this definition inadequate.

– We need to find a case of knowledge that isn’t what?

– Or a case of true belief that isn’t what?

– A counterexample:• The Belief Game:

Counterexamples #2

• Love: Say I define Love as a deep seated feeling composed of compassion & care which one can have for another human being.

– Can anyone find a counterexample to this definition?

• We are looking for either:– a case of love that isn’t ____________

– a case of having this feeling for another human which isn’t ______________

– Any thoughts?