RI Philosophy Notes for Society and Philosophy

Javier Ng with Fabian Ong3C/6 Logic Validity- If all premises are true, the conclusion is also true- OR The conclusion necessarily follows from the premises.- OR The premises necessarily lead to the conclusionSoundness- A sound argument is a valid argument with all truepremises. 1. Argument Forms Modus PonensP1: If p, then q.P2: pC: q WRONG: Affirming the ConsequentP1: If p, then qP2: qC: p Modus TollensP1: If p, then q.P2: Not q.C: Not p. WRONG: Denying the AntecedentP1: If p, then qP2: Not pC: Not q Hypothetical syllogismP1: If p, then q.P2: If q, then r.C: If p, then r. Disjunctive syllogismP1: Either p or q.P2: Not p.C: q. DilemmaP1: Either p or q.P2: If p, then r.P3: If q, then s.C: Either r or s.

Javier Ng with Fabian Ong3C/6 2. Counter-Arguments Original argument:P: X.IP: If X then YC: Y. Challenge explicit premise‘It is not the case that premise X of OA’.P1: a.C: Not X. Challenging implicit premise‘It is not the case that implicit premise (If X, then Y) of OA.’P1: a.C: Not (if X, then Y) Challenging validity‘It does not follow from premise X of OA that conclusionY of OA.’P1: a.C: It does not follow from X that Y. Counterarguments CANNOT challenge the conclusion ofOA 3. Rhetoric Rhetoric serves tomake an argumentative text or speechmore persuasive, withoutaffecting the soundness of the reasons given.- Not premises- Not conclusionsWhen extracting arguments, remove all rhetoric and do not include them in your P-C form Part 1 - Preambles, Asides and Repetition: DeleteALL of themPreamblesfound (sometimes) at thestart of an argumentativetext, before the argument begins. It isthe author's way of introducing the argument, showing its relevance, setting up the context, hookingthe reader etc. They can be quotes, definitions, background information and more.

Javier Ng with Fabian Ong3C/6 Asidespoints that the author makes that arerelated to theargument, but is neither the conclusionnor a premise.- e.g. "By the way...". Repetitionsrepeated sentences, and can be seen as a stylistic rhetorical element. Repetitions are used for clarityand emphasis. Each premise and conclusion should onlyappear oncewhen extracting anargument into P-C form. Part 2 - Assurances, Hedges, Discounts: Delete ALLAssuranceswords or phrases thatindicate the author is veryconfidentof the claims he is making.- e.g. surely, certainly, of course, undeniably Hedgeswords or phrases thatindicate the author is not 100%confidentwith the claims he is making.- e.g. I think that, in my opinion, arguably. Discountsfacts or possibilities that challenge the author'sconclusion or premises, to make theauthor sound more trustworthy- Discountindicators- e.g. although, while it may be the case that, despite, while it may be true that... Part 3 - Rhetorical Questions, Commands, Metaphors:MUST convertRhetorical Questionsarequestions whose answers aresupposedto be veryobvious; the author is not really askinga question, he is trying to make a point. To uncover the implicit statement, just answer thequestion- Conversion- Rhetorical question: If you don't work hard, how are you ever going to succeed?- Statement: If you don't work hard, there is no way you are ever going to succeed. Commandsare also known as imperatives in English. They can come in different tones -an order, a plea or arequest. A command consists of a verb without a grammatical subject.To uncover the the implicit statement, simply addan appropriate grammatical subject,followed by "should".

Javier Ng with Fabian Ong3C/6- e.g. Shut up! Please listen. Work hard!- Conversion- Command: Work hard!- Statement: You should work hard. Metaphorscan also hide implicit premises and conclusions, but when extracting an argument into P-C form, youhave toconvert the metaphors into literal statements.- Conversion- Metaphor: Mary is a ray of sunshine.- Literal statement: Mary brings joy to others.- Conversion 2- Metaphor: Gary is an Einstein.- Literal statement: Gary is a science genius. 4. Argument Writing Steps1. Determine main conclusion2. Determine main premisesa. P1: The role of government is to protect citizen’s rightsb. P2: Eminent domain violates citizen’s rightsc. C: Eminent domain is not justified3. Elaborate/ support premises withelaborationand (non-specific)examplesa. Support P1i. P1: state of nature is peaceful and cooperativeii. P2: No justification for govt to violate rights to improve situationiii. C: Role of govt is to protect citizen’s rightsNotes- State main conclusion explicitly at the start.- Use premise and conclusion indicators.- Minimise use of useless connectors: ‘however’, ‘moreover’, ‘nevertheless’,‘furthermore’- Use short sentences- Minimise use of extenders: ‘which’, ‘whereby’- Do not use unnecessarily technical words Argument StructureMain argument framework

Javier Ng with Fabian Ong3C/6(1) Eminent domain is not justified because (2) role of government is to protect citizens’ rights & (3)eminent domain violate citizens’ rights. Supporting main premise (2)(2) because (4) state of nature is peaceful and cooperative -> (5) no justification for govt to violaterights to improve situation. Supporting main premise (3)(3) because (6) eminent domain takes away people’srights to their property. Exemplar(2)Eminent domain is not justifiedbecause the main roleof the government is to protect the rightsof citizens, including their rights to life, liberty and property. This implies that the government itselfshould not violate these rights, even for a supposed greater good.This is because in a state of nature, where there is no government, people will generally respect oneanother’s lives, and live cooperatively and peacefully with one another. So, there is no justification forthe government to violate people’s rights in orderto make their lives better. (3)Eminent domain involves the government violating citizens’ rights to their property because itinvolves the government forcibly taking away theirprivate property for public use without consent. (1)Eminent domain is thus not justified. (124 words) Attacking validity:(C)It does not follow from the claim that monarchy isthe system of government that can best guaranteesocietal order that it is the best system. (P1)Role of govt not societal order -> Role of (best)govt protect rightsThis is because the role of the government is notto ensure societal order. The role of thegovernment is to protect the rights of people, including their rights to free speech and assembly. (P2)Monarchy cannot protect rightsThis implies that the government should allow andenable people to participate in street protests orwrite in to complain in the media. A monarchy might not allow these action. Furthermore, theseactions might disrupt societal order.

Javier Ng with Fabian Ong3C/6(C)Even if monarchy can guarantee societal order -> Monarchy not best systemTherefore, even if monarchy can best guarantee societal order, it might not be the best system. (113words) 5. Notes - Remember to include full stop- Don’t exclude important clauses/conditionals. Political Philosophy 1. Social Contract Theory - Locke and Hobbs Social Contract TheoryP1: We would be better off with the govt having some power over us.P2: If we would be better off with the govt having some power over us, then we would consent togovernmental powerP3: We would consent to governmental powerP4: Governmental power involves violation of fundamental rights by central authorityP4: Violation of our fundamental rights is never justified, unless we consent to it.C: Governmental power is justified John Locke’s Argument (Democracy)(1) State of natureP1: Humans are rational beingsP2 (P1 + IP): Thus, in state of nature, people would live peacefully according to reasonP3 (P2 + IP): Thus, people would only consent to govt authority if it preserves our rights (2) DemocracyP4: Govt that is too strong would trample on our rightsP5 (P4+ IP): We would only consent to govt that is not too strong.P6: Only in a democracy is the power of the government adequately checked by the peo