Critical Reasoning

Critical Reasoning

Critical Reasoning • Stephen Watson • swatson@bond.edu.au • Office in HSS 4234 • Consultations tba

Critical Reasoning • Text • R.J. Fogelin & W. Sinnott-Armstrong (2005) 7th edition Understanding Arguments: an introduction to informal logic

Critical Reasoning • Further Reading • Cederblom, J. & D. W. Paulsen (c2001) Critical Reasoning • Copi, I. & C. Cohen, (1994), Introduction to Logic

Critical Reasoning • Assessment • Mid-semester Assignment: 35% • Quiz #1 (week 7) 30% • Quiz #2 (week 12) 35%

Critical Reasoning • Goals • improve critical reading skills required for undergraduate study • improve academic writing skills and the clear presentation of your ideas • assist in the imaginative aspects of thinking necessary to good problem solving.

Critical Reasoning • Lectures • First part of 3 hour block is lectures • Feel free to ask for clarifications during lectures

Critical Reasoning • Tutorials • second part of 3 hour block is a tutorial • Questions from the text or elsewhere will be discussed. • Discussions will be on the material in the lecture just given – so make sure you’re understanding things at the time

Aspects of Language

No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. John Donne

Language and Argument • An argument is the giving of reasons for or against a claim. • Arguing is a linguistic activity

Language and Convention • The language we use to communicate ideas, beliefs, etc. is a matter of convention. • semantic conventions: words acquire their meaning by convention • syntactic conventions: grammar, is conventional

Language and Convention • Language is, however, not arbitrary. • Communication depends on shared linguistic conventions • The truth or falsity of information communicated is generally not dependent on conventions

Levels of Language • Language can be used to perform many functions • to convey or request information • to bring things about • to elicit a response in one's audience

Linguistic Acts • Language contains many conventions. Two have already been noted • semantic conventions • syntactic conventions • When an utterance satisfies these two conventions we can be said to have performed a linguistic act

Linguistic Acts • Indicative mood (for a statement of fact) • "He is running." • Interrogative mood (for a question) • "Is he running?" • Imperative mood (for a command) • "Run!" • Expressive mood (for a desire or wish) • "Ah, to be running now!"

Speech Acts • A linguistic act is one level at which speech acts can be described... but there is another level. The level of illocutionary acts

Performatives • Certain kinds of utterances — performatives — bring something about, rather than merely describe • A marriage celebrant says "You are now man and wife"

Explicit Performatives • The ‘Thereby’ Test Utterance U expresses an explicit performative just in case it: (i) is first-person singular present indicative (ii) yields a true statement when plugged into the pattern In saying "I ..." I thereby ... .

Explicit Performatives • Examples • "I now declare you man and wife" • "I congratulate you" • The saying is a kind of doing

Kinds of Speech Acts • Performative utterances are used for (linguistic acts and) speech acts • One and the same linguistic act can do a variety of things — perform a number of speech acts

Kinds of Speech Acts • Examples • "Is there any pizza left?" "Yes" • "Do you promise to pay me back?" "Yes" • "Do you swear to tell the truth?" "Yes" • "Do you refuse to leave?" "Yes" The linguistic act of saying "Yes" is used • To state something • To promise • To take an oath • To refuse

Kinds of Speech Acts • An illocutionary act is the act that an utterance effects.It is what isdone in making the utterance. • E.G. stating, promising, swearing, refusing

Kinds of Speech Acts • Different kinds of speech acts are named by the different verbs that occur in explicit performatives • In saying "I promise ..." I thereby promise ... So promising is a kind of speech act • In saying "I refuse to ..." I thereby refuse to ... So refusing is a kind of speech act. • These verbs are called performative verbs

Kinds of Speech Acts • Not all speech acts are named by performative verbs • The speech act of insulting is not. 'Insult' is not a performative verb. (Just try the thereby-test to see.).

Making Statements • One important kind of speech act is to make statements that are true or false • the speech act of asserting, or stating, or describing

Speech act rules • To perform a particular speech act certain conventions may need to be met • The speaker might need to occupy a special position • Special words, gestures or formatting may be required • There may be presupposed facts • A particular response might be required

Speech act rules • Though a speech act may have occurred, it can be insincere • Certain feelings or beliefs are expected by the speaker • When you promise someone by saying "I promise" the speech act of promising occurs, however it can be defective if the speaker is not sincere

Perlocutionary Acts • The act of causing an effect in an audience by means of language is a perlocutionary act • "Look out for the tiger snake!" • I perform the linguistic act of saying something meaningful • I perform the illocutionary act of warning you • I perform the perlocutionary act of putting you on guard

Conversational Rules • Linguistic acts can be used to perform perlocutionary acts because of assumed conventions or rules • I say “The house is on fire” (linguistic act) and you are alerted (perlocutionary act) because we assume • People generally aim at truth in cooperative conversation • People generally have evidence for claims they make

Conversational Rules • Cooperative conversations are governed by such rules • Hence, cooperative conversations are situations in which conversational acts are commonly performed

Conversational Implicature • Because cooperative conversation is governed by rules we can draw conclusions from what someone says without them having to be explicitly stated • "Where does Jo live? " "In Brisbane somewhere " • Cooperative Rule: Be as informative as possible. • Implicature: I don't know exactly where Jo lives

Conversational Implicature • B conversationally implicated by linguistic act A just in case: (i) B is not explicitly stated by A(ii) B could be false given A(iii) yet B could explain why A is uttered in a cooperative conversation

Conversational Implicature • Example • "No one has spoken to Phil all evening" • Conclude C: “No one likes Phil”; but • It is not explicitly stated, and • It could be false. But • It explains why the remark was made

Conversational Implicature • Example • "No one has spoken to Phil all evening" • Conclude C: “No one likes Phil”; but • It is not explicitly stated, and • It could be false. But • It explains why the remark was made • So C is an implicature

Conversational Implicature • Compare • "No one has spoken to Phil all evening" • Conclude D: “Phil hasn't had a conversation all evening” • D is logically implied (it can’t be false)

Critical Reasoning