Logic is the study of valid reasoning

Contents

• Articulating ideas—issues, positions, arguments—clearly, precisely, concisely
• Arguments
  • Deductive Arguments
  • Evidential Arguments
  • Normative Arguments
  • Analogical Arguments
• Argument Reconstruction
• Awareness of Epistemic Pitfalls
  • Anomalies of Language
  • Artifices of Deception and Distraction
  • Bias
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Disinformation
  • Fallacies
  • Fooling Yourself and Others with Statistics
  • How People Form Unwarranted Beliefs
  • Paradoxes
• Branches of Philosophy
  • Ethics
  • Epistemology
  • History of Philosophy
  • Logic
  • Metaphysics
  • Political Philosophy
• Conceptual Modalities
  • Analysis of Knowledge
  • Logical Equivalences among Why, Because, Reason, Therefore, Explain
• Decision-Making
• Determining What’s True
• Dialectic (Argumentation)
• Epistemic Status
• Fact-Checking
• Formal Systems
  • Axiom Systems
  • Conditional Logic
  • Decision Theory
  • Deductive Logic
  • Modal Logic
  • Probability Theory
  • Syllogisms and Venn Diagrams
• Scientific Models
• Scientific Theories
• Skepticism
• Thought Experiments

Brief Descriptions

• Analysis of Knowledge
  • Knowledge as true justified belief.
• Anomalies of Language
  • The “mist and veil of words”
• Arguments
  • An argument is a piece of reasoning, from premises to a conclusion
    • A deductive argument is an argument from premises to a logical consequence.
    • An evidential argument is an argument from evidence to a probable hypothesis.
    • A normative argument is an argument from reasons to a course of action.
    • An analogical argument is an argument from known similarities to a further similarity.
• Argument Reconstruction
  • Argument Reconstruction is the process of restating a naturally-occurring argument so its premises, conclusion, and logic are clear, making it easier to understand and evaluate.
• Artifices of Deception and Distraction
  • The methods of deception and distraction used to fool people and change the subject
• Axiom Systems
  • An axiom system is a set of assumptions from which logical consequences are derived.
• Bias
  • A process of reasoning is biased if it has errors that systematically favor one conclusion over others due to a predisposition of the reasoner. 
  • A statistical study is biased if it has errors that systematically favor one outcome over others due to a flaw in the study’s methodology.
• Conspiracy Theories
  • A conspiracy theory explains events by invoking a secret plot by a group of conspirators.
  • Ockham’s Razor provides an a priori reason for rejecting conspiracy theories, since the straightforward explanation of events is simpler.
• Decision-Making
  • Articulate the issue
  • Frame the options
  • Formulate the arguments
  • Evaluate the arguments and decide
• Determining What’s True
  • Articulate the question
  • Frame competing positions
  • Formulate the arguments for and against the positions
  • Evaluate the arguments
  • Judge the epistemic probabilities of the positions
• Dialectic (Argumentation)
  • Dialectic is an exchange of arguments to find the truth
• Disinformation
  • “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” (Voltaire)
• Decision Theory
  • Alternative courses of action are assessed by the expected value (probability times value) of their projected consequences.
• Deductive Logic
  • Deductive Logic is the formal theory of deductive reasoning.
• Epistemic Probability
  • The epistemic probability of a proposition is how reasonable it is to believe.
• Ethics
  • Ethics is the investigation of right and wrong, good and bad, and what ought to be done
• Epistemology
  • Epistemology is the investigation of knowledge and rational belief
• Fact-checking
  • Fact-checkers rate claims true, false, misleading, and unsupported by evaluating the evidence and arguments for and against.
• Fallacies
  • A fallacy is an error in reasoning having an air of plausibility.
• History of Philosophy
  • The History of Philosophy is the history of philosophic arguments
• Fooled by Statistics
  • Because it’s tricky, it’s easy to be fooled by statistics
• Forecasting
  • Time Series, Regression, Forecasting Models, Expert Opinion, Prediction Markets
• Logic
  • Tools for formulating and evaluating arguments
• Logical Equivalences among Why, Because, Reason, Therefore, Explain
  • Their logical equivalences
• Metaphysics
  • Metaphysics is the investigation of basic questions about reality.
• Paradoxes
  • A paradox is a seemingly valid piece of reasoning leading to an absurdity.
• Philosophy
  • Philosophy is the investigation of fundamental issues by rational argument.
• Political Philosophy
  • Political Philosophy is the normative and conceptual inquiry into forms of government
• Probability Theory
  • Probability Theory is the formal theory of probability.
• Scientific Models
  • A model is a simple representation of complex phenomena.
• Scientific Theories
  • A scientific theory is:
    • designed to explain certain kinds of phenomena
    • defined by its postulates
    • supported or disproved by its predictions
• Skepticism
  • Skepticism is the disposition to believe based only on rational argument
• Syllogisms and Venn Diagrams
  • Venn Diagrams are sets of overlapping circles used to determine the validity of syllogisms.
• Thought Experiments
  • A thought-experiment is a hypothetical scenario set forth either as a puzzlement or as a basis for argument.
• How People Form Unwarranted Beliefs
  • People believe what they’re predisposed to believe through motivated reasoning

Epistemic Pitfalls

• Anomalies of Language
• Artifices of Deception and Distraction
• Bias
• Conspiracy Theories
• Disinformation
• Fallacies
• Fooling Yourself and Others with Statistics
• How People Form Unwarranted Beliefs
• Paradoxes