Reason

Logic and Deductive reasoning

Sherlock Homes
“The curious incident of the dog”:

Watchdog barks at strangers

The watchdog did not bark at the thief
Therefore the thief was not a stranger

We can acquire new knowledge about the world by using

reason
Reason can go beyond our senses

If pavements are wet in the morning  it has been

raining during the night
If you left your mobile in your pocket or on your desk
and if you can’t find it in your pocket  therefore it
must be in your desk
You know that the Lake Geneva is a fresh-water lake
You know that sharks don’t like fresh water
Therefore, there cannot be any sharks in Lake Geneva
Deductive argument
If you are to give people good reasons to believe you
Rather than saying “I am genius!” you give reasons:

All IB Diploma Candidates are geniuses.

I am an IB Diploma Candidate.
I am a genius.
What are benefits of reasoning?
It gives us certainty!

Given the assumptions (premises) the conclusion has

to follow
All Humans are mortal (premises)
Socrates is human (premises)
Socrates is mortal (conclusion)

Rationalism – reason is the most important source of

knowing. Rationalists don’t trust senses.
Which of our faculties are more reliable reason or
perception? Give reasons.
Deductive reasoning
Syllogism

1. two premises and a conclusion

2.three terms, each occurs twice
3. quantifiers all/some/no ... Quantity.

All dogs are mammals (premises)

Fido is a dog (premises)
Therefore Fido is a mammal (conclusion)
Validity and true
Do not mean the same thing!

Validit
Truth
Property
y
Property
of
of
statement
arguments
s
Valid or invalid argument
Deductive reasoning preserves truth
1. Are the premises true?
Is the argument valid?

If premises are true then the conclusion which follows

from that is also true. Logic is the way of preserving
truth!

Enthymeme – incomplete argument in everyday life.

Reason
Deductive reasoning Inductive reasoning
It is a form of reasoning It is a form of reasoning
that moves from the that goes from the
general to the particular. particular to the general.
Syllogisms Generalisation
Venn diagrams
INDUCTION
From the particular to general
Every human being I know of eventually died, and I
have never heard of a human being who didn’t die.
Therefore, I can say with confidence that
”All observed human beings have died”

Generalise!!!!

“All human beings are mortal”

Generalization
Advantages:
We generalise things so we can make predictions about them.

Disadvantages:
Jump to conclusions on basis of insufficient evidence
Example: Rude French waiter = all french are rude.(racist attitude)
Female pilot crashes a jet = women are unfit to fly.(sexist attitude)
“Given a thimbleful of facts, we rush to make generalizations as
large as a tub.”
psychologist Gordon Allport
How reliable is inductive reasoning?
Water boils at 100 degrees centigrade
 it’s not true if you are on top of the mountain
All swans are white
 Not true as there are black swans in Australia

 Give three examples of your own of some hasty

generalizations.
 What’s the difference between a prejudice, a
generalization, and a scientific law?