Jinka University

College of social Science & Humanities

Department of civics and Ethical Studies
Course Title: Logic and Critical Thinking
Course code: Phil 101
Academic year: 2015E.C
 Chapter One
Logic and Philosophy
Meaning and Nature of Philosophy
• Philosophy- has no specific definition because it has no specific
subject area
• We can try to define it etymologically so that etymologically the
term philosophy derived from two Greek terms i.e “philo” &
“sophia” “philo” means love and “sophia” means wisdom.
• Therefore, etymologically the term philosophy defined as “love
of wisdom”.
• The wisdom that philosophers seek is not the wisdom of the
expertise or technical skills of professionals, but actually be
foolish when it comes to understanding the meaning and
significance of what he knows.
 Cont…
• According to Socrates, wisdom consists of a critical habit and eternal
vigilance/care about all things and a reverence for truth, whatever its
form, and wherever its place.

• Based on the Socratic understanding of wisdom, philosophy, as a pursuit

of wisdom, is, thus, the development of critical habits, the continuous
search for truth, and the questioning of the apparent.

• Questioning of the apparent does not mean to deny the fact or the
practical reality rather it mean, to go beyond the common understanding,
and to speculate about things that other people accept with no doubt.
 Cont…
• The philosophical enterprise, as Vincent Barry
stated, philosophy is “ an active imaginative
process of formulating proper questions and
resolving them by rigorous, persistent analysis”.
• Therefore, philosophy is a rational and critical
enterprise that tries to formulate and answer
fundamental questions through an intensive
application of reason, analysis, comparison, and
evaluation.
• So that, philosophy has constructive and critical side
 Cont…
A constructive side,
• It attempts to formulate rationally defensible answers to certain
fundamental questions concerning the nature of reality, the nature of
value, and the nature of knowledge and truth.
A critical side
• It deals with giving a rational critic, analysis, clarification, and evaluation
of answers given to basic metaphysical, epistemological, and axiological
questions.
• philosophy is an activity. It is not something that can be easily mastered
or learned in schools. But, you can master by acting it.
• philosophy also refers to the development of critical habits, the
continuous search for truth, and the questioning of the apparent.
• Philosophy focuses on questioning than answering. So it is all about
wondering.
 Cont…
• Socrates once stated that, wonder is the feeling of
a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.
• It is true that most of us may not have a clear
knowledge about the history, nature, language
and issues of philosophy, but we all think and
reflect in our own way about issues that mater us
most.
• We all have touched and moved by the feelings
of wonder.
 Basic Features of Philosophy
NB- these are not definitions rather features of
philosophy
1.philosophy is a set of views or believes about life
and universe, which are often held
uncritically
• We refer to this meaning as the informal
sense of philosophy or having a philosophy.
• Usually when a person says my philosophy
is, he or she is referring to an informal
personal attitude to whatever topic is being
discussed.
 Cont…
2. philosophy is a process of reflecting on and
creating our most deeply held conceptions and
beliefs
• This is the formal sense of doing philosophy.
• A genuine philosophical attitude is searching and
critical; it is open-minded and tolerant- willing to
look at all sides of an issue without prejudice.
• To philosophize is not merely to read and know
philosophy;
• there are skills of argumentation to be mastered,
techniques of analysis to be employed, and a body
 Cont…

3. philosophy is a rational attempt to

look at the world as a whole
Philosophy seeks to combine the
conclusions of the various sciences
and human experience into some
kind of consistent worldview.
 Cont…
• Philosophers wish to see life, not with the specialized
point of view of the scientist or the business person or
the artist, but with the overall view of someone
cognizant of life as a totality.
• Although there are difficulties and dangers in setting
forth any worldview, there also are dangers in
confining attention to fragments of human experience.
• Philosophy‘s task is to give a view of the whole, a life
and a worldview, and to integrate the knowledge of
the sciences with that of other disciplines to achieve a
consistent whole.
 Cont…
4. philosophy is logical analysis of language and the clarification of
the meaning of words and concepts
 Certainly, this is one function of philosophy. In fact, nearly all
philosophers have used methods of analysis and have sought to
clarify the meaning of terms and the use of language.
5. Philosophy is a group of perennial problems that interest people
and for which philosophers always have sought answers
 Philosophy presses its inquiry into the deepest problems of
human existence.
 Some of the philosophical questions raised in the past have been
answered in a manner satisfactory to the majority of
philosophers. Many questions, however, have been answered
only tentatively, and many problems remain unsolved
 Core Fields of Philosophy
• Meta physics, Epistemology, Axiology and Logic are the
four major fields of study under philosophy
1. Meta physics:- studies about ultimate nature of reality
or existence.
• It questions things beyond physics or facts beyond this
universe
• some of the questions of metaphysics are the following
• What is reality? What is mind? Does God exist, and if so,
can we prove it?
• Are human actions free, or predetermined by a supernatural
force?
• What is time? What is life? and etc
 The four subject areas under meta physics
A. Cosmology:- studies the origin of this world or universe. The theories on the
origin of world. “How did the universe originate and develop? Did it come
about by accident or design?
B. Theology :-is part of religious theory that deals about God .
“Is there a God? What are the attributes of God? If God is both all good and
all powerful, why does evil exist?
C. Anthropological aspect :- studies human beings. The r/n between man and
his/her body.
What is the relation between mind and body?
Are people born good, evil, or morally neutral?
D. Ontology:- studies about existence or what it means for anything to exist.
Questions our existence and death.
“Is basic reality found in matter or physical energy
“Is reality orderly and lawful in itself, or is it merely orderable by the human
mind?
 2.Epistemology
• The major focus of epistemological philosophy is
about knowledge.
• It focuses on questions like what is true and how do
you know that?
• It also studies about sources of knowledge.
• Major questions of epistemology are what is
knowledge? What is reason, experience and etc?
what is true and how do you know that?
• There are theories or views under epistemology
which are focusing on the source of knowledge
 Cont..
1. Empiricism:- people got experience and knowledge
through sensory body
2. Rationalism:- knowledge can be collected through
questioning and reasoning
3. Intuition:- knowledge can be acquired through
immediate feeling of certainty. When you feel that
you are certain in something you got knowledge
without learning
4. Revelation:- one can got knowledge when super
natural power reveal it.
 3.Axiology
• Axiology studies about values. It asks, What is valuable and why?
• There are three major subject areas under axiology
1. Ethics: in another name ethics means moral philosophy. The major
issue covered under ethics is moral principles, codes, rule and
norms which help us to determine bad and good conducts.
• There are three major broad categories under
ethics
A. Normative ethics:- it focuses on the reasoned inquiry for the
principles of human conduct.
• Consequentialism, deontology and virtue ethics are examples of
normative ethics. You will learn about them in other courses.
 Cont….
B. Meta ethics :- studies about meaning of ethical terms.
Moral intuitionism, moral emotivism, moral prescriptism
and etc are examples meta ethics subject areas. You will
learn them in other courses.
C. Applied ethics:- focuses on the application of moral
principles on the specific moral problems.
2. Aesthetics:- it a theory of beauty and art. It asks questions
like What is beauty and why?
3. Social/ political philosophy:- the focus area of political
philosophy is that it focuses on what is good or bad system
and why? It studies about socio-political systems.
 Cont…..
• The fourth major branch of philosophy is logic and we will try to
see it in the next chapter
• Dear learners, the big question here is what benefit can you got
from learning philosophy? Please do this question as class activity
The following are the importance of learning philosophy:
• Intellectual and behavioral independence,
• reflective self awareness,
• flexibility in thought, tolerance, open mindedness,
• creative & critical thinking
• Conceptualized and well thought-out value system in morality, art,
politics…..
• avoiding uncertainty of living, and etc are benefits you can got
from learning philosophy
 Chapter :Two
Basic Concept of Logic and Arguments
What is logic?
Logic is
a branch of philosophy that helps us to evaluate arguments.
The study of theory of principles of right reasoning.
It deals with formulating the right principles of reasoning and
developing scientific methods of evaluating the validity of arguments.
Benefits of learning logic
To criticize the arguments of others,
 To advance arguments of our own,
To convince others, and
To lie rationally
 It helps us to distinguish good arguments from
bad arguments
 It help us to distinguish rational from irrational
and the sane from the insane….
Goal of Logic
One of the goals of logic is to produce
individuals who are critical, rational and
reasonable both in spare of public and private
life.
 Historical development of concept of
logic
• Developed as science in ancient Greek.
• Aristotle is the father of logic.
• The ancient Aristotelian logic is called
syllogistic logic.
• In syllogistic logic arguments are evaluated by
using terms.
• Today, we do not depend only on terms to
evaluate arguments.
Definition of argument and statements
What is Statement?
Statement is a declarative sentence or group of sentences with truth value.
 Any sentence that you can say true or false is a statement.
that is either true or false, but not both.
For instance, the following sentences are statements:
• Argentina is located in North America.
• Mengistu H/mariam was a president of Ethiopia.
• New York is a city in the U.S.A.
Sentence is a group of words or phrases that enables us to express ideas or
thought meaningfully.
Truth Values: examples 1 is false while 2 and 3 are true. So, truth and
falsity are the two possible truth values of a statement.
Unlike statements, many sentences can not be said to be true or false. These
are non-statement expressions/sentences.
• Non-Statement Expressions
Questions
Eg- What is your name?
Proposals
Eg- Let’s go to the party today.
Suggestions
Eg- You would better go by bus.
Commands
Eg- Stand up!
-Turn to the left at the next corner.
Exclamations
Eg- Bang up!
-Live and let live others!
 What is an Argument?
Argument is group of statements in which one
or more statements support others. Or it can
also be defined as a group of statements
with one or more premises which are in turn
claimed to support or reason the conclusion.
Argument is a group of statement which
contains at least one premise and one and
only one conclusion meaning argument may
contain more than one premise but only one
conclusion.
 Cont…
Premise: a statement that provides, reason or
evidence.
An assumption or claim provided by the
arguer as evidence or information.
Premise of an argument can be one or more
than one statement.
 Claimed to provide evidence.
 Cont…
Conclusion:- is a statement that the evidence is
claimed to be supported/implied.
 Conclusion : What is claimed to follow from the
evidence/premises.
EX, All Ethiopian university students are
brilliant.
Gondar university students are Ethiopian
university students.
So, they are Brilliant
Eg.1 Some Africans are black(premise1) Bad(poorly supported)
Maharze is Africans(premise2) argument b/se the
Therefore, Maharze is Black (conclusion) premise do not really
support the conclusion
Eg.2All Ethiopians are Africans(p1) Good(well supported)
Alemu is Ethiopian(p2) argument b/se the premises
Thefore,Alemu is African(C) really support the concl.
 How to differentiate a conclusion from its premise/s?

Arguments usually contain indicator words that provide clues in

identifying the premise/s and the conclusion.

A. Premise Indicators; Words like Since, As indicated by, Because,

Owingto,Seeingthat,Giventhat,As,For,Inthat,Maybeinferredfrom,Inasmuc
has,Forthereasonthat…

B. Conclusion Indicators; Words like Therefore

Where fore, Accordingly, Provided that, It must be that, We may
conclude, Entails that, Hence, It shows that, Whence, Thus,
Consequently, We may infer, It implies that, As a result, So, It follows
that…….
NB:-The position of the premise/s or the conclusion may change.
 Cont…
 Some times an argument may not contain
indicators, for both the premise and the
conclusion, when this happen we should
answer the following questions effectively.
 Which statement is clamed to follow from
the other
 What is the arguer trying to prove?
 What is its main point?
 Cont…
Eg. Morally weak persons are not happy. Zinash,
who is morally weak, is not happy through out
her life.
 How ever through inspecting the aim of the
argument we can identify both the premise and
the conclusion i.e.
P= morally weak persons are not happy.
C= Zinash , who is morally weak is not happy
throughout her life
 Argumentative vs Non Argumentative Expressions
Argumentative expressions differ from non argumentative expressions
because they contain two major elements which are not existing in
the other kinds of expressions
The two contents of argumentative expressions are
a, factual claim :- Discussion of facts and evidences
;- Statements under argumentative expression
which discuss about facts
b, inferential claim :- It refers to the way ideas support each other. The
conclusive idea which is linked with and derived from the factual
claim or discussion of facts.
can be either explicit or implicit.
 An explicit inferential claim is usually asserted by premise or conclusion
indicator words (‘‘thus,’’ ‘‘since,’’ ‘‘because,’’ ‘‘hence,’’ ‘‘therefore,’’ and so
on). It exists if there is an indicator word that asserts an explicit
relationship between the premises and the conclusions.
Example: Tilahune is my biological father, because my mother told so.
An implicit inferential claim exists if there is an inferential
relationship between the statements in a passage, but the passage
contains no indicator words.
Example:
The genetic modification of food is risky business. Genetic engineering
can introduce unintended changes into the DNA of the food-producing
organism, and these changes can be toxic to the consumer.
Non-argument Expressions
Passages that lack an inferential claim are also called
Unsupported Assertions.
They are thus non-argument expressions. These include:
Warnings
Piece of Advice
Statements of Belief/Opinion
Report: It consists of statements that convey information about some
situation/event.
Example:
Whatever you promise to tell, never confide political secrets to your wife.
In this passage, no evidence is given to prove that the statement is true; and if no evidence is given to
prove that the statement is true, then there is no argument.
After class hours, I would suggest that you give careful consideration to the
subject matter you have discussed.
As with warnings, there is no evidence that is intended to prove anything in piece
of advices, and hence there is no argument in the above passage.
We believe that our university must develop and produce outstanding students
who will perform with great skill and fulfill the demands of our nation.
This passage does not make any claim that the belief or opinion is supported by
evidence, or that it supports some conclusion, and hence does not contain an
argument.
The great renaissance dam of Ethiopia has opened an employment opportunity
for thousands of Ethiopians. In its completion, thirteen thousand Ethiopians are
expected to be hired.
These statements could serve as the premises of an argument, but because the
author makes no claim that they support or imply anything, there is no argument.
 Illustration:
 An illustration is an expression involving one or more examples that is
intended to show what something means or how it is done.
 It is often confused with arguments because many illustrations contain
indicator words such as “thus.
Example:
 Chemical elements, as well as compounds, can be represented by molecular
formulas. Thus, oxygen is represented by “O 2”, water by “H2O”, and sodium
chloride by “NaCl”.
 This passage is not an argument, because it makes no claim that anything is
being proved. The word “thus” indicates how something is done - namely,
how chemical elements and compounds can be represented by formulas.
Conditional Statements
This is an “if…,then…”statement, taken by itself can never be an argument.
The component statement that immediately follows the “if” is called the
Antecedent, The one following the “then” is called the Consequent.
• If…………………….., then……………………….. Or
• ………………………..if……………………………..
Eg. If Daniel works hard, then he will get a promotion.
This statement merely asserts that if Daniel works hard, then he will get
a promotion. So,
– It doesn’t assert that he works hard and
– It doesn’t assert that he gets a promotion.
 Therefore, no single conditional statement is an argument.
 However, conditional statement may serve as either the premise or
conclusion or both of an argument.
Eg.1 If Daniel works hard, then he will get a promotion.
Daniel has worked hard.
Therefore, Daniel will get a promotion.

Eg.2 If cigarette companies publish warning labels, then smokers assume

the risk of smoking.
Cigarette companies do publish warning labels.
Therefore, smokers assume the risk of smoking.

• Here the conclusion is asserted on the basis of the premises. So the

statement is an argument.
Conditions in Conditional Statements
• Conditional statements express the relationship
between necessary and sufficient conditions.
example 1, Air is a necessary condition for life.
But it is not a sufficient condition since
there are other necessary conditions to be
full filled in addition to air.
example 2, being a dog is a sufficient condition for
being an animal. Thus, being an animal is a
necessary condition for being a dog.
 Explanations
• These are a statement/group of statements intended to shed light on
some phenomenon that is accepted as a matter of fact.
• Every explanation consists of two distinct components: the
Explandum and the Explanans.
• Explandum: the statement that describes the event/phenomenon to
be explained and
• Explanans: the statement that purports/claims to do the explaining.
Example:
• Cows digest grass while humans cannot, because their digestive
systems contain enzyme not found in humans.
Eg. The sky appears blue from the earth’s surface because light rays are
scattered by particles from the atmosphere.

• The intention of this example is to explain why the sky appears blue
and not to prove that it appears blue. So, it is not an argument.

• Argument = Premise/s (Claimed to prove)+ Conclusion- Accepted

facts

• Explanation=Explanans (Claimed to explain + Explandum-

Accepted Fact/s
 Types of Arguments

 Based on merit arguments are two:

A) Good arguments : Those in which the premises really support the
conclusion, and

B) Bad arguments: those in which the premises do not support even

though they are claimed to.
 Cont…
Eg.1 Some Ethiopians are poor
Alhamudi is an Ethiopian. Bad argument. Because the
There fore, he is poor. premises do not really
support the conclusion

Eg.2All Ethiopians are Africans(p1) Good(well supported)

Alemu is Ethiopian(p2) argument b/se the premises
Thefore,Alemu is African(C) really support the conclusion

Based on content/form and structure arguments can

also be divided into two
 Cont…

Argument

Deductive Inductive

Valid Invalid Strong Weak

Uncogen
Sound Unsound Cogent t
 Cont…
N.B
Their basic strength of inferential claim difference is in the argument .???
A .Deductive Argument
 The conclusion is claimed to follow from the premises with absolute necessity.
 When we present a deductive argument, if our opponents accept our premises,
there is little likelihood for the denial of the conclusion.
Example 1
-All human beings are mortal.
-“Y” is a human being.
-Therefore, “Y” is Mortal.

Eg.2
All philosophers are critical thinkers.TP
Socrates is a philosopher.TP
Therefore, Socrates is a critical thinker.TC
B. Inductive Argument
 The conclusion is claimed to follow only probably from the
premises i.e. the premises support the conclusion with a degree
of probability.
 The conclusion does not follow with logical necessity or
certainty from the premises.
Example 1
80 Apples were selected from a basket containing 100 apples,
and they were found to be ripe.
Therefore, probably all apples are ripe.
Eg.2
Most African leaders are blacks.
Mandela was an African leader.
 How can we distinguish deductive from inductive
Arguments
A. By using indicator words
Indicators of deductive argument
 Definitely .
 Certainly.
 Necessarily.
 Absolutely .
 For sure.
Example
-All human beings are mortal.
-Kebede is a human being.
-For sure, Kebede is Mortal.
 Cont…
All these are indicators of inductive argument
 Probably,
 Plausibly ,
 Improbably,
 Implausibly,
 Likely /unlikely.

Example
Last year there was fair rain fall and good harvest in Ethiopia.
This year too, there is fair rain fall. There fore, probably next
year there will be a good harvest in Ethiopia.
In the case of deductive argument there is a force of necessity/
certainty that the conclusion follows from the premise (s).
All philosophers are critical thinkers.
Socrates is a philosopher.
Therefore, Socrates is a critical thinker.
assume that all philosophers are critical thinkers and that
Socrates is a philosopher, then it is impossible that Socrates not
be a critical thinker.
In inductive argument there is no force of necessity that the conclusion
strictly follows from the premises rather it is the force of likelihood or
probability.
Most African leaders are blacks.
Mandela was an African leader.
Therefore, probably Mandela was black.
 Cont…
B. Based on the Actual strength of the inferential
claim
• If the information or idea contained in the
conclusion necessarily derived from the premises
the argument is deductive.
• The conclusion of inductive argument doesn’t
follow with logical necessity or certainty from the
premises.
• In this types of argument we focus on the degree of
probability.
assume that most African leaders were blacks and
that Mandela was an African leader, then it is
improbable that Mandela not been a black, or it is
probable that Mandela was black.

C. The character or form of argumentation the arguers use.

It is possible to categorize the argument as deductive or

inductive by examining the content of the issue or the
subject and the way they reason out.
 Forms of expressions/argumentations/speechs in
which deductive arguments happen
commonly
1. Arguments based on pure mathematics
It is an argument in which the conclusions depend on some purely
arithmetic or geometric computation or measurement.
For example, you can put two orange and three bananas in a bag and
conclude that the bag contains five fruits. Or
again you can measure a square pieces of land and after determining it
is ten meter on each side conclude that its area is a hundred
square meter
2. Syllogistic arguments (will be dealt in detail in ch-6);
arguments having two premises and one conclusion. Three
types;
a. Categorical Syllogism: This a syllogism in which each
statement begins with one of the words “all”, “no” or
 Example: All Egyptians are Muslims.
No Muslim is a Christian.
Hence, no Egyptian is a Christian.
b. Hypothetical Syllogism: This
is a syllogism having a
conditional statement for one or both of its
premises.
Eg. If we eat a variety of food items, then we
would be healthy. If we are healthy, then we
would be productive. Therefore, if we eat
variety of food items, we would be
productive.
 C. Disjunctive Syllogism: This is a syllogism having a
disjunctive statement of an “either…or…”statement for one of
its premises.

Ex.1. Either breach of contract is a crime or it is not punishable by

law.TP
Breach of contract is not a crime.TP
So, breach of contract is not punishable by law.TC
 Cont’

3. Argument from definition; it is an argument in which

the conclusion is claimed to depend merely up on the
definition of some words or phrase used in the premise or
conclusion.
Eg. God is omniscient. So, he must know everything.
Kebede is a physician; therefore, he is a doctor.
4. Claims From general to particular; Most deductive
arguments move from general claims to particular (individual)
realities.
Eg. All laws are made by the FDRE parliament
Civil law is one of the laws
Therefore, Civil law is made by the FDRE parliament
 Forms of expressions/argumentations/speechs in
which Inductive Arguments happen commonly

1. Arguments from Analogy: It is an argument that depends on

the existence of an analogy or similarity between two things or
state of affairs.
Ex.1. Abebe’s Galaxy Note4 mobile phone model has luxurious
applications, an excellent camera and safety cover.
Matiyas’s Galaxy Note4 mobile phone model has luxurious
applications and an excellent camera.
Probably, Matiyas’s mobile phone has safety cover.
2. Inductive Generalization (claims from particular to
general): This is an argument that proceeds from the knowledge
of a selected sample to some claim about the whole group.
Ex.1. 10 apples selected at random from a basket containing 100 apples
were found to be ripe. TP
Probably, all the rest 90 apples are ripe. FC
3. Arguments based on Signs: it is an argument that
proceeds from the knowledge of a certain sign to the
knowledge of a thing or situation that the sign symbolizes.
For instance, one may infer that after observing ‘No
Parking’ sign posted on the side of a road, the area is not
allowed for parking.
4. A Causal Inference : it is an argument which proceed from the
knowledge of a cause to the knowledge of an effect, or conversely,
from the knowledge of an effect to knowledge of a cause.
For example, from the knowledge that a bottle of water had been
accidentally left in the freezer overnight, someone might conclude
that it had frozen (cause to effect).
Conversely, after tasting a piece of chicken and finding it dry and tough,
one might conclude that it had been overcooked (effect to cause).
Because specific instances of cause and effect can never be known
with absolute certainty, one may usually interpret such an argument
as inductive.
5. Arguments in Statistics
As opposed to pure mathematics, most arguments in statistics are
inductive.

Eg. A die of six sides colored each with yellow, blue, black, white, rose
and green was thrown on a flat board. Therefore, the chance of
getting the yellow side of the thrown die is 1/6.
6. Argument based on prediction; Reaching the conclusion
about the future based on past and present available evidences. The
premise provides evidence for the occurrence or happening of the
conclusion but it may happen or not.
E.g. The previous week was rainy. Most probably, the coming week will
also be rainy.
7. Argument from Authority; It is an argument formed from
some one’s information, such as witness accounts, interview, citing
authorized persons, etc. But the conclusion would not be certain
enough because the evidences that we use as a premise are not ours.

Eg. According to Ato Markos, who is an expert in Ethiopian traditional

music, the quality of traditional music of Ethiopia has been declining.
Therefore, based on the account of Ato Markos, the Ethiopian
traditional music is deteriorating.