Good News

Philosophy Frequently Asked Questions 
and its sister blog, Philosophy for the Hasty Reader, 
have gone through their Second Drafts.  
They are more fluid, less bumpy, 
clearer, and even more fun.  
Neither is yet posted. 
A real, live person is editing a Third Draft.  
Check back soon. 
An important announcement shall be made! 


In the meantime, keep on questioning! 

9. What about Identity Philosophy? [In Process.]

What is Identity Philosophy?
Liberationism? Racism? Feminism?
Sexual Identity? Ableism?
Can we all learn to get along through reason?

[In Process.]

8 - Describe the Ideas of Spinoza. - [In Process]

Not an easy request! 

7. What Did Plato Write about Beauty? - [In Process]

Summary:  The study of Beauty can lead us to an appreciation of the Ultimate Good.

6. List of Fallacies

For Educational Use Only.  Not for Commercial Use. 






Fallacies

Argument from Outrage 
Persuading by provoking anger, usually with inflammatory words followed by a “conclusion” of some sort. 

Scapegoating 
Placing blame on an individual or group who are not responsible. 

Scare Tactics 
Scaring someone by describing a frightening situation without offering proof. 

Argument by Force 
Threatening someone, telling them what will happen if they do not comply. 

Argument by Pity 
Supporting a claim by arousing pity rather than offering legitimate arguments. 

Apple Polishing 
Flattery is disguised as a reason for accepting a claim. 

Guilt Trip 
Making someone feel guilty for not accepting an argument. 

Wishful Thinking 
Accepting a claim because you want it to be true or rejecting it because you don’t want it to be true. 

Peer Pressure Argument 
The threat of rejection by your peers, friends, or relatives if you do not accept an argument. 

Group Think Fallacy 
Allowing faith in the groups decisions to replace your own reasons. 

Nationalism 
An emotional attachment to one’s own country  which leads them to their country is the best. 

Rationalizing 
Using a false pretext in order to satisfy your own desires or interests. 

Argument from popularity 
Acceptance or urging to accept a claim simply because all or most people believe it. 

Argument from common Practice 
The attempt to justify actions based on the idea that “everyone does it.” 

Argument from tradition 
Saying a claim is true based on the idea that the action has been accepted and/or practiced for a long period of time. 

Subjectivism 
Opinion – The assumption that what is true for one person is not necessarily true for another. 

Relativist fallacy 
The view where two different cultures can be correct in their differing opinions on the same factual matter. 

Two Wrongs make a Right 
Reasoning that if it’s acceptable for A to do X to B because B is doing X to A. 

Red Herring/Smoke Screen 
An irrelevant topic or consideration introduced into a discussion to divert attention from the original issue. 

Ad hominem 
Rebutting a source’s claim based on a characteristics of the source rather than to the argument or claim or position. 

Personal Attack Ad Hominem 
Not accepting a person’s argument because there is something about the person you don’t like or disprove of. 

Inconsistency Ad Hominem 
The belif that if an individual has changed their mind, they can not be trusted. 

Circumstantial Ad Hominem 
The attempt to discredit a claim by referring to a speaker’s circumstances. 

Poisoning the Well 
Attempt to discredit another’s clam in advance by giving unfavorable information about a person. 

Genetic Fallacy 
Rejecting a claim on the basis of its origin or history (usually about a group) 

Positive Ad Hominem 
Building up the speaker prior to the speaker’s appearance. 

Strawman /Strawperson 
Fallacious reasoning where the actual position of the opponent is ignored and the position is distorted, exaggerated, or misrepresented. 

False Dilemma 
The reasoning that there must be an either or decision when in fact both options my be possible simultaneously. 

Perfectionist Fallacy 
Rejection in whole of an idea because it does not accomplish its goal to perfection. 

Line-drawing Fallacy 
Insisting that a precise point must be determined when no point is necessary. 

Slippery Slope 
Fallacious reasoning- belief that some event must inevitably flow into another event in which no argument is given for the inevitability. 

Misplaced Burden of Proof 
The burden of proof is falsely placed on the wrong side.  Can be when a lack of evidence is taken as proof for the claim. 

Appeal to Ignorance 
The view that an absence of evidence against a claim counts as evidence for that same claim. 

Begging the Question 
The conclusion is simply a restatement of the premises. 

  

5. Tell Me About the Turing Test.

Alan Turing, the Twentieth Century British mathematician and Philosopher, designed the early computer that broke the Nazi code, saving D-Day, for example.  

He designed a test to determine whether one was communicating with a computer or a human.  This test delights us still today and is the basis of much of has become of contemporary Metaphysics, "How do we know the Self?" 

He had based his computing system on logic, and since humans are, by default, based on logic, they should be similar.  But computers are not wired for emotion.  Can they mimic?

His test was whether or not the person on one side of the communication was fooled that the "person" on the other side was, in fact, not a human at all, but a computer, a software computing system based on the one's and zero's of the German Rationalist, Leibnitz.  

In addition to the binary number system, back in the 1600's, Leibnitz had also developed calculus.    Where would we be without that?  He was, in addition the founder of symbolic logic, which, as I said, Turing used to design the underlying principles of the early computer.  

The thought experiment that Turing laid out involved a wall with desks and chairs in front of a little slot, like a letter slot, through which notes could be passed back and forth.  Or, in the technology of the day, a teletype machine could be used.  How would we know if the responses from the other side came from a human or from a machine? 

Since the popularity of electronic mail, we are all able to imagine this experiment.  "Was the email generated by a "spam" computer?" is a different question than, "Was the email written by a spammer?"  In other words, were the words chosen by a human, or by software, or by software designed by a human?  

We are all familiar now with the electronic voice, generated by computer program, that directs us through a telephonic menu.  We recognize the voice as the recorded voice of a human or a computer-generated voice, but know that whatever it is, it is not a full human.  Instead, these are bits tied together to fulfill a function.  

Humans are more than functionaries.  Yet, we all have known someone that acted so mechanically or had such a monotone of emotion, that we doubted if that person was fully human.  They seem to have failed the Turing test! 

We delight in playing with computer games that appear to synthesize humanness.  Yet, humanity is more than a puzzle to be assembled from parts.  Unlike geometry, the property of being human is more than the sum of the parts.  Yet, how do we know?

Is "artificial intelligence" sufficient to design a pretend human?  Where are the emotions?  Even the taped voices on the telephone menus now often have a sing-song melody to imitate true emotion.  But what about those people who do not "express" emotion?  How can pretend emotion from a computer-generated synthesizer be confused with a non-emotional human?  Finally, can computers someday be programmed to have emotion? 

I would contend that it is more than reason and emotion that compose the human interiority; intentionality is also a basic element.  One thing that defines any human tool or creation is its lack of will.  It is used, rather than being a user.  While a robot can be programmed to use a wrench, it cannot be programmed to intend to do anything:  it can only follow instructions.  

As long as artificial intelligence is limited by its being a tool rather than an existential interiority, capable of feeling unfulfilled or meaninglessness, then it is not fully human.  Without doubt and longing, how can the computer be human?  Can a computer be kind?  Can a computer be a friend?  Yet, some humans are neither.  

On the other hand, we can project so many feelings upon an inanimate object that we "believe" a toy is a person.  Stuffed animals "offer" undying affection.  In regard to the animate world,  many people think of their pets as their best friends.  Surely, there is a special kind of animal responsiveness that leads to an attribution of "intelligence."  Many gardeners talk to their plants and claim it makes a difference in growth:  "sweet talk" works, but angry words inhibit growth.  Some mechanics say that "sweet talk" to a car makes it run better.  

We love to project human potential onto that which inanimate, neither plant nor animal.  Like the ancient Greek story of the sculptor whose statue came to life, we like to think our human creations can become "real." 

The study of artificial intelligence entertains us, but re-creating humanity eludes us.  By definition, humans are not artifical creations.  

The Turing test motivates Cognitive Science and delights us all.     

4. What Are Theories of Ethics ?

Short Summaries of Theories of Ethics  



I. Why Do We Not Create Moral Theories from Scratch?

We use ethical systems derived from the thoughts of major philosophers and refined over time by the discussions of reflective, rational minds in order to measure the morality of a action. We use these standards singularly, as given, or at times, in combination with another one or more systems, or also in amalgamation of features.

Using the predigested ideas of others allows us to focus on the events and actors at hand in our applied moral reasoning, leaving us without the burden of articulating our own individual statement of the deciding factor between right and wrong. While we might all agree there are universal standards for judgment of human volition and motion, yet most of us would also agree that articulating those standards is difficult. Therefore, we stand on ethical foundations supplied by the moral theories of Western philosophy. Other continents and hemispheres have produced great thinkers and important systems, which can be incorporated into this study, also.



II. What Ethical Theories or Systems Does Applied Ethics Use?

Ethical theories most used within the study of Applied Ethics are (1) Utilitarianism, looking to consequences of actions to determine the maximum pleasure for the maximum number of people; (2) Duty Ethics, looking to the intentions before the actions; (3) Virtue Ethics, looking at the habits of character and moderation to determine excellence and morality; (4) Natural Law or Legal Rights, looking to rights from legal or political statements or from rational examination and understanding of what those rights are, whether God-given or not, which flow to all humans by reason of being born human; and (5) Caring Ethics, judging action by the level of caring for the web of relationships, nurturing human flourishing within a personal, social context, or the empathetic involvement in the lives of others that envisions the best possible future.



III. What is Utilitarianism?

Operationally, Utilitarianism is the most empirically based. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, from the 19th Century in England, sought an ethical standard that would recognize human pleasure as the good, making its measurement and expansion paramount. Although pleasure would seem to be a subjective standard, Utilitarians judge consequences solely by objective, reasonable standards. Utilitarians do not consider the opinions of those who like pain, for example, to be rational.

In seeking to liberate the wishes of society as a whole from subjugation to the will of the ruling elite, Utilitarian philosophers defined the good as that which creates the maximum pleasure, that is, the greatest pleasure for the greatest number. Thus, the pleasure of the wealthy few does not defeat the wants of the weary many; nor is the delight of the powerful a legitimate cause to inflict the meek multitudes with misery.



IV. What is Duty Ethics?

 Both Duty and Virtue Ethics look to the quality of actions and the inherent dignity of all people. Duty Ethics is based on rules. Immanuel Kant, from 18th Century Germany, described Duty Ethics as the universal command to treat each person as a moral agent and as an end, not as a means or an instrument to the pleasure of another. The intentions of the actor are the determining feature of whether an action is considered moral by Duty Ethics.

 Kant called the universal command a Categorical Imperative, as the unbending rule of morality, applicable in all times and places and situations. Treating others not as a means but as an end is one way of stating the rule. Also, reciprocity requires that limitations for others be equally applied to oneself.



V. What is Virtue Ethics?

 Virtue Ethics is derived from the ancient Greeks, especially Aristotle, and seeks to educate character to assume the habit of a moral disposition and character. Moderation is the road to virtue.

Plato and Aristotle advocated living according to a human model of the virtues, the qualities of excellence. “What would the heroic do?”might have been the question of Homer from the earlier days of Greece, but these two philosophers of Athens sought a moral compass. Thus, the questions become, “What would honesty require?”for example. Plato and Aristotle looked for virtues such as truth, beauty, will power, and justice or proportionality, as well as benevolence, civility, dependability, generosity, loyalty, moderation, patience, and prudence.

Virtue Ethics generally judges character rather than specific actions. Character can be trained or educated. At its best, good character includes as many of the qualities of excellence and becomes a habit.



VI. What is the Relation between Reason and Natural Law?

Natural Law flows from the order of the universe directly into the reason of humans. The ordered universe is subject to the patterns of Nature, just as reason is subject to the limits of logic. As the unseen judge of the unseen realm of ideas, reason is the best way to understand the Law of Nature, to determine justice, and to develop character.

Ancient ideas about the rule of reason still animate discussion of Natural Law. However, Empiricists and others do not ascribe to claims for a superior role for reason.



VII. What is the Source of Human Rights?

 Many followers of Natural Law feel it was installed in the heavens by God at the time of creation and in the mind of a human at the moment of birth. Just as the scientific laws of the natural world, such as gravity, cannot be restrained or overruled by humans, so, too, the rules of logic cannot be dissolved or diluted, and, equally true, the natural rights of humans endowed by the creator cannot be amended or changed by the actions of humans or their governments. These rights existed since the beginning of time and still reside with every human for no more cause than being born human.

Later thinkers were less concerned with the source of these rights and more interested in identifying them. Such documents as the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution are seen as expressions of these rights. The final version of human rights exists in ultimate, unfettered reason, and can only be known in increasing levels of understanding by human minds that lack perfection. A more recent effort to catalogue human rights exists in the U.N. Charter of Human Rights.



VIII. What Are Human Rights?

 Discussions of rights are the most likely to incorporate recent court cases and legal reasoning. From the time of the writings of John Locke through the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights four hundred years later, our understanding of the extent of rights has grown. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the 1776 Declaration of Independence may sound vague, but a paid two-week vacation every year for every employee working at least 35 hours per week for 50 weeks might be a specific, modern day example of a general, human right of a “periodic holidays with pay”contained in the 1948 U.N. Declaration.

 Natural Rights theorists maintain that financial costs alone are not sufficient to restrict our rights. Further, court cases might summarize the opinions of the legal community for the time in question but can also be the result of political compromise, not eternal standards. Therefore, court decisions alone do not end debate, but can summarize arguments, and in some instances are sufficient statements of the wisdom of the day.



IX. What Are the Ethics of Care?

Finally, the Ethics of Care uses empathy, emotion, and sentiment as a guide to choosing courses of action. Among those philosophers advocating "sympathy" as a moral compass are David Hume, the skeptic, Scottish philosopher of 18th Century, and his contemporary, Adam Smith, the economist. In the 20th Century, advocates of "empathy" include feminists Carol Gilligan, Nell Nodding, and Annette Baier, as well as German, Catholic martyr and phenomenologist Saint Edith Stein.

Further, since caring is viewed as a virtue, many people see Caring Ethics as a specific form of the ancient Virtue Ethics, even though the Greeks used reason alone, and rarely incorporated emotion or empathy into moral decision-making. The ironies are (1) that “are”was not identified as a virtue until the twentieth-century Feminists discovered it; and (2) the Virtue theorists from ancient days through the medieval era up until quite recently often agreed with Aristotle that women were incomplete men or lacking in reasoning capacity.

Feminist Ethics, more recently called Caring Ethics, seeks a unique solution to each problem, growing from context and human relatedness to an understanding of the proper objects of care and how to create a web of relationships that best cherishes the individual members of that web while giving each the greatest freedom to empower human growth to achieve self‑ctualization. The most subjective of the standards, Feminist or Caring Ethics seeks to increase the reflective care contained within human relationships.

The Ethics of Care require not mere passive avoidance of impeding the moral freedom of others, or limiting our freedom for the sake of the freedom of others. Unlike Human Rights Theory and others, Care requires direct action, in particular affirmative participation in the practice of caring. Empathy and envisioning a higher individual capacity for achievement and self-actualization are tools of the Ethics of Care.

With the tools of empathy and hope, the Ethics of Care requires the discernment of specific, contextual decisions of the extent, nature, and proper objects of care. Some people are more the proper recipients of our care than others, with different expectations and expressions of care for each person in each circumstance.



X. What Is the Benefit of Using these Ethical Systems?

Finally, we see that articulating a consistent standard for moral decision-making a difficult enterprise. Understanding and using the concepts of these few basic systems allow us to use a yardstick our contemporaries can also use and comprehend.