Critical Thinking 1101

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Critical Thinking 1101

• Chapter 2
• Sections 2.1 2.3

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Two Important Functions of Language

• Convey Information
• Example The capital of Oregon is Salem.
• Express or Evoke Feelings
• Example I love the gorgeous view of the Atlanta
  skyline at night.

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Emotive Language

• An important function of emotive language is to
  express value claims. A value claim is a claim
  that something is good, bad, right, wrong,
  better, worse, more important or less important
  than something else.
• Example The cloning of Humans is disgusting.
  Expresses the value claim that human cloning is
  bad.

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Cognitive Meaning

• Two types
• Vague
• Example The term fresh. How fresh does
  something have to be in order to be called fresh?
• Ambiguous
• Example The term bank. Bank has more than one
  meaning is it a bank of money or is it a river
  bank?

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Section 2.2 Term Know the book Definition

• Proper Names Georgia, Michael Vick, James Brown
• Common Names team, cat, person, animal
• Descriptive phrases the author of Gone with the
  Wind, the best student in the class, the first
  president of the United States of America, blue
  things

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Subject of a sentence

• In order to be a term it must be the subject of a
  sentence
• If it cannot be the subject of the sentence it
  cannot be a term
• Example If you win, he loses. If is not the
  subject of the sentence, therefore it is not a
  term.

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Cognitive Meaning

• Intensional consist of the attributes that the
  term connotes. For example, the term ice cube
  connotes the attributes of cold, translucent, and
  solid.
• Intensional Intension Connotation

• Extensional consist of members of a class that
  the term denotes. For example, the term dog
  denotes dogs all dogs in the universe.
• Extensional Extension Denotation

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Section 2.3

• A definition is a form of phraseology that
  assigns a meaning to a word or group of words.
• Two Parts
• Definiendum word or words that are supposed to
  be defined
• Definiens the words that actually does the
  defining.

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Stipulative Definitions

• Assigns a meaning to a word for the first time.
• Example Tub top means a computer one can use
  while in the bath tub.

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Lexical Definitions

• Are used to report the meaning that word already
  has in a language
• Example Scale means (1) a devise for weighing
  things (2) part of the skin of a fish (3) a
  series of musical notes.

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Precising Definitions

• Are to reduce the vagueness of a word
• Senior means in relation to buying a ticket, that
  a purchaser must be at least 65 year old or older.

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Theoretical Definitions

• Assigns a meaning to a word by suggesting a
  theory that gives a certain characterization to
  the entities that the term denotes.
• Example Gravity means the force that results
  from bending the space in the vicinity of matter.
• Note All associated with Science

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Persuasive Definition

• Is to engender a favorable or unfavorable
  attitude toward what is denoted by the
  definiendum.
• Example Affirmative action means giving a well
  deserved break to certain minorities to correct
  for years of unfair treatment.