Logic as the study of correct

argumentation

What is an argument?
 Statement
The 1987 Constitution needs
to be changed.
The government’s drive
against “tambays” is not
unconstitutional.
Argument
The 1987 Constitution needs
to be changed because its
economic provisions are
overly protective of local
industries and some of its
policies are not apt to deal
with the current situation
that our country finds itself
in.
The government’s drive
against “tambays” is not
unconstitutional since it has
always been within the state’s
powers to regulate liberty and
property for the general
welfare.
Compounds that produce
cancer in animals are also
potential human carcinogens.
If we truly believe in the
dignity of labor, any task can
be performed with pride.
Almost every known human
carcinogen causes cancer in
animals. Therefore, it is
reasonable to expect that
compounds that produce
cancer in animals are also
potential human carcinogens.
If we truly believe in the
dignity of labor, any task can
be performed with pride.
Because no honest work can
demean the dignity of a
human being.
 PREMISE INDICATORS

Since, Because, For, As, As shown by, Inasmuch as, As indicated by,
The reason is that, For the reason that, May be inferred from, May
be deduced from, May be derived from, In view of that fact,
Assuming that, Seeing that, Granted that, This is true because,
Given that, One cannot doubt that

CONCLUSION INDICATORS

Conclusion Indicators: Therefore, Hence, Thus, So, Accordingly, In

consequence, Consequently, Which proves that, As a result, For this
reason, It follows that, We may infer, I conclude that, Which shows
that, Which means that, Which entails that, Which implies that,
Which allows us to infer that, Which points to the conclusion that,
This being so, The moral is
Logic as the study of correct
inferential thinking

Inference as a mental act by which conclusions are drawn from premises.

Reptiles are cold-blooded animals.

Premises
Crocodiles are reptiles.
Therefore, Crocodiles are cold-blooded animals.

Conclusion

A’s grandfather has diabetes;

A’s mother has diabetes;
A’s brother has diabetes;
Therefore, it is likely that A has diabetes too.

Deduction vs
Induction
 Deductive Inductive

A mortal being cannot stop the flow of
time;
You are a mortal being;
Therefore, you cannot stop the flow of
time.
The recent SWS survey states that 62% of Filipinos are
satisfied with the performance of the current
administration;
You are a Filipino;
Ergo, you are satisfied with the performance of the
current administration.

Necessary Probable
Ah, so you’re a ‘waray’. E di matapang ka niyan?

We should disregard Sen. Defensor’s proposed bill regarding the

robbery of tombs and corpses. She was paid by the SAGASAPA
(Samahang Galit Sa Pagnanakaw sa mga bangkay) to draft it anyway.

And why should Jean Val Jean be imprisoned? He merely stole that
loaf of bread to feed his family.

Everyone in my class told me that I’d become a good student council

president. With this in mind I’m certain that everyone in CEU will
vote for me this coming election.
Whenever I make the sign of the cross before taking a free-throw
my shots would go in. Therefore if make the sign of the cross now,
my shot is most likely to go in.

People who support the current administration are against

corruption. Now since you are a critic of this administration then
you are not against the corrupt practices in the country.
 Fallacy

Dicto Simpliciter Hasty Generalization

Argumentum ad Hominem (Poisoning Argumentum ad Misericordiam

the Well)

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

 Sweeping Inference

Dicto Simpliciter Hasty Generalization

Arguments that either make categorical claims

out of insufficient data or draw out
conclusions via an application of a rule
without any qualification.
 Dicto Simpliciter

Ilocanos are known to be thrifty. Boyet is Ilocano.

Therefore I’m sure that he’s quite thrifty too.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines in a statement

last April released a statement that supports former
Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Serreno. If your friend is a
lawyer, then I know he supports Chief Justice Serreno
too.
 Hasty Generalization

That Kevin Durant sucks! He is not a good basketball

player at all; See he has missed 4 out of his 5 last shots?

My friend watched “Sid and Aya” and claimed that it

was good; My sister watched “Sid and Aya” and said
that the movie’s good. Therefore everyone has already
watched the movie and thinks that it is good.
 Argumentum ad Hominem (Poisoning
the Well)

An argument that attacks the person making the argument,

rather than the argument itself; when the attack on the person is
completely irrelevant to the argument the person is making.

Chairman Garcia’s scheme to lessen traffic in EDSA should be ignored. His proposals
clearly indicate that he is from the rural areas and he doesn’t have the slightest idea
on how bad traffic is here in the Metro.
The report claiming that women have an instinctive need to be
mothers is obviously false because the researchers are all
chauvinist males and the women who were interviewed for that
study were all self-hating women who were unaware of the
exploits of patriarchy.
 Argumentum ad Misericordiam

An argument that pleads for its case on the account of pity or

emotion.

I certainly deserve a raise in pay. I can hardly manage to feed my

children on what this company has been paying me. And my
youngest child, Tim, needs an operation if he is ever to walk
without crutches.

If we don’t allow the RH Bill to be passed then we are condemning

a lot of women to suffer. Should we allow that to happen?
 Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

Wrongful attribution of a cause to an

effect.

An argument that assumes that the

mere temporal succession of events is
enough to warrant a causal
connection.
It was said that Nick Joaquin would often drink Pale Pilsen
before writing, that is why if I want to be as good as Nick
Joaquin, I need to acquire the taste for Pale Pilsen too.

If you don’t want to rain then don’t let Julia sing! Her singing
never fails to accomplish that.
 False Analogy

What is?

Analogous terms are terms that are

partly the same and partly different.

What would
make it
false?

Just because the two terms are alike

in some respects then that means
they are alike in all respects.
If OJ Simpson can get away with murder and Hubert
Webb with massacre, then maybe I can get away with
killing this bus driver too.

Beggars never choose, that is why we can’t reject the offer of

the United States regarding the sale of their second hand
warships.

People who buy stocks are no different from people who bet
on horse racing. They both risk their money with little chance
of making a big profit.
 Fallacy of Equivocation

The fallacy of equivocation occurs when a key term or phrase in

an argument is used in an ambiguous way, with one meaning in
one portion of the argument and then another meaning in
another portion of the argument.

Supposition

Nothing is better than eating kebab. But eating pagpag is better than
eating nothing. Therefore eating pagpag is better than eating kebab
Love is blind and God is love; therefore God is
blind.

Your work ethic is so bad you cannot finish

anything in your job. Just the thought of
you considering yourself an ethical person
makes me cringe.
 Red Herring

This fallacy consists in diverting attention from the real issue by

focusing instead on an issue having only a surface relevance to
the firs

I don't think that there should be marriage among

homosexuals. Anyway, taxes on married people are
high. I think that taxes on the married are just
ridiculous.
I have worked hard to help eliminate criminal
activity. What we need is economic growth that can
only come from the hands of sturdy leadership.

Theist: There must be a God or something

transcendent because there is a common
transcultural core to all mystical experiences.
Agnostic or atheist: Well, I just think religious people
are hypocrites and that religion does more harm
than good.
 Begging the Question

The fallacy of begging the question occurs when an argument's

premises assume the truth of the conclusion, instead of
supporting it. In other words, you assume without proof the
stand/position, or a significant part of the stand, that is in
question. Begging the question is also called arguing in a circle.

Of course smoking causes cancer. The smoke from

cigarettes is a carcinogen.
I am confident that God exists because it says so in the Bible. And the Bible
contains God's word

The Avengers is the greatest movie ever because it is the number one top grossing
movie of all time.
 Fallacy of Contradictory Premises

This fallacy is committed when an argument contains premises

that assert and deny the same thing

Of course consenting adults should be able to do whatever

they want. We are in a free country. But some things violate
the laws of nature, and if people get caught doing those
things, we should send them to jail.
If President Duterte is better than President Marcos
and President Marcos is better than President Ramos
then President Ramos is better than President
Duterte
 Appeal to Ignorance:

An argument which assumes that something is true just because

there is lack of evidence to the contrary. This fallacy wrongly
shifts the burden of proof away from the one making the claim.

Burden of
proof?

Aliens exist because there is no proof that

they don't exist.
The fact that the government cannot prove that the CCT
Program goes to their beneficiaries means that the CCT funds
are being stolen by government officials.
 Slippery Slope

In a slippery slope argument, a course of action is rejected

because, with little or no evidence, one insists that it will lead to
a chain reaction resulting in an undesirable end or ends. The
slippery slope involves an acceptance of a succession of events
without direct evidence that this course of events will happen.

First we loosen up the laws against abortion. Next, mark my

words; we'll take seriously the option of infanticide in certain
severe cases. And this will lead us to look with favor on
euthanasia for those we deem social deviants
If we continue giving homeworks to students during the
weekends then they will not eat enough even during
weekends. And since they will not be eating enough then
they will not get proper nutrition. Thus giving homeworks
may cause malnutrition for students.

If we allow children to play mobile games then they will

become violent; and when they will become violent
they will become criminals; and when they become
criminals they will be sent to jail; and then majority of
them will get the capital punishment, which will surely
be passed before the Duterte Administration ends. That
is why we should never let students to play mobile
games.
 Appeal to Authority:

Insisting that a claim is true simply because a valid authority or

expert on the issue said it was true, without any other
supporting evidence offered.

My favorite actor, who appeared in a movie about AIDS, has

testified that the HIV virus doesnt really cause AIDS and that
there has been a cover-up. So, I think that AIDS must be
caused by something other than HIV and the drug companies
are hiding it so that they can make money from expensive
anti-HIV drugs.
 Pacifism is a good idea because the brilliant scientist Einstein
advocated it.

Not every reliance upon the testimony of authority figures is

fallacious. We often rely upon such testimony, and we can do so
for very good reason. Their talent, training and experience put
them in a position to evaluate and report on evidence not readily
available to everyone else.

STANDARD
1. The authority is an expert in the area of knowledge under
consideration.
2. The statement of the authority concerns his or her area of
mastery.
3. There is agreement among experts in the area of knowledge
under consideration.
 Appeal to popular will (Ad Populum)

"Bandwagon fallacy" or a kind of fallacy wherein the truth of the

conclusion is based on the grounds that all or many people think
or believe it is true.

The fact that the majority of our citizens support the death
penalty proves that deep inside we know it is morally right.
Vice Ganda is the best talent of this generation, see he has 1
Million followers on Instagram already? Not to mention his
legions of fans in It's Showtime and Gandang Gabi Vice.

I need to have Nike Elite Socks and Compression Shorts for

me to play basketball properly. Have you noticed, all good
players are wearing them?
 Appeal to force (Ad Bacculum)

When force, coercion, or even a threat of force is used in place of

a reason in an attempt to justify a conclusion

You should believe God exists because, if you don't, when you
die you will be judged and God will send you to Hell for all of
eternity. You don't want to be tortured in Hell, do you? If not,
it is a safer bet to believe in God than to not believe.
That we are allowing some Chinese to fish in our
territories is not an impeachable offense. Try lodging a
complaint against me at T@%%%#$ ipapakulong ko
kayo.
 ACTIVITY

1. Pre, gusto ka niyang si Anna, kita mo di naman niya

sinabing ayaw ka niya?
2. I believe every opinion is true and we should respect
everyone's opinion, however if you have an opinion as
those of the Ka-DDS, then your views shouldn't be
entertained at all.
3. Celibacy is an unnatural and unhealthy practice, since it is
neither natural nor healthy to exclude sexual activity from
one's life.
4. Logic helps people argue better but come to think of it do
we really need people to argue? There are enough
quarrels in this world already.
5. People who have to have a cup of coffee every morning before they can
function have no less a problem than alcoholics who have to have their alcohol
each day to sustain them.

6. We need more revenue to support the programs that we have. Children are our
future. Let's support children.

7. All of my Brando’s friends love the song “Let’s kill this love”, now since you are
friend of Brando then you must be into “Let’s kill this love” too.

8. My G-tech pen helps me pass my exams in Philo, now since I’m using it now, I’m
pretty certain that I’ll pass this exam as well.

9. If the CCT Program is passed a good number of lower income bracket families
coming from the agricultural sector will go the urban areas in order to get easier
subsidies; and when they flock to the urban areas we will be short of agricultural
workers and then since these supposedly agricultural workers are now in the
urban areas what will happen to our fields? The Philippines then loses one of the
key areas of our economic growth. Thus the CCT Program does more harm than
good.
 10. Public Schools, K through 12, need to have much easier exams for students
because teachers don't fully realize the extent of the emotional repercussions of the
sorrow and depression of the many students who could score much better on easier
exams.

“I want to oppose the idea that the school has to teach

directly that special knowledge and those
accomplishments which one has to use later directly in
life. The demands of life are much too manifold to let
such a specialized training in school appear possible [...]
The development of general ability for independent
thinking and judgement should always be placed
foremost.”
― Albert Einstein