Philosophical Argument

As many of you probably know, I am not a fan of using philosophy to support claims on objective reality. However, it is valuable for organizing thoughts, especially regarding reasoned arguments. Below are summaries of categories of argument, with links to two 10-minute videos from which the information was obtained:

Deductive

General to specific, from the top down.  Premises lead to a conclusion. The conclusion is certain if all premises are true. This is the category of argument from the religious, purveyors of alternatives to medicine, and all other pseudosciences. Unfortunately, there is at least one faulty premise in their arguments, thus, all of their conclusions are unsupported.

Inductive

Specific to general, from the bottom up. Premises lead to a conclusion. The conclusion is **not certain but probable if all premises are true. This is the category of argument science uses.

** If the conclusion is highly probable, we should live our lives as if it is true and real, from a practical standpoint.

Abductive

Draws a conclusion based on the explanation that best explains a state of events, rather than the evidence provided by the premises. Rules out possible explanations until you find the most probable one given the evidence. Used when you don't have clear evidence from the past and it is a puzzling situation. Physicians use it for diagnosing, and detectives use it to solve crimes. You use it in your everyday life also.

How to Argue - Philosophical Reasoning: Crash Course Philosophy #2

How to Argue - Induction & Abduction: Crash Course Philosophy #3

Remember,