Critical Thinking #6: Implicit Premises
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the concept of suppressed premises in arguments, using the example of Barack Obama's presidential terms to illustrate how an implicit premise can be crucial for a conclusion. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing and justifying controversial or questionable premises to avoid fallacies. The video also promotes Brilliant, an online learning platform that fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills in philosophy, math, and science.
Takeaways
- 📝 Arguments often have suppressed premises that are assumed to be true but not explicitly stated.
- 🇺🇸 The example given is about Barack Obama serving two terms as president, implying a suppressed premise about term limits for U.S. presidents.
- 🚫 It's acceptable to leave a premise suppressed if it's universally accepted and known to the audience.
- 💡 The importance of recognizing implicit premises in arguments, especially when they are controversial or questionable.
- ❗️ The responsibility of the person making the argument to justify a controversial implied premise.
- 🤔 The potential for implicit premises to create fallacies in reasoning.
- 🌐 The transcript promotes 'brilliant.org', an online learning community for philosophy, math, and science.
- 📚 'Brilliant' offers interactive problem-solving and lessons on logic, reasoning, and more.
- 🔗 The video description contains a link to 'brilliant.org/criticalthinking' for a special offer.
- 💰 The first 200 visitors using the link get a 20% discount on an annual Premium Membership.
- 🎓 The platform encourages building connections with subjects by interacting with other learners.
Q & A
What is a suppressed premise in an argument?
-A suppressed premise is an assumption that is necessary to reach a conclusion but is not explicitly stated in the argument. It is considered implicit and often assumed to be true by the person making the argument.
Why is it important to recognize suppressed premises in an argument?
-Recognizing suppressed premises is important because they can be controversial or questionable, and if not addressed, they may lead to fallacies or flawed reasoning. It's crucial for clear and logical argumentation.
What is an example of a suppressed premise given in the script?
-The example given is that Barack Obama served two terms as president, and the suppressed premise needed to conclude that he was not eligible for re-election in 2016 is the law that prohibits presidents from serving more than two terms.
Under what conditions is it acceptable to leave a premise suppressed in an argument?
-A premise can be left suppressed if it is universally accepted and if the audience already has the knowledge of that premise. It should be common knowledge that does not require further explanation.
What is the conclusion of the argument about Barack Obama's eligibility for re-election?
-The conclusion is that at the end of Obama's second term, he was not eligible for re-election in 2016.
What is the second argument presented in the script, and what is its suppressed premise?
-The second argument is for the continuation of the war on drugs to reduce deaths caused by drug addiction. The suppressed premise is that the war on drugs effectively reduces such deaths, which is controversial.
Why might the person making an argument have a responsibility to justify a suppressed premise?
-The person making the argument has a responsibility to justify a suppressed premise if it is controversial or not obvious to the audience, to ensure the argument is valid and persuasive.
What is the role of the online learning community 'Brilliant' as mentioned in the script?
-Brilliant is an online learning community where users can improve their skills in philosophy, math, and science. It offers interactive problem-solving and learning experiences with a focus on critical thinking and logic.
What kind of lessons can one expect to find on Brilliant.org as per the script?
-On Brilliant.org, one can expect immersive lessons on problem-solving, logic, multi-level thinking, deductive reasoning, and more, with the opportunity to interact with other learners and educators.
What special offer is mentioned in the script for the first 200 people visiting a specific link?
-The first 200 people visiting 'brilliant.org/criticalthinking' will receive a 20% discount on an annual Premium Membership.
How can one sign up for free on Brilliant.org as mentioned in the script?
-To sign up for free on Brilliant.org, one can go to 'brilliant.org/criticalthinking', as mentioned in the script with a link provided in the description under the video.
Outlines
🔍 The Concept of Suppressed Premises
This paragraph discusses the idea of suppressed or implicit premises in arguments. It uses the example of Barack Obama's presidency to illustrate how a conclusion can be reached without explicitly stating all the premises. The paragraph explains that it's acceptable to leave out a premise if it's universally accepted and known to the audience. However, if a premise is controversial or not obvious, it should be stated and justified. The paragraph also mentions that implicit premises can lead to fallacies and emphasizes the importance of recognizing them in arguments.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Argument
💡Conclusion
💡Premise
💡Suppressed Premise
💡Universally Accepted
💡Controversial
💡Fallacy
💡Critical Thinking
💡Brilliant
💡Implicit Premise
💡Deductive Reasoning
Highlights
Arguments often have suppressed or implicit premises that are assumed to be true but not explicitly stated.
A suppressed premise is acceptable if it is universally accepted and known by the audience.
The example given is that Barack Obama served two terms and could not run for a third due to legal term limits, which is a suppressed premise.
An argument may have a suppressed premise that is controversial or questionable, which should be made explicit and justified.
The war on drugs example has a suppressed premise that it reduces deaths from drug addiction, which is controversial.
Implicit premises can create fallacies just as easily as stated premises.
Recognizing implicit premises in an argument is important to avoid fallacies and ensure logical soundness.
The transcript promotes the online learning community Brilliant, where users can improve skills in philosophy, math, and science.
Brilliant offers hands-on problem-solving in various domains and allows interaction with curious people globally.
The critical thinking miniseries is sponsored in part by Brilliant.
Brilliant provides immersive lessons on problem-solving, logic, multi-level thinking, and deductive reasoning.
Users can build connections with subjects by interacting with other learners on the Brilliant platform.
A special offer is provided for the first 200 people who sign up on Brilliant using the link in the description.
Signing up through the provided link gives a 20% discount on an annual Premium Membership on Brilliant.
The link to sign up on Brilliant is 'brilliant.org/criticalthinking'.
Transcripts
often when someone makes an argument and
comes to a conclusion they don't always
come out and explicitly state all of
their premises some of the premises that
are needed to get us to the conclusion
are left out and assumed to be true
here's an example premise Barack Obama
served two terms as president conclusion
at the end of Obama's second term he was
not eligible for re-election in 2016 but
to get from that premise to this
conclusion we actually need another
premise which is that the law prohibits
presidents from serving more than two
terms because this premise wasn't
explicitly presented in the argument
this is what we would call a suppressed
premise or an implicit premise and
sometimes having suppressed premises is
okay and it's more common than you might
think it's fine to leave a premise
suppressed if it fits both of the
following two criteria if the premise is
universally accepted and if it's
knowledge that the person or people
you're speaking to already have in my
argument about Barack Obama it would be
okay to leave out the premise about
presidents being bound legally to two
terms if the person who I'm speaking to
already knows that this premise is true
but here's another argument premise we
want fewer people to die from drug
addiction conclusion the war on drugs
should continue the suppressed or
implicit premise here is that the war on
drugs reduces deaths caused by drug
addiction whether or not this premise is
true it's controversial and it cannot be
assumed that this premise is obvious to
the person listening to the argument and
that's why it's important for us to
recognize when premises may be implicit
in an argument when the argument is
presented if a controversial or
questionable premise is being implied
the person making the argument may have
a responsibility to justify that claim
as well implicit premises can create
fallacies just as easily as stated
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