INFORMAL LANGUAGE & FALLACIES

Engineering a culture of Reasoning

UNIT 3

EMOTIVE & NEUTRAL LANGUAGE

The statements in an argument have emotive as well

as cognitive meaning. Failure to distinguish these two (2) factors can easily lead to errors in logic. 1. Emotive Force The emotive force of a sentence is the emotion the sentence expresses or tends to elicit. 2. Cognitive Meaning
The cognitive meaning of a sentence is the information conveyed by a sentence. Logic mainly has to do with cognitive meaning . That is, logical connections between content and statement

EMOTIVE & NEUTRAL LANGUAGE

Example#1 There are approximately $25,000 USA earned by each Jamaican on average each year. Foreign direct investment is the major factor that explains this level of earnings. Example#2 The number of murders per year in Jamaica is now so high that you have got to have a death wish to walk the streets, day or night. Every lunatic and every thug carries a heater, just waiting to blow you away.

Example # 1 is designed to provide information Sentences have cognitive meaning when they provide information. Approximately, earnings and $25,000 help give cognitive meaning to # 1.
Example # 2 is designed in part to express feelings or elicit an emotional response. Death wish, lunatic and thug and blow away contribute to 3 emotive force.

 Is it possible for a sentence to have both emotive force and cognitive meaning? An example such as # 1 provides both emotive force and cognitive. If per capita income of $25,000 USA is very good it could invoke feeling of pride and accomplishment in the country.

EMOTIVE & NEUTRAL LANGUAGE

EMOTIVE & NEUTRAL LANGUAGE

Other Examples 1. Should capital punishment be abolished? No way! The inmates on death row are nothing but human vermin. 2. If we harvest the organs (heart, liver, kidneys, etc.) of certain animals, such as baboons, and transplant the organs into humans who need them, many human lives will be saved. Therefore, we ought to harvest the organs of baboons and use the organs to save human lives.

Language, definitions & Logic

1. 2. Definitions play an important role in argument: Mainly because, they clarify and remove ambiguity They make vague terminology more precise. According to Wesley Salmon, the meaning of a word may be specified either through its extension or its intention: 1. Extensional Definitions - the extension of a term consists of the set of things to which the term applies. 2. Intentional Definitions - the intension of a term consists of the properties a thing must have to be included in the terms extension.

Extensional Definition
The extensional definition specifies the meaning of a term by indicating the set of things to which the term applies. Extensional definitions come in two (2) basic types:
1. Nonverbal (or ostensive) - to give an ostensive definition one specifies the meaning of the term by pointing to objects in its extension 2. Verbal - to give a verbal extensional definition, we name the members of the extension individually or in groups.
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Extensional Definition
Example # 1 1. Ostensive definition we can define cars by pointing to : Austin Cambridge, Riley, Escort,Cummer, buwick and Morris Oxford. 2. We can define types of businesses by pointing to: Sole traders, partnership, corporations and nonprofit organizations. Example # 2 1. Verbal definition we could define cars by naming them individually, by groups or subclass 2. Types of businesses can be defined by saying the names verbally. 8

Intentional Definitions
Intentional definitions specify the meaning of a term by indicating the properties a thing must have to be included in the terms extension. Example businesses must produce for local consumption produce for exports and must re-plug profits for expansion they must be certified and pay taxes They must have a memorandum of association. They must be based on equity and debt capital
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Lexical Definitions
A lexical definition reports the conventional or established intension of the term. Example # 1 Business means, a person, partnership, or corporation engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or a service; profit-seeking enterprise or concern. Example # 2 immanent means existing or remaining within, that is inherent. imminent means about to occur.
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Lexical Definitions
lexical definitions have truth values that is, they are either true or false as they report conventional meanings. They are true if they correctly report the established intention of the term and false if they fail to do this. Dictionaries are usually updated to capture the most widely established use of words and current use. Lexical definitions are correct insofar as they reflect standard usage.
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Stipulative Definitions
Stipulative definitions Stipulative definitions specify the intension of a term independently of convention or established use. Example: - A writer or speaker may wish to introduce a new word into the language or give an old word a new meaning - A sptipulative definition is a proposal or recommendation to use a term in a certain manner. - A stipulative definition is neither true nor false as it is not a lexical definition. - If the recommendation to use a term in a certain manner takes hold and becomes part of the established use, then the 12

Stipulative Definitions
Example Suppose the finance minister wanted to pass law in parliament to give a special tax break to the poor. He may want to define the poor as, any family that has at least three (3) members and annual income of $17,000 or less. NB: once this is not a standard lexical definition which makes it not a conventional or established definition, it is stipulative.
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Stipulative Definitions
Example The tax break law example above is a case where the minister agrees to use that meaning for poor. It is a definition by agreement which makes it stipulative. The minimum wage law in Jamaica and how the concept is used is a stipulative use of the term minimum wage to mean $3,500 per week. NB: that neither the lexicon nor any universal convention does not have this definition using this amount of money.

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Prcising Definitions
A prcising definition: a. reduces the vagueness of a term by imposing limits on the conventional meaning . b. differs from the stipulative definition because it in not independent of conventional meaning. c. is like a stipulative definition in that it is a proposal to draw lines at a point not given not given by the conventional meaning.
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Prcising Definitions
Example # 1

Businessman This is an extensional definition (indicating ostensively or naming verbally) which could be made a prcising definition by saying that, a businessman is the person who owns the capital and takes the risks in a business venture. This prcising definition also turns out to be a lexical definition of a businessman.
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Prcising Definitions
Example # 2
Prcising definitions are essential in constructing laws relating to businesses, taxes, trade and the formulation and operation of corporations. Suppose parliament wishes to write a legislation that provides a tax break to the poor. If the line is not drawn everyone will claim they are poor and would want to claim the tax break. A prcising law would need to say for example that, a poor family must have at least three (3) members and their annual income must be $17,000 or less. NB: this could be an example of a stipulative definition.

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Theoretical Definitions
A theoretical definition is an intentional definition It attempts to provide an adequate understanding of the things to which the term applies. Example Define Knowledge - Webster Online Dictionary: What is knowledge? Knowledge is the fact or condition of knowing. - Define Know 1. To perceive directly: have direct cognition of 2. To have understanding of 3. To recognize the nature of 4. To be aware of the truth or factuality of: be convinced or certain of 5. To have a practical understanding of
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Theoretical Definitions
This definition above is wanting for the following reasons: You can know something without seeing it with your own eyes or having direct cognition of it You can know something even if you are not absolutely certain of it. Philosophers define knowledge as justified true belief. This differs from the lexical, stipulative or prcising definitions.

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Theoretical Definitions
Lexical definitions are not always distinct from theoretical definitions. Theoretical definitions are correct in so far as they capture the true nature of the property or thing they purport to define.

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Summary
1. 2. 3. 4. Activity on lexical definition Activity on prcising definitions Activity on stipulative definitions Activity on theoretical definition

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