Philosophy 1301 Exam Study Guide |
Introduction to Philosophy, Arguments &
Reasoning|Verified Questions complete with
A+ Graded Answers Latest Updated 2026
define Philosophy
"lover of wisdom" - it refers to the activity of seeking wisdom, Philosophers seek the truth.
Notes about philosophy
Philosophy involves asking questions and thinking about questions. For the most part, however,
there are no answers - just lots of discussion and debate. We are still asking and thinking about
questions that Plato had considered over 2500 years ago.Philosophy concerns itself with the
domain of ideas. There are no right or wrong answers - and, hence, there may be uncertainty
and some frustration - but the process leads to a better understanding of the ideas and to a
broadening of the mind.
Analysis types
"analytic philosophy" - it involves critical analysis or examination. Analytic Philosophers perform
"conceptual analysis", where concepts are analyzed. The primary tool of the Philosopher is
symbolic logic, or argumentation, as claims must be supportable with reason.
Argument form (process by which one offers reasons to believe in a position, 1-9 are premises,
10 is conclusion) Example
Question: Should Lone Star College System (LSCS) require all its students to buy a meal plan?
1) LSCS's job is to help its students.
2) Requiring all students to buy a meal plan will help LSCS students.
3) LSCS has traditional and nontraditional students.
4) Traditional college students (right from high school) frequently do not eat properly.
5) Nontraditional college students often juggle school with work and/or family and, hence, often
,do not have the time to eat properly.
6) Requiring all students to buy a meal plan will assure that all students eat at least one quality
meal each day.
7) Evidence shows that students who eat at least one quality meal per day perform better than
students who do not.
8) Students who perform better get better grades and better jobs.
9) If its students get better grades and better jobs, then LSCS does its job better.
_______
tf 10) Yes, LSCS should require all its students to buy a meal plan.
Types of reasoning
1) Induction: is based on probabilities - the conclusion is generalized from specific instances. For
example, on every day that I can remember, the sun rose in the morning. From these numerous
experiences of sunrises, I find it highly probable that tomorrow morning the sun will also rise. In
an inductive argument, you infer from past experiences.
"All swans are white". I am simply inferring this conclusion from my past experiences - the more
experiences I have had, the stronger the probabilities of my inferred conclusion. I can also make
a prediction, based on my experiences, that the next swan I see will be white. Now, suppose you
introduce me to a black swan. At this point, I learn that my conclusion and my prediction are
both wrong, as they were limited by my past experiences.
This demonstrates the problem with inductive reasoning. Although we use this form of
reasoning a great deal, it is limited by a person's experiences.
2) Deductive: also known as an Aristotelian syllogism - is an argument involving premises and
conclusions. Such an argument is "an attempt to establish a conclusion being true." There is one
statement (the conclusion) that follows from (or, is implied by) other statements (the premises).
Here is an example of a deductive argument:
1) All men are mortal
, 2) Socrates is a man
_______
therefore, 3) Socrates is mortal
Evaluating deductive arguments (Valid and Sound)
Valid: the conclusion follows from (or, is implied by) the premises. Truth and validity are
independent - this is very important to remember. In the last example, the conclusion ("Socrates
has wings") does follow from the premises, so the argument is valid. It does not matter that the
conclusion is false - truth is independent of an analysis of the validity of an argument.
Sound: valid argument and if all the premises are true. So, when analyzing an argument, first
look to see if the argument is valid. If not, the analysis is over. If it is valid, check to see if the
argument is sound (that is, determine if all the premises are true).
How we know plato and socrates
Plato, known as the "father" of western Philosophy, lived in Greece over 2,500 years ago. He
was a student of Socrates, and we know Socrates through Plato. But, they did not start at zero;
rather, they built their thoughts and ideas on the work of the Presocratics - ancient Greek
thinkers who came before Socrates, roughly from the end of the seventh century B.C.E. to the
middle of the fourth century B.C.E.
Presocratics and old philosophers beliefs
The change began in Miletus (present day Turkey) with the birth of reason. The people used
observation and reason and looked to nature, instead of myths, for explanations.
They looked to the cycle of the four basic elements: air, earth, fire, and water. Although these all
interrelate, they cannot all come from each other. This led the Milesians to the question "What
came first?".
Thales (around 580 B.C.E.), known as the father of Philosophy, answered that water came first.
When you look at a river versus a desert, it is clear that water is a lifegiver and surrounds
everything. This reduction to water is sort of like the later reduction to atoms. According to
Palmer, 'reductionism' is "a method of explanation that takes an object that confronts us on the
surface as being one kind of thing and shows that the object can be reduced to a more basic
kind of thing at a deeper but less obvious level of analysis." Palmer, Looking At Philosophy, pp.
16-17. This was the first that a position was based on argumentable grounds - it was criticizable
Introduction to Philosophy, Arguments &
Reasoning|Verified Questions complete with
A+ Graded Answers Latest Updated 2026
define Philosophy
"lover of wisdom" - it refers to the activity of seeking wisdom, Philosophers seek the truth.
Notes about philosophy
Philosophy involves asking questions and thinking about questions. For the most part, however,
there are no answers - just lots of discussion and debate. We are still asking and thinking about
questions that Plato had considered over 2500 years ago.Philosophy concerns itself with the
domain of ideas. There are no right or wrong answers - and, hence, there may be uncertainty
and some frustration - but the process leads to a better understanding of the ideas and to a
broadening of the mind.
Analysis types
"analytic philosophy" - it involves critical analysis or examination. Analytic Philosophers perform
"conceptual analysis", where concepts are analyzed. The primary tool of the Philosopher is
symbolic logic, or argumentation, as claims must be supportable with reason.
Argument form (process by which one offers reasons to believe in a position, 1-9 are premises,
10 is conclusion) Example
Question: Should Lone Star College System (LSCS) require all its students to buy a meal plan?
1) LSCS's job is to help its students.
2) Requiring all students to buy a meal plan will help LSCS students.
3) LSCS has traditional and nontraditional students.
4) Traditional college students (right from high school) frequently do not eat properly.
5) Nontraditional college students often juggle school with work and/or family and, hence, often
,do not have the time to eat properly.
6) Requiring all students to buy a meal plan will assure that all students eat at least one quality
meal each day.
7) Evidence shows that students who eat at least one quality meal per day perform better than
students who do not.
8) Students who perform better get better grades and better jobs.
9) If its students get better grades and better jobs, then LSCS does its job better.
_______
tf 10) Yes, LSCS should require all its students to buy a meal plan.
Types of reasoning
1) Induction: is based on probabilities - the conclusion is generalized from specific instances. For
example, on every day that I can remember, the sun rose in the morning. From these numerous
experiences of sunrises, I find it highly probable that tomorrow morning the sun will also rise. In
an inductive argument, you infer from past experiences.
"All swans are white". I am simply inferring this conclusion from my past experiences - the more
experiences I have had, the stronger the probabilities of my inferred conclusion. I can also make
a prediction, based on my experiences, that the next swan I see will be white. Now, suppose you
introduce me to a black swan. At this point, I learn that my conclusion and my prediction are
both wrong, as they were limited by my past experiences.
This demonstrates the problem with inductive reasoning. Although we use this form of
reasoning a great deal, it is limited by a person's experiences.
2) Deductive: also known as an Aristotelian syllogism - is an argument involving premises and
conclusions. Such an argument is "an attempt to establish a conclusion being true." There is one
statement (the conclusion) that follows from (or, is implied by) other statements (the premises).
Here is an example of a deductive argument:
1) All men are mortal
, 2) Socrates is a man
_______
therefore, 3) Socrates is mortal
Evaluating deductive arguments (Valid and Sound)
Valid: the conclusion follows from (or, is implied by) the premises. Truth and validity are
independent - this is very important to remember. In the last example, the conclusion ("Socrates
has wings") does follow from the premises, so the argument is valid. It does not matter that the
conclusion is false - truth is independent of an analysis of the validity of an argument.
Sound: valid argument and if all the premises are true. So, when analyzing an argument, first
look to see if the argument is valid. If not, the analysis is over. If it is valid, check to see if the
argument is sound (that is, determine if all the premises are true).
How we know plato and socrates
Plato, known as the "father" of western Philosophy, lived in Greece over 2,500 years ago. He
was a student of Socrates, and we know Socrates through Plato. But, they did not start at zero;
rather, they built their thoughts and ideas on the work of the Presocratics - ancient Greek
thinkers who came before Socrates, roughly from the end of the seventh century B.C.E. to the
middle of the fourth century B.C.E.
Presocratics and old philosophers beliefs
The change began in Miletus (present day Turkey) with the birth of reason. The people used
observation and reason and looked to nature, instead of myths, for explanations.
They looked to the cycle of the four basic elements: air, earth, fire, and water. Although these all
interrelate, they cannot all come from each other. This led the Milesians to the question "What
came first?".
Thales (around 580 B.C.E.), known as the father of Philosophy, answered that water came first.
When you look at a river versus a desert, it is clear that water is a lifegiver and surrounds
everything. This reduction to water is sort of like the later reduction to atoms. According to
Palmer, 'reductionism' is "a method of explanation that takes an object that confronts us on the
surface as being one kind of thing and shows that the object can be reduced to a more basic
kind of thing at a deeper but less obvious level of analysis." Palmer, Looking At Philosophy, pp.
16-17. This was the first that a position was based on argumentable grounds - it was criticizable
