High Science

After about two minutes of bullshitting and talking about episode introductions, the crew gets into talking about the philosophical field of argumentation. This episode focuses on the structure of arguments, validity of arguments, and logical fallacies. Types and Structure of Arguments There are two types of arguments: deductive and inductive. Deductive arguments attempt to guarantee the truth of the claim being provided. In other words, if all the premises are true and logical, it would be impossible for the conclusion to be false. An inductive argument attempts to arrive at a conclusion that is likely to be true. If all the premises are true, it is unlikely that that conclusion will be wrong. Examples for both are given in the episode. It is important to remember that a sound argument can lead to a wrong conclusion and a ridiculous argument can lead to a correct conclusion. The study of argumentation is meant to maximize the probability of attaining the truth. Logical Fallacies Logical Fallacies are common