Methods of

Philosophizing
Distinguishing
Opinion from
Truth
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Underline the letter of the best
answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet
of paper.
1. It is the science and art of correct thinking
a. Metaphysics b. Cosmology c. Logic d. Ethics
2. It is an Illogical argument.
a. fallacy b. reasoning c. syllogism d. proposition
3. It is centered in the analysis and construction of arguments.
a. Metaphysics b. Cosmology c. Logic d. Ethics
4. It refers to the manner by which the premises necessarily
support for the conclusion. It is an essential attribute of deductive
argument.
a. Truth b. validity c. soundness d. probability
5. It serves as paths to freedom from half-truths and deceptions
a. Metaphysics b. Cosmology c. Logic d. Ethics
6. A valid argument which at the same time consists of all true propositions is said to be ___.
a. True b. valid c. sound d. probable
7. It distinguishes facts from opinions or personal feelings.
a. Metaphysics b. Cosmology c. Logic d. Ethics
8. This fallacy is committed when one assumes that the parts have the characteristics of the
whole.
a. argumentum ad ignorantiam (argument to ignorance)
b. fallacy of division
c. begging the question
d. argumentum ad populum (argument to the people)
9. In this type of reasoning, the premises are said to support the conclusion necessarily or
formally. Its essential attribute is validity
a. Deductive Reasoning b. Inductive Reasoning
c. Logical Reasoning d. Illogical Reasoning
10. Superstitious beliefs are examples of this fallacy.
a. fallacy of false cause b. amphiboly c. equivocation d. Accent
11. The essential attribute of this type of reasoning is probability.
a. Deductive Reasoning b. Inductive Reasoning
c. Logical Reasoning d. Illogical Reasoning
12. It is a defect in an argument other than its having false premises.
a. Deductive Argument b. fallacy c. sophism d. logic
13. A specific kind of appeal to emotion in which someone tries to win support for an
argument or idea by exploiting his or her opponent’s feelings of pity or guilt.
a. Appeal to pity b. Appeal to ignorance
c. Appeal to force d. Appeal to the people
14. It is an argument that appeals or exploits people’s vanities, desire for esteem, and
anchoring on popularity.
a. Appeal to pity b. Appeal to ignorance
c. Appeal to force d. Appeal to the people
15. It is an argument where force, coercion, or the threat of force, is given as a justification for
a conclusion.
a. Appeal to pity b. Appeal to ignorance
c. Appeal to force d. Appeal to the people
 This module introduces you the methods or ways of looking at
truth and what will be considered as mere “opinions.”
Philosophizing is to think or express oneself in a philosophical
manner. It considers or discusses a (matter) from a philosophical
standpoint. In logic, truth is based on reasoning and critical
thinking. Insofar as fallacy is an error, there is no established
classification of the ways in which men
and women commit errors. Hence, there is no universally accepted
classification of fallacies, for no classification of erroneous
arguments is entirely satisfactory. It would be impossible to draw
up a complete list of errors, for they are indeed multiple. Thus,
presented in this module are only the most common fallacies.
Lesson 1

Logic and Critical

Thinking: Tools in
 In the last module, the meaning and process
of doing Philosophy, emphasizing the
importance of holism, as well as learning how to
construct philosophical essays, were introduced.
This section shall demonstrate the various ways
of doing philosophy. In search for wisdom, you
must evaluate arguments and ways of
expressing your beliefs, emotions, and opinions.
Activity: Two Lies and a Truth

You shall tell two lies and a truth about yourself. Your
Classmates (or parents, brothers or sisters) will guess
which one is the truth.
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Logic comes from the Greek word logike,
meaning, “thought,” “reason,” or “discourse.”
It is the science and art of correct thinking (or
reasoning).
 Logic is centered in the analysis and
construction of arguments. Logic and critical
thinking serve as paths to freedom from half-
truths and deceptions. Critical thinking is
distinguishing facts and opinions or personal
feelings. In making rational choices, first, we
suspend beliefs and judgment until all facts
have been gathered and considered.
Activity: Explain the importance of logic and critical
thinking.
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
 Logicians distinguish between two basic
types of argument, namely: deductive and
inductive. Basically, an argument consists of
two parts, the premises and conclusion. The
main function of the premise is to provide
support or basis for the conclusion. The
conclusion by nature should be derived from
the premises.
 In Deductive reasoning or argument,
the premises are said to support the conclusion
necessarily or formally. While the essential attribute of
deductive argument is validity, that of Inductive
argument is probability.
Take for instance:
All philosophers are wise. (Major premise)
Confucius is a philosopher. (Minor premise)
Therefore, Confucius is wise. (Conclusion)
Validity and Soundness of an
Argument
 Based on the previous example (or syllogism),
if the two premises are constructed logically, then
the conclusion must follow logically, the deductive
argument is valid. This does not necessarily mean
that the conclusion is true or false. Validity comes
from a logical conclusion based on logically
constructed premises (Reed 2010).
Strength of an Argument
 On the other hand, inductive arguments cannot
prove if the premises are true which will also
determine the truth of the conclusion. Inductive
reasoning proves only probable support to the
conclusion. An inductive argument that succeeds in
providing such probable support is a strong
argument. While an inductive argument that fails to
provide such support is weak, a strong argument with
true premises is said to be cogent.
For example:
Jay: Do you think Congressman Gerry will be re-elected?
Yna: I doubt it. His district has become more conservative in
recent years. Also, 63% of the registered voters in his
district are in the Opposition.

This argument is both a statistical argument

and a predictive argument, which are two common
patterns of inductive reasoning. Also, the
conclusion does not follow necessarily from the
premises.
Activity:
Determine the premise and conclusion of the following quotes. Underline the
conclusion twice.

a. Many people believe that a dark tan is attractive and a sign of good health,
but mounting evidence indicates that too much sun can lead to health
problems. One of the most noticeable effects is premature aging of the skin. -
Joseph Morgan and Michael Morgan.
b. Every art and every inquiry and similarly every action and pursuit, is
thought to aim at some food; and for this reason, the good has rightly been
declared to be that at which all things aims. – Aristotle
c. The stakes in whistleblowing are high. Take the nurse who alleges that
physicians enrich themselves through unnecessary surgery.
- Sissela Bok
Guided Learning: Experiential Learning
1. Share your experiences on the times you did not use reason in your life but
rather, you relied more on emotions or opinions of other people. What did
you learn from the experience?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. Research a topic for class debate. For example: So long as one does not
harm others, an individual should be free to pursue his/her own ends.
Agree /Disagree
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
3. Determine which are the premises and the conclusion:
a. All known planets travel about the sun in elliptical orbits. Therefore, all
planets travel about the sun in elliptical orbits.
_______________________________________________________________
b. You have a very good circle of friends. Therefore, you are very
good.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
c. All oranges are fruits. All fruits grow on trees. Therefore, all
oranges grow on trees.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
 Lesson 2

Fallacies
A fallacy is a defect in an argument other than its
having false premises. To detect fallacies, it is required
to examine the argument’s content. Here are some of
the usually committed errors in reasoning and thus,
coming up with false conclusion and worse, distorting
the truth.
a. Appeal to pity (Argumentum ad
misericordiam)
A specific kind of appeal to emotion in which
someone tries to win support for an
argument or idea by exploiting his or her
opponent’s feelings of pity or guilt.
b. Appeal to ignorance
(Argumentum ad ignorantiam)
Whatever has not been proved false
must be true, and vice versa.
c. Equivocation
This is a logical chain of reasoning of a term or a word
several times, but giving the particular word a
different meaning each time. Example: Human beings
have hands; the clock has hands. He is drinking from
the pitcher of water; he is a baseball pitcher.
d. Composition
This infers that something is true of the whole
from the fact that it is true of some part of the
whole. The reverse of this fallacy is division.
e. Division
One reasons logically that
something true of a thing must
also be true of all or some of its
parts.
f. Against the Person (Argumentum ad
hominem)
This fallacy attempts to link the validity of a premise to a
characteristic or belief of the person advocating the premise.
However, in some instances, questions of personal conduct,
character, motives, etc., are legitimate if relevant to the issue.
g. Appeal to force (Argumentum ad
baculum)
An argument where force, coercion, or the threat of
force, is given as a justification for a conclusion.
h. Appeal to the people (Argumentum ad populum)
An argument that appeals or exploits people’s vanities,
desire for esteem, and anchoring on popularity. Consider
this illustration:
i. False cause (post hoc)
Since that event followed this one, that event must have been
caused by this one. This fallacy is also referred to as coincidental
correlation, or correlation not causation. This cartoon is an
example:
j. Hasty generalization
One commits errors if one reaches an inductive
generalization based on insufficient evidence. The
fallacy is commonly based on a broad conclusion
upon the statistics of a survey of a small group
that fails to sufficiently represent the whole
population.
k. Begging the question (petitio
principii)
This is a type of fallacy in which the proposition
to be proven is assumed implicitly or explicitly
in the premise.
Check Your Understanding
1. Cite examples of how fallacies are used in daily life. For example, when you
watch advertisements based on the popularity of endorsers, do you tend to
buy their product? Did you use the fallacies of ad misericordiam or ad
hominem toward others? How?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. Give five examples of informal fallacies and how they occur in life.
How can we avoid fallacies?
Examples:
Mr. Domingo is not afraid of the dark. But Mr. Domingo is an MIT
professor. Thus, all MIT professors are not afraid of the dark. (Fallacy
of Composition).
1._______________________________________________________
2._______________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________
Lesson 3

Analyze Situations that Show the

Difference between Opinion and
Truth
Applying Logic and Fallacies in Determining Truth from
Opinion:

Christine Ramos (2016) said, the purpose of

news reporting and journalism had irrevocably changed. If the
purpose of a sentence is to inform or state a fact, some of its
words must refer to things, events or properties. In other
words, some of its words have cognitive meaning. However,
words also have emotive meaning—that is, they also may have
emotive whether positive or negative overtones.
 Con artists take advantage of the emotive side of language in
two very important ways. First, they use emotive meaning masked
as cognitive meaning to whip up emotions so that reason gets
overlooked. Secondly, they use emotively neutral terms of
euphemisms to dull the force of what they say and, thus, make
acceptable what otherwise might not be. The fallacy of the use of
emotional words happens when one carefully employs words and
images that are heavy with emotional connotations in order to
secure the sympathies of others. In most political speeches by
politicians and activists, words and symbols have been invested
with rich meanings and can easily arouse the emotions and
sympathies of the listeners, viewers, and readers.
 Ignorance can be cloaked in a false aura of
authority. This fact casts serious doubt on the general
competence of newsmagazine writers who talk so
flippantly on technical matters. Handouts for instance
are fed to news reporters by government agencies and
others who speak English. This is why most news
journals or news reports give the same details. Some
correspondents are also culturally incompetent who
are not aware of the language or customs of the
countries that they are sent (Copi & Cohen 2010).
1. Problem-based Activity
Illegitimate generalizations result to stereotypes; it is a
distortion because it creates a false impression of the group
that is being represented. There are stereotypes in television,
movies, etc.
a. Watch a film where you can identify generalizations. For
instance, Mean Girls. Why are they "mean" and how did they
give false impressions to others? Discuss.
b. Did you experience a stereotyped generalization? Describe
the experience and explain why you believe that you were
subjected to this kind of generalization.
2. Research
Each of the statements below violates at least one of the
guidelines for critical thinking. Identify the guideline that was violated
and give a brief explanation for your choice. Determine whether the
statements are expressing opinions or truth.
a. Anna bought a bottle of pain reliever because a TV commercial
claimed that most hospitals prescribe it.
b. You're either for us or against us.
c. I get disgusted with my science classes. We study the "principle of
this" and the "theory of that” Aren't there any laws? Why can't
scientists make up their minds and stop acting like they don't know
anything for sure?
3. Self-evaluation
How do you assess these words:
“terrorists,” “pretty,” “gay”? Are your
statements based on unfounded
generalizations of facts?
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Underline the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen
letter on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Now the sun is up. Thanks to the rooster! This is a typical example of what fallacy?
a. fallacy of figure of speech b. tu quoque c. non sequitor d. false cause
2. A priest calls people to repentance and religious renewal by explaining natural
calamities as God’s wrath. This is an example of what fallacy?
a. non sequitor b. argumentum ad vericundiam (argument to authority)
c. tu quoque d. argumentum ad populum (argument to people)
3. Granting that the premises are true, the conclusion is necessarily also true. Such an
argument is___.
a. valid b. true c. strong d. cogent
4. This fallacy is committed when an appeal to evidence is replaced by an appeal to
sympathy.
a. argumentum ad baculum (argument to force)
b. argumentum ad misericordiam (argument to pity)
c. argumentum ad hominem (argument to the people)
d. none of the above
5. The premise is false and the conclusion has a strong probability of being false.
This argument is ___.
a. invalid b. unsound c. weak d. false
6. This fallacy is committed when an appeal to evidence is replaced by an appeal to
sympathy.
a. argumentum ad baculum b. argumentum ad misericordiam
c. argumentum ad hominem d. none of the above
7. The premise is false but there is a high probability that the conclusion will come true. This
argument is___.
a. sound b. valid c. true d. strong
8. “Logic teaches you how to argue. People argue entirely too much. Therefore, we don’t
need to teach people logic.” This is an example of what fallacy?
a. fallacy of composition b. fallacy of Division
c. equivocation d. amphiboly
9. “All of you are cheaters since I caught two of you cheating. This class of forty students
cannot, therefore, be trusted.” This is an example of what fallacy?
a. fallacy of accident b. tu quoque
c. argumentum ad hominem (argument to the man) d. hasty generalization
10. It aims to develop the habit of thinking easily, spontaneously, and effectively.
a. Science b. Art c. judgment d. logic
11. The premise is true and the conclusion is highly to be true. This argument is ___.
a. invalid b. unsound c. false d. cogent
12. Without it, science would not be possible; and without science, human civilization would
not have gone this far.
a. Social Philosophy b. Theology c. logic d. Axiology
13. “You claim that atheists can be moral – yet I happen to know that you abandoned your
wife and children.” This is an example of what fallacy?
a. fallacy of accident b. tu quoque
c. argumentum ad hominem (argument to the man) d. hasty generalization
14. It helps one to explain exactly what is wrong with the arguments and to give the flaw a
name.
a. logic b. common sense c. reasoning d. judgment
15. Of course, telepathy and other psychic phenomena do not exist. Nobody has shown any
proof that they are real. This is an example of what fallacy?
a. fallacy of accident
b. argumentum ad ignorantiam (argument to ignorance)
c. argumentum ad vericundiam (argument to authority)
d. ignoratio elenchi (ignorance of refutation)