Critical Thinking

Cizí jazyk – Angličtina II vyučující: PhDr. Peter Jan Kosmály, PhD.

AMAK 15. 5. 2013

- do konce semestru odevzdat písemné podklady nebo písemný projev podle vybraného žánru (článek, mozaika, prezentace, referát, příspěvek do diskuse, rozhovor, esej, životopis, úřední dopis, neformální dopis...)

- ústní zkouška: podmínkou účasti na zkoušce je splnění předchozího úkolu

- zkouška bude probíhat formou projevu na vybrané téma a diskuse s vyučujícím, resp. ve skupině formou kolokvia

Critical Thinking

• Being a Language Chameleon

• Listening and Understanding – Brainstorming – Ethnolinguistics – Cultural Linguistics

• Words – Worlds – Definitions

• Language systems, Logic as a system

• Aristotle and Predicate logic

• Arguments and Argument Analysis

• Arguing and False Arguments

Critical Thinking

Being a Language Chameleon

• Word come and go....

• Words create worlds...

• How to sell... a contradiction?

Listen and try to identify as many words as You can:

Culture Club - Karma Chamelion In an interview, Culture Club frontman Boy George explained: "The song is about the terrible fear of alienation that people have, the fear of standing up for one thing. It's about trying to suck up to everybody. Basically, if you aren't true, if you don't act like you feel, then you get Karma-justice, that's nature's way of paying you back.“

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma_Chameleon ; http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=5775

Critical Thinking

Being a Language Chameleon

• How to sell a word (contradictions)?

• What is „Karma chameleon“ about? Listen to the song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kPi0JqvRRs

Critical Thinking

Being a Language Chameleon

• Now, write down the words, You have identified from the text...

Critical Thinking

Being a Language Chameleon

• Now – think about the everyday´s survival...

• How to use language? What is “selling of contradictions”?

• Chameleon, as known, adopts itself at new conditions verz

quickly. How to use this natural principle to manage

language communications? Crisis, communication,

business, PR, journalist, basic communication or any level

of communication?

Critical Thinking

Listening and Understanding – Brainstorming – Ethnolinguistics – Cultural Linguistics

• The component analysis is a linguistic method for decoding

and uncovering unknown (foreign – alien) languages

• Ethnolinguists seek for components:

A) Categorical (VERB – NOUN, ADVERB - ADJECTIVE..)

B) Sub Categorical (GENDER, VERB ACTION OR STATE)

C) Identificational (more specific and detailed)

XXX XXX-s ZZZZ YYY WWWW / UUU TTTT

Kosmály teaches brave students the course Practical English.

Critical Thinking

Listening and Understanding – Brainstorming – Ethnolinguistics – Cultural Linguistics

• XXX XXX-s ZZZZ YYY WWWW / UUU TTTT

• Kosmály teaches brave students the course Practical English.

• This is the decoding of a new language

• This is elements of language

• This is the Logic of the Language

Critical Thinking

Words – Worlds – Definitions

Presupposition (assumptions), pragmatic and semantic (a son has a

father); distinguished from logical entailment (youngest son has siblings)

• The Theory of Concepts: the concept is an abstract entity that has

different encoding, linguistic representations in various languages

• concepts are non-illustrated entities (non-experiental, abitrary)

• Accidental features of specific entity do not represent the concept

• Content of the term: a set of attributes that inevitably belong to all and

only those objects that fall under the term

• Extent of the term: a set of objects that belong to the concept

• Logical class: the totality of objects with common characteristics that

distinguish them from other objects

Critical Thinking

Words – Worlds – Definitions

• Unique terms (individual) are applied to individual objects (Prague,

Vyšehrad, Jan Novák)

• General terms apply to group of items of the same kind (town, tree, car)

• Concrete terms are related to individual objects or groups, that can

exist specifically and independently of the human mind, they are

accesible by the the senses to more people at the same time (dog, table)

• Abstract terms are related to properties of objects, which themselves

do not exist as separate and are possible only in thinking of one

particular person (courage, truth, beauty, size, true, false)

Exercise:

Critical Thinking

Words – Worlds – Definitions

• Mass terms are related to a group of objects imaginable as a whole

(forest, library).

• Positive terms indicate that the subject has certain characteristics –

symptoms (salty croissant, cheerful guy, decent guy)

• Negative terms indicate that the subject has not certain characteristics

– symptoms (unfunny = sad story, indecent acting)

• Categories: scientific terms reflect the most general and important

relationships and connections (philosophy: cause and effect, physics:

force biology: cell)

Critical Thinking

Words – Worlds – Definitions

• The range (extent) of terms:

1. nonnull terms:

a) singular (the country's highest mountain)

b) plural - with a finite number of objects (our class)

• infinite number of objects (even or odd numbers)

2. range-empty terms:

a) strictly empty (the largest prime number)

b) quasi-empty (Square Circle)

• Range-empty concepts (terms) are imaginary or logically

questionable.

Critical Thinking

Words – Worlds – Definitions

• Range ratios of terms:

1. Compatible:

a) overlap (common ground)

b) subordination

c) superiority

d) equivalence

2. Incompatible: have no common essential elements

Critical Thinking

Words – Worlds – Definitions

• Explanations and definitions are more precise terms in determining

the meaning of an expression with other expressions.

• The set of elementary concepts is called the dictionary of language .

• According to Aristotle, definition is horismós, boundaries, and

defining is proceeding by identifying the nearest genus and

species specifications (man = zoonpolitikon).

• Definition always includes: the definiendum (what is being

defined) and the definiens (we define with it).

Critical Thinking

Words – Worlds – Definitions

Requirements of a correct definition:

1. Logical-semantic

2. Logical-epistemological

Translatability (substitutability of the Definiendum by the Definiens)

and the range (extent) identity of both. Definiens must only express the

essential characters with precise, sharp expressions and positive forms.

Analytical definition – the definition of a simple or compound

expression that has the meaning already traditionally defined.

Synthetic definition – the definition of a new term, introduced into

dictionaries and terminology

Critical Thinking

Words – Worlds – Definitions

The nominal definition (basic) must meet these criteria:

• elimination (substitutability)

• non-creation (must not derive new terms, concepts, definitions)

• existence (there must be at least one subject)

Tautology means defining bya vicious circle, definiendum and definiens

overlap and there are other elements as well (it is good to be good).

A broad definition – Definiens range (extent) includes the range

(extent) of the definiendum.

A narrow definition – poor, lacking, insufficient, inadequate.

Critical Thinking

Language systems, Logic as a system

Critical Thinking

• Language and communication

• Language and description

• Definitions and codes

• Interpretation and Explanations

• Decoding, Understanding

• Reception

• Feedback

Praha - Nové mlýny, Google Earth, 18. 1. 2011 http://www.panoramio.com/photo/46737351

Language systems, Logic as a system

• basic categories and units:

• linguistics: Phonetics and Phonology (Phoneme),

• Morphology (Morpheme), Lexicology (Lexeme – Word), Syntax (Sentence), Stylistics (Styleme, Contrast, etc.)

• Logic: terms, arguments, statements, relations (implication, conjunction, disjunction)

• Arts, Mathematics, natural languages: sign systems

• Logic Mathematics

• Logic and Mathematics = as title and painting

• Linguistics and Mathematics = the Mathematical analysis of language (communication)

Critical Thinking

Language systems, Logic as a system

• Logic is a system of analysis of language

• Its subject of interest is the Reasoning (Arguing).

I. If Argentina joins the Alliance, then Brazil and Chile will boycott the Alliance.

II. If Brazil or Chile will boycott the Alliance, the Alliance will not be effective.

III. If Argentina joins the Alliance, the Alliance will not be effective.

All of them want some fees from You.

All the expenses. We're different ...

sources: http://www.bowdoindailysun.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Brain-puppet256.jpg http://www.thornybleeder.com/index_files/persuasion-techniques.jpeg

Critical Thinking

Arguments and Argument Analysis

• Propositional logic is based on taking into account the

assumption that the compound statement is true or false,

depending on what is the nature of the propositional conector

that connects the statements.

• Propositional logic analyzes the sentence up to the level of

elementary statements. The structure of elementary propositions

is not studied. Statements are from the old ancient understood as

phrases which are true or false, so have a truth value.

The truth-values are two:

• true (true, 1)

• false (false, 0)

Critical Thinking

Arguments and Argument Analysis

In Prague it is raining and in Brno it is nice.

| | |

elementary statement conjunction ementary statement

It is not true that it is raining in Prague.

| |

conjunction ementary statement

Critical Thinking

Propositional logic

Symbols ¬ ⌐ ˅ ˄ Þ ≡

relations indicate negation, disjunction, conjunction, implication and

equivalence

Critical Thinking

Propositional logic

Symbols ¬ ⌐ ˅ ˄ Þ ≡

relations indicate negation, disjunction, conjunction, implication and

equivalence

Critical Thinking

Propositional logic

Negation ¬ corresponds with the statement "it is not true that ..."

It is a unitary connector, does not associate two statements

Example:

"It is not true that Prague is a city"

It is a function of one variable:

F (p) → {true, false}

Logical form: ¬ p

p: tree is an organism. (verdict)

¬ p: tree is not the body.

It is not true that the tree is an organism. (compound statement)

Critical Thinking

variable operation

p ¬ p

1 0

0 1

Propositional logic

Conjunction ˄ corresponds with the term "and".

Not every "and" in natural language means conjunction

It's a binary, commutative connector.

It is a function of two variables:

F (p, q) → {true, false}

Logical Form: p ˄ q

Example:

"Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic and Prague is the seat of

the President."

Critical Thinking

variable variable operation

p q p ˄ q

1 1 1

1 0 0

0 1 0

0 0 0

Propositional logic

Disjunction ˅ corresponds with the term "or".

Conjunctive "or" is often used in natural languages in the

exclusionary sense of "either-or", then the analysis will use a

different connector – alternative (or non-equivalence).

It's a binary, commutative connector.

It is a function of two variables:

F (p, q) → {true, false}

Logical Form: p ˅ q

Example: "Cars have front or rear wheel drive."

But: "This man is married or unmarried" ¬ (p ≡ q)

"My father asked whether I stay or whether I go home with him" → ¬ (p ≡ q)

Critical Thinking

variable variable operation

P q p ˅ q

1 1 1

1 0 1

0 1 1

0 0 0

Propositional logic

Implication Þ corresponds with the terms "if, then".

It is the only binary connector which is not commutative, so we call

the first term of the implication the antecedent, the second term we

call the consequent. Implications do not assume any substantive

connection between antecedent and consequent, therefore we call

them sometimes material implication.

It is a function of two variables:

F (p, q) → {true, false}

Logical Form: p Þ q

Example: If Peter was on Monday night at home,

he has studied mathematics.

Critical Thinking

variable

1.

variable

2.

operation

p q p Þ q

1 1 1

1 0 0

0 1 1

0 0 1

Propositional logic

Equivalence ≡ means "if and only if", but not "if" (that is the

implication)

It's a binary coupling.

It is a function of two variables:

F (p, q) → {true, false}

Logical Form: p ≡ q

Example:

The student's performance is rated as excellent if and only if the student has

basic knowledge of logic.

Critical Thinking

variable variable function

p q p ≡ q

1 1 1

1 0 0

0 1 0

0 0 1

Predicate logic - Aristotelian statements in predicate logic

affirmo – neggo subject (S) a predicate (P)

Every (+) contrary No (-)

S a P S e P

subalternating contraditory subalternating

Some (+) subcontrary Some (-)

S i P S o P

Every dog is mammal. ∀ x (F(x) G(x))

¬ ∃ x (F(x) ˄ ¬ G(x))

No dog is mammal. ∀ x (F(x) ¬ G(x))

¬ ∃ x (F(x) ˄ G(x)) Some dogs are mammals. ∃ x (F(x) ˄ G(x)) ¬ ∀ x (F(x) ¬ G(x))

Some dogs aren´t mammals. ∃ x (F(x) ˄ ¬ G(x))

¬ ∀ x (F(x) G(x))

Critical Thinking

Quasi argumentation or using psychological elements is

incorrect reasoning manner, according to logical rules of the

language.

• Threats (argumentum ad baculum)

• Blackmailing and appeal on feelings

• The social appeal

• Individual appeal

• Argument relying on authority

Critical Thinking

Among arguments with language impairments we count:

• use of ambiguous words

• use of ambiguous sentences

• the substitution of parts and whole

• the substitution of meaning by emphasizing the importance

of words, misinterpretation of words, meanings

Critical Thinking

Logically incorrect argumentation

Arguments where the conclusion does not meet assumptions.

Improperly constructed argument.

We can prove counterexample.

"Anyone who knows the logic is intelligent."

"Some students of our class are intelligent."

"Some students from our class know the logic."

Critical Thinking

Arguments with missing arguments

Are omitted assumptions that are false and after their

completion the erroneous of the argument would be evident.

"As she is a student of the Faculty of Arts, she has a

scholarship."

(unsaid assumption, that not every student of the faculty has

the scholarship)

"Since she is taking a child support, she is married."

(not everyone who is married takes child support)

Critical Thinking

Arguments with the complex question

"Do you Smoke and drink coffee?"

When the answer is NO, it is clear what the options actually

true?

Weak inductive argumentation

Generalizations: After getting caught a Czech tourist in Vienna

by stealing, there began to emerge notices that stealing is

wrong in the Czech language. The argument that all Czechs

steal is not defendable by statement that some Czechs were

caught by stealing.

Skipping information, Indefinite subject, etc.

Critical Thinking

Finally

Thank You for Your attention See You next week... Please, study texts and prepare for the next lesson

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