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2.3 Truth and Opinion

The document discusses different types of statements including facts, claims, opinions and arguments. It explains how to critically examine opinions and arguments and identifies some common fallacies to watch out for in arguments such as appeals to emotion, popularity or force rather than logic and evidence.

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Caila Branzuela Solasco
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20 views19 pages

2.3 Truth and Opinion

The document discusses different types of statements including facts, claims, opinions and arguments. It explains how to critically examine opinions and arguments and identifies some common fallacies to watch out for in arguments such as appeals to emotion, popularity or force rather than logic and evidence.

Uploaded by

Caila Branzuela Solasco
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TRUTH AND OPINION

“All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal
more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic
and argument than others”

– Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt


FACTS
These statements correspond to one important
aspect of knowledge – that it is based on reality.

Statements which are observed to real or


truthful are considered facts.
EXAMPLE:
Of the top 10 largest shopping malls in the
world, three are found in the Philippines: SM
Megamall, SM North Edsa, and SM Mall of Asia
CLAIM
There are statements that are not immediately
known to be true.

Further explanation is required to establish


whether it is true or false.
How to critically examine opinions:
We have discovered that in order for an opinion
to gain the status of truth, it must be able to
pass the test of justification. Whoever makes the
opinion must be able to argue for it in the most
reasonable way.

A philosophical mind must then be prepared to


examine arguments supporting an opinion.
What is an argument?
First, we need to clarify what an argument is. An
argument is a group of statements that serve to
support a conclusion.

Example:
“There is no hope in the Philippine Government.”

This is not yet an argument. It is an expression of


opinion.
If a person wants to convince another person
that his opinion is true, then he must provide
reasons to support this claim.

So an argument would look like this.

“There is no hope in the Philippine Government


because many officials are corrupt, and Filipino
voters continue to elect them.”
This is what an argument basically looks like.

It is composed of a claim (the conclusion of an


argument) and premises (the reasons used to
support the conclusion).
Not all arguments are good arguments.

The branch of philosophy called Logic studies


and elaborates on good argumentation.

In the discipline of philosophy of the human


person, it is enough to at least know what are
genuine arguments from false ones.
Fallacies
We call fake arguments ‘fallacies’.

Fallacies are a group of statements that appear


to be arguments, but fail to support the
conclusion.
Using the same example, a fallacious form of that
argument would appear as follows:

“There is no hope for the Philippine Government,


because the Philippines is a tropical country.”

The stated reason (the Philippines is a tropical


country) totally fails to give logical support to the
claim (there is no hope in the Philippine
Government).
Fallacies, however, can be trickier than this
example.

They usually come in the guise of well


articulated arguments.

If you are not keen and critical enough, they can


pass your tests of justification with no difficulty
at all.
This is why it is important to know what these
fallacies look like.

Among the many fallacies enumerated in Logic,


here are some of the most common ones:
Argument against the Person
This is a fallacy used when people convince others that
someone’s argument should be rejected because of the
person’s:
• Personal background
• History
• Nationality
• Race
• Socio-economic status
• Family
• Associations
• Religion
Appeal to Force
This is an argument used by people who want to
win a conflict by issuing threats to their
opponents.

It is problematic because instead of convincing


the other person that you are right by giving
good reasons, you force them to accept
whatever you say.
Appeal to Pity (Emotion)
It is an argument used by people who want to
win people over by manipulating their
emotions.

This kind of argument shifts the focus away from


rational thinking, manipulating emotions clouds
judgment.
Bandwagon Fallacy
This fallacious argument is a favorite marketing
strategy by advertising agencies. It is used by
appealing to the popular sentiment of the
public.

If they want their product to sell, they will get


the most popular personalities to model their
product. This results to fans and avid followers
of those personalities buying the product.
Summary
Opinions are statements of judgment of a
person about something in the world.

We should not take them immediately as true.

We should always critically examine the opinion


and its supporting arguments.
Summary
We should also be wary of strongly put
arguments but are actually fallacious.

To be able to pass credence, opinions should


pass further justification.

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