How Philosophy is Done - How does dialectic differ from debate

How Philosophy is Done

Bring comments and questions about "How to do Philosophy" to this discussion board. Discussion beyond the basic requirements for full credit is highly encouraged. Do follow the discussion boards through the week. This is where we want to explore and work out questions and points you aren't totally clear on. The more of a conversation we can have here, the better. Return to the board often through the week and watch for my occasional replies to student posts generally, not just your own. Here are some review questions form the chapter to get our conversation going:

1. How does dialectic differ from debate?

2. What is it for a claim to be true? How does this issue differ from that of determining whether a claim is true?

3. Explain our everyday concept of truth in terms of correspondence.

4. What is an argument? How do we evaluate arguments?

5. What does it mean for the premises of an argument to support its conclusion, and what are the two standards of support?

6. Explain the surprise principle and illustrate its use in evaluating an inference to the best explanation.

7. What is a fallacy? Learn about a fallacy or two on  The Fallacy Files (Links to an external site.)  and report back.