Propositional Logic Discussion: Carefully read the attached essay by W. K. Cliff

Question

Propositional Logic

Discussion: Carefully read the attached essay by W. K. Clifford, The Ethics of Belief.As you read this essay take careful notes. Select two or three items that you thought were particularly interesting or important and thoughtfully discuss them. You are asked to write a personal response in your 'main post' and a 'response post' to another student`s 'main post'. Both of your posts should follow the syllabus guidelines of 15-20 sentences. You will be required to post your "main post' before viewing replies. In your 'response' post both agreement and disagreement are welcomed.

Explanation / Answer

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) The ethics of belief is all about using rationality, intelligence and an ideological standard in order to formulate a conscientious and ethical belief. This essay talks about using certain cognitive standards in certain situations that would help calibrate a code of ethics. In other words, the essay talks about a system of ethics that is developed by the application of rational an intellect or ethics that are developed through simple practice.

The first interesting item in the essay warns people to not formulate their beliefs on insufficient data. We see this rule being broken so often when individuals are judged based on their stereotypes, their race and other categories that one might belong to. The ethics of belief suggests that conclusions should be drawn based on copious and substantial information after it has been churned through logical reasoning.

The second interesting topic is propositioning of one’s ethics based on strong evidence. This means that a proposition is formulated by forming a logical connection between variables. For instance, junk food = heart disease, junk food = cheap, poor people = purchase cheap food, poor people = eat junk food, therefore poor people = prone to heart disease. This is how the essay suggests that propositioning must be conducted by gathering enough information that is perhaps verified through study or evidence. This is how the ethics of belief should be propositional in nature.

The third is avoiding the dismissal of evidence. Dismissal takes place when there is a preference towards a certain hypothesis. A researcher might indulge in confirmation bias and focus only on variables that support his hypothesis. This might result in a hollow conclusion as all of the variables have not been objectively considered. This is when the ethics of belief remains tarnished.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse P
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.