Philosophy 6: Logic in Practice   

Pierce College

Department of History, Philosophy, & Sociology

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Exercise for Chapter 3 "Evaluating Inductive Arguments and Probabilistic and Statistical Fallacies," § 1 "Inference to the Best Explanation and the Seven Explanatory Virtues"

 

https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=457

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Notes on the importance of group exercises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Work Summary: Each group will create an explanation for turning in a late assignment that violates one of the seven virtues (explanatoriness, depth, power, falsifiability, modesty, simplicity, or conservativeness). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 1 (ten minutes): Individually, create an explanation for turning in a late assignment that violates your group's virtue. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2 (ten minutes):  In groups, compare your explanations for turning in a late assignment that violates your group's virtue.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 3 (ten minutes):  In groups, identify your group's representative explanation for turning in a late assignment that violates your group's virtue.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 4 (ten minutes):  Each group presents their explanations (without initially revealing which virtue is being violated).  Once the class has identified the virtue violated, the group should be able to explain why and how it was violated.