Logic, reasoning, philosophy, fallacies, biases, debating techniques

Corollary

A proposition that follows with little or no additional proof from one already proven.

Doctrine

A belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.

Axioms

Statements or propositions that are regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true.

Consequents

The outcomes or results in a hypothetical proposition that follows from the condition.

Conditions

Circumstances or factors that are necessary for something else to happen.

Inference

The process of reaching a conclusion based on evidence and reasoning.

Proposition

A statement or assertion that expresses a judgment or opinion.

Syllogism

A form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn from two given or assumed propositions (premises).

Premise

A previous statement or proposition from which another is inferred or follows as a conclusion.

Deduction

The inference of particular instances by reference to a general law or principle.

Induction

The process of reasoning from specific cases to general principles.

Validity

The quality of being logically or factually sound; soundness or cogency of an argument.

Fallacy

A mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument.

Hypothesis

A supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.

Theorem

A general proposition not self-evident but proved by a chain of reasoning; a truth established by means of accepted truths.

Postulate

A thing suggested or assumed as true as the basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief.

Rationalism

A belief or theory that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response.

Empiricism

The theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience.

Dialectic

The art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions; dialogue as a form of reasoning.

Epistemology

The theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope, and the distinction between justified belief and opinion.

Ontology

The branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being.

Causality

The relationship between cause and effect.

Analytic

Relating to or using analysis or logical reasoning.

Synthetic

Involving the creation of something rather than the analysis of something existing.

Pragmatism

A philosophical approach that assesses the truth of meaning of theories or beliefs in terms of the success of their practical application.

Paradigm

A typical example or pattern of something; a model.

Modus Ponens

A form of argument in logic where if 'P implies Q' and 'P' is asserted to be true, then 'Q' must be true.

Utilitarianism

A theory in normative ethics holding that the best moral action is the one that maximizes utility.

Deontology

An ethical theory that uses rules to distinguish right from wrong, often associated with a moral duty and obligation.

Existentialism

A philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and choice.

Metaphysics

A branch of philosophy that explores the fundamental nature of reality and being.

Solipsism

The philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist.

Dualism

The division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects, or the state of being so divided. In philosophy, it often refers to the mind-body dualism, the view that the mind and body are fundamentally different in nature.

Hedonism

The ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life.

Teleology

The explanation of phenomena by the purpose they serve rather than by postulated causes.

Determinism

The philosophical theory that all events, including moral choices, are completely determined by previously existing causes.

Phenomenology

The philosophical study of the structures of experience and consciousness.

Stoicism

A school of Hellenistic philosophy that teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means to achieve a life of virtue.

Materialism

The theory or belief that nothing exists except matter and its movements and modifications.

Idealism

The theory that the physical world is just a manifestation of mind or spirit.

Monism

The doctrine that reality is a unified whole and that all existing things can be ascribed to or described by a single concept or system.

Pluralism

A theory that there is more than one basic substance or principle.

Nihilism

The rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless.

Absolutism

The acceptance of or belief in absolute principles in political, philosophical, ethical, or theological matters.

Relativism

The doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and are not absolute.

Skepticism

A skeptical attitude; doubt as to the truth of something.

Humanism

A rationalist outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters.

Pantheism

A doctrine that identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God.

Realism

The attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it accordingly.

Virtue Ethics

An approach to ethics that emphasizes an individual's character as the key element of ethical thinking.

Existential Ethics

A form of ethical theory which bases moral judgment on the existential qualities of the decision and the decision-maker.

Logical Positivism

A philosophical movement that asserts that only statements verifiable through empirical observation are cognitively meaningful.

Aesthetics

The branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty.

Post-structuralism

An intellectual movement and approach to the study of literature, anthropology, and other fields, that rejects absolutes and emphasizes the complexity and variability of human cultural practices.

Argument

A set of statements or reasons making a case for or against something.

Contradiction

A combination of statements, ideas, or features which are opposed to one another.

Tautology

A statement that is true by necessity or by virtue of its logical form.

Propositional Logic

A branch of logic that studies ways of joining and/or modifying entire propositions, statements or sentences to form more complicated propositions, statements or sentences.

Quantifier

A symbol used in logic to specify the quantity of specimens in the domain of discourse that satisfy an open formula.

Modal Logic

A type of logic that extends classical logic to include modalities such as possibility, necessity, and contingency.

Soundness

A property of a deductive argument wherein if the premises are true, the conclusion is necessarily true.

Inference Rule

A logical form consisting of a function that takes premises, analyzes their syntax, and returns a conclusion (or conclusions).

Predicate Logic

A symbolic formalism used in mathematical logic where statements about objects can also include relations between them.

Consistency

A property of a set of statements that do not contradict each other.

Logical Form

The form of an argument that results from abstracting away from the content of its statements and presenting only the logical connectives.

Reductio ad Absurdum

A form of argument which attempts to establish a claim by showing that the opposite scenario would lead to absurdity or contradiction.

Biconditional

A logical connective between statements where the truth of one implies and is implied by the truth of the other.

Disjunction

A logical operator that results in true if at least one of the operands is true.

Conjunction

A logical operator that results in true if both of its operands are true.

Inductive Reasoning

A method of reasoning in which the premises are viewed as supplying some evidence for the truth of the conclusion.

Deductive Reasoning

The process of reasoning from one or more statements (premises) to reach a logically certain conclusion.

Counterexample

An example that disproves a proposition or theory.

Formal Fallacy

An error in reasoning that involves the formal aspects of an argument.

Informal Fallacy

An error in reasoning that occurs due to a problem with the content or context of the argument.