critical thinking ch. 3 & 4

a word/phrase that if the group of things to which it applies has borderline cases

a word, phrase, sentence said that when it has more than one meaning

ambiguity produced by the inclusions of an ambiguous word/phrase

a kind of semantic ambiguity in which it is unclear whether a claim refers to a group of things taken individually/collectively

when he/she reason from the fact that a claim about a group taken collectively is true to the conclusion that the same claim about members of the individually is also true

when he/she reasons from the fact that each member of a group has a certain property to the conclusion that the group as a whole must have that property

when a claim is open to two or more interpretations because of its structure -or syntax

when it is not clear to what or whom a pronoun is supposed to refer

the less detail a claim provides

tell us what the word ordinarily means

• a word needs to take on a special meaning in a given context
• know intuitively without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination

reduce vagueness or generality or to eliminate ambiguity

can be used to persuade, uses emotive meaning

pointing to, naming, or otherwise identifying one or more examples of the sort of thing to which the term applies

giving another word or phrase that means the same as the term being defined

specifying the features that a thing must possess in order for the term being defined to apply to

that immense body of justified beliefs that consists of facts we learn from our own direct observations and facts we learn from others

a rough assessment of how credible a claim seems to us

one that stands to gain from our belief in the claim

those who haven o stake in our belief one way or another

education, experience, accomplishments, reputation, and position