http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Just-as-a-bye-the-way-tp7397553p7406921.html
Glen,
There is good reason to exclude the middle though. I am
uncomfortable with the non-right-or-wrong options you have given. To me, it
seems that an argument can only be correct if it specifies the circumstances
under which it is correct (when the intended circumstances are "always", we
often don't explicitly specify, but that doesn't mean the circumstances are not
part of the claim). For example, even the most esoteric conclusions in
Euclidean geometry are understood to be correct in a world in which Euclid's 5
axioms hold; many current Republicans argue that individual mandates are a good
idea, but only when the alternative is Hillary-care, a disparaging comment
about a woman only evidences discrimination in a context that lacks an
(roughly) equal number of disparaging comments about men, etc.
Thus,
rather than calling something "valid-in-context", why not include the context
in the thing, and then just call it "valid"? It seems to me that you are merely
arguing for a more nuanced understanding of the many ways in which something
can be invalid. I would agree with that.
Eric
On Mon, Mar
26, 2012 10:52 AM,
"glen e. p. ropella" <[hidden email]>
wrote:
Russell Standish wrote circa 12-03-23 10:21 PM:
> In order to persuade me that induction is invalid,
Here's a great example of how a belief in induction allows us to think
in sloppy ways:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/25/attorney-zimmerman-used-term-of-endearment-before-killing-trayvon-martin/
As usual, the question of the validity of induction is ill-formed
because it assumes the law of the excluded middle. Sentences are either
valid or invalid and not allowed to be semi-valid or valid-in-context
but invalid-out-of-context. The fact is that sometimes induction is
valid and sometimes it's not, depending on what the sentence says and
the context in which it's said.
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Eric Charles
Professional Student and
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Penn State University
Altoona, PA 16601
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College