Week 3 - Logic, Critcial Thinking, + Ethical Theory Pt1

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Feb 20, 2024

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1 LECTURE 3: LOGIC, CRITICAL THINKING, + PT 1 OF ETHICAL THEORY 6 Most Common Deceptions in Twitter Bullshit Twitter is the most influential space in health and people put bad or good theories about health. 6 biggest fallacy are the: 1. Confirmation Bias a. Not a logical fallacy but a “cognitive bias” b. More likely to believe something that is phrased to our liking c. Looking for confirmation of your existing beliefs and not looking for more objective supported answer d. Example: Chickenpox vaccine i. Suggests chickenpox vaccine is a business and getting chickenpox increases shingles ii. Big conspiracy and farm-up e. Example: Shingles Fact Sheet i. Reality: shingles comes from getting chickenpox, so it can reduce shingles f. Doesn’t mean research and financial interested are completely related g. E.g You have to bias that pork is amazing to get funded from the institute that is supporting the relations between the nutrition of pork between the poor and rich i. Confirmation bias –They are looking people that are endorsing the quality of product 2. Genetic Fallacy a. Dismissing arguments strictly because of their sources with no other reasons b. Encourages to look at its merits or flaws rather than where it comes from c. Example: Trump Supporters i. We don’t properly dismiss them because of our instant negative views 3. Ad hominem a. Responding based on criticism of a person or group representing an opposing viewpoint b. Different than genetic fallacy c. Simple responses as a curse or a rebuttal d. Example: Tim Noakes i. Malhotra is a big advocate for keto and yet the British Obese dietitian (obese herself) goes against this diet ii. Ed Hominem  him stating that the dietitian is fat. (rude and insulting but nothing else) iii. Genetic Fallacy  he would listen to her if she was “skinner” 1. Her BMI is a single factor to determine if he would listen iv. How you know and what you look are not related 4. Bifurcation

2 a. Complex situations must always be into binary positions (2 positions) on an issue b. Eliminate any middle solution (either this or this) c. Example: Keto guy is hunky vs vegetarian is ugly i. If you do other diets to improve your health, you would be bad = bad anecdote d. Example: Abortion i. Splits into groups of those who support vs don’t support (control women bodies) ii. In-between, there is concerns, but the debate is so polarized that people don’t want to get involved iii. Obstetrician that performs abortion, and strongly believe that women should choose 1. He would rather create a prevention = better choice than treatment a. Increase birth control = reduce the number of abortions b. This (main) statement was not controversial 2. People didn’t hear this statement, but the idea of ‘eliminating abortion’ a. He’s a betrayal and didn’t stick to mindlessly to one side 5. Appeal to Authority a. Someone bases his/her argument on his/her own knowledge or experience, not a factual evidence b. Based on opinion and utilizing their educational background as “proof” c. Example: Western-affiliated ethics prof says she faces “imminent dismissal” for refusing COVID-19 i. Express strong opinions against vaccine mandates – bases arguments on her academic backgrounds ii. Emphasizes her credentials, relying on her degree to support her stance iii. One’s biography is not sufficient justification for an argument d. Example: Twitter Doctors i. Posed as physician, demonstrating their knowledge to promote their ideologies ii. Dr. Aga advocated for low-carb diet based on being a doctor + showing personal transformation without scientific evidence iii. Former Dr. Shawn Baker stated he never took testosterone but advocates red meat to increase muscle mass 6. Questionable Cause a. Arguer gives insufficient evidence for a claim that one thing is the cause of another. There are 3 subtypes: i. Post hoc fallacy 1. Assumes without REASON that the 1 st event was the cause of the 2 nd ii. Mere correlation Fallacy 1. Assumes without EVIDENCE that a single condition/event is the cause of an effect when there is other contributing causes

3 2. E.g meat consumption in Japan ≠ life expectancy iii. Oversimplified cause fallacy 1. E.g Joseph shared life changes appearance, which is likely he changed his diet. But maybe being a carnivore in the short-term, he was able to gain muscle for 6-months 2. Gave a list of things he changed, but the mainly eating red meat. Ethics  Questions of right or wrong conduct/ what needs to be refrained?  Issues of rights and obligations and how these are related to the social setting.  Rosa Parks o Did not give up a seat for the white person o If you said that complying with the law was ethical, then she was unethical o But this was a case of racism (white supremacy)  Incorrigible: Velma Demerson o Ontario white women could not have interracial marriage with Asian men o Wasn’t just discriminated by the people o Ontario created a law to break these relationships o Demerson talk about how she spent 2 years for having a child with an Asian man after WWII o This would be considered unethical; she broke the law Meta-Ethical Approaches 1. Ethical objectivism a. Ethical objectivism asserts that ethical judgement have objective truths b. Things are morally right or wrong depending on moral facts c. Moral facts exists independently of our subjective personal and cultural opinions d. Historical examples show that moral certainty (ethical objectivism) had harmful actions i. Nazi Germany and Holocaust 1. Nazi involved in mass murder 2. Justification of their acts based on their ethical beliefs raises questions about their inherent moral limits ii. Imperialism and Colonialism 1. European powers were driven by economic interest and cultural superiority 2. If ethical objectivism were universally accepted, it should have prevented exploitative and oppressive actions iii. Cultural Genital Mutilation 1. Genital mutilation are deeply rooted in specific cultural contexts, raise questions about the universality of ethical standards iv. Slavery in Historical Contexts 1. These ethical objectivism suggests that ethical norms are subjected to historical, cultural, and social influences

4 2. Not being fixed and universal objectives due to the changes in moral acceptability of slavery e. Reasoning in ethical objectivism, we can: i. Know about them – Similar to a scientific method for determining moral facts ii. Speak meaningfully about them – evaluate situations objectively, free from biases, and arrive at the correct ethical judgement iii. Reason about them iv. Resolve disagreement appeal to them 1. BS detector – discerns between authoritative information and unreliable content when forming ethical arguments f. Tenets of Objectivism i. Cognitivist – ethical reality we can know and speak about meaningfully ii. Rationalist – ethical disputes can be rationally resolved by logic and reasoning iii. Absolutist – An objective right or wrong answer for every ethical question g. Facts come in varieties i. Ethical naturalism 1. Moral facts are natural factors 2. Observable 3. Measurable features of the natural world 4. Examples: a. Measurement of happiness or observable benefits as indicators of moral goodness b. Ethical naturalism aligns with observable, measurable, and natural phenomena ii. Non-naturalism 1. Moral facts 2. Not observable of the natural world (require specialized intuition) 3. Example a. “morally good” is determined by religious/God commands 2. Ethical relativism a. Definition: Ethical statements are cognitively meaningful when you’re from that culture, and understand their belief system b. Ethical relativism denies objective moral facts c. Ethical statements are true or false relative to a subjective POV i. Ethical truths are subjective and vary between cultures, groups, or individuals d. 3 Scopes of Ethical Relativism i. Person 1. Rejects personal relativism; ethics is communal 2. Individual ethical views influenced by cultural, communal, and societal ii. Culture or society 1. Ethical understanding is beyond the community 2. Shared values impact moral perspectives iii. Historical or situational context 1. Broader societal influences on ethical viewpoints

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