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    An argument from false premises cannot constitute scienti... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→A deduction is a valid or acceptable argument whose structure guarantees its validity irrespective of the truth or falsity of its premises

    An argument from false premises cannot constitute scientific knowledge (episteme), which is the telos of Aristotelian demonstration.

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    1 reason for
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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Aristotelian episteme requires necessity; false premises yield only contingent conclusions, failing the requirement for universal, unchanging truth.
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    • 2.Scientific knowledge aims at understanding causes; false premises misidentify causes, producing explanations that cannot ground genuine understanding.
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    • 3.Demonstration (apodeixis) demands that conclusions follow necessarily from first principles; false premises corrupt this logical chain entirely.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
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    • 1.Valid deductive inference preserves truth-value; even false premises can generate conclusions useful for prediction, control, and practical application.
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    • 2.Historical science advances through false premises later corrected; phlogiston theory and Ptolemaic astronomy produced genuine predictive knowledge despite falsehood.
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    • 3.The claim conflates logical validity with epistemic value; an argument's formal structure can contribute to knowledge independently of premise truth.
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    Key Terms

    knowledge(Distinguished from mere true belief, which may be the product of indoctrination and need not exercise deliberative capacities.)
    Justified true belief — true belief that has been arrived at through the exercise of deliberative capacities, including comparison of and deliberation among alternatives.

    Connections

    2 topics

    Truth & Knowledge1 linkedPhilosophy of Language1 linked

    Related

    A deduction is a valid or acceptable argument whose structure guarantees its val...Aristotelian episteme requires necessity; false premises yield only contingent c...Demonstration (apodeixis) demands that conclusions follow necessarily from first...Historical science advances through false premises later corrected; phlogiston t...
    +3 moreShow less
    Scientific knowledge aims at understanding causes; false premises misidentify ca...The claim conflates logical validity with epistemic value; an argument's formal ...

    Details

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    Valid deductive inference preserves truth-value; even false premises can generat...