Glossary of Key Terms from §1

• argument – a set of related propositions that is given as a reason for believing a further proposition

• compelling – said of any inference that is strong enough that it would establish its conclusion as knowledge, if its premises were known to be true.

• conclusion – a proposition that supported by an argument

• conclusive – said of an argument that is strong enough to establish its conclusion as knowledge.

• deduction – a kind of inference in which the premises necessitate the conclusion because it is contradictory to hold that the premises are true but the conclusion is false. Such inferences are as strong as it is possible for an inference to be.

• epistemic status – the scale, running from complete ignorance to knowledge, along which propositions can be assessed.

• inference – the mental act of moving from a premise to a conclusion

• premise – a proposition given in an argument as part of a reason to believe the conclusion

• proof – an argument that is strong enough to establish its conclusion as knowledge

• proposition – a unit of thought of the sort which can be true or false, believed or disbelieved, and asserted or denied. Such units of thought can be expressed by declarative sentences.

• non-sequitur – a kind of inference in which the premises (even if true) offer no support at all to the conclusion

• worthless – said of an argument that offers no support for its conclusion