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A complexity class (nondeterministic polynomial time) that includes decision problems for which a 'yes' answer can be verified in polynomial time by a deterministic Turing machine. NP-complete A class of decision problems in NP for which any problem in NP can be reduced to it in polynomial time, and whose solution can be verified in polynomial ...
Instead of arriving at answers, the method breaks down the theories we hold, to go "beyond" the axioms and postulates we take for granted. Therefore, myth and the Socratic method are not meant by Plato to be incompatible; they have different purposes, and are often described as the "left hand" and "right hand" paths to good and wisdom.
An objection can be issued against an argument retroactively from the point of reference of that argument. This form of objection – invented by the presocratic philosopher Parmenides – is commonly referred to as a retroactive refutation. [3]
A counterargument can be issued against an argument retroactively from the point of reference of that argument. This form of counterargument — invented by the presocratic philosopher Parmenides – is commonly referred to as a retroactive refutation. [3]
The Gish gallop is a rhetorical technique in which a person in a debate attempts to overwhelm an opponent by presenting an excessive number of arguments, with no regard for their accuracy or strength, with a rapidity that makes it impossible for the opponent to address them in the time available.
Reductio ad absurdum, painting by John Pettie exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1884. In logic, reductio ad absurdum (Latin for "reduction to absurdity"), also known as argumentum ad absurdum (Latin for "argument to absurdity") or apagogical argument, is the form of argument that attempts to establish a claim by showing that the opposite scenario would lead to absurdity or contradiction.
The typical straw man argument creates the illusion of having refuted or defeated an opponent's proposition through the covert replacement of it with a different proposition (i.e., "stand up a straw man") and the subsequent refutation of that false argument ("knock down a straw man"), instead of the opponent's proposition.
Formally these are not the same, as refutation by contradiction applies only when the proposition to be proved is negated, whereas proof by contradiction may be applied to any proposition whatsoever. [6] In classical logic, where and may be freely interchanged, the distinction is largely obscured. Thus in mathematical practice, both principles ...