CHAPTERTWO

BASI
CCONCEPTSOFLOGI
C

2.
1Ar
gument
,Pr
emi
sesandConcl
usi
ons

Meani ng:Logicisasci encethatevaluatesargument s.Weencount erargument sinour

day-to-dayexperience.Weheart hem onTVs,r eadt hem inbooks,andf or
mulatethem
when communi cati
ng with ot
hers.The ai m ofLogi c:ist o develop a system of
met hods/pri
nciplest oeval
uatear gument sandt oconst ructargument sofourown.
Thus, Logici
sasy stemati
cstudyofmet hodsforev aluati
ngwhet herthepremisesofan
argumentadequat el
ysupport(orprovidegoodev idencef or)theconclusi
on.

1.
1. Concept
ual
Framewor
k

I
-AStat
ement:i
sasent
ence/
groupofsent
encest
hati
sei
thert
rueorf
alse,
butnotbot
h
(
bothatthesamet
ime)

II
-AnArgument:i
sagroupofst
atement
swi t
honeormorepremi
seswhichareintur
n
cl
aimedtosuppor
ttheconcl
usi
on.Twogroupsofar
gument
scanbeident
if
iedas:

1.Thoseinwhi cht
hepr
emi
sesr
eal
l
ysuppor
ttheconcl
usi
on-ar ed Good
ecal
l
argument
s,and

2.Thoseinwhi
chthepremi
sesdonotsuppor
tev
ent
hought
heyar
ecl
aimedt
o-ar
e
cal
ledBadar
guments.

So,Logic as a sci
ence ev
aluat
es ar
gument
s and al
l
ows us t
o di
sti
ngui
sh good
argument
sf r
om badones.

St
atement
s:Consi
dert
heseexampl
es:

Ex-
1-I
tal
ypr
evai
l
edatAdwai
n1896.FS

-
2-Ti
tani
cwassunkbyGer
mansubmar
inesi
n1912.FS

-
3-Car
roti
sagoodsour
ceofv
itami
nA.TS

-
4-Bi
shof
tui
saci
tyi
nOr
omi
a.TS

Trut
hValues:examples1and2ar efal
sewhil
e3and4ar et r
ue.So,t
rut
handfalsi
tyar
e
thetwopossibletr
uthvaluesofast atement
.Unli
kestatements,manysent
encescan
notbesai
dt obetrueorfalse.Thesear
enon-st
atementexpressi
ons.

Non-
Stat
ement
sExpr
essi
ons
1
 1.Quest
ions

Ex-Whati
syourname?

2.Pr
oposal
s

Ex-Let
’sgot
othepar
tyt
oday
.

3.Suggest
ions

Ex-Youwoul
dbet
tergobybus.

4.Commands

Ex-St
andup!

Tur
ntot
hel
eftatt
henextcor
ner
.

5.Excl
amat
ions

Ex-Bangup!

Ri
ghton!

Thestat
ement
sthatmakeupanar
gumentar
edi
vi
dedi
ntooneormor
epr
emi
sesand
oneandonl
yoneconcl
usi
on.

II
I-Pr
emises:ar
estat
ement
sthatsetf
ort
hreasons/
evi
denceont
hebasi
sofwhi
cht
he
concl
usi
onisaffi
rmed.

I
v-Concl
usi
on:i
sast at
ementt
hattheev
idenceiscl
aimedtosuppor
t/i
mpl
y.I
not
her
wor
ds,i
tisast
atementt
hati
scl
aimedtof
oll
owf r
om t
hepremi
ses.

N.B.The pr emi
se/s ofan argumentare off
ered as suppor
torev idence fort he
concl
usion,butthatsupportmaybeadequat eori nadequat
e.Inawel l
-const
ructed
argument,thepremisesgivegoodsupportforbeli
evingthattheconclusionist r
ue.
Considert
heseexampl es:

Ex-
1-Al
lcr
imesar
evi
olat
ionsoft
hel
aw.
TP

Thef
tisacr
ime.
TP

Ther
efor
e,t
hef
tisav
iol
ati
onoft
hel
aw.
TC

Ex-
2-Al
luncl
esar
emal
e.TP

Tol
aisanuncl
e.TP

2
 So,
Tol
aisamal
e.TC

I
ntheseexampl
es,t
hepremisesr
eal
l
ysuppor
ttheconcl
usi
onwi
thgoodr
easons.And
t
heargument
saregoodones.

Butconsi
dert
heseexampl
es:

Ex-
3-Somecr
imesar
emi
sdemeanor
s.TP

Mur
deri
sacr
ime.TP

Ther
efor
e,mur
deri
sami
sdemeanor
.FC

Inthisar
gument,t
hepremisesdonotsuppor
ttheconcl
usi
on,ev
ent
hought
heyar
e
clai
medto,andt
henthear
gumenti
sbad.

Ex-
4-Someuncl
esar
eski
nny
.TP

Gemechui
sanuncl
e.TP

So,
Gemechui
sski
nny
.T/
FC

Thought
hepremi
sesseem t
osuppor
ttheconcl
usi
on,t
hei
rev
idencei
sver
yweakand
thear
gumenti
sabadone.

Gener
all
y,anyar
gumentcanbeused:

1-Todi
scov
ert
rut
hor

2-Toper
suadeourr
eader
s/l
i
stener
s.

Persuasionandtrut
hseeki
ngar
eof
tencompat
ibl
egoal
s.Butoneoft
hesegoal
scan
i
nterfer
ewi t
htheother
.

2.
2Howt
odi
ff
erent
iat
eaconcl
usi
onf
rom i
tspr
emi
se/
s

Ar
guments usuall
y cont
ainindi
cat
orwor
ds t
hatpr
ovi
de cl
ues i
nident
if
ying t
he
pr
emise/
sandt heconcl
usion.

1.
1.1.Pr
emi
seI
ndi
cat
ors

Wordsli
ke:Si
nce,Because,Asindicat
edby,Maybei
nfer
redfrom,Owi
ngt
o,I
nasmuch
as,
Inthat
,Forthereasonthat
,Giventhat
,Seei
ngt
hat
,As,For
,…etc.

1.
1.2.Concl
usi
onI
ndi
cat
ors

Wordsl
ike:Ther
efor
e,Hence,So,Wher
efor
e,Accordingl
y,Whence,I
tfol
l
owst hat
,It
mustbethat
,Thus,Asaresult
,Wemayi nf
er,Consequent
ly…et
c.Theposit
ionofthe

3
pr
emi
se/
sort
heconcl
usi
onmaychange.Consi
dert
hese:

Ex-
1-Sincet
heuseofrecreat
ionaldr
ugscanjeopar
dizet
hedev
elopmentoft
he
f
etus;
expect
antmother
sshoul
dneverusethesedr
ugs.

Ex-
2-Thepr ev
entionofpol
iodeserv
esincreasedexpendi
tur
eint
heyear
sahead.
Notonlypol
ioaff
ectsunbornbabi
es,butthev
irusstil
li
mpingesupont
heheal
thst
atus
ofal
readybornbabies.

I
nEx-
1thepr
emi
secomesf
ir
stf
oll
owedbyt
heconcl
usi
on.

I
nEx-
2theconcl
usi
oncomesf
ir
stf
oll
owedbyt
hepr
emi
ses.

2.
3Recogni
zi
ngAr
gument
s

Notallpassagescont
ainar
gument s.I
ngeneral
,apassagemaycont ai
nanargumentif
i
tpurportstoprovesomething;i
fitdoesnotdoso,i tdoesnotcontai
nanar gument
.
Twocondi t
ionsmustbeful
fi
ll
edforapassagetopurportt
oprovesomet hi
ng:

1-Atl
east
,oneoft
hest
atement
smustcl
aimt
opr
esentev
idence/
reasonand

2-Ther
emustbeacl ai
mt hattheall
egedevi
dence/
reasonsupport
sori mpl
ies
somethi
ng-t
hati
s,aclai
mt hatsomethi
ngf
oll
owsfrom t
heal
legedevi
dence.

Itisnotnecessaryt
hatthepr emisespresentact
ualevidenceortr
uer easonsnorthat
thepremisesactual
lysupporttheconclusi
on,butatleastthepremisesmustclaimt o
presentevidenceorreasonandt her
emustbeacl aimt hattheev i
denceorr eason
supportsorimpli
essomet hi
ng.

The1stcondi
ti
on-expr
essesaFact
ual
Clai
m,t
hati
s,t
het
rut
horf
alsi
tyoft
hepr
emi
ses.
nd
The2 conditi
on-anI
nfer
ent
ialCl
aim whi
chisthecl
aimthatt
hepassageexpr
essesa
reasoni
ngpr
ocessorsomethingfol
lowsfr
om something/
somethi
ngsupport
ssome
thi
ng.

Forf
act
ual
clai
m,weask“
Aret
hepr
emi
sesal
ltr
ue?
”

Fori
nfer
ent
ial
clai
m,weask“
Dot
hepr
emi
sessuppor
ttheconcl
usi
on?
”

Non-
argumentExpr
essi
ons

Passagesthatlackaninferent
ialcl
aim ar
ealsocaledUnsuppor
l tedAsser
ti
ons.They
ar
et husnon-
argumentexpressi
ons.Theseincl
ude:

1.War
nings

4
 Ex-
1-Wat
choutt
haty
oudonotsl
i
pont
hemud.

2.Pi
eceofAdv
ice

Ex-
1-Isuggesty
out
akeLogi
cdur
ingy
ourf
ir
sty
ear
.

These two could ser

ve as the concl
usi
on ofan argument
,butint
hei
rpr esent
for
m/contextthereisno cl ai
mt hattheyaresupport
edorimpl
i
edbyreasonsi n
evi
dence.Thus,t
hereisnoargument.

3.St
atement
sofBel
i
ef/
Opi
nion

Thesear
eexpr
essi
onsofwhatsomeonehappenst
obel
i
evei
n/t
hinki
nacer
tai
nti
me.

Ex-1-It
hinkanati
onli
keour
s,wit
hitshi
ghmor altr
adi
ti
onshasafur
therr
esponsi
bil
i
ty
toknow how webecomeinvol
vedint
othisconfl
ict
,andtol
earnt
helessonsithasto
teachusfort
hefutur
e.

4.Repor
t

I
tconsi
stsofst
atement
sthatconv
eyi
nfor
mat
ionaboutsomesi
tuat
ion/
event
.

Ex-
1-A bombexplodednearnati
onalmuseum,i nj
uri
ng25peopleandcausing
mil
l
ionsofbirr
sdamagetothenearbybuil
dings,pol
icesaid.Apol
icestat
ementsai
d
t
he9000-bi
rrbombwaspackedi
ntoabaskethiddeninthebackofastol
encar.

Here no inf
erences are dr
awn and t
he passage mer
ely cont
ains a ser
ies of
i
nfor
mationalstat
ements.

5.I
ll
ust
rat
ion

I
tconsi
stsofstatement
saboutacer t
ainsubjectcombinedwit
har ef
erencetooneor
morespeci
fi
cinst
ance/sint
endedtoexempli
fythatstat
ement.I
tisoft
enconfusedwi
th
ar
gumentsbecausemanyi l
l
ustr
ati
onscontai
nindicat
orwordssuchas“thus.
”

Ex.
1.Mammal sareani
mal
sthatnour
isht
heiry
oungwi
thmi
l
k.Forexampl
e,cat
s,
dogs,goat
s,monkeysandhumansar
emammal s.

Ex.2.Chemicalelements,aswellas,compounds,canberepr
esent
edbymol ecul
ar
for
mul as.Thus,
oxy genisrepresent
edbyO2, sodi
um chlor
idebyNaClandsul
fur
icacid
byH2SO4.

Ex.
3.Whol
enumberscanberepr
esent
edasf
act
ions.Thus,2canber
epr
esent
ed
as8/
4and5canberepr
esent
edas15/3.

N.
B.Somet
imesexampl
esar
egi
vennotmer
elyt
o expl
ainbutt
o suppor
t/pr
ovi
de

5
suppor
tforat
hesi
s,i
nwhi
chcaset
hepassagebecomesanar
gumentandnotan
i
ll
ustr
ati
on.

Consi
dert
his:

Ex.1.Yousai
dthatnomammalcanf l
y,butt
hatisunt
rue.Atl
eastonemammal
haswingsandcanfl
y.Forexampl
e,bat
sar
emammal s.

6.Condi
ti
onal
Stat
ement
s

Thisisan“ if
…,t hen…”st
atement,t
akenbyitsel
fcanneverbeanar gument.Every
condi
ti
onalstatementi smadeupoft wostat
ements.Thecomponentst
atementthat
i
mmedi atel
yfol
lowst he“i
f”iscal
l
edtheAnt
ecedent,
andtheonef
oll
owingthe“
then”is
cal
ledtheConsequent .

I
f….
..t
hen……………………….
.or

……………………….
.i
f…………………………….
.

Ex.
1.IfGal
gal
owor
kshar
d,t
henhewil
lgetapromoti
on.Thi
sst
atementmer
ely
asser
tsthati
fGal
gal
owor
kshar
d,t
henhewi
l
lgetapromoti
on.So,

a)I
tdoesn’
tasser
tthathewor
kshar
dand

b)I
tdoesn’
tasser
tthatheget
sapr
omot
ion.

Bycont
rastconsi
dert
his:

Ex.
2.I
fGal
gal
owor
kshar
d,t
henhewi
l
lgetapr
omot
ion.

Gal
gal
ohaswor
kedhar
d.

Ther
efor
e,Gal
gal
owi
l
lgetapr
omot
ion.

Heretheconcl
usioni
sassertedont hebasisofthepremises.Sot hest
atementi
san
argument
.Whil
enoconditi
onalstatementisanargumentbyit
self
,itcanserv
easei
ther
thepremi
seortheconcl
usi
on( orboth)ofanargument
.

Ex.
3.I
fci
gar
ett
ecompani
espubl
i
shwar
ningl
abel
s,t
hensmoker
sassumet
her
iskof
smoki
ng.

Ci
garett
ecompani
esdopubl
i
shwar
ningl
abel
s.Ther
efor
e,smoker
sassumet
her
iskof
smoking.

Therel
ati
onshi
pbet
weenacondi
ti
onalst
atementandanar
gumentcanbesummar
ized
as:

6
 a)Asi
ngl
econdi
ti
onal
stat
ementcan’
tbeanar
gument
,

b)Acondit
ionalst
atementcanser
veasei
thert
hepr
emi
seort
heconcl
usi
on(
or
bot
h)ofanargumentand

c)Thei
nfer
ent
ialcont
entofacondi
ti
onalst
atementmayber
e-expr
essedt
ofor
m
anar
gument.

Condi
ti
onsi
nCondi
ti
onal
Stat
ement
s

Condi
ti
onalst
atement
sexpr
esst
her
elat
ionshi
pbet
weennecessar
yandsuf
fi
cient
condi
ti
ons.

 ‘
A’issai
dtobeasuff
ici
entconditi
onfor‘
B’whenev
ert
heoccur
renceof‘
A’i
s
al
lthati
sneededf
ort
heoccurrenceof‘B’
.

Ex.1.I
fIam st
abbedbyadagger,thenascarwi
llappearonmyskin.(
Suffi
cient
condit
ionforascarcanappeari
tIam stabbedbyabayonet,i
fIam bur
ntwit
haf i
re
orifIam shotbyagun)

 Ontheotherhand,‘
B’i
sanecessar
ycondi
ti
onf
or‘
A’whenev
er‘
A’can’
toccur
wi
thoutt
heoccur r
enceof‘
B’.

Ex.1.I
f“X”i
sanuncl
e,t
hen“
X”i
samal
e.(
Necessar
ycondi
ti
onf
oronet
obean
uncl
eisonemustbeamale)

Ex.
2.Ifwaterneedstobechangedi
ntoani
ce,t
hent
het
emper
atur
eshoul
dbe
r
educedbelowzerodegreeCel
sius.

7.Expl
anat
ions

These ar
e a stat
ement /
group of st
atement
si nt
ended t
o shed l
i
ghton some
phenomenont
hatisacceptedasamat t
eroff
act.

Ever
yexplanat
ion consi
stsoft
wo di
sti
nctcomponent
s:t
heExpl
anandum and t
he
Expl
anans.

Expl
anandum:
thest
atementt
hatdescr
ibest
heev
ent
/phenomenont
obeexpl
ainedand

Expl
anans:
thest
atementt
hatpur
por
tst
odot
heexpl
aini
ng.

Consi
dert
hisexampl
e:

Ex.1.Theskyappear
sbluefr
om theear
th’
ssur
facebecausel
i
ghtr
aysar
e
scat
ter
edbypart
icl
esf
rom t
heat
mospher
e.

Thei
ntent
ionoft
hisexampl
eist
oexpl
ainwhyt
heskyappear
sbl
ueandnott
opr
ove

7
t
hati
tappear
sbl
ue.So,
iti
snotanar
gument
.

Ar
gument Expl
anat
ion

Premi
se/s-
AcceptedFact
/s Expl
anans
Cl
aimedtoprove Clai
medtoexplain
Concl
usi
on Expl
anandum-Accept
edFact
/s

Butmanyexpl
anat
ionscanber
e-expr
essedt
ofor
m anar
gument
.

Ex.2.Lightray
sf r
om thesunarescatter
ed bypar
ti
clesi
ntheat
mospher
e.
Ther
efore,theskyappear
sbl
uefrom t
heear
th’
ssurface.

Onel astexample:Ex.
3.Thedinosaur
sar eextinctbecausealargecometstruckthe
eart
hsome6. 5mi l
li
onyearsago,lof
tingacl oudofdusti ntotheskyandbl ocki
ng
sunl
ight,thereby suppr
essi
ng photosynthesis and… dr ast
ical
l
y lower
ing wor l
d
temperatur
es.

(
Expl
anat
ion-soaccept
edf
actwhi
chi
ssci
ent
if
ic)

But :Ex.
4.“Threesci
enti
ficevidenceshav ebeenoffer
edf ortheexti
ncti
onofdinosaur s.
First
,agloballoweringint emperatur
ecausedt hetestesofmal edinosaurstostop
functi
oni
ng.Second,certainfloweri
ngpl ants(namely,angiosper
ms)ev olvedaft
ert he
dinosaur
sev olved;t
hesepl antswer etoxicfordinosaurs,whichat ethem anddi ed.
Thirdl
y,
…”(Argument-Pr
emi sesprovetheConcl usi
on)

2.
4TypesofAr
gument
s

Ar
gument
scanbedi
vi
dedi
ntot
wo gr Deduct
oups: iveandI
nduct
iveAr
gument
s.

ADeduct
iveAr
gument
:ist
heonei
nwhi
cht
hepr
emi
se/
sar
ecl
aimedt
osuppor
tit
s
conclusi
on i
n such awayt hatift heyareassumed tr
ue,iti
simpossi
bleforthe
conclusi
on to be f
alse.In such argument
sthe concl
usi
on i
s cl
aimed t
of ol
l
ow
necessari
lyf
rom t
hepr emi
se.

Ex.1.Al
lfruit
sarebeverages.TP
Orangesar efrui
tsTP
So,orangesar ebever
ages.TC

Ex.
2.Allmammal sar
evert
ebrates.
TP
All
humansar emammals.TP
Theref
ore,allhumansar
ev er
tebrat
es.
TC
Ex.
3.Allsaleswomeninthi
ssupermar ketar
ehospi
tabl
e.TP

8
Marart
uisasal eswomani nthissupermarket
.TP
Theref
ore,Marartuishospit
able.
TC
I
ntheset hreeargumentstheconclusi
onfoll
owsfrom t
hepr
emi
seswi
thst
ri
ctnecessi
ty.
So,t
hear gument sarededucti
ve.

AnI
nduct
iveAr
gument
:isanar
gumenti
nwhi
cht
hepr
emi
sear
ecl
aimedt
osuppor
tto
conclusi
on insuchawayt hatiftheyassumedt r
ue,thenbasedont hatassumpti
oni
tis
i
mpr obablet
hattheconcl
usi
onisfalse(
thati
s,i
tisprobablethattheconcl
usionistr
ue)
.In
theseargument
stheconcl
usi
oniscl
aimedt of
oll
owonlyprobablyf
rom t
hepremises.
Consi
dert
heseexampl
es:

Ex.
1.Thev
astmaj
ori
tyoft
hesal
eswomeni
nthi
ssupermar
ketar
ehospi
tabl
e.TP

Obsei
sasal
eswomani
nthi
ssupermar
ket
.TP

Ther
efor
e,pr
obabl
y,Obsei
shospi
tabl
e.TC

Ex.
2.80orangessel
ect
edatr
andom f
rom abasketcont
aini
ng100or
angeswer
efound
toberi
pe.
TP

Pr
obabl
y,al
lthe100or
angesar
eri
pe.
TC

I
- Theseargumentsar
einducti
vebecausetheoccur
renceoft
heconcl
usi
oni
s
basedonprobabl
e/i
mprobabl
econdit
ions.

Subcat
egor
iesofDeduct
iveAr
gument

A)Ar
gument
sbasedonmat
hemat
ics

These are argument i

n which t
heir conclusi
on depends on some pur
ely
ari
thmet
ic/
geometri
ccomput
ati
on/
measur
ement s.

Ex.
1 ashoppermi ghtpl
acetwo applesand t
hreeor
angesi
nto apaperbag and
concl
udet
hatthebagcont
ainsf
ivepi
ecesoffr
uit
.

B.Anar
gumentf
rom def
ini
ti
on

Anar gumentinwhi
cht heconcl
usi
onisclaimedtodependmer elyuponthedefi
nit
ion
ofsomewor dorphraseusedinthepremisesorconclusion.Somemightarguethat
Michaelismendaci
ous,itf
oll
owthathet
ellsli
es,
orthatbecauseacert
ainpar
agraphis
pr
olix,i
tfol
l
owsthatiti
sexcessi
vel
ywordy.

C)Cat
egor
ical
Syl
l
ogi
sm

Thisasyl
l
ogi
sm i
nwhi
cheachst
atementbegi
nswi
thoneoft
hewor
ds“
all
”,“
no”or
“some’
.

9
Ex.
1.Nocat
sar
edogs.
TP

Nodogsar
emammal
sthatcanf
ly.
TP

Ther
efor
e,nocat
sar
emammal
sthatcanf
ly.
TC

D)Hy
pot
het
ical
Syl
l
ogi
sm

Thi
sisasy
ll
ogi
sm hav
ingacondi
ti
onal
stat
ementf
oroneorbot
hofi
tspr
emi
ses.

Ex.1.I
fyout
resspasscampuscompoundi
l
legal
l
y,t
hent
hecampuspol
i
cewi
l
lcat
ch
you.TP

I
fthecampuspol
i
cecat
chy
ou,
theny
ouwi
l
lfacedi
sci
pli
nar
ypenal
ty.
TP

Ther
efor
e,ify ou tress pass t
he campus compound i
l
legal
l
y,t
hen y
ou wi
l
lface
di
sci
pli
narypenal
ty.TC

Ex.
2.I
fast
onescr
atchesgl
ass,
theni
tishar
dert
hant
hegl
ass.
TP

St
onescr
atchesgl
ass.
TP

So,
stonei
shar
dert
hangl
ass.
TC

E)Di
sj
unct
iveSy
ll
ogi
sm

Thi
sasyll
ogi
sm hav
ingadi
sjunct
ivest
atementofan“
eit
her
…or
…”st
atementf
oroneof
i
tspremi
ses.

Ex.
1.Ei
therbr
eachofcont
racti
sacr
imeori
tisnotpuni
shabl
ebyl
aw.
TP

Br
eachofcont
racti
snotacr
ime.
TP

So,
breachofcont
racti
snotpuni
shabl
ebyl
aw.
TC

I
I- Subcat
egor
iesofI
nduct
iveAr
gument

A)Ar
gument
sfr
om Anal
ogy

Thesear
etheonest
hatdependont
heexi
stenceofanal
ogybet
weent
wot
hings.

Ex.
1.Abebe’
s2006modelChev
olor
ethasl
uxur
iousseat
s,anexcel
l
entgasmi
l
eageand
acomputerset
.TP

Mati
yas’
s2006modelChevolor
ethasluxur
iousseats,andanexcel
l
entgasmi
l
eage.
TP
Pr
obably
,Mati
yas’
sChev
olorethasacomput erset
.T/FC

B)I
nduct
iveGener
ali
zat
ion

10
Thi
sisanar gumentthatproceedsf
rom t
heknowl
edgeofasel
ect
edsampl
etosome
cl
aim aboutt
hewholegroup.

Ex.
1.10appl
esselect
edatrandom f
rom abasketcont
aini
ng100appl
eswer
efoundt
o
beri
pe.
TPprobabl
y,al
lther
est90applesar
eripe.FC

C)Ar
gument
sbasedonSi
gns

Ifsi
gnsli
ketraff
icsymbolsareplacedormispl
acedfrom t
her
ightposi
ti
on,t
hent
he
concl
usi
onrestsonchancesofprobabi
li
ty/
impr
obabi
li
ty.

D)ACausal
Inf
erence

1)Itunderl
iesargument
sthatpr
oceedf
rom t
heknowl
edgeofacauset
othe
knowledgeofaneff
ector

2)I
tunder
li
esf
rom t
heknowl
edgeofanef
fectt
oknowl
edgeofacause.

Ex.
1.Abott
leofwinewasacci
dental
l
yputi
nthef
reezer
.Ther
efor
e,t
hebot
tl
eofwi
ne
hadbeenf
rozen.(
Causet
oEff
ect)

Ex.
2.Ihavetastedapieceofchickenandf oundi
tdr
yandcr
unchy
.Ther
efor
e,t
he
chi
ckenhadbeenover
cooked.(
Eff
ecttoCause)

2.
5Ev
aluat
ingAr
gument
s

Deduct
iveAr
gument

Ev eryargumentmakest wobasicclaims:acl aimt hattheevidenceexistswhi chi s

called factualclaim and a clai
m thatt he all
eged evi
dence supports somet hi
ng
(somet hingf ol
lowsf r
om theal l
egedev i
dence) .Themostcr ucialofthet woi san
i
nf erent
ialclaim becauseift
hepr emisesfailt
osuppor ttheconclusion(thatis,ift
he
reasoningi sbad) ,anargumentiswor thl
ess.Thus,wewi l
lal
way stestthei nf
erenti
al
claimf i
rst,andonl yifthepremisessuppor tt heconclusi
onwi l
lwet estt hefactual
claim.

Ther
ear
etwot
ypesofdeduct
ivear
gument
:Val
i
dandI
nval
i
ddeduct
ivear
gument
s.

I
. Val
i
dDeduct
iveAr
gument

Thisi
sanargumentsuchthati
fthepr
emisesar
eassumedt
rue,
iti
simpossibl
eforthe
concl
usi
ontobefal
se.Insuchacase,t
heconcl
usi
onfol
l
owswit
hstri
ctnecessi
tyf
rom
thepr
emises.

I
I I
nval
i
dDeduct
iveAr
gument
11
Thisi
st heonesuchthatifthepremisesareassumedtr
ue,iti
spossibleforthe
concl
usi
ontobefal
se.Heretheconcl
usiondoesnotf
oll
owwit
hstri
ctnecessi
tyfr
om
thepr
emises.

Mindyou!Fir
st,t
hereisnomi ddl
egroundbet weenv al
idandi nvali
darguments.Assuch
ther
eareno“ al
mostv al
id”or“al
mosti nval
id”arguments.Second,t her
eisonlyindi
rect
rel
ati
onshi
pbetweenv ali
dit
yandtruth.Foranar gumenttov ali
d,iti
snotnecessarythat
eit
herthepremises/concl
usionorbot hbet rue,butmer el
yt hatifthepremisesar e
assumedtrue,i
tisi
mpossi bl
efortheconclusiontobefalse.

SCENARI
OS VALID I
NVALI
D
All
winesare
bever
ages.TP All
winesarebeverages.
TP
Tr
uepr
emise Gouderi
sawi ne.TP Gouderisabeverage.TP
Tr
ueConcl
usi
on Gouderi
sa So,gouderi
sawi ne.TC
bever
age.TC UNSOUND
SOUND
NON-
EXI
ST Allwi
nesar ebev
erages.
TP
Becausei ndeductive
argument ,tobe Orangejui
ceisa
TruePremise
vali
difpr emiseassumed beverage.
TP
FalseConclusi
on tr
uet he So,orangejui
ceisawine.FC
conclusionnecessaril
y
needst obet rue. UNSOUND
All
winesaresof
t
dri
nks.FP
All
winesarewhi
skeys.FP
CocaColaisawine.
Falsepr
emise FP
Gouderisawhi
skey.FP
TrueConcl
usi
on So,
CocaColai
sasoft So,gouderi
sawine.TC
dri
nk.TC UNSOUND
UNSOUND
All
wi nesare
whiskeys.FP
All
winesarewhiskeys.FP
CocaCol aisawine.
Fal
sepremi
se FP
CocaColai
sawhi skey.FP
Fal
seconcl
usi
on So,CocaCol ai
sa So,CocaColai
sawi ne.FC
whiskey.FC UNSOUN
UNSOUND
I
II
.SoundnessandUnsoundnessofAr
gument
s

ASoundAr gument
:isadeducti
veargumentt
hatisval
i
dandhasalltr
uepremi ses.
Ever
ysoundargumentbydef
ini
ti
onhastr
ueconcl
usi
on.I
tismeanta“
good”deductiv
e
ar
gument.

ASounddeduct
iveAr
gument
=Val
i
d+Al
lTr
uePr
emi
ses

12
I
nduct
iveAr
gument

Here,t
hepremi sesar eclai
med to supporttheconcl
usi
on with cert
ain degreeof
pr
obabi
li
tyorimpr obabi
l
itydependi
ngont hestr
engt
horweaknessoft hereasoningor
pr
esent
edevidence.Therearetwotypes:Str
ongandWeakinduct
iveargument s.

I
. St
rongI
nduct
iveAr
gument

Iti
stheonesuchthati
fthepr
emi
sesar
eassumedt
rue,t
heni
tispr
obabl
ethatt
he
concl
usi
oni
sfal
se.

WeakI
nduct
iveAr
gument

Iti
stheonesuchthati
fthepr
emi
sesar
eassumedt
rue,
theni
tisnotpr
obabl
ethatt
he
concl
usi
onisfal
se.

SCENARI
OS STRONG WEAK
All
prev i
ousAmer icanpresi
dent
s AfewAmer i
canpr esi
dentswer
e
weremen. Federali
sts.
Tr
uepr
emise Therefore,probablythenext
Therefore,
pr obablythenext
Tr
ueConcl
usi
on Amer i
canpr esidentwil
lbeaman. Amer i
canpr esidentwil
lbeaman.
COGENT UNCOGENT
AfewAmer i
canpr esi
dentswer
e
Federali
sts.
TruePremise
NONEEXI
ST Therefore,probablythenext
FalseConclusi
on
Amer i
canpr esidentwil
lbea
Federali
st. UNCOGENT
Allpr
ev i
ousAmer ican
presi
dent s Af ewAmer i
canpr esi
dentswer
e
weret elevisi
ondebat ers. Libert
ar i
ans.
Falsepr
emise
Theref ore,probablythenext Theref or
e,probablythenext
TrueConcl
usi
on
Amer icanpr esidentwillbea Amer icanpresidentwil
lbea
tel
evisiondebat er
. telev
isiondebat er
.UNCOGENT
UNCOGENT
Allpr
ev i
ousAmer ican
AfewAmer i
canpr esi
dentswer
e
presi
dent s
Li
bert
ari
ans.
Fal
sepremi
se werewomen.
Ther
efor
e,probablythenext
Fal
seconcl
usi
on Theref ore,probablythenext
Ameri
canpresidentwil
lbea
Amer icanpr esidentwillbea
Li
bert
ari
an.UNCOGENT
woman. UNCOGENT

I
I. CogencyandUncogencyofI
nduct
iveAr
gument
s

ACogentInducti
veAr
gument:i
stheonethati
sstr
ongandhasal
ltr
uepr
emises.I
tisan
i
nduct
iveanalogyofasounddeduct
iveargument
.Iti
smeanttobe“agood”i
nducti
ve

13
ar
gument
.Theconcl
usi
onofev
erycogentar
gumenti
spr
obabl
ytr
ue.

Cogent
=St
rong+Al
lTr
uePr
emi
ses

Thereisadif
fer
encebetweensoundandcogentar gumentsinregar
dt otruepremi
ses
requi
rement
.Inasoundar gumentitisonlynecessaryt
hatthepremisesbet r
ue.I
na
cogentar
gument,ontheotherhand,t
hepremisesmustnotonlybetrue,t
heymustalso
i
gnoresomeimpor t
antpi
eceofev i
dencet
hatoutweighsthegi
venevi
dence.

UncogentAr
gument
:fal
l
sint
ooneoft
hef
oll
owi
ngt
hreecat
egor
ies:

a)I
tisst
rongbuthasatl
eastone(
mor
e)f
alsepr
emi
se/
s.

b)I
tisweakbuthasal
ltr
uepr
emi
ses.

c)I
tisweakbuthasatl
eastone(
mor
e)f
alsepr
emi
se/
s.

14