Module 3

Basic Logical Concepts

Before we can effectively analyze and
evaluate an argument, we need to
understand clearly what kind of
argument is being offered
 Deduction and Induction

Arguments have been divided into two

Deduction and induction
 Deductive arguments

 D/A are arguments in which the conclusion is

claimed / intended to follow necessarily from the
premises
 They are moves from the general premises to
particular conclusion
• e.g. Some pigs have wings.
All winged things sing.
Therefore, some pigs sing.
• Deductive reasoning starts with a general case in order to draw
conclusions about specific instances.

• Deductive reasoning starts with an assumed hypothesis,

theory or truth. This assumption may be well-accepted or rather
shaky—but if it’s true, the conclusion can not be questioned.
• Deductive reasoning is used by scientists to take a general
scientific law and apply it to a certain case when they
assume that the law is true.

•
Deductive arguments are
generally based on the following:
laws
rules
widely accepted principles
theories
hypotheses
 Inductive arguments

 I/A in which the conclusion is claimed/ intended to

follow probably from the premises
 Moves from the particular premises to general
conclusion
eg. Hanshika committed suicide
Katrina committed suicide
Kajol committed suicide
Therefore, all actresses would commit suicide
Every Ruby so far discovered has been red
So probably all rubies are red
 Inductive Reasoning:
-The kind of thinking that is done to form
general ideas based on experience and
observation.
-Inductive reasoning allows us to create
generalizations about things, such as
people , places, events, the environment,
)

etc.

-Reasoning from a specific case or cases

and deriving a general rule.
Making of deductive / inductive is not a pattern of particularity
or generality in the pemises or conclusion. Rather, it's the “type
of support” the premises are claimed to provide for the
conclusion

All bats are mammals.

All mammals are warm-blooded.
So, all bats are warm-blooded.

Deductive or inductive ?
 TWO ARGUMENT TYPES

• Deductive arguments
(try to) PROVE their conclusions

• Inductive arguments
(try to) show that their conclusions are
PLAUSIBLE or LIKELY
 Key Differences

Deductive arg. Claims that Inductive arg. Claims that

If the premises are true, then the conclusion If the premises are true, then the conclusion
must be true. is probably true.
The conclusion follows necessarily from the The conclusion follows probably from the
premises. premises.
The premises provide conclusive evidence The premises provide good (but not
for the truth of the conclusion. conclusive) evidence for the truth of the
conclusion.
It is unlikely for the premises to be true and
It is impossible for all the premises to be true the conclusion false.
and the conclusion false.
Although it is logically consistent to assert
It is logically inconsistent to assert the the premises and deny the conclusion,
premises and deny the conclusion, the conclusion is probably true if the
meaning that if you accept the premises, premises are true.
you must accept the conclusion.
 How do we identify whether an argument is
Ded/Ind
There are four ways to identify:
1. The indicator word test
2. The strict necessity test
3. The common pattern test
4. The principle of charity test
 The indicator word test
- The indicator word test asks whether there are any indicator words that
provide clues whether a deductive or inductive argument is being offered
- The following phrases indicates that an argument is deductive
Certainly, definitely, absolutely, conclusively, it logically
follows that, it is logical to conclude that, this logically
implies that, this entails that, and it must be the case
- The following phrases indicates that an argument is deductive
probably, likely, it is plausible to suppose that, it is
reasonable to think that, and it's a good bet that
- If the indicator words are not shown follow the rest of the test
 The Strict Necessity Test

- The strict necessity test asks whether the conclusion follows from
the premises with strict logical necessity. If it does, then the
argument is deductive
- If the arguments conclusion does not follow with the strict logical
necessity from its premises the argument should always be
treated a inductive
eg. She is a daughter
So she is a girl
 The Common Pattern Test

The common pattern test asks whether the argument exhibits a

pattern of reasoning that is characteristically deductive or
inductive
If the argument exhibits a pattern of reasoning that is
characteristically deductive, then the argument is probably
deductive
If the argument exhibits a pattern of reasoning that is
characteristically inductive, then the argument is probably
inductive.
 The Common Pattern Test ( Cont)
eg. Either Kurt voted in the last election, or he didn't.
Only citizens can vote.
Kurt is not, and has never been, a citizen.
So, Kurt didn't vote in the last election
This is called "argument by elimination."
Arguments by elimination are arguments that seek to logically rule out various
possibilities until only a single possibility remains. Arguments of this type are
always deductive.
eg. If A then B
A
------------------
So, B
This type of pattern is called as “Modus Ponens”
- This pattern should be treated as deductive
 PRINCIPLE OF CHARITY TEST

• When interpreting an unclear argument, always

give the speaker / writer the benefit of the doubt.
– Fosters good will and mutual understanding in an
argument.
– Promotes the discovery of truth by insisting that we
confront arguments that we ourselves admit to be
the strongest and most plausible versions of those
arguments.
 Exercises 1
Ross: Are there any good Italian restaurants in town?
 
Praba: Yeah, Luigi's is pretty good. I've had their Neapolitan
rigatoni, their lasagne col pesto, and their mushroom
ravioli. I don't think you can go wrong with any of their
pasta dishes.

Is Praba's argument deductive or

inductive? Why?
 Exercises 2

I wonder if I have enough cash to buy my psychology

textbook as well as my biology and history textbooks. Let's
see, I have $200. My biology textbook costs $65 and my
history textbook costs $52. My psychology textbook costs
$60. With taxes, that should come to about $190. Yep, I have
enough.

Is this argument deductive or inductive? Why?

 Exercises 3

Mother: Don't give Billy that brownie. It contains walnuts, and

I think Billy is allergic to walnuts. Last week he ate
some oatmeal cookies with walnuts and he broke out
in a severe rash.
 Father: Billy isn't allergic to walnuts. Don't you remember he
ate some walnut fudge ice cream at Melissa's birthday
party last spring? He didn't have any allergic reaction
then.

Is the father's argument deductive or inductive? Why?

 Exercises 4

John is an agnostic. It follows that he doesn't believe in

God.

Is this argument deductive or inductive? Why?

 Common Pattern of Deductive Reasoning

There are 5 common pattern of Deductive reasoning

1. Hypothetical syllogism
2. Categorical syllogism
3. Argument by elimination
4. Argument based on mathematics
5. Argument from definition
Hypothetical syllogism / Conditional syllogism
Three lines argument and consists of two premises and a
conclusion and this pattern is called Modus Ponens ( MP)
P Q
P
Q
If A then B
A
So B
e.g. If you study hard then the institution will offer financial
aid
Other common varieties of hypothical syllogism include the
following

• Chain argument
• Modus Tollens
• Denying the antecedent
• Affirming the consequent
 Summary
MODUS PONENS (affirming the antecedent): If A then
B. A. Therefore B.
CHAIN: If A then B. If B then C. Therefore if A then C.
MODUS TOLLENS: If A then B. Not B. Therefore not A.
*DENYING THE ANTECEDENT: If A then B. Not A.
Therefore not B.
*AFFIRMING THE CONSEQUENT: If A then B. B.
Therefore A.
 Categorical syllogism

Understanding Syllogism

• Categorical syllogism is defined as a three line argument

in which each statement begins with the word all, some,
and no
eg. All students are intelligent in this class
KessHHA is a student
So KessHHa is intelligent
Is this argument deductive or inductive ?
 Argument by elimination Disjunctive argument (either or)

• It logically rules out various possibilites until only a

single possibility remains
eg. Either Renuka walked to the College or She drove
but she did not drive to the college
So Renuka walked to the college
 Argument on Mathematics

• Mathematical concepts / conclusion are through reasoning

and not probable and the conclusion depends on some
mathematical calculation or measurement
E.g. Light travels at a rate of 186,000 miles per second.
The sun is more than 94 million miles from earth.
Therefore it takes more than 8 minutes for the sun’s
light to reach earth.
 Argument from Definition

These arguments are true by definition

eg. Riza is a Cardiologist
So he is a doctor

Treated as deductive : drive conclusion from premises

 Common Pattern of Inductive Reasoning

There are 6 common pattern of inductive reasoning

1. Inductive generalization
2. Predictive argument
3. Argument from authority
4. Casual argument
5. Statistical argument
6. Argument from analogy
 Inductive generalization

• Some characteristics are considered common to all

members of the class
e. g. College students pay a lot of money for their studies
 Predictive argument

• Prediction is about what may / will happen in the future

and prediction is defended with reasons
eg. It is hot in Colombo in Jan
So it will probably hot in Colombo in next Jan
 Argument from authority

• It asserts claim and then forwards witnesses support to the

claim to be true
e.g.. Most students fail in A/L than O/L
Who told ?
The examination department
 Causal argument

Something is a cause of something else

eg. I can't study because I am ...............
 Statistical argument

• It shows stats. evidence: some percentage of group has

some particular characteristics
eg. 70% of College students are from urban areas
Tahami is a student
So she is from an urban area
 Argument from analogy

• It compares of two or more things that are claimed to be

alike in some relevant aspect
eg. Disney park has a thrilling roller coaster ride
Hershy park, like Disney park, is a great amusement park
So, probably Hershy park also has thrilling roller coaster
ride

3.3
 Deductive Validity

- Deductive arguments are either valid or invalid

- Reliable deductive argument is called valid deductive arg.
- In a valid deductive arg. the conclusion follows necessarily
from the premises
- In a valid deductive argument, it is impossible for all
premises to be true and the conclusion is false
- The premises provide logically conclusive grounds for the
truth of the conclusion
- It is inconsistent to assert all premises as true and deny the
conclusion
- A sound deductive argument both is valid and has
all true premises.

- An unsound deductive argument either is invalid or

has at least one false premise, or both

Reading - Book
 Inductive Strenght

-Inductive argument can be well / poorly formed.

- A well reasoned ( the conclusion follows probably from the

premises) is called strong inductive argument
- If the premises are true, the conclusion would probably be
ture.
-The premises provide probable, but not logically
conclusive grounds for the truth of the conclusion
Eg: The most presidents in Sri Lanka have been college
graduates
So, it is likely the next president of Sri Lanka will be a
college graduate
- Not strong valid argument is called weak inductive
argument

The conclusion does not follow probably from the premises

eg. All previous popes have been men
So probably the next Pop will be a woman
Cogent Argument: an argument both is inductively strong
and has all true premises
eg. No US has been a skateborading champion
So, next US preseident probably will not be a champion
Uncogent argument: an argument either is weak or has @ least
one false premise
eg. All previous US presidents have been professional football
players
So, probably, the next US president will be an astronaut

Pr – F

Reading - Book
 Deductive VS Inductive arguments

Deductive arguments Inductive arguments

Strong Weak(all are uncogent)

Valid Invalid (all are unsound)

Cogent Uncogent
Sound Unsound
The End