Argument Basics Getting to Accept - Reject - Suspend Judgment

Argument An argument is an attempt to convince someone (possibly yourself) that a particular claim, called a conclusion, is true, –The rest of the argument is a collection of claims called the premises, which are given as the reasons for believing the conclusion is true. –The conclusion is sometimes called the issued that is being debated.

Argument Basics Premises 1) Acceptable 2) Relevant Conclusion

About Premises May be stated or unstated

About Premises May be stated or unstated The laws of nature and moral law are one and the same. [Human beings can understand the laws of nature.] [Human beings must follow the laws of nature.] So, the human community is charged with the task of ordering its life according to the same kind of objective principles by which the cosmos itself is ordered. -- Adapted from The American Soul, by Jacob Needleman

About Premises May be stated or unstated May be dependent or independent

About Premises May be stated or unstated May be dependent or independent Dependent premises need at least one other premise to provide support for a conclusion.

About Premises May be stated or unstated May be dependent or independent Dependent premises need at least one other premise to provide logical support for a conclusion. Independent premises provide some support for an argument’s conclusion whether or not any other premises are present (given reasonable assumptions).

About Premises May be stated or unstated May be dependent or independent In every free society, which the U.S. intends to be, there must be opposite parties and violent dissensions. Generally, one party must prevail over the others. A free society cannot be preserved if the parties do not commit to remaining united even if they don’t prevail. So, a durably free America must include both strong dissent and commitment to preserve the union. Adapted from Thomas Jefferson

About Premises May be stated or unstated May be dependent or independent In every free society, there must be opposite parties and violent dissensions. A free society cannot be preserved if the parties do not commit to remaining united. So, a free America can be expected to include both strong dissent and commitment to preserve the union.

About Premises May be stated or unstated May be dependent or independent May be indicated by lead-in words or phrases Indicator Words

About Premises May be stated or unstated May be dependent or independent May be indicated by lead-in words or phrases Since…For the reason that… For…In view of… Because…This is implied by… In as much as…Given that… Suppose that…It follows from… It follows from…Due to…

About Premises May be stated or unstated May be dependent or independent May be indicated by lead-in words or phrases May need support or explanation

About Premises May be stated or unstated May be dependent or independent May be indicated by lead-in words or phrases May need support or explanation This is usually provided in a supporting or explanatory paragraph or in more detailed discussion.

About Premises May be stated or unstated May be dependent or independent May be indicated by lead-in words or phrases May need support or explanation May be surrounded by irrelevancies

About Conclusions May be stated or unstated

About Conclusions May be stated or unstated Religious freedom is the first freedom guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. It was also the single most important reason why the earliest settlers in the Colonies left the safety and relative comfort of their homes to start new lives here. The bedrock freedoms of American civilization will always need to be protected and interpreted for the times. So…

About Conclusions May be stated or unstated Religious freedom is the first freedom guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. It was also the single most important reason why the earliest settlers in the Colonies left the safety and relative comfort of their homes to start new lives here. The bedrock freedoms of American civilization will always need to be protected and interpreted for the times. So, we must still interpret and defend religious freedom.

About Conclusions May be stated or unstated May be controversial

About Conclusions May be stated or unstated May be controversial Madonna’s productions frequently contain religious themes and symbolism. Her work has been the topic of serious study by respected scholars of religion. So, Madonna’s work, even her highly sexual material, must be protected as religious expression by the First Amendment.

About Conclusions May be stated or unstated May be controversial May be indicated by lead-in words or phrases

About Conclusions May be stated or unstated May be controversial May be indicated by lead-in words or phrases Thus…Therefore… This shows that… So…Accordingly... This implies that… Hence…Consequently… This proves that… Ergo…It follows that… This suggests that…

About Conclusions May be stated or unstated May be controversial May be indicated by lead-in words or phrases Must contain only terms found in the premises (or their equivalents)

About Conclusions May be stated or unstated May be controversial May be indicated by lead-in words or phrases Must contain only terms found in the premises (or their equivalents) The presence of new terms in a conclusion is strong evidence of unstated premises.

About Arguments Valid Arguments: Argument is valid if it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false (at the same time; otherwise it is invalid.

About Arguments Strong and Weak Arguments: Invalid arguments are classified on a scale from strong to weak. An argument is strong if it is very unlikely for the premises to be true and the conclusion false (at the same time); an argument is weak if it is likely for the premises to be true and the conclusion false.

In any of these ways is the conclusion false? Ways The Premises Could Be True NO = VALID Every Way The Premises Could Be True The Conclusion is True YES = INVALID Very Unlikely STRONG Not so Likely WEAK

What are the Claims in the Argument? The Standard a Poor’s index rose 4% today. Dick has $2,000 in an S&P index mutual fund. So Dicks mutual fund account went up $80 today.

What are the Claims in the Argument? The Standard a Poor’s index rose 4% today. Dick has $2,000 in an S&P index mutual fund. So Dicks mutual fund account went up $80 today. Premise 1: The S&P index rose 4% today. Premise 2: Dick has $2,000 in an S&P index mutual fund. Conclusion: Dick’s mutual fund account went up $80 today.

What are the Claims in the Argument? The Standard a Poor’s index rose 4% today. Dick has $2,000 in an S&P index mutual fund. So Dicks mutual fund account went up $80 today. Is this a valid argument? Analysis: This is a valid argument: It is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false. Whether it is a good argument depends on whether its premises are true.

Tests for an Argument to be Good The premises are plausible The premises are more plausible than the conclusion The argument is valid or strong

What are the Claims in the Argument? Señora Vez is an economics professor. All economics professors are socialists. So Señora Vez is a socialist.

What are the Claims in the Argument? Señora Vez is an economics professor. All economics professors are socialists. So Señora Vez is a socialist. Premise 1: Señora Vez is an economics professor Premise 2: All economics professors are socialists Conclusion: Señora Vez is a socialist

What are the Claims in the Argument? Señora Vez is an economics professor. All economics professors are socialists. So Señora Vez is a socialist. Is this a valid argument? Analysis: This is a valid argument: It is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false. Is it a good argument? NO! The second premise is false.

Deductive and Inductive Arguments One way of conceptualizing arguments is by the degree of confidence one is supposed to have in the conclusion if the premises are true.

Deductive and Inductive Arguments Deductive arguments are constructed with the intention of supporting their conclusions perfectly, that is, with premises that, if true, guarantee the truth of the conclusion.

Deductive and Inductive Arguments Deductive arguments are constructed with the intention of supporting their conclusions perfectly, that is, with premises that, if true, guarantee the truth of the conclusion. Inductive arguments are constructed with the intention of providing the strongest possible support for the conclusion, even though they are unable to guarantee the truth of the conclusion.

Explanations Why is this claim true? An inferential explanation is a collection of claims that can be understood as “Something Happened” because of A B C

Explanation We call A, B, and C the explanation. “Something Happened” is the claim being explained.

When is an explanation good? The claim is highly plausible. The explanation addresses the correct claim. The explanation is plausible. The explanation is valid and strong. The explanation is not circular.