Lecture 2: Chapter 2

Question 1

Premise example

Answer 1

the breaks are not working, the engine burns oil, the transmission needs work, and the car is hard to start

Question 2

conclusion example 1 and 2

Answer 2

1: the car has outlives its usefulness

2: we should get a new car

Question 3

unstated premises and conclusions

Answer 3

• another complication is that arguments can contain unstated premises.
• i.e. premise: you can not check out books from the library without an ID
• conclusion: bill will not be able to check out any books
  (the unstated premise must be that Bill has no ID. and arguement can even have an unstated conclusion)

Question 4

two kinds of arguements

Answer 4

1: deductive demonstrations

2: inductive supporting arguments

Question 5

deductive arguements

Answer 5

• the premise of a good deductive arguments, if true, proves or demonstrates its conclusion.
• is said to be valid if it is not possible for the premise to be true and the conclusion false
• if the premise of a valid argument is in fact true, the argument is said to be sound.

Question 6

valid arguements

Answer 6

• if it is not possible for the premise to be true and the conclusion false
• ie: premise: jimmy carter was president immediately before bill Clinton, and George W. Bush was president immediately after bill Clinton
• conclusion: jimmy carter was president before George W. Bush.

Question 7

when the premise of a valid argument is true, there is a word for it…

Answer 7

• it means the argument is sound
• i.e. premise: Bill Clinton is taller than George W. Bush, and Jimmy carter is shorter than George W. Bush
• conclusion: therefore, bill Clinton is taller than Jimmy Carter

Question 8

inductive supporting arguements

Answer 8

• the premises of good inductive arguments do not demonstrate thier conclusions; they Support them
• i.e. a women has been found murdered. The husband is known to have threatened her repeatedly. The fact certainly does not demonstrate that the women’s husband murdered her. By itself. the fact barely even supports that conclusion

-

Question 9

the more support the premise of an inductive argument provides for the conclusion, the – the argument; the less support it provides, the – the argument

Answer 9

1: stronger

2: weaker

Question 10

deduction, induction, and unstated premises: somebody announces “rain is on its way” somebody else asks how he knows. He says “there’s a south wind”. define the stated and unstated premise and the conclusion

Answer 10

stated: the wind is from the south

unstated: around here, a south wind is always followed by rain

conclusion: rain is coming

Question 11

balance of considerations reasoning typically contains both – and – elements

Answer 11

1: deductive

2: inductive

Question 12

IBE

Answer 12

• inference to the best explanation
• an IBE is actually an inductive argument, which is to be evaluated as strong or weak in varying degrees

Question 13

techniques for understanding arguments

Answer 13

1: in understanding an argument that has been given to us, the first task is to find the conclusion - the main point or thesis of the passage

2: we look for the reasons, if any, offered for accepting these premises and conclusions when they occur in spoken and written passages and to understand the interrelationships among these claims - that is, the structure of the argument

Question 14

evaluating aguements

Answer 14

1: logic part: does the argument either demonstrate or support its conclusions? is this argument either deductively valid or inductively relatively strong?

2: truth part: are the premises actually true?