Lesson 4: Different Types Of Arguments Flashcards
what are value claims
A value argument is making some claim about how things ought to be, or about
how the arguer believes things to be. Often, these arguments have to do with norms or moral claimsor aesthetic claims or beliefs and desires
what are empirical arguments
Empirical arguments, as was alluded to are those arguments that
are verifiable using the senses or scientific knowledge. Put differently, they are
arguments about fact It means that the premises of
such an argument can be verified by direct observation.
state what a deductive argument is
A deductive argument is an argument that, if the premises are true, then it is
impossible for the conclusion to be false
what are the two important properties for deductive arguments
(1) The conclusion follows from the premises (if all the premises are true, it is
impossible for the conclusion to be false);
(2) The premises are true
what is a hypothetical syllogism
A hypothetical syllogism has at least one conditional or hypothetical statement. This
means it has one “if-then” statement
discuss mondus ponens hypothetical argument
Modus Ponens is a Latin expression meaning “affirmative mode” In this argument, the first premise is a conditional statement (If P
then Q). The second premise affirms the antecedent (in other words, affirms the
truth of the antecedent) and the conclusion affirms the consequent. This argument
is always valid regardless of the truth or falsity of the premises or conclusion
explain the modus tollens hypothetical syllogism
In this argument, the consequent of the conditional statement is denied (asserted to
be false) in the second premise. Following the second premise, the consequent of
the conditional statement is also declared false
what is a categorical syllogism
A categorical syllogism “may be defined as a three-line argument in which each
statement begins with the word all, some or no”
what are the rules for categorical syllogisms
• Only the major and the minor term occur in the conclusion of a categorical
syllogism.
• You cannot have any of the terms appearing twice in the same premise.
• Each term appears only twice in the entire argument – no more and no less.
explain inductive arguments
In an inductive argument, the conclusion follows with a strong degree of likelihood –
i.e. “if the premises were to be true, then it would be unlikely that the conclusion is
false”
what is a valid argument
“A valid deductive argument is an argument in which it is impossible for all the
premises to be true and the conclusion false”
Why is the concept of validity so important?
“Validity is the basis of all exact, rigorous reasoning directed at the discovery
of truth. … a valid argument perfectly preserves whatever truth is contained
in the argument’s premises. In short, validity is important because validity
preserves truth. Only by reasoning validly can we reason rigorously from truth
to truth.”
to what does soundness refer
“Soundness
refers to the truth or strength of the premises of an argument”
