The first step of evaluating an argument is making an inference connection. The second step is asserting premise acceptability. Two questions to ask first is (1) Is this argument valid and (2) is this argument sound or unsound.
Judging Arguments It involves finding the conclusion and premises, checking to see if the argument is deductive or inductive, determining its validity or strength, and discovering if the premises are true or false.
To summarize, a valid deductive argument is one where it would be impossible for the conclusion to be false given that the premises were true. The conclusion follows necessarily from the logical connections or reasoning established by the premises.
Valid: an argument is valid if and only if it is necessary that if all of the premises are true, then the conclusion is true; if all the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true; it is impossible that all the premises are true and the conclusion is false.
If the arguer believes that the truth of the premises definitely establishes the truth of the conclusion, then the argument is deductive. If the arguer believes that the truth of the premises provides only good reasons to believe the conclusion is probably true, then the argument is inductive.
Soundness: An argument is sound if it meets these two criteria: (1) It is valid. (2) Its premises are true. In other words, a sound argument has the right form AND it is true. Note #3: A sound argument will always have a true conclusion.
In short, a deductive argument must be evaluated in two ways. First, one must ask if the premises provide support for the conclusion by examing the form of the argument. If they do, then the argument is valid. Then, one must ask whether the premises are true or false in actuality.
There are three major types of deductive reasoning we can use to test deductions: syllogism, modus ponens, and modus tollens. Let's break these down one at a time.May 16, 2021
Arguments consist of two main parts: conclusion and evidence.
When evaluating an argument, here are some things that you might consider:Who is making the argument?What gives them authority to make the argument?What evidence is given in support of the argument? ... Does the evidence upon which the argument is based come from a reliable and independent source?More items...
Share this postIdentify the conclusion and the premises.Put the argument in standard form.Decide if the argument is deductive or non-deductive.Determine whether the argument succeeds logically.If the argument succeeds logically, assess whether the premises are true.More items...
In general, to determine validity, go through every row of the truth-table to find a row where ALL the premises are true AND the conclusion is false. Can you find such a row? If not, the argument is valid. If there is one or more rows, then the argument is not valid.