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    Types of Arguments: Inductive Argument: An Argument in

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    Waheed Ullah
    The document defines and distinguishes between different types of arguments including inductive, deductive, strong, weak, cogent, uncogent, valid, invalid, sound, and unsound. It provides examples to illustrate each type of argument and discusses how to determine whether an argument is strong/weak or valid/invalid by assessing if the truth of the premises necessitates or makes probable the truth of the conclusion.

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    Types of Arguments: Inductive Argument: An Argument in

    Uploaded by

    Waheed Ullah
    75 views13 pages
    The document defines and distinguishes between different types of arguments including inductive, deductive, strong, weak, cogent, uncogent, valid, invalid, sound, and unsound. It provides examples to illustrate each type of argument and discusses how to determine whether an argument is strong/weak or valid/invalid by assessing if the truth of the premises necessitates or makes probable the truth of the conclusion.

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    Types of Arguments

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    The document defines and distinguishes between different types of arguments including inductive, deductive, strong, weak, cogent, uncogent, valid, invalid, sound, and unsound. It provides examples to illustrate each type of argument and discusses how to determine whether an argument is strong/weak or valid/invalid by assessing if the truth of the premises necessitates or makes probable the truth of the conclusion.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    75 views13 pages

    Types of Arguments: Inductive Argument: An Argument in

    Uploaded by

    Waheed Ullah
    The document defines and distinguishes between different types of arguments including inductive, deductive, strong, weak, cogent, uncogent, valid, invalid, sound, and unsound. It provides examples to illustrate each type of argument and discusses how to determine whether an argument is strong/weak or valid/invalid by assessing if the truth of the premises necessitates or makes probable the truth of the conclusion.

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    of 13

    Types of Arguments

    Inductive Argument: An argument in


    which the truth of the premises is
    supposed to prove that the conclusion
    is probably true.
    Strong Inductive Argument: An
    inductive argument in which the truth of
    the premises really does prove that the
    conclusion is probably true.
    Weak Inductive Argument: An inductive
    argument in which the truth of the
    premises really does not prove that
    the conclusion is probably true.
    Cogent Argument: A strong inductive
    argument in which all the premises
    are actually true.
    Uncogent Argument: A strong inductive
    argument in which even one premise
    is actually false.
    Determining Whether an Inductive
    Argument is Strong or Weak
    1) Assume all the premises are true,
    even if one or more is clearly false.
    2. Using only the information in the
    premises plus common knowledge
    ask: What is the probability that the
    conclusion is true?
    Above 50%: Strong Argument
    50% or Less: Weak Argument
    Examples
    Most recording artists have talent.
    Britney Spears is a recording artist.
    Therefore, Britney probably has talent.
    This argument is strong.
    Britney Spears is a recording artist.
    Britney has blonde hair.
    Therefore, most recording artists have
    blonde hair.
    This argument is weak.
    Most boys like to play sports.
    Britney Spears is a boy.
    Therefore, Britney probably likes to play
    sports.
    This argument is strong but uncogent.

    The first argument is cogent as well as


    strong.
    Deductive Argument: An argument in
    which the truth of the premises is
    supposed to necessitate the truth of the
    the conclusion, i. e. if all the premises are
    true, the conclusion has to be true.
    Valid Deductive Argument: A deductive
    argument in which the truth of the
    premises really does necessitate the
    truth of the conclusion, i. e. it’s NOT
    possible for all the premises to be true
    and the conclusion still be false.
    Invalid Deductive Argument: A deductive
    argument in which the truth of the premises
    really does not necessitate the truth of the
    conclusion, i. e. it’s possible for all the
    premises to be true and the conclusion still
    be false.
    Sound Argument: A valid deductive
    argument in which all the premises are
    actually true.
    Unsound Argument: A valid deductive
    argument in which even one premise is
    actually false.
    Determining Whether a Deductive
    Argument is Valid or Invalid
    1) Assume all the premises are true,
    even if one or more is clearly false.
    2) Using only the information in the
    premises plus common knowledge
    ask: Does the conclusion have to be
    true?
    Yes: Valid Argument
    No: Invalid Argument
    N.B.: An argument is invalid if it’s
    possible for all the premises to be true
    while the conclusion is false.

    N.B.: Whether an argument is valid or


    invalid depends solely on its form NOT
    its content.
    Examples
    If Barack Obama is President of the USA,
    then Michelle Obama is First Lady.
    Barack is President of the USA.
    Therefore, Michelle is First Lady.
    This argument is valid.

    Material Implication: The truth of the


    antecedent (A) is sufficient by itself for
    the truth of the consequent (B).
    If A, then B.
    A.
    Therefore, B.
    A’s being true makes B true. A is true. So,
    B is also true.
    If Abraham Lincoln died of cancer, then
    Lincoln is dead today.
    Lincoln is dead today.
    Therefore, Abraham Lincoln died of cancer.
    (This argument is invalid.)
    If A, then B.
    B.
    Therefore, A.

    Counter-Example: A way to show that


    an argument form is invalid. It’s an
    argument in the which the all the
    premises are clearly true and the
    conclusion is clearly false.
    If the moon is made of green cheese, then
    astronauts can eat moon rocks.
    The moon is made of green cheese.
    Therefore, astronauts can eat moon rocks.
    If A, then B.
    A.
    Therefore, B.
    This argument is valid but unsound.

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