The Elements of
Arguments
Building Blocks of Arguments:
Statements
Statements and Truth
Note: Don’t confuse “truth value” with “truth.”
“Truth value” = can be treated as a true or false
statement
“Political always tell the complete
truth.”
• Has truth value (is not a question,
command, etc)
• Is false.
Non-statements
These have no truth value; they cannot be either
true or false.
Sentence
(syntactically
Independent
grammatical unit)
Question
Command
Statement
“This is a
class
in logic.”
“I enjoy logic.”
“Today is
Friday.”
Statements in other forms
1. Re: “Cellphones swamping 911
system,” Aug 26
How is it that we can spend billions on the
Iraq war but cannot afford to adequately
staff 911 call centers in the U.S.?
Bruce R. Feldman, Santa Monica
LA Times, Aug 29, 2007
Statements and Propositions
 Statements have “propositional content”
 Propositional content is the meaning of
the statement.
 Meanings can be expressed in many
forms:
 Ich habe kein geld = I don’t have any money
 Rhetorical questions are statements in
non-standard form.
Building Blocks – Summary (1)
 In standard form, an argument contains
only statements.
P1 – statement
P2 – statement (etc)
_________________
C - statement
Building Blocks – Summary (2)
 Statements offer information that is
either true or false (statements have
truth value)
 Statements may have to be rephrased to
more clearly capture their propositional
content (meaning)
The Structure of Arguments
Statements are either premises or
conclusions, depending on their role in
an argument.
Premises
Statements which are used
to support other statements
Conclusion
Statements which are
supported by other
statements.
The Structure of Arguments
 The crucial element that “makes” a
group of statements an argument is an
inference.
 An inference is supposed to establish
the truth of the concluding
statement.
Example: Inferences and noninferences
A description of a person can be used:
In a novel, used to create a character
 Verbally, to explain why you think a
person is homeless
 In jury testimony, used to support an
inference of guilt or innocence

The two claims in any
Argument
Identifying Arguments Conclusion Hints
Premise Hints
Arguments with no or few hints
“Reasonable Person” Test
 Of any two statements, which is more
likely to follow from the other?
 Focus closely on the content of each
statement when applying this test.
Test 1:
P: The national defense depends on the space program.
C: Therefore, the space program deserves increased
expenditures in the years ahead.
Test 2:
P: The space program deserves increased expenditures in
the years ahead.
C: Therefore, the national defense depends on the space
program.
Heuristic signs of a conclusion
 In ordinary discourse, the conclusion is
often expressed first.
 Look for a statement that can unify all
the other statements in the passage
– or which all the other statements
could support.
Example of a “Unifying
Statement”
Sometimes we have small dips in the use
of oil, but the general trend shows no sign
of a permanent decrease. And remember
that oil reserves are not being discovered
as fast as oil is being consumed. The world
is simply going to have to learn how to do
without oil.
Summary of Argument
Identification
 Look for premise and conclusion
indicators
 Apply the “reasonable person” test
 Use heuristic indicators of a conclusion
Practice: What is the
Conclusion?
Real Life Arguments – What Is
the Conclusion?
The alleged dumping of the paraplegic on skid
row begs for someone to file a huge civil lawsuit.
With a large award in such a case, perhaps
hospitals would decide it is not in their best
interests to continue this egregious practice.
Apparently, threats of legal actions are not a
sufficient deterrent.
(LA Times, 2-12-07; Bill Busch, Redondo Beach)
Common Mistakes in
Identifying Conclusions
 Focusing on what seems to be the most
controversial statement.
Common Mistakes in
Identifying Conclusions
 Confusing a relation between premises
as an indication of an inference.
One Last Note: Non-Essential
Statements in an Argument
Summary
 Statements are expressions with truth-value
 All arguments contain two claims: about content
and about reasoning
 The conclusion is the “main point” of a passage,
or the statement that other statements to “lead
to”


Premise/conclusion indicators
The “Reasonable Person” test
Arguments and NonArguments
Discerning Non-Arguments
Some passages bear a superficial
resemblance to arguments
They contain controversial statements
 They give examples of a point
(anecdotal evidence?)
 They use “indicator” terminology
 They seem generally persuasive

Theme: Human Freedom
P1: Every event has
a cause.
P2: Human actions
are events.
________________
__
C: Human actions
have causes.
P1: Human actions have
causes.
P2: None of these causes
are under our control.
P3: Without control over
the causes of our
behavior, we are not
free.
_____________________
C: We are not free.
Statement of Belief and
Illustration
Belief: “People are not free. Those who
think they are free are hopelessly naïve.
People are no more able to control their
own destinies than are ants, and it’s just
anti-scientific to say so.”
Illustration: “People are not free; just look at
how many abusers were abused as a child.”
Explanation
(To a psychology class): We know that people are
not free because, like all other mammals,
behavior is rooted in centuries of evolutionary
selection for certain kinds of behaviors and
dispositions.
(In a philosophy class, developing the claim):
Although people are not free, we feel that we are
because the controls of our behavior are internal
and so do not feel that they are being imposed
from without and against our will.
Expository Passage
“People are not free, although human
freedom has been highly prized
throughout our history. Its value is
affirmed by religious doctrines. Civil and
criminal justice systems incorporate the
idea that behavior is freely chosen into
sentencing guidelines. Clearly it has
been an important concept in many
areas of human activity.”
Advice
“If I were you, I’d accept the fact that we’re
not free. In fact, you’d be wise to stop
treating others with the respect that real
freedom would require and simply
approach others as stimulus-response
machines, to be manipulated for your
own gain.”
Conditional Statement
“If people are not free, then they cannot be
held morally responsible for their
actions.”
Summary
 Is the aim of the passage to support a
statement?

Note: not all arguments aim to persuade
 Are there indicator words?
 Is the passage an argument or an
explanation?
 Is the explanation a justification?
 What seems to be the main intention of
the speaker/writer?
Practice
Practice
Themes for Discourse Practice
 The Use of Medical Marijuana
 Single-Payer Health Care
 Physician-assisted Suicide
 Competitive Sports for Children
 Or…??