JUDGING THE RELEVANCE AND
WORTH OF IDEAS, SOUNDNESS OF
AUTHOR’S REASONING, AND
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE
PRESENTATION
OPINION- a personal claim that does not
necessarily require support and certain qualities.
ARGUMENTS- a claim that needs to be
worth making, valid, sound, logical, and must
be provided with reasonable, relevant, and
sufficient support.
Which is opinion and which is arguments?
An arguments tries to convince us that something is
true.
Conclusion- the idea we are convinced to believe.
Premise- the support or reason showing that the
conclusion is true.
Conclusion
Social media
platforms bring a lot
of benefits.
Premise
Because it makes
communication and
information
dissemination a lot
easier.
There are some words or phrases that may as your cue
words in determining conclusions and premises.
CONCLUSION INDICATORS:
therefore, hence, implies that, it follows that, so, thus,
consequently.
PREMISE INDICATORS:
since, for, give that, for the reason, because, as, is
shown by the fact that.
I believe otherwise.
Social media platforms bring a lot of
benefits because it makes
communication and information
dissemination a lot easier.
Activity:
1. Writing an essay is laborious.
2. Travelling is an interesting experience since it is an
opportunity to widen one’s horizon by meeting other
people and emerging in other culture.
3. Answering modules is a fruitful learning experience.
4. Attending online classes is enjoyable because you get
to virtually interact with your classmate and teachers.
5. The novel we were assigned to read is somewhat
boring.
Answer key:
1. Opinion
2. Argument
3. Opinion
4. Argument
5. Opinion
VALID- if the premise logically supports the
conclusion.
SOUND- if the argument is valid and if the
premise and conclusion altogether can be
verified true.
LOGICAL FALLACIES
Logical Fallacies threaten the
soundness of your argument. Fallacies
are considered errors in reasoning.
Examples of Logical
Fallacies
1. Hasty Generalization
Making assumptions about a whole
group or range of cases based on a
sample that is not enough.
Example:
my roommate said her philosophy class
was hard, and the one I’m in is hard, too.
I warn you, all philosophy classes are
hard!
2. Post Hoc
Stressing that two events or concepts
are related in the sense that one cause
another when they’re actually not.
Example:
It was cloudy this morning, so Sarah did a
‘sun dance’ and it not rain.
(the sun dance may not have been the
reason for the rain not coming)
3. Slippery Slope
claiming a sort of chain reaction will
take place, usually ending in some dire
consequence, but there’s really not enough
evidence.
Example:
‘Animal experimentation reduces our
respect for life. If we do not respect life, we
are likely to be more and more tolerant of
violent acts like war and murder. Soon our
society will become a battlefield in which
everyone constantly fear for their lives. It will
be the end of civilization. To prevent this
terrible consequence, we should make animal
experimentation illegal right now.
4. Appeal to Authority
Referring to known personalities to
back up a claim, but aren’t really expert
particularly in line with the issue at hand
instead of citing evidence.
Example:
We should abolish death penalty because
may respected people, such as actor Guy
Handsome, have public stated their
opposition to it.
Identify the fallacy of the given statement.
4. Shiela is on a vacation and decided to visit another
country. Upon arriving at the airport, she tried asking
a local about directions on going to her
accommodation. The man ignored her. She was
convinced that the locals there are snobs to other
nationalities.
DO’s in writing ARGUMENTS
•
make sure your argument consists of a
conclusion and premises.
• review if your conclusion and premises are
logically related.
• use conclusion and premise indicators if
necessary.
DON’Ts in writing ARGUMENTS
• Do not use logical fallacies in your
arguments so as not to mislead or even
worse, to intentionally trick your readers into
believing your arguments.
• Do not forget to verify if the bases of your
conclusion and premises are valid, true and
reliable.