Argument Basics
Getting to
Accept - Reject - Suspend Judgment
Argument Basics
Premises
1) Acceptable
2) Relevant
Conclusion
About Premises
• May be stated or unstated
About Premises
• May be stated or unstated
The laws of nature and moral law are one and the same.
[Human beings can understand the laws of nature.]
[Human beings must follow the laws of nature.]
So, the human community is charged with the task of
ordering its life according to the same kind of objective
principles by which the cosmos itself is ordered.
-- Adapted from The American Soul, by Jacob Needleman
About Premises
• May be stated or unstated
• May be dependent or independent
About Premises
• May be stated or unstated
• May be dependent or independent
Dependent premises need at least one other premise
to provide support for a conclusion.
About Premises
• May be stated or unstated
• May be dependent or independent
Dependent premises need at least one other premise
to provide support for a conclusion.
Independent premises provide support for an
argument’s conclusion whether or not any other
premises apply.
About Premises
• May be stated or unstated
• May be dependent or independent
In every free society, which the U.S. intends to be, there
must be opposite parties and violent dissensions.
Generally, one party must prevail over the others.
A free society cannot be preserved if the parties do not
commit to remaining united even if they don’t prevail.
So, a durably free America must include both strong
dissent and commitment to preserve the union.
Adapted from Thomas Jefferson
About Premises
• May be stated or unstated
• May be dependent or independent
In every free society, there must be opposite parties and
violent dissensions.
A free society cannot be preserved if the parties do not
commit to remaining united.
So, a free America can be expected to include both
strong dissent and commitment to preserve the union.
About Premises
• May be stated or unstated
• May be dependent or independent
• May be indicated by lead-in words or
phrases
About Premises
• May be stated or unstated
• May be dependent or independent
• May be indicated by lead-in words or
phrases
Since…
For the reason that…
For…
In view of…
Because…
This is implied by…
About Premises
• May be stated or unstated
• May be dependent or independent
• May be indicated by lead-in words or
phrases
• May need support or explanation
About Premises
• May be stated or unstated
• May be dependent or independent
• May be indicated by lead-in words or
phrases
• May need support or explanation
This is usually provided in a supporting or
explanatory paragraph or in more detailed
discussion.
About Premises
• May be stated or unstated
• May be dependent or independent
• May be indicated by lead-in words or
phrases
• May need support or explanation
• May be surrounded by irrelevancies
About Conclusions
• May be stated or unstated
About Conclusions
• May be stated or unstated
Religious freedom is the first freedom guaranteed in the
Bill of Rights.
It was also the single most important reason why the
earliest settlers in the Colonies left the safety and
relative comfort of their homes to start new lives here.
The bedrock freedoms of American civilization will
always need to be protected and interpreted for the
times.
So…
About Conclusions
• May be stated or unstated
Religious freedom is the first freedom guaranteed in the
Bill of Rights.
It was also the single most important reason why the
earliest settlers in the Colonies left the safety and
relative comfort of their homes to start new lives here.
The bedrock freedoms of American civilization will
always need to be protected and interpreted for the
times.
So, we must still interpret and defend religious freedom.
About Conclusions
• May be stated or unstated
• May be controversial
About Conclusions
• May be stated or unstated
• May be controversial
Madonna’s productions frequently contain religious
themes and symbolism.
Her work has been the topic of serious study by
respected scholars of religion.
So, Madonna’s work, even her highly sexual material,
must be protected as religious expression by the First
Amendment.
About Conclusions
• May be stated or unstated
• May be controversial
• May be indicated by lead-in words or
phrases
About Conclusions
• May be stated or unstated
• May be controversial
• May be indicated by lead-in words or
phrases
Thus…
Therefore…
This shows that…
So…
Accordingly...
This implies that…
Hence…
Consequently… This proves that…
Ergo…
It follows that… This suggests that…
About Conclusions
• May be stated or unstated
• May be controversial
• May be indicated by lead-in words or
phrases
• Must contain only terms found in the
premises (or their equivalents)
About Conclusions
• May be stated or unstated
• May be controversial
• May be indicated by lead-in words or
phrases
• Must contain only terms found in the
premises (or their equivalents)
The presence of new terms in a conclusion is
strong evidence of unstated premises.
Arguments and Explanations
Arguments and
explanations are often
confused with each other.
Arguments and Explanations
Premises
Conclusion
Arguments and Explanations
How
or
Why
Phenomenon
to be
Explained
Arguments and Explanations
Premises
How
or
Why
Conclusion
Phenomenon
to be
Explained
Deductive and Inductive Arguments
One way of conceptualizing
arguments is by the degree of
confidence one is supposed to
have in the conclusion if the
premises are true.
Deductive and Inductive Arguments
Deductive arguments are
constructed with the
intention of supporting
their conclusions
perfectly, that is, with
premises that, if true,
guarantee the truth of
the conclusion.
Deductive and Inductive Arguments
Deductive arguments are
constructed with the
intention of supporting
their conclusions
perfectly, that is, with
premises that, if true,
guarantee the truth of
the conclusion.
Inductive arguments are
constructed with the
intention of providing
the strongest possible
support for the
conclusion, even
though they are unable
to guarantee the truth
of the conclusion.