Test Your Understanding!
A. For each argument, (a) state any premise or conclusion
indicators, (b) state the conclusion, (c) state whether each of
the arguments are deductive or inductive (d) state each of
them are (in)valid, (un)sound or strong/weak, (un)cogent.
1. Since Tuan is a student, it follows that he studies regularly.
2. Sarah is a mother, because she has given birth to a child.
3. All dogs are mammals, and all mammals are animals; thus all dogs are
animals.
4. Given that Kim is the country’s president, that Kim is a politician may be
inferred from the fact that all presidents of countries are politicians.
5. The ground is wet during a heavy rain. Consequently, due to the fact that
it’s raining now, the ground now is wet.
6. Provided that two is greater than one, and three is greater than two, it
follows that three is greater than one.
7. Tran is happy. Hence Tran is happy.
8. Simón Bolívar was born in Venezuela. Bolívar was a military hero in
South America. This implies that a military hero was born in Venezuela.
9. According to Socrates, people will do what they believe is in their best
interests. Thus, since the good is in people’s best interest, it behooves
philosophers to explain the good to people.
10. Given that all dogs are mammals, and because no mammals are birds, it
must be concluded that no dogs are fish.
B. Arguments and Non-arguments
In each case, does the passage present an argument? Or does it not
contain an argument?
1. Elizabeth and Marty went together to school on Tuesday, got in a minor
automobile accident, and were late for their biology class. Their teacher
was giving a test that day, and the two students were not there to take it.
2. Elizabeth and Marty left their house to go to school on Tuesday, but on
the way decided to spend the day at the movie theater instead. Their
biology teacher was giving a test that day, and the two students were not
there to take it. That is why they received a poor grade for their coursework
that week.
3. Elizabeth and Marty, you two are crazy! You should not have gone to the
movies Tuesday, especially when you had a test in your biology class. You
should go to school each day classes are in session.
4. Elizabeth and Marty went together to school every day this week and
studied the material covered in class. Students who attend class regularly
and study regularly usually do well in class. Thus Elizabeth and Marty
probably did well in class this week.
5. Some students do not attend class regularly. For instance, Elizabeth and
Marty went together to school on Tuesday, but decided to return home to
play Grand Theft Auto all day. Such behavior is indicative of poor study
habits.
6. Maria studies every night for her chemistry class, and works very
precisely in her chemistry lab work. She also attends class each day and
takes complete notes. We can conclude that Maria will likely do well in her
chemistry class.
7. Both Mahatmas Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo were philosophically minded,
both were male, both were from India, and both wrote commentaries on the
Bhagavad Gita. Gandhi fought against British occupation of India. Thus
Aurobindo did, too.
8. Rene Descartes was unable to see the relations between things, focused
on breaking “problems” into smaller parts, and missed viewing systems
holistically. Thus he has been deemed a “mechanistic” philosopher.
9. Fatima likes pizza. Julio likes football. Takashi likes reading The Tale of
Genji.
10. Sunzi wrote The Art of War, and The Art of War was written by a
Chinese philosopher. Sunzi must then be a Chinese philosopher.
Answers:
1. Non-argument. It’s merely a report of the day’s events with no inference.
2. Non-argument. It’s a causal explanation of the students’ poor grades with
no inference.
3. Non-argument. It’s a combination of opinion and advice, but with no
inference.
4. Argument. There are a series of claims serving as premises leading to a
conclusion (note the indicator word “thus”).
5. Non-argument. It’s merely an illustration of the opening claim with no
inference.
6. Argument. Note the use of the conclusion indicator, “We can conclude
that.”
7. Argument. This is an argument from analogy.
8. Non-argument. We find the word “thus” (which is often a conclusion
indicator), but here it is pointing to the effect of a causal relation. That is,
the final statement is explained by the previous ones, but there is no
inference intended here.
9. Non-argument. It’s just an unconnected string of claims.
10. Argument. The first two claims give good reason to believe the third
claim.
C. For each argument, (a) state whether each of the arguments
are deductive or inductive (b) state each of them are (in)valid,
(un)sound or strong/weak, (un)cogent (c) state the logical
pattern of each argument, e.g. chain argument, modus
ponens ...
1. Amanda wrote Tim a love letter. Amanda gave Tim a birthday present.
Amanda told Tim she really likes him. It follows that Amanda probably likes
Tim a lot.
2. All dogs are animals, and all dogs are mammals. Fido is a dog. Thus Fido
is an animal and a mammal.
3. Every crow I’ve ever seen has been black. Also, ravens are similar to
crows, and ravens are black. Thus the next crow I see will probably be
black.
4. Either Smith is a politician, or she is a logic teacher and a tennis player.
But Smith is not a politician. Thus Smith is a logic teacher.
5. If Garcia is a philosopher, then he is logical. If Garcia is logical, then
Garcia is at least in part rational. Thus if Garcia is a philosopher, then he is
at least in part rational. And if that conditional statement is true, then
Garcia is a thinking being. Thus Garcia is a thinking being.
D. For each argument, (a) state whether each of the arguments
are deductive or inductive (b) state each of them are (in)valid,
(un)sound or strong/weak, (un)cogent (c) state the logical
pattern of each argument, e.g. chain argument, modus
ponens ...
1. Some dogs are mammals. Some mammals are animals. Thus, some dogs
are animals.
2. Either Thomas Aquinas was a writer or he was an astronaut. But he was
not a writer. Thus he definitely was an astronaut.
3. Nearly all geometry teachers are serious when they say that triangles
have three sides. Thus, on that basis, we can say that triangles probably
have three sides.
4. Some diseases can spread easily from one person to another by skin
contact. Thus it is guaranteed that some diseases are contagious.
5. No human has ever lived for 2000 years. Thus the current prime minister
of England will probably not live for 2000 years.
6. The official sign posted at the edge of our campus says that this is
Catatonic State University. Therefore, this probably is Bellevue College.
7. If Michael Jackson was president of the United States, then he was a
politician. Michael Jackson was a politician. Thus Michael Jackson certainly
was president of the United States.
8. The U.S. military dropped many bombs on Iraq while fighting there.
Bombs almost always explode, destroying things near them. Thus the U.S.
military probably destroyed things in Iraq.
9. If Lady Gaga [the female singer] is an adult man, then Lady Gaga is a
male. But Lady Gaga is not an adult man. Thus Lady Gaga is surely not a
male.
10. German philosopher Georg Hegel was a space alien. Thus certainly
Georg Hegel was a space alien.
