Arguments in Philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy

1
Arguments

◼ Philosophy is the art of constructing and

evaluating arguments
❑ It’s all about the argument
◼ Arguments are meant to be convincing
◼ So philosophers must be sensitive to what
makes an argument convincing
❑ Or not

2
Thinking Critically

◼ First step: Think Critically

❑ What is the argument trying to say?
❑ Why does the argument succeed, or not?
◼ What’s good, bad, or indifferent?
◼ The form of the argument
❑ What’s the point?
❑ How do we get to the point?
◼ Structure
❑ How do the parts of the argument fit together?

3
General Structure

◼ In general, arguments consist of:

❑ The thesis or position argued for
◼ The conclusion
❑ The reasons why the conclusion should be
accepted
◼ The premises
◼ Usually this is written in “standard form”:
Premise 1 (Justification)
Premise 2 (Justification)
Therefore, Conclusion (Justification)

4
Two kinds of argument

◼ In general, there are two kinds of argument:

❑ Deductive Arguments
❑ Inductive Arguments
◼ These arguments work (slightly) differently,
so they’re evaluated differently

5
But let’s be more specific…
◼ A statement is any unambiguous declarative sentence
about a fact (or non-fact) about the world.
❑ It says that something is (or isn’t) the case.

◼ An argument is a series of statements meant to

establish a claim.
◼ A claim or conclusion is the statement whose truth an
argument is meant to establish.
◼ A statement’s truth value is either true or false.
❑ All statements have a truth value. A statement is false
when what it says about the world is not actually the
case. A statement is true when what it says about the
world is actually the case.
◼ A premise is a statement that is used in an argument
to establish a conclusion.
6
Deductive Arguments

◼ A deductive argument is:

◼ VALID if its premises necessarily lead to its
conclusion.
❑ That is, if you were to accept that the premises are all
true, you must accept that the conclusion is true.
◼ SOUND if it is valid and you accept that all its
premises are true.
◼ A good, convincing argument is sound.
❑ A bad argument is any other kind of argument.

◼ VALIDITY + TRUE PREMISES* = SOUND

❑ *or, at least, accepted premises

7
Examples

◼ All people are mortal. Socrates is a person.

Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
❑ Sound
◼ All people are mortal. My dog is mortal. Therefore,
my dog is a person.
❑ Invalid.
◼ Oranges are green. All green things make me sick.
Therefore, oranges make me sick.
❑ Valid. Not sound.
◼ Whales know how to play hockey. Therefore,
Canadians like winter.
❑ Invalid.

8
Notice…

◼ Validity does not depend on the truth of the

premises.
❑ All people are mortal. My dog is mortal.
Therefore, my dog is a person.
❑ The premises are true. But the argument is still
invalid.
◼ Soundness does not depend on the truth of
the conclusion.
❑ An argument can be bad even if the conclusion is
obviously true.

9
Evaluating Deductive Arguments

◼ Good arguments must be sound.

❑ If you want to accept of an argument, you would
have to show both validity and soundness
◼ Bad arguments can be bad in two ways:
❑ Invalid
◼ You can show that the conclusion does not follow from
the premises
❑ Unsound
◼ You can show that at least one premise is unacceptable

10
Inductive Arguments

◼ Inductive arguments are not truth preserving

❑ Even in a good inductive argument where the
premises are true, the conclusion does not have
to be true.
❑ At most, the conclusion is most likely true.
◼ Inductive arguments are meant to make
conclusions more likely or more acceptable.

11
Inductive Arguments

◼ An inductive argument is:

◼ STRONG if its premises make the conclusion
probable
❑ That is, if you were to accept the premises as true, then
you would have to accept that the conclusion was probably
true
◼ COGENT if it is strong and its premises are
accepted
◼ A good, convincing argument is cogent.
◼ STRENGTH + TRUE PREMISES* = COGENT

12
Examples

◼ This cooler contains 30 cans. 25 cans selected at

random contained soda. Therefore, all the cans
probably contain soda.
❑ Cogent
◼ This cooler contains 30 cans. 3 cans selected at
random contained soda. Therefore, all the cans
probably contain soda.
❑ Weak
◼ Every monkey I’ve seen (over 500) has blue teeth.
Therefore, the next monkey I see will probably have
blue teeth.
❑ Strong, but not cogent

13
Notice…

◼ Strength admits of degrees.

❑ An argument can be stronger or weaker
❑ Usually, the more evidence available, the stronger
the argument
◼ Strength does not depend on the truth of the
premises

14
Evaluating Inductive Arguments

◼ Good arguments must be cogent.

❑ If you want to accept of an argument, you would
have to show both strength and cogency
◼ Bad arguments can be bad in two ways:
❑ Weak
◼ You can show that the premises does not make the
conclusion more probable
❑ Not cogent
◼ You can show that at least one premise is unacceptable

15
Argument by Analogy

◼ One particular kind of inductive argument is

an Argument by Analogy
❑ Comparison of two or more things
❑ Concludes that they share characteristic(s)
◼ Because they share other characteristic(s)
❑ Example:
◼ Watches exhibit order, function, and design. They were
also created by a creator. The universe exhibits order,
function, and design. Therefore, the universe probably
was created by a creator.
❑ Evaluated like other inductive arguments

16
In Practice…

◼ Identify the conclusion

❑ What is the claim?
◼ Identify the premises
❑ How is the claim supported?
❑ Often, we first have to get rid of anything unnecessary –
mere rhetorical flourishes, repetitions, and irrelevancies.
◼ Reformulate the argument
❑ Try to put it into standard form
❑ Often, we’ll have to add premises that are implied but not
stated.

17
In Practice…

◼ Identify the form of the argument

❑ How are the premises supposed to lead to the
conclusion?
◼ Deductive? Inductive?
◼ Assumptions? Subarguments?
❑ (This will help us add/delete premises)
◼ Evaluate the argument
❑ Valid? Sound?
❑ Strong? Cogent?
❑ WHY?

18
Example

◼ For Death is to be as it were nothing, and to be

deprived of all sensation... And if no sensation
remains, then death is like a dreamless sleep. In
this case, death will be a blessing. For, if any one
compares such a night as this, in which he so
profoundly sleeps as not even to see a dream, with
the other nights and days of his life, and should
declare how many he had passed better and more
pleasantly than this night, I think that not only a
private man, but even the great king himself, would
find so small a number that they might be easily
counted.

19
Example

◼ For Death is to be deprived of all sensation...

if no sensation remains, then death is like a
dreamless sleep. ...death will be a blessing.
...if any one compares such a night [of sleep
without dreams]... with the other nights and
days of his life, and should declare how many
he had passed better and more pleasantly
than this night, I think.. [he] would find so
small a number...

20
Example

◼ Death is to be deprived of all sensation.

◼ If no sensation remains, death is like a
dreamless sleep.
◼ Anyone will consider a dreamless sleep
better than most days and nights.
◼ ---
◼ Death is a blessing.

21
Example

◼ Death is to be deprived of all sensation.

◼ If no sensation remains, death is like a dreamless
sleep.
◼ Death is like a dreamless sleep.
◼ Anyone will consider a dreamless sleep better than
most days and nights.
◼ Anyone will consider death better than most days
and nights.
◼ Anything that is better than most days and nights
is a blessing.
◼ ---
◼ Death is a blessing.

22
Example
◼ Death is to be deprived of all sensation. (Assumption)
◼ If no sensation remains, death is like a dreamless sleep.
(Assumption)
◼ Death is like a dreamless sleep. (Conclusion from 1 and 2)
◼ Anyone will consider a dreamless sleep better than most days
and nights. (Assumption)
◼ Anyone will consider death better than most days and nights.
(Conclusion from 3 and 4)
◼ Anything that is better than most days and nights is a blessing.
(Assumption)
◼ ---
◼ Death is a blessing. (From 3, 5, and 6)

23