Standard Types of Argument in Logic

There are two basic types of argument in logic, and they are deductive and
inductive arguments. Every argument may have one or more premises but
only one conclusion. Both premises and conclusions are truth bearers, either
capable of being true or false. Let’s discuss the types of argument in logic:

Inductive Argument
An inductive argument is a type of argument where if the premises are true,
then the conclusion is most likely to be true. The strength or success of this
argument is a matter of degree. The probability of the premises supports the
truth of the conclusion.

An inductive argument is said to be strong or weak. If the premises are

assumed to be true, then there is a probability that the conclusion is also true.
And if that’s the case, the argument is strong. If not, then the argument is
weak.

Deductive Argument
A deductive argument asserts that the conclusion’s truth is dependent on the
logical consequence of the premises. The conclusion follows the certainty of
the premises. A deductive argument is usually said to be a truth-preserving
argument.

The deductive argument is said to be valid or invalid. If the premises are

assumed to be true, would the conclusion follow the certainty? If yes, then
the argument is valid. If not, then the argument is invalid.

Types of Argument Claim

There are five types of argument claim that can be selected while making a
claim in your essay. They are:

1. Fact: It states whether the argument is true or false?

2. Definition: It states the dictionary definition or real meaning of the
argument.
3. Value: What is the value of the argument? Is it good or bad?
4. Cause: What caused the claim to happen?
5. Policy: What can we do about it? Or what must be done about it?
Now that you have learned the different types of arguments, you can easily
structure your argument. However, if you are still confused and think you
cannot structure a strong argument, get help from
Deductive and inductive Arguments

Deductive and inductive refer to how the arguer is claiming the premises
support the conclusion.
In a deductive argument, the arguer is claiming the conclusion must follow if
we assume the premises are true.
In an inductive argument, the arguer is claiming the conclusion probably
follows if we assume the premises are true.
Deductive arguments aim to give premises that guarantee/necessitate the
conclusion, inductive arguments are more modest: they aim merely to
provide premises that make the conclusion more probable than it otherwise
would be; they aim to support the conclusion, but without making it
unavoidable. Here is an example of an inductive argument:

Types of Argument

One of mankind’s most important inventions is the language. The language

that we use to communicate has several other benefits apart from the mere
conversation. Any language is helpful for making statements, issuing
commands, asking questions, offering explanations, making jokes and doing
a host of several other things. To add on, forming arguments is also one of
the specialized uses of the language that we converse in. Logically speaking,
an argument is a meaningful declarative sentence that supports another
meaningful sentence to form the conclusion. But did you know that there are
different kinds of arguments, each having its own special use, strengths and
weaknesses. Further, each type has to be handled separately, in fact,
different from the other. Without further explanation, let us look at the
various kinds of arguments in the lines that follow.

Different Kinds of Arguments

Deductive Argument
The most interesting and probably the most powerful kind of argument is the
deductive argument. This is one which provides convincing proof of its
conclusions. This is done by presenting all the supporting evidences and
reasoning for the premises and inferences. Further, if the premises are true,
the conclusion, in any way, must also be true. Consider the example, ‘All
whales are mammals, all mammals breathe air, therefore all whales breathe
air’. However, deductive arguments have one limitation. These arguments
lack evidence beyond what is contained in the premises where some
arguments require the inclusion of inferences as well.

Inductive Argument
The limitation of deductive argument is fulfilled by the inductive argument.
Inductive argument is one where the premises are supposed to support the
conclusion such that the conclusion is likely to be true if the premises are
true. Thus, inductive arguments are weaker than deductive arguments as
they are only plausible and not confirmatory. Check out this example -
‘Every crow I have ever seen has been black, so probably all crows are
black’.

Argument by Analogy
It often happens that we reason about something about which we do not
know, on the basis of other evidence, which we are better acquainted about.
In such circumstances, we come up with arguments that fall under the
category of arguments by analogy. Similar to inductive arguments, these
arguments only give a probable result or likely conclusions. An example of
argument by analogy goes as - ‘In my car, the lever on the left operates the
signal lights, hence it is likely that the left lever will operate the signals in
this hired car’.

Argument from Sign

Anything that is indicative of an occurrence of a situation or condition,
based on some other observed feature concluding the presence of the
premises, is known as argument from sign. For instance, ‘Here are some
bear tracks in the snow; therefore a bear passed this way’. This sentence
indicates that probably a bear passed by the track due the presence of the
bear marks.
Other types of arguments include:
• Argument by Example
• Argument from Cause
• Argument from Testimony
• Argument from Narrative
• Argument from Ethos