REACT TO THE FALSITY

OR SOUNDNESS OF AN
ARGUMENT
(EN10LC-IVg-16.2:)

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 I. Introduction

An argument is sound if it is valid and has true premises. However, without

knowing the definition and differences between soundness and validity how could
anyone know what that means?
The definition of soundness guarantees that the conclusion will be true. Validity is if
the truth of the premises logically infers that the conclusion is true. Validity is more
inferential, whereas soundness is straight to the point. Many people have a tendency
to equate true arguments with sound arguments and invalid arguments with false
arguments. This is because it logically makes sense. Textbooks, the internet, and
other resources emphasize the fact that soundness is parallel with true and invalid
arguments are associated with false arguments because resources discussing this
topic highlight the fact that the premises do not lead to the conclusion.

II. Objectives
At the end of the session the students should be able to:
a. React to the falsity or soundness of an argument (EN10LC-IVg-16.2:);

III. Vocabulary Lists

ARGUMENT – is a collection of sentences that attempt to establish that some

conclusion is true.”

FALLACY - a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument.

Argumentum ad Hominem or Appeal to Personal Ridicule –Ad hominem

- is a Latin phrase meaning literally ‘to the man.

Ad Misericordiam or Appeal to Pity- Ad Misericordiam

- is a Latin word which means ‘to pity.

Ad Verecundiam or Appeal to Authority- Ad Verecundiam

- is a Latin word which means ‘to modesty.

  Soundness - the quality of being sensible; the fact that something can be
relied on and will probably give good results.

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IV. Pre test

Directions: Carefully study statements 1-10. Decide whether each statement is true

or  false and write in the spaces provided the word "true" or the word "false" in
accordance with your decision.

1. __________ A sound argument is a valid deductive argument with true

premisses. 

2. __________ A deductive argument cannot be both valid and unsound.

3. __________ All valid deductive arguments are sound arguments. 

4. __________ A deductive argument can be either valid or invalid and still

have true premisses. 

5. _________ When the conclusion of a deductive argument is true, the

argument must be sound. 

6. __________ When the premisses of a deductive argument are true, the

conclusion is always true as well. 

7. __________ If a deductive argument is sound, then the conclusion must be

true. 

8. __________ A deductive argument could have a false premiss and still be

sound. 

9. __________ In a valid deductive argument the conclusion could be true or

false. 

10.__________ An invalid deductive argument could have all true statements

in it. 

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 V. Learning Activities

An argument is a collection of sentences that attempt to establish that some

conclusion is true.”
What do we mean by premise? A premise is a statement in an argument that
provides reason or support for the conclusion. There can be one or many premises
in a single argument.

The formula this time is Premise 1, and 2= Conclusion. Since you already know the
parts of an argument, let’s go back to this statement:”

“Let’s go back to this example:

Everybody loves a winner.

I am not a winner.
Therefore, nobody loves me.
What are the premises given?

What is the conclusion?

Is this a valid or not valid argument?

Why? What makes this an invalid argument?

Let’s suppose that everybody loves all winners and that I am not a winner (so both
premises are true.) Still, the conclusion can be false if one of the people out there
who love all the winners also loves the occasional non-winner, including me. We can
imagine such a person saying: ‘I love all winners, but I love you too, even though
you’re not a winner.’”

So, how do we say that an argument is valid one?

An argument is sound if it meets these two criteria: It is valid. Its premises are true.
Always remember that an argument is valid if it’s impossible for the premises to be
true and the conclusion false, and it is strong if it’s very unlikely that the premises are
true and the conclusion false.”
“On the other hand, if a statement is not valid and true, we call them Falsity.
FALLACY
“There are different ways to identify the falsities of an argument. We can do that by
studying different types of Fallacies.

Let’s read the definition of it.

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 1. Argumentum ad Hominem or Appeal to Personal Ridicule –Ad hominem
is a Latin phrase meaning literally ‘to the man’. It uses personal attack as an
argument. This theory is discarded not because of any evidence against it or
lack of evidence for it, but because of the person who argues for it.

Look at this example:

John and Tim are talking about dark chocolates. John argues that because dark
chocolate has antioxidants and most other candies only have sugar, which rots your
teeth, dark chocolate is therefore better than most sweets.

If you were Tim how would you react to that argument?

Remember, we are talking about how you would attack the person you are arguing
with. In this case it’s John. So if you would apply Appeal to Personal ridicule, how
would you say that in this case?

You see, you are not attacking the real argument, or the dark chocolates and
candies, but you are attacking John’s character. Whatever John’s moral character
may be, Tim’s response is not a valid argument. John may in fact a greedy man, but
that doesn’t make him wrong of his argument about candies and dark chocolates.”

Now, can you create an argument using this first kind of fallacy?

Do you have questions about Appeal to Personal Ridicule?

Just always remember this formula:
Personal Attack ≠ Argument

2. Ad Misericordiam or Appeal to Pity- Ad Misericordiam is a Latin word

which means ‘to pity. It is a fallacy in which someone tries to win support for
an argument or idea by exploiting his or her opponent’s feelings of pity or
guilt.
“Another example is this:

“You should not find the defendant guilty of murder, since it would break his poor
mother’s heart to see him sent to jail.”

“Which part of this argument is under Appeal to Pity?”

Whether or not his mother will be affected, it has nothing to do with the crimes he
made.”

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“There is nothing wrong with being compassionate, class. In fact, if you never take
into account someone’s situation that’s probably not very good. However, an appeal
to pity or any emotional decisions for an argument is not going to work.”
“Now, can you create an argument using the second type of fallacy?”
“Just always remember this formula:
Pity or Misery ≠ Argument

3. Ad Verecundiam or Appeal to Authority- Ad Verecundiam is a Latin word

which means ‘to modesty. It is a fallacy in which someone uses an appeal to
an authority as an argument because allegedly, it is modest to appeal to the
opinion of someone’s ‘smarter than you’. But not all appeal to authority are
automatically are logically invalid but most are.

Let’s take a look at this logical form:

According to person 1, who is an expert on the issue of Y, Y is true.

Therefore, Y is true.

Consider this conversation:

James argues:
“My dad says that Venus is too hot to have life on it.”
Mark responds:
“So? What does he know?”
James answers:
My Dad is a planetary scientist. He works at NASA’s Research Center.

Assuming that he is not lying and he’s Dad is really a plantary scientist, this look like
a good argument because it’s a valid argument. On the other hand if James
answers like this:
“Oh, my Dad looked it up on a website.”

Then, this argument wouldn’t be so convincing. The claim lies on a nameless

website. This is a bad argument because it relies on a website that we are not even
sure if it’s a reliable source.

Just always remember this formula:

Appeal to unreliable Autority = Bad Argument

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VI. Practice Tasks

Directions: For questions 1-9, (a) state whether the argument given is valid or invalid, (b)
state whether the argument given is sound or unsound, (c) if it is unsound, state why it is
unsound.

1. The Eiffel tower is in Paris. Paris is in France. So, the Eiffel tower is in France.

2. The Eiffel tower is in Berlin. Berlin is in France. So, the Eiffel tower is in France.

3. Copper is a metal. All electrical conductors are metals. So, copper is an electrical
conductor.

4. All metals are electrical conductors. Copper is a metal. So, copper is an electrical
conductor.