What is a Sound Argument?
Soundness is a technical feature of an argument. It helps us to determine
whether the conclusion of an argument is true. Although many people assume
that soundness refers to the validity of an argument, this is not so. A valid
argument is not necessarily a sound argument. In fact, soundness of an
argument is determined by two factors: validity and truth of the premises.
The key difference between sound and unsound argument is that a sound
argument is valid and has true premises whereas an unsound argument is invalid
and/or has at least one false premises. Soundness is a technical feature of an
argument. It helps us to determine whether the conclusion of an argument is
true.
An argument must fulfil two requirements in order to be considered as sound.
One requirement is that the argument must be valid. An argument is valid when
its conclusion follows logically from the premises. In other words, it is
impossible for the premises of an argument to be true while the conclusion is
false. The second requirement is that all its premises should be true. Thus, a
sound argument is a valid argument that has true premises.
●
● Figure 01: A Sound Argument
The following is a sound argument as it contains true premises and is valid.
All men are mortal.
Socrates is a man.
Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
What is an Unsound Argument?
An unsound argument is the opposite of a sound argument. Thus, an unsound
argument can be either valid or invalid. However, if the argument is valid, it has
at least one false premise in order to consider it as an unsound argument.
● Figure 02: An Unsound Argument
●
Examples of Sound and Unsound Arguments
● Let’s look at some examples of sound and sound arguments now.
● Example 1:
● All multiples of 10 are multiples of 5.
20 is a multiple of 10.
Therefore, 20 is a multiple of 5.
● It is a valid argument since the conclusion logically follows from the
premises. Moreover, it has true premises. Therefore, this is a sound
argument.
● Example 2:
● All cats are pink.
Toffee is a cat.
Therefore, Toffee is pink.
● The above is a valid argument too since the conclusion logically follows
from the premises. However, the first premise is not true. Therefore, this
is an unsound argument.
● Example 3:
● All cows are mammals.
All dogs are mammals.
Therefore, dogs are cows.
● The above argument contains true premises, but it is invalid since the
conclusion doesn’t logically follow from the premises. Therefore, it is
also an unsound argument.
● What is the Difference Between Sound and Unsound Argument?
● A sound argument is an argument that is valid and has true premises
while an unsound argument is an argument that is invalid or has at least
one false premises. Hence, this is the key difference between sound and
unsound argument. Therefore, a sound argument always has true
premises and true conclusions whereas an unsound argument may have
both false and true premises and conclusions. Thus, this leads to another
difference between sound and unsound argument.
●
● Summary – Sound vs Unsound Argument
Validity and the truth of the premises are the two factors that determine the
soundness of an argument. A sound argument is an argument that is valid and
has true premises while an unsound argument is an argument that is invalid or
has at least one false premises. Thus, this is the key difference between sound
and unsound argument.
Validity and Invalidity.
The task of an argument is to provide statements (premises) that give evidence
for the conclusion.
There are two basic kinds of arguments.
Valid: An argument is valid if and only if it is necessary that if all of the
premises are true, then the conclusion is true; if all the premises are true, then
the conclusion must be true; it is impossible that all the premises are true and
the conclusion is false.
Invalid: An argument that is not valid. We can test for invalidity by assuming
that all the premises are true and seeing whether it is still possible for the
conclusion to be false. If this is possible, the argument is invalid.
Valid arguments preserve truth. If all your premises are true and you make a
valid argument from them, it must be the case that whatever conclusion you
obtain is true. Valid arguments do not necessarily preserve truth value: it is
entirely possible to argue validly from false premises to a true conclusion)
Valid: An argument is valid if and only if it is necessary that if all of the
premises are true, then the conclusion is true; if all the premises are true, then
the conclusion must be true; it is impossible that all the premises are true and
the conclusion is false.
Invalid: an argument that is not valid.
The difference between a valid/ invalid argument is that it is possible to
generate an argument whose premises are true and the conclusion is false
from invalid form, but not for a valid form Importance all valid
arguments cannot have true premises and a false conclusion if this instance
occurs it means the form is invalid
An argument is INVALID just in case it's NOT VALID. What this means is that
even if all the premises are true, it's still possible for the conclusion to be false.
The truth of the premises doesn't guarantee the truth of the conclusion. That's
ALL it means to call an argument "invalid".
