Lecture # 5

Introduction to
Evidences
Instructor: Sumera Kazi
 1. Logic and its terms
2. Introduction to Arguments
Getting 3. Introduction to Conclusions
started with 4. Introduction to Questions Catalog
Logical  5. Introduction to Evidences

Reasoning 6. Introduction to Flaws

7. Anatomy of a Logical Reasoning Question
8. Practice
 1. Examples as Evidence
 An example provides evidence that is meant to support the
conclusion.
 Hira is the best athlete in the state.
Types of  What types of evidence might support this claim?
 What’s an example of Hira’s being a superior athlete?
Evidence  [Hira is the best athlete in the state.] After all, Hira has won medals in
8 different Olympic sports.
 Hira beat last year's decathlon state champion on Saturday, so [she is
the best athlete in the state].
 2. What Others Say
 Drawing on what others say (sometimes called an “appeal”) as
evidence is a fairly common way for someone to attempt to prove
a point.
Types of  [Hira is the best athlete in the state.] We know this because the most
Evidence highly-acclaimed sports magazine has named her as such.
 Because the population voted Hira the Best Athlete in the state in a
landslide, [it would be irrational to claim that anyone else is the best
athlete in the state].
 3. Using the Past
 When an arguer uses the past to justify a conclusion, it’s often with
Types of the assumption that things haven’t changed since that past.
 [Hira is the best athlete in the state.] She must be, since she won the
Evidence state championships last year, two years ago, three years ago, and
four years ago.
 4. Analogies
 Sometimes an arguer will use an analogy as evidence, by
describing a similar but unrelated situation as support.
Types of  [Hira is the best athlete in the state], because she won the most
athletic awards, Look at Rehan, who's currently the Best Chef in the
Evidence State because he won the most cooking awards.
 Always check to ensure that the two situations being compared are
actually logically comparable.
 5. Generalizing from a Sample
 Sometimes an arguer will use a sample to make a generalization:
 [Hira is the best athlete in the state], because she won every local
tournament in every spring sport.
Types of  When you see a sample, a good first step is to take a quick peek to
Evidence confirm whether the sample is appropriate; in other words, ask
yourself, “Is the group of things/people discussed in the evidence
representative of the group of things/people discussed in the
conclusion?”