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Understanding Illogical Arguments

This document discusses the differences between truth, logic, and soundness as they relate to statements and arguments. It states that a statement is either true or false, while an argument is either logical or illogical, sound or unsound. It defines truth as a statement's conformity with reality, logic as the connection between an argument's premises and conclusion, and soundness as requiring both truth and logic. To determine if a conclusion is true and should be accepted, the argument must have true premises and be logical.

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54 views17 pages

Understanding Illogical Arguments

This document discusses the differences between truth, logic, and soundness as they relate to statements and arguments. It states that a statement is either true or false, while an argument is either logical or illogical, sound or unsound. It defines truth as a statement's conformity with reality, logic as the connection between an argument's premises and conclusion, and soundness as requiring both truth and logic. To determine if a conclusion is true and should be accepted, the argument must have true premises and be logical.

Uploaded by

yna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

TRUTH, LOGIC and SOUNDNESS

In the above section we drew a distinction between


statements and arguments and stated that a statement is
either true or false, while an argument is logical or illogical,
sound or unsound. It is very important to be aware of the
differences among these properties
• Truth refers to the conformity of the statement to
the reality

• Logic refers to the connection between the premises and


conclusion of an argument

• Soundness is a property of an argument that is achieved when


both truth and logic are present in the argument
• Truth refers to the conformity of the statement to the reality

The bird is blue Pikachu is blue


TRUE FALSE
• Logic refers to the connection between the premises and
conclusion of an argument

If all Envergans are beautiful


and Baby is an Envergan
then, Baby is beautiful
A=B
B=C
=A=C
Soundness is a property of an argument that is achieved when both
truth and logic are present in the argument

If all Envergans are human


and Baby is an Envergan
therefore, Baby is human
Whenever we encounter an argument, the most important
thing we need to ask ourselves is:

Should I accept the claim (the conclusion)


of the argument?

HOW?
1. Are the premises of the argument true?

2. Is the argument logical?


TRUTH + LOGIC
= GOOD ARGUMENT
But it does not necesarilly mean that when an
argument is true it is also logical,
or when it is logical it is also truthful.
Take this for example,

All Filipinos are Asians.


Brad Pitt is a Filipino.
Therefore, Brad Pitt is an Asian.
All humans are mortal.
Socrates is human.
Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
Carabaos have horns.
Horses are not carabaos.
Therefore, horses do not have horns.
Carabaos have horns.
Goats are not carabaos
Therefore, goats do not have horns.
Though both of the premises are still true, we
would definitely disagree that the conclusion is
true and acceptable. The point is: the
conclusion does not really follow from the
premises and thus, the argument is illogical.
To determine, then, whether an argument’s conclusion
is true (and therefore to be accepted) or false
(and therefore to be rejected), two criteria must be met:
(1) all the premises are true and (2) the argument is
logical.
It is when and only when these two conditions are
present that we are justified to accept the conclusion
of an argument. When these two criteria are met by an
argument, we call it a sound argument.

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