Recognizing Arguments

Basic Logical Concepts

Illustrations
• Many wildflowers are edible. For example, daisies and day lilies are
delicious in salads.

• Whole numbers can be represented as fractions. Thus, 2 can be

represented as 8/4, and 5 can be represented as 15/3.
Examples as Support
• You just said that no mammal can fly, but that is inaccurate. At least
one mammal has wings and can fly. For example, bats are mammals.
Explanation and Argument
• Titanic sank because it struck an iceberg.
• Capital punishment should be abolished because innocent people
may be mistakenly executed.
• Sarah got sick because she ate too much.
• The dinosaurs are extinct because a “large comet or asteroid struck
the earth some 65 million years ago, lofting a cloud of dust into the
sky and blocking sunlight, thereby suppressing photosynthesis and . . .
drastically lowering world temperatures. . . .”
Explanation and Argument...
• An argument is a rationale in which the reason presents evidence in
support of a claim made in the conclusion. Its purpose is to provide a
basis for believing the conclusion to be true. 
• An explanation is a rationale in which the reason presents a cause for
the occurrence of some phenomenon. Its purpose is to help us
understand why that fact occurs.
Explanation and Argument...
• An argument answers the question:  How do you know?  This is a
request for evidence.
• An explanation answers the question:  Why is that so? This is a
request for a cause.
• I did well on my SATs because I got a high score.
• I did well on my SATs because I studied and got enough rest before
the test
Explanation and Argument...
• War is wrong because it involves killing innocent people and that is
always wrong.
• Wars happen because human beings are selfish.
Distinguishing Arguments from Explanations
• The Common Knowledge test
• East Pakistan became an independent country because they had grievances
against West Pakistan
• The Past-Event test
• Mel flunked out because he never went to class
• The Author’s Intent test
• Kevin is majoring in political science because he wants to go to law school
• The Principle of Charity test
• Jeremy won’t come to the party tonight because he has an important exam
tomorrow
Distinguishing Arguments from
Explanations...
• These tests are not foolproof
• All men are mortal
• Socrates is a man
• Therefore, Socrates is mortal
Distinguishing Arguments from
Explanations...
• The Columbia spacecraft disintegrated on reentry because its wing
was damaged by flying foam debris during liftoff.
Distinguishing Arguments from
Explanations...
• The sky appears blue from the earth’s surface because light rays from
the sun are scattered by particles in the atmosphere.
Distinguishing Arguments from
Explanations...
• People have respect for life because they adhere to certain ethical
standards.
Distinguishing Arguments from
Explanations...
• People should have respect for life because their own ethical
standards endorse it.
Distinguishing Arguments from Explanations
• I was late to class because my car wouldn’t start.

• You really need to get your car repaired because your car often
doesn’t start.

• The bucket leaks because there's a hole in it.