Logical Argumentation

Intro to Argumentation and

Logic

A. Zirgulis
 Syllabus

• Office hours: After class, or email me.

• 5 lectures, 4 seminars, debate session:
• Final Exam (50%)
• Homework (10%)
• Debate (40%)
• Textbook:
• ~Political Correctness
• Interaction
• How to get the most from this class

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 Purpose of this Course

• Arguing is important for both your academic and

future career.
• Justification:
– Convince people of your opinions (change minds)
– Winning an argument?
• "A man convinced against his will is of the same
opinion still.”-- Carnegie
• Explanation:
– We want to show why something happens
(causality)
• Your bachelor’s thesis:
– Common mistakes
– Scientific Reasoning
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 Lecture Themes

1. Forming and Analyzing Arguments

2. Deductive Arguments
3. Inductive Arguments
4. Logical Fallacies
– Homework will be assigned
5. Refutation and Practical Examples
– Debates will be assigned

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 Arguments

• What is an argument?

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 Argumentation

• An argument is a connected series of sentences,

statements, or propositions (called “premises”) that
are intended to give reasons of some kind for a
sentence, statement, or proposition (called the
“conclusion”).
• What is Logic?
– The study of distinguishing successful and
unsuccessful arguments

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 Side Note: Language

• When dealing with logic we would like to use

universal ideas. Unfortunately, you will see that
human languages are not exact, which can lead to
misunderstanding.
• Example:
– What is science?

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 How can we organize this argument?

• Socrates is mortal, since all men are mortal, and

Socrates is a man.

(1) All men are mortal.

(2) Socrates is a man.
(3) ∴ Socrates is mortal. (from 1–2)

∴ (therefore sign)

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 Markers

• Premise (reason) Markers:

– since, because, for, as, given that
– But beware:
• Since Edison invented the light bulb, there have
been many technological developments
• Since Edison invented the light bulb, he
deserves credit for a major technological
development.
• Conclusion Markers:
– therefore, hence, thus, then, consequently, we may
infer, it follows that.

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 Validity

• What does valid mean?

– An argument is valid if and only if it is not possible
that all of its premises are true and its conclusion
false.
• Alternatively, one could say that its conclusion must
be true if its premises are all true.
• Is the following argument valid?
– Since Moby Dick was written by Shakespeare, and
Moby Dick is a romantic comedy, it follows that
Shakespeare wrote a romantic comedy.

• A valid argument which has true premises and a true

conclusion is called sound
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 Validity and Soundness

All whales are mammals

All mammals are air-breathers
∴ All whales are air-breathers

All tigers have stripes

A zebra has stripes
∴ a zebra is a tiger

All whales are reptiles

All reptiles are birds
∴ All whales are birds

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 Soundness and Validity
All premises True At least one premise False

Conclusion All whales are mammals All whales are fish

True All mammals are air-breathers All fish are air-breathers
∴ All whales are air-breathers ∴ All whales are air-breathers

Valid and Sound Valid but Unsound

Conclusion All tigers have stripes All whales are reptiles

False A zebra has stripes All reptiles are birds
∴ a zebra is a tiger ∴ All whales are birds

Invalid Valid but Unsound

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 Strengthening your Argument: Assuring

• Assuring: If there is a question about the truth value

of a premise, the arguer may try to assure the listener
that the premise is true.
• Example: Trident gum
– 4 out of 5 dentists recommend Trident gum
– What is their argument?
• Types of Assuring:
– Use of Experts
– Using assuring language (I’m sure, I’m certain)
– Abusing the audience (Anyone with a basic level of
education would agree that…)
• Examples from Bachelor Theses

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 Strengthening your Argument: Guarding

• Take a look at the following claims. Which one is the

hardest to attack?
– “All migrants are criminals”
– “Most migrants are criminals”
– “Some migrants are criminals”
– “A few migrants are criminals”
• Guarding: By weakening the strength of your premise
you can guard it from attack

• You can also guard your argument by adding

probability: (“it is likely”, “it might be”)
• Instead of saying “I know” you may say “I believe”

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 Problems with Guarding

• It is possible to weaken your premise so much that

anything you say will be true.
– It might be true that there is some possibility that
Aliens exist.
• The weaker your premise, the weaker is the value of
your overall argument.
• Guarding can be abused! Look at the following
example:
– It might be that some migrants engage in petty
crime. We have a right to live in a crime free
society. Therefore, all of these thieving migrants
should be expelled.

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 Strengthening your Argument: Discounting

• Have you ever heard this?:

– “I think that you’re great, but we should date other
people.”

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 Discounting

• Discounting: Anticipating criticisms and dismissing

them.
• This technique can be used by someone when they
are dealing with facts which do not give lots of support
for their argument.
– “Some migrants are sex offenders, but the vast
majority of them are not.”
– How could this be used in a bachelor thesis?

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 Discounting

• However, discounting can also be abused.

– “People who are against migrants claim that all of
them are sex offenders, but there is no evidence of
this being true.”

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 Examples

• For the following 2 examples, identify argument

markers, assuring, guarding or discounting:

• Although [1] no mechanism has been discovered,

most [2] researchers in the field agree [3] that
smoking greatly increases the chances [4] of heart
disease
• Since [5] historically [6] public debt leads to
inflation, I am certain [7] that, despite [8] recent
trends, inflation will return.

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 Suppressed Premise

• To save time, we don’t always have to mention

premises which are obvious or not controversial.
• Example:
– Smoking is bad for human health. Therefore, you
shouldn’t smoke.

• However, it is easy to abuse this technique by

implying that certain premises are obviously true
when they are not:
• Example:
– Aras is an American, therefore Aras is fat.
– Killing an innocent person is wrong. Therefore
abortion is wrong.
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 Cleaning up an Argument

• We need to be able to separate the claims from the

conclusion and organize them.
• Often times, arguments are filled with “fluff” or
something which seems related but actually has no
real impact on the argument. Cut these out.
• Language can often be unclear, so we should clarify
the terms used.
– What are drugs?

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 Cleaning up an Argument

• Beware of red herrings:

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 Dissecting an Argument

• Arguments can logically flow in several ways:

• Best shown through example:
(1) Kebabs are made using animal meat
(2) Thus, kebab sales affect the price of animal meat
(3) Therefore, animal farmers are affected by kebab
sales

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 Dissecting an Argument

• Example 2
(1) Kebabs are made from animals
(2) Eating animals is wrong
(3) Therefore, eating kebabs is wrong (from 1+2)

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 Dissecting an Argument

• Example 3
(1) I am obese
(1*) I am allergic to gluten
(2) Therefore, I can’t eat kebabs.

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 Example

• Map out this argument:

– The selling of human organs, such as hearts,
kidneys, and corneas, should be outlawed.
Allowing human organs to be sold will inevitably
lead to a situation in which only the rich will be able
to afford transplants. This is so because whenever
something scarce is bought and sold as a
commodity, the price always goes up. The law of
supply and demand requires it.

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 Example

1. According to the law of supply and demand,

whenever something scarce is bought and sold as a
commodity, the price always goes up

2. If organs are allowed to be bought and sold only the

rich will be able to afford them.

3. ∴ The selling of human organs should be outlawed.

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 Reconstruction: Evaluating an argument

1. Look at the type of words used. Is there guarding,

assuring, discounting?
2. Remove excess verbiage (cut out the fluff)
3. Separate premises from conclusions
4. Clarify words where needed
5. Arrange the premises and conclusions
6. Are the argument(s) valid?
7. Add suppressed premises where needed
8. Are the argument(s) sound?

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 Example: Donald Trump Quote

• “We are a country of laws. We need borders. We will

have a wall [on the Mexican border]. The wall will be
built. The wall will be successful. And if you think walls
don't work, all you have to do is ask Israel. The wall
works, believe me. Properly done. Believe me.”

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