PHL 214 Chapter 3: Critical Thinking Textbook-Chapter 3
16 Aug 2015
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The point of devising an argument is to try to show that a statement or claim is worthy of acceptance. The point of evaluating an argument is to see whether the argument shows that the statement (the conclusion) really is worth accepting. Arguments come in 2 forms: deductive and inductive: a deductive argument is intended to provide logically conclusive support for its conclusion. In logic, valid is not a synonym for true. A deductively valid argument simply has the kind of logical structure that guarantees the truth of the conclusion if the premises are true. Logical structure refers to the argument"s construction and not its content, ie. the way the premises and conclusion t together. Deductively valid arguments are said to be truth-preserving. A deductively valid argument that has true premises is said to be sound and is therefore a good argument that gives you reasons for accepting its conclusion: ex.
