PHL145H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Modus Tollens, Modus Ponens, False Premise
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Lists of statements: socrates is a man. The difference is the first two assertions on the argument are proving the conclusion. Arguments usually contain some signal indicating their premises and conclusions. There are two ways this can be done: mark the premise (using reason marker, mark the conclusion (conclusion marker) It doesn"t matter whether it"s the presmise or conclusion that"s markers. Therefore socrates is mortal: since, socrates is a man and all men are mortal, socrates is mortal. A key kind of sentences used in arguments is a conditional; a sentence of the form is p then q: antecedent: the if-clause, consequent: the then-clause. Conditionals do not commit you to asserting the antcenect or consequent. Conditionals are special: they can be turned into arguments for their conclusions, whenever their antecedents are found to be true: recall. If we find our that rocco is a care we can argue. If rocco is a cat, ill be allergic to him.
