PHIL 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Reductio Ad Absurdum, Modus Ponens, Deductive Reasoning
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A good deductive argument must be valid in form and it must be sound. *a valid argument form guarantees that if the premises are true then the conclusion must be true. Look at a logic textbook and see what they look like! Mathematical algorithms function like deductive arguments, and so do formula like f = ma in physics, or differential equations. *it must also be sound, that is, the premises must all be true. This is the kind of deductive argument form that disconfirms a premise. Argument: premises and the conclusion that follows from them. Theory: axiom set and all its logical consequences (usually this collection of propositions is infinite) Note: a good deductive argument may have all particular premises and a particular conclusion; or particular premises and a general conclusion; or general premises and a general conclusion. However, the conclusion must always have less content than the premises.
