PHILOS 101 : Spring '09 Syllabuls
Document Summary
Keep in mind, then, (i) a valid argument may have false premises, or a false conclusion (or both); (ii) an argument with a true conclusion may be invalid (compare: someone can believe (or do) the right thing for the wrong reasons); and (iii) there may be good (compelling) arguments that are not valid i. e. the premises may support the conclusion, though not so strongly as to entail it. (1) all communists support the withdrawal (2) if george w. bush never lied of troops from iraq. in office, then the pope is. If not, is this because (a) the goals are screwy? (b) the goals are okay, but they have a poor understanding of them (e. g. happiness)? (c) there are more acceptable ways of reaching these goals? (d) the structure is so intrinsically repugnant that it is unjustifiable no matter what the ends? or (e) something else? (more than one, of course, may apply. )
