PHI 1101 Chapter 1: Chapter One Book Notes.doc
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PHI 1101 Full Course Notes
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A premise is a claim put forth as a reason for a conclusion: an argument in our sense is not a dispute, arguments may occur in any context and involve any subject matter. Further, the subject matter can be trivial ( you better get your feet off the coffee table. Mother"s coming. ) or profound( innocent children suffer and die every day in this world. That shows life has nomeaning. ): our definition of argument tells us that the claims that constitute premises are meant to support the conclusion. Suppose the first example said: today is the 5th. Or this: since today is the 5th, yesterday was the 4th. Either of these additions makes clear that an argument is being offered and that yesterday was the 4th is its conclusion. Similarly, the second passage would not be puzzling if it said all people are corrupt by nature.
