Every day, we hear arguments in which we are being asked to accept conclusions or beliefs about issues, such as a political issue, an environmental issue, or a health issue – or to accept claims about a product. In many cases, the argument, which is an attempt to persuade, is clearly a good one or a bad one. Consequently, we can sometimes make the correct decision about the argument even without giving it a lot of thought. But, not all claims are easy to evaluate and, just as importantly, if we can’t explain why we think the argument is right or wrong, then we may be relying on guesswork or biases to make decisions. Neither of these is a good way to reliably and consistently reach a correct conclusion. So, as discussed in lecture, it’s important to break down an argument into its components (premises and conclusions), in order to systematically and logically evaluate them to determine if the premises are correct and if the conclusion follows from the premises. If the premises are false, and/or if the conclusion doesn’t follow from the premises, then the argument is an erroneous argument and we shouldn’t accept it.
So, lying at the heart of critical thinking is one’s ability to distinguish rational arguments (i.e., those which are logical and well-supported) from irrational arguments (i.e., those lacking good evidence but which nonetheless may be quite appealing, even if illogical, because they “tap into” very strong emotions). Unfortunately for us, bad arguments are common and are either intentionally or unintentionally given by the mass media (e.g., many newspapers, magazines, TV programs, blogs, etc.), as well as by businesses and individuals. This often happens because people are often driven by concerns over profit and/or ideology, and, thus, sometimes employ irrational and oftentimes emotional arguments to attract readers/viewers, to make a sale, or to promote their views. So, it is essential for us to be able to recognize bad arguments in order to make better decisions.
In this assignment, you will be presented with several arguments and asked to do one or more of the following for each argument:
Identify the premises and conclusions;
Indicate whether the argument is a deductive or inductive argument;
Evaluate the validity and soundness of the arguments;
Identify the fallacy, if any, that was used in the argument.
Explain what is wrong with the argument – assuming it is a bad argument
The goal of the assignment is to help you develop your critical thinking skills so that you can make better, more informed decisions.
Please refer to the following definitions when doing the assignment:
Premise – A proposition (statement or fact) upon which an argument is based and a conclusion is drawn. Essentially, premises are the reasons/evidence for an argument. Be wary of hidden premises, which are required for the conclusion to be true but are not explicitly stated.
Conclusion – The idea/statement that is one is being asked to accept as true based on the premises and the logic of the argument.
Deductive argument – Provides conclusive support for the conclusion. Thus, the conclusion given must be true if the premises are true. (Deductive means top-down.)
Valid – The conclusion must follow from the premises; i.e., it is the only conclusion that could be reached given the premises. (Important: The fact that an argument is valid does not, by itself, mean that it is correct! An argument could be valid even if the premises are false. In such cases, the conclusion is incorrect. This is why we must also consider whether or not an argument is “sound”.)
Sound – A sound argument is a valid argument – and the premises are true. Thus, the conclusion must be true. (Note: An argument cannot be invalid, but sound, because if the premises are false, or the conclusion does not follow, then the argument is incorrect.)
Inductive argument – The premises provide strong, but not certain, support for a conclusion. (Inductive means bottom-up.) In a strong argument, the premise(s) give reasonable support, and thus the conclusion is likely to be true. However, we don’t have good reason to accept a weak inductive argument. Inductive arguments are more difficult to evaluate because, even if the argument is strong, we can’t say that it is definitely true, only that it is reasonable to believe it’s probably true. We may also not be able to say weak arguments are definitely false, only that the argument is not compelling enough for us to accept it with any degree of confidence.
Unfortunately, most arguments we see in our daily lives, and even in science, are inductive arguments! Also, most criminal trials are based on inductive arguments. The fact that these arguments are not clearly right or wrong is why we have to make a conscious effort to think critically! If we don’t, it’s easy to make a mistake.
The difference between the two kinds of arguments can also be determined from the relationship the arguer believes exists between the premises and conclusion. If the arguer believes the truth of the premises definitely establishes the truth of the conclusion, then they think their argument is deductive. If the author does not think the truth of the premises definitely establishes the truth of the conclusion, but nonetheless believes that their truth provides good reason to believe the conclusion is true, they think their argument is inductive.
Important Notes:
Multiple choice questions have only ONE correct response.
For questions that require a short answer response, make sure you answer thoroughly and in complete sentences. Elaborate! With the exception to a questions that doesn’t require an explanation (e.g., “What is the premise?”), a single sentence is not adequate.
In addition, if you are asked to explain what is wrong with an argument, you need to discuss specific alternative explanations/alternative hypotheses, don’t just state that alternatives exist. Elaborate!
The key to answering these types of questions is to put yourself in the place of the person reading your response. Then, provide enough information, clearly presented, to make your response understandable to the reader.
Make sure you refer to your notes for argument structure, premise and conclusion indicator words, logical fallacies, etc!!!!
