Lessons in LOGIC Chapter 3

Lesson 3:  Arguments

The smallest piece of reasoning occurs when we infer a

single statement from one or more other statements. Such a
piece of reasoning is called an argument, that is, an argument is
a piece of reasoning in which a single statement is inferred
from a set of statements.

Warning: It is important to realize that an "argument" in logic

is not the same as an "argument" in everyday speech. In
common usage, an argument is a disagreement between two or
more people. In logic, an argument is a set of statements, one of
which is inferred from the others. Arguments are the basic unit
of logical study, so they will be our main subject for the rest of
these lessons.

Here are some important words for talking about arguments:

 Conclusion The inferred statement is called

the conclusion of the argument. In other words, a
conclusion is a statement for which evidence is offered,
or reasons given.

Warning: Don't suppose that the conclusion must

be the last statement in an argument! The word
"conclusion" has other meanings which have to do
with the end of something―for instance, an article
may have a conclusion at the end―but the
conclusion of an argument needn't come at the end.

 Premiss A premiss is a statement offered as evidence or

a reason for the conclusion of an argument.

Note: Premiss can also be spelled "premise". Both

are correct spellings, but I prefer the former, rarer
spelling in order to minimize ambiguity.

The second skill that you need to learn to become a logician is

how to recognize arguments. Not every set of statements, nor
every written passage, is an argument. Statements can be put to
other uses, such as description and narration.
Lessons in LOGIC Chapter 3

How can you tell whether a passage is an argument? One clue is

the occurrence of argument indicators, which are words or
phrases that indicate that the passage in which they occur
contains an argument. Here are some of the most common
argument indicators:

therefore, since, so, because, thus, hence

Warning: With the exception of "therefore", each of these

words has other meanings. For instance, "since" is also used to
indicate the passage of time. So, don't use indicators
mechanically, that is, don't assume that just because you see
the word "since" you have an argument! Instead, use your
background knowledge and understanding of the context in
order to determine if the passage is an argument.

Exercises: Determine which of the following passages are

arguments and which are not.

1. When interest rates fall, investors put higher values on

future corporate earnings and dividends and thus bid up
share prices.
Source: Wall Street Journal, 1/27/1986

2. The Mississippi receives and carries to the Gulf water

from fifty-four subordinate rivers that are navigable by
steamboats, and from some hundreds that are navigable
by flats and keels. The area of its drainage basin is as
great as the combined areas of England, Wales, Scotland,
Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Italy,
and Turkey; and almost all this wide region is fertile; the
Mississippi valley, proper, is exceptionally so.
Source: Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi, Chapter 1

3. Since…all bodies, whether upon earth or in the heavens,

are heavy,…we must certainly allow that gravity is found
in all bodies universally….
Source: Preface to the second edition of
Newton's Principia

4. Parents are principally responsible for the education and

upbringing of their children and are, therefore, the most
qualified persons to select the formal schooling for their
children.
Source: Letter to the Editor
Lessons in LOGIC Chapter 3

5. In the 28 years since that book [Godel, Escher, Bach]

appeared, Hofstadter has lived with these ideas, working
out their implications. From being a semivegetarian…he
became, just recently, a strict one.
Source: George Johnson, "A New Journey into
Hofstadter's Mind", Scientific American, 3/2007, p. 100

6. We have no image…corresponding to [God]. Hence we

are forbidden to worship God in the form of an image….
Source: Thomas Hobbes, Objections to
Descartes' Meditations

7. Nancy…crossed the lawn and pressed the front-door bell.

The house had four entrances, and when, after repeated
knockings, there was no response at this one, she moved
on to the next…. Here the door was partly open; she
opened it somewhat more…. She knocked, rang, and at
last walked around to the back of the house.
Source: Truman Capote, In Cold Blood
Lessons in LOGIC Chapter 3

Answers to the Exercises:

1. Argument: the indicator is "thus".

2. Not an argument but a description. The last word, "so", is

not functioning as an argument indicator, but refers back
to the word "fertile".

3. Argument: the indicator is "since".

4. Argument: the indicator is "therefore".

5. Not an argument: the word "since" occurs in its temporal

sense.

6. Argument: the indicator is "hence".

7. Not an argument but a narrative.