PHIL1012 Mind and Knowledge

Tutorial 1: Validity and Soundness

2022-23 Semester 1
Tutor: Novia Wong

DEFINITIONS

• Argument: An argument is a list of statements, one of

which is the conclusion and the others are the premises or
assumptions of the argument.
• Valid Argument: An argument is valid there is no logically
possible situation in which the premises are true and the
conclusion is false /OR: if the premises are all true, then the
conclusion must also be true / OR: it is necessary that if the
premises are all true, then the conclusion is also true
• Sound Argument: An argument is sound it is valid and all
its premises are true

EXERCISES

I. Validity
Determine whether the following arguments are valid or not.

A1 ( V ) A2 ( N )
All men are mortal All apples are fruits
Plato is a man Some fruits are green
__________________________________________ __________________________________________

So, Plato is mortal So, some apples are green

 A3 (N ) A4 ( N )
All cats are mammals Some cats are mammals
No cats can drive Some mammals are black
__________________________________________ __________________________________________

So, all mammals can drive So, all cats are black

N
A5 ( )
All mammals have wings
A6 ( W)
All dogs have wings
Some whales have wings All things that have wings are animals
__________________________________________ __________________________________________

So, all whales are mammals So, all dogs are animals

W
A7 ( ) A8 (N)
All four-legged creatures have wings All pigs can fly
All spiders have exactly four legs All dogs can fly
__________________________________________ __________________________________________

So, all spiders have wings So, all pigs are dogs

II. Concepts
Decide if the statements below are true or false. Put “T” in the
brackets, if it is true; and “F” if it is false.

1. If the premises of a valid argument are all true, the

conclusion cannot be false. ( )
2. If the premises of a valid argument are all false, the
conclusion cannot be true. ( )
3. If the premises of an invalid are all false, the conclusion
must also be false. ( )
4. An argument with a false conclusion must be invalid. ( )
5. An argument with false premises must be invalid. ( )
6. An argument with true premises and a false conclusion
must be invalid. ( )
7. An argument with true premises and a true conclusion
cannot be invalid. ( )
III. Validity Again
1. Determine whether the following arguments are valid?
a. (i) Murder is wrong. (ii) Abortion is wrong. (iii) So
abortion is murder. (N )
b. (i) Murder is wrong. (ii) Abortion is not murder. (iii) So
abortion is not wrong. ( )
c. (i) Most insects are organisms with wings. (ii) Most
organisms with wings have more than two legs. (iii) So
most insects have more than two legs. ( )
2. Try to describe a situation that shows that the argument is
not valid (where the premises and true and conclusion false)
a. (i) All charged particles have mass. (ii) Neutrons are
particles that have mass. (iii) So Neutrons are charged
particles.
b. (i) The winning ticket is number 240. (ii) Beth holds
ticket number 239. (iii) So Beth does not hold the
winning ticket.
c. (i) Peter is the tallest person in the class. (ii) There are
other students in the class apart from Peter. (iii) So
Peter is tall.