Understanding an Argument

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What is an Argument?
- An argument consists of one or more premises and a conclusion. The premises
provide evidence, facts, reasoning or justification that leads to the conclusion.
- The premises and conclusion are declarative statements that assert something.
They can be true or false.
- Arguments aim to persuade the audience that the conclusion is true by providing
logical reasoning and evidence through the premises.
- Counterarguments may refute or criticize an argument by attacking its premises,
methods, assumptions or implications. This can lead to further debate.

Types of Arguments:

Deductive Arguments:

- Deductive arguments assert that if the premises are true, the conclusion necessarily
follows and must be true.
- They rely on certainty and the rules of logic - if A equals B, and B equals C, then
A must equal C. The conclusion is contained within the premises.
- Common types of deductive arguments are syllogisms, conditionals, and chain
arguments.
- To evaluate, check that the conclusion logically follows if the premises are true,
and that there are no logical fallacies.

Inductive Arguments:

- Inductive arguments assert that the premises provide evidence that makes the
conclusion likely or probable, but not completely definitive.
- They rely on inferences from limited observations to make broader
generalizations. Not 100% logical certainty, but reasonable probability.
- Common types are generalizations, statistical arguments, causal arguments, and
analogical arguments.
 - To evaluate, check the reasoning process and strength of the evidence. But
conclusions remain open to revision with new evidence.

Causal Arguments:

- Causal arguments conclude that one thing causes or caused another, based on
observation of correlation and temporal relationships.
- They assert that X led to or produced Y, based on induction from patterns, without
necessarily knowing the exact mechanism.
- Hard to definitively prove causation, but can make logical appeal using
mechanism, replication, statistics, etc. to rule out coincidences.
- To evaluate causal claims, look for alternative explanations, confounding
variables, and enough evidence to reasonably justify the causal relationship.

Arguments in a variety of contexts:

In a research paper:

- Researchers often use deductive reasoning to argue their thesis based on evidence.
For example:

Premise 1: According to the data collected, as dosage increased from 10mg to 20mg, side
effects increased from 10% to 40%.

Premise 2: Further, when dosage was reduced back to 10mg, side effects decreased.

Conclusion: Therefore, higher dosage of the drug leads to greater side effects.

This deductive argument lays out premises backed by research data to lead to the
conclusion. The logic is valid if the premises are true.
In a courtroom trial:

- Lawyers on both sides present deductive arguments to prove guilt or innocence

based on available evidence. For example:

Premise 1: The defendant's fingerprints were found on the murder weapon.

Premise 2: Video evidence shows the defendant entering the crime scene on the night of
the murder.

Conclusion: Therefore, the evidence proves the defendant is guilty of this murder.

The defense would attempt to poke holes in these premises or supply contrary evidence to
cast doubt. But each side uses deduction.

In a scientific paper:

- Scientists often rely on inductive reasoning, using specific observations and data
to induce probable conclusions about theories. For example:

Premise 1: In repeated lab tests, bacteria samples grew 30% faster when exposed to the
antibiotic tetracycline.

Premise 2: Further tests showed the antibiotic inhibited normal protein synthesis in the
bacteria.

Conclusion: Tetracycline likely inhibits protein synthesis in bacteria, thereby increasing

replication rate.

The data provides evidence for the conclusion, but further investigation could provide
more insight into the biological mechanisms. Conclusions are open to revision pending
new evidence.
In advertisements:

- Advertisements frequently employ causal arguments, claiming a product will lead

to desired effects based on selected examples. For example:

Premise: In our product testing, 100 participants lost an average of 5 pounds when using
this diet supplement for 2 months.

Conclusion: This proven supplement will help you lose weight fast!

While compelling, more information is needed to verify the validity of the premise and
the true effectiveness and safety of using the product. The conclusion is suggested but not
definitively proven.

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