Types of Arguments

Objectives
a. Distinguish between deductive and inductive arguments.
b. Understand the terms valid, invalid, and sound.
c. Recognise and explain various valid argument forms

Nawa Stephen
Argument - An argument is a set of statements, some of which (the
premises) attempt to provide a reason for thinking that some other
statement (the conclusion) is true
Premise – reason for thinking the conclusion is true
Conclusion – a statement supported by two or more premises
Statement – a type of sentence that can be true or false
Indicator words – cue words that signal either premises of conclusion
Standard Form of Argument - a way of presenting the argument which
makes clear which statements are premises, how many premises there
are, and which statements is the conclusion
Explanation – An argument that attempts to show why its conclusion is
true
A company decides to increase its advertising budget because the CEO
believes that more advertising always leads to increased sales.

• This decision is based on "post hoc ergo propter hoc" fallacy, i.e., "after
this, therefore because of this." Since event Y followed event X, event Y
must have been caused by event X.
• The CEO is assuming that because increased advertising occurred before in
the past & was followed by increased sales, it must be the cause of the
sales increase.
• The argument fails to consider other factors that could have contributed
to the increased sales, e.g.,
– changes in market demand, competitor actions, economic conditions, or
improvements in the product/service itself.
– The decision lacks validity because it relies on a faulty assumption about
causation without sufficient evidence or logical reasoning.
 Types of Arguments
Deductive Argument
A deductive argument is one whose
conclusion follows from its
premise[s] with absolute certainty.
• An argument that provides
logically conclusive support for
its conclusion
– it is not possible that the
conclusion doesn’t follow
from the premises
Inductive Argument
An inductive argument is one whose
premise[s] give only some degree of
probability, but not certainty, to its
conclusion.
• An argument that provides
probable—not conclusive—
support for its conclusion
– this means that, although it is
possible that the conclusion
doesn’t follow from its
premises, it is unlikely that
this is the case
 Examples of Deductive Arguments

Deduction is used in science & in our daily life

A = B,
B=C
A=C
 All numbers ending in 0 or 5 are divisible by 5. The number 35 ends with a
5, so it must be divisible by 5
 It’s dangerous to swim in a flowing river. The river is flowing now, so it
would be dangerous to swim on the river.
 All noble gases are stable. Helium is a noble gas, so helium is stable
 Acute angles are less than 90 degrees. This angle is 40 degrees, so it must
be an acute angle.
 If Sadie lost her purse, then she lost her student ID card. If she lost her
student ID card, then she won’t be allowed to write her exams. Therefore,
if Sadie lost her purse, then she won’t be allowed to write her exams.
 Examples of Inductive Arguments

 The bus rank fly over is regularly inspected by qualified engineers. Vehicles
have been driving over it for years. Therefore, it will be safe to drive over it
tomorrow.
– argument does not provide absolute guarantee that it will be safe to
drive over the fly over tomorrow.
– it’s possible that it can collapse at the very moment I cross it. If
premises are true, then the conclusion will very likely, or probably be
true
– however, the truth of the premises cannot absolutely rule out the
possibility that the conclusion will be false.
– thus, the conclusion might turn out to be false although the premises
are true
 For the past three years, the company has beat its revenue goal in Q3.
Based on this information, the company will likely beat its revenue goal in
Q3 this year
 Differences
Deductive Argument
• If the premises are true, the
conclusion is necessarily true
• The premises provide conclusive
evidence for the conclusion.
• It is impossible for the premises
to be true and the conclusion to
be false.
• It is logically inconsistent to
assert the premises but deny the
conclusion.
Inductive Argument
• If the premises are true, the
conclusion is probably true
• The premises provide good
evidence for the conclusion.
• It is unlikely for the premises to
be true and the conclusion to be
false.
• It is logically consistent to
assert the premises but deny the
conclusion.
 Validity of Arguments
One desirable feature of arguments is that the conclusion should follow from
the premises. Consider these two arguments :

a. Argument #1: Barbie is over 90 years old. So, Barbie is over 20 years old.
b. Argument #2: Barbie is over 20 years old. So, Barbie is over 90 years old
• Intuitively, the conclusion of the first argument follows from the premise,
whereas the conclusion of the second argument does not follow from its
premise.
– How should we explain the difference between the two arguments
more precisely?
• In the 1st, if the premise is indeed true, then the conclusion cannot be false.
• In the 2nd, even if the premise in the second argument is true, there is no
guarantee that the conclusion must also be true. e.g, Barbie could be 30
years old.
 Validity
The previous idea is often used to define the notion of a deductively valid
argument, or valid argument
An argument is valid if & only if there is no logically possible situation
where all the premises are true and the conclusion is false at the same time.
• The notion of validity explains precisely what it is for a conclusion to follow
from the premises
• From our previous example, it’s clear that the first argument is valid,
because there is no possible situation where Barbie can be over 90 but not
over 20.
• The second argument is not valid since there are plenty of possible
situations where the premise is true but the conclusion is false
– e.g., Barbie could be 25, or 85. The fact that these situations are
possible is enough to show that the argument is not valid, or invalid.
 Validity
– A deductive argument that succeeds in providing decisive logical support for its
conclusion is said to be VALID.
– A deductive argument that fails to provide such support is said to be INVALID
A deductively valid argument is such that if its premises are true, its
conclusion must be true. i.e, if premises are true, there is no way that the
conclusion can be false.
NB: validity is not a synonym for truth. A deductively valid argument simply
has the kind of logical structure that guarantees the truth of the conclusion if
the premises are true. E.g,
All pigs can fly. Anything that can fly can swim. So all pigs can swim.
• Although the two premises of this argument are false, this is actually a
valid argument.
• Thus, the premises & conclusion of a valid argument can all be false, what
is important is the logical structure that guarantees the truth of the
conclusion.
 Validity
“Logical structure” refers not to the content of an argument but to its
construction, the way the premises and conclusion fit together.
• Because of the guarantee of truth in the conclusion, deductively valid
arguments are said to be truth-preserving, e.g.,

All UB students have student IDs. All human

beings are mortal
Bonang is a UB student.
Damien is a human man
So, Bonang
And has a student
one in regular ID. form:
paragraph
Therefore,IfDamien
[Premise] is is
abortion mortal
the taking of a human life, then it’s murder. [Premise]
It is the taking of a human life. [Conclusion] So it necessarily follows
that abortion is murder.
If the premises are true, the conclusion must be absolutely, positively true. It
is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusions false.
 Argument Forms

To show that an argument is valid, we need only show that it has a valid
argument form.

Affirming the Antecedent Example

If p then q If you tell my boyfriend that I’m cheating on him then
p you’re not my true friend
Therefore, q You told my boyfriend that I’m cheating on him
Therefore you’re not my true friend

Denying the Consequent Example

If p then q If the police knew that Tau had a motive for the crime,
Not-q then Tau would be a suspect.
Therefore, not-p Tau is not a suspect.
Therefore, the police do not know that Tau had a
motive
 Argument Forms

Disjunctive Syllogism Example

Either p or q Either you vote for me or you vote for disaster
Not-p You did not vote for me
Therefore you voted for disaster
Therefore, q

Hypothetical Syllogism If you study hard, you refine your communication skills. If
If p, then q you refine your communication skills, then your job
If q, then r opportunities increase. Hence, if you
study hard, your job opportunities increase
There4, if p, then r.
 Invalidity
A deductively invalid version of these arguments might look like this:
All dogs are mammals. If Socrates has horns, he is mortal.
All cows are mammals. Socrates is mortal.
Therefore, all dogs are cows. Therefore, Socrates has horns.
Note: the conclusion does not logically follow from the premises.
Each is an attempt at a deductively valid argument, but the attempt fails
VALIDITY: Do reasons support the conclusion?

Valid Argument
An argument in which the reasons support the conclusion so that the conclusion follows
from the reasons offered

Invalid Argument
An argument in which the reasons do not support the conclusion so that the conclusion
does not follow from the reasons offered
 Soundness of Arguments

 When an argument includes both true reasons and a valid structure, the
argument is considered sound.
 When an argument has either false reasons or an invalid structure,
however, the argument is considered unsound.

“truth” and “validity” are

True Reasons Sound Argument distinct concepts.
Valid Structure
An argument can have true
False Reasons Unsound Argument premises and an invalid
Valid Structure
structure or false premises and
True Reasons Unsound Argument a valid structure. In both cases
Invalid Structure
the argument is unsound.
False Reasons Unsound Argument SOUNDNESS REQUIRES BOTH
Invalid Structure
TRUE PREMISES & VALID
STRUCTURE
 Summary: Deductive Argu’
Sound
Argument
Premises
True
Valid
Premises
Deductive False
Argument
Invalid

Unsound