Statement
– A sentence that makes a claim that can be either true of false (cf. proposition). An
argument has at least two statements (premise and conclusion). All statements are
either true or false.
Pay attention.
Argument
– an attempt to provide reasons (or support) for thinking some statement is true.
Conclusion
Premise
Enthymeme
Explandum
Explanans
1. Put all the statements into declarative sentences and remove all pronouns.
Therefore,
Standardization:
Therefore,
Linked arguments
When the premise of one argument is the conclusion of another argument, the two
arguments are called “linked arguments”. Linked arguments are not one argument
but a set of two arguments.
(1) The Federal Reserve has indicated that interest rates will rise.
(2) If the Federal Reserve indicates that interest rates will rise, then
interest rates will rise.
Therefore,
(2) If interests rates rise, then stock market prices will fall.
Therefore,
Unlinked Argument:
Argument in which (1) no premise is the conclusion of another argument, and (2)
the conclusion is not a premise in another argument.
Two or more statements in which the truth of one statement (conclusion) is claimed
to follow from the truth of the other statement (premise).
IN CLASS EXERCISE
Peter Singer thinks that humans and animals ought to be treated in similar ways. He
claims that there are no morally relevant differences between some non-human
animals and some severely mentally impaired human beings. If the reflective,
communicative, emotional, or social abilities of such impaired humans are not any
greater than that of a pig or a primate, then we must treat all these beings in
similar ways.
Conclusion:
Premise:
Premise:
There are no morally relevant differences between some non-human animals and
some severely mentally impaired human beings.
Standardization:
(2) [Unstated] Morally relevant differences between humans and other animals
would be differences in reflective, communicative, emotional, or social
abilites
(3) There are no morally relevant differences between some non-human animals
and some severely mentally impaired human beings.
Therefore,
HOMEWORK