1.
Recognizing Arguments: Basic
Logical Concepts

2.
Arguments
• What arguments are not
• Hitting people on the head
• Abuse
• Complaining
• Contradiction
• Assertions
• What is an argument?
• One definition
• An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a definite
proposition.

3.
Arguments...
• A broader (more correct) definition
• An argument is
• (a) A series of statements, claims, or propositions
• (b) where one or some are the premises
• (c) and one is the conclusion
• (d) where the premises are intended to give a reason for the conclusion

4.
Exercise
• Question 1
• Every argument succeeds in giving good reasons for its conclusion.
• True
• False
• Question 2
• Reptiles include turtles, alligators, crocodiles, snakes, lizards, and the tuatara.
• Yes, this is an argument.
• No, this is not an argument

5.
Exercise...
• Question 3
• World War II occurred after World War I occurred.
• Yes, this is an argument.
• No, this is not an argument.
• Question 4
• The sides of this right triangle are 1 meter long, so its hypotenuse is 2 meters
long.
• Yes, this is an argument.
• No, this is not an argument.

6.
Statements or Claims
• Statements (or claims) are sentences that are either true or false (assertion
or denial)
• Killing an innocent is not morally acceptable
• Almond trees are biologically related to apricot trees
• Lahore is in Sindh
• There can be two or more statements (or claims) in a single sentence
• Pine trees are evergreen and birch trees are deciduous (conjunction)
• “Dr. Adnan’s class is held in room 106, which is in the southern side of
SDSB.”

7.
Statements…
• Not all sentences qualify as statements or claims
• Questions (How are you?)
• Greetings (Hello Hassan)
• Commands (Turn in your homework)
• Requests (Could you help me please)
• Instructions (Put the first cable in the second socket)
• What about rhetorical questions and ought imperatives?
• The common assumption that welfare recipients like being on welfare is false. Does anyone
like to be poor and unemployed? Does anyone like to be regarded as a parasite?
• Be a doctor! You’ve got the talent. You would enjoy the work. You could help many people.
And you could make a lot of money!
• Think of three sentences that are not statements or claims

8.
What are Arguments Used For?
• What about this?
• Turn off your engine when waiting to pick up the kids. Idling longer than ten
seconds in park uses more gas than restarting the car. (Al Gore)
• Why does somebody bother to give an argument instead of just
asserting the conclusion without an argument?
• Purpose?
• Persuasion
• Justification (could be to achieve various ends)
• Is this person trying to change my mind or change my behaviour?

9.
Questions
• Whether you succeed in persuading someone depends on what effect
your argument has on that person.
True
False
• Whether you succeed in justifying a conclusion depends on what
effect your argument has on the audience.
True
False

10.
Think About This
• It's not enough for an argument to be good in order to be persuasive.
You can have an argument for which every premise is genuinely true,
and where every conceivable flaw in the argument is negated and
still, not have it be persuasive. There will almost always be someone
who either misunderstands the argument, or blindly believes the
opposite of a premise, in face of facts. Human beings aren't always
logical.

11.
Think About This
• The purpose of an argument is to state with clarity, and
some degree of certainty, an opinion or point of view; a
good argument in and of itself may never persuade or
convert anyone to adopt a different way of thinking. So
what. What a good argument does is communicate clearly
what one thinks and why they think it. So I guess the
benchmark of success for many arguments is not
complete persuasion, but how clearly one is understood.
If someone's intent is to blindly refute everything, that's
not an intellectually honest engagement. I've found that
in constructing better, more thoughtful arguments people
may not agree with me, but they're far more considerate
of what I have to say.