The document provides examples and explanations to help identify the premises and conclusions of arguments. It demonstrates how to distinguish premises from conclusions by looking for indicator words and rephrasing statements with words like "therefore". The ability to break down arguments into their premises and conclusions is essential for understanding and evaluating reasoning.

1. Introduction to Argument

2. Starters
S, M, T, W, T, _ , _
J, F, M, A, M, _ , _
Z, O, T, T, F, _ , _
325, 446, 567, ___
, 709, 820
• List things:
(a) you cannot put in water
(b) you cannot measure with a ruler
(c) you would not find in Hong Kong

3. What is Critical Thinking?
Critical thinking includes the ability to engage in reflective and
independent thinking.
Someone with critical thinking skills is able to do the following
:
• understand the logical connections between ideas
• identify, construct and evaluate arguments
• detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning
• solve problems systematically
• identify the relevance and importance of ideas
• reflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values

4. Introduction to Argument
Task:
In pairs, define the word ‘Argument’

5. Definition in the Oxford Dictionary:
• An exchange of diverging or opposite views,
typically a heated or angry one.
• A reason or set of reasons given in support of
an idea, action or theory

6. Video Clip
An argument relies upon premises and a
conclusion.
Watch the following clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07mehbgE
5jc

7. Is it an Argument? - CLUES
THEREFORE
THUS
SO
THEN
IN CONSEQUENCE
SHOULDMUST

8. 1. No one under eighteen-years-old can vote.
2. Jen is under eighteen-years-old.
3. Therefore, Jen cannot vote.
Arguments are composed of one or more premises and a
conclusion. Premises are statements offered as reasons
for accepting another statement. A conclusion is a
statement supported by reasons.
In this example, statements 1 and 2 are premises, and
statement 3 is the conclusion.

9. Distinguishing premises from conclusions is a skill that requires both
practice and close attention to the nuances of language. Here are some tips
that will help you separate premises from conclusions:
1. Look for premise indicators--words like because, since, for, and
given that--that provide clues when premises are being offered.
2. Look for conclusion indicators--words like therefore, thus, hence,
and so--that provide clues when conclusion indicators are being
offered.
3. If the passage contains no indicator words, try these two strategies:
a. Ask yourself, "What claim is the writer or speaker trying to prove?"
That claim will be the conclusion.
b. Try putting the word "therefore" before each of the
statements in turn. The statement it fits best will be the conclusion.

10. A good society treasures its dissidents and mavericks because it
needs the creative thinking that produces new hypotheses,
expanded means, a larger set of alternatives, and, in general, the
vigorous conversation induced by fresh ideas. (Nel Noddings,
Philosophy of Education, 1995)
Identify the premise(s) and conclusion in this argument.

11. A good society treasures its dissidents and mavericks because it
needs the creative thinking that produces new hypotheses,
expanded means, a larger set of alternatives, and, in general, the
vigorous conversation induced by fresh ideas. (Nel Noddings,
Philosophy of Education, 1995)
Premise: A good society needs the creative thinking that that produces
new hypotheses, expanded means, a larger set of alternatives, and, in
general, the vigorous conversation induced by fresh ideas.
Conclusion: A good society treasures its dissidents and mavericks.
Notice the word because in this passage. This tips us off that a premise is
being offered.

12. Since in American schools every child is unique and of equal worth with
every other child, academic competition, which subverts this egalitarian
and individualist creed, must be discouraged. (Stated but not endorsed in
E.D. Hirsch, Jr., The Schools We Need and Why We Don’t Have Them, 1996)
Identify the premise(s) and conclusion in this argument.

13. Since in American schools every child is unique and of equal worth
with every other child, academic competition, which subverts this
egalitarian and individualist creed, must be discouraged. (Stated but
not endorsed in E.D. Hirsch, Jr., The Schools We Need and Why We
Don’t Have Them, 1996)
Premise 1: In American schools every child is unique and of equal worth
with every other child.
Premise 2: Academic competition subverts this egalitarian and individualist
creed.
Conclusion: Academic competition must be discouraged.
Here the premise indicator since helps us to identify the first premise.

14. Make a will. Otherwise, the state will determine who gets your stuff.
(Andrew Tobias, "Isn't It Time You Faced the Future?" 2001)
Identify the premise(s) and conclusion in this argument.

15. Make a will. Otherwise, the state will determine who gets your
stuff.
(Andrew Tobias, "Isn't It Time You Faced the Future?" 2001)
Premise: If you don't make a will, the state will determine who gets your
stuff.
Conclusion: You ought to make a will.
The word otherwise often functions--as it does here--as premise indicator.
Notice that both the premise and the conclusion have been rephrased
slightly. The premise has been rephrased in order to make it a complete
sentence. The conclusion has been restated in order to make clear that it is
intended as a statement rather than as a command.

16. Research universities also must aggressively support teaching.
After all, a significant percentage of their students are
undergraduates, and such institutions are clearly obligated to
provide them a quality education.
Ernest L. Boyer, Scholarship Reconsidered, 1990)
Identify the premise(s) and conclusion of this argument.

17. Research universities also must aggressively support teaching. After all, a
significant percentage of their students are undergraduates, and such
institutions are clearly obligated to provide them a quality education.
Ernest L. Boyer, Scholarship Reconsidered, 1990)
Premise 1: A significant percentage of research universities' students are
undergraduates.
Premise 2: Such institutions are clearly obligated to provide
undergraduates with a quality education.
Conclusion: Research universities also must aggressively support teaching.
Notice the phrase "after all." This phrase is often used as a premise
indicator.

18. The Jews and Arabs have been fighting for centuries and I seriously
doubt this will ever be resolved. The United States should get out
of this never-ending fight, or the next terrorist bomb might be in
Washington--and it just might be nuclear.
(John G. Ferguson III, Letter to the Editor, USA Today, February 12, 2001)
Identify the premise(s) and conclusion in this argument.

19. The Jews and Arabs have been fighting for centuries and I seriously doubt
this will ever be resolved. The United States should get out of this never-
ending fight, or the next terrorist bomb might be in Washington--and it just
might be nuclear.
(John G. Ferguson III, Letter to the Editor, USA Today, February 12, 2001)
• Premise 1: The Jews and Arabs have been fighting for centuries.
• Premise 2: There is serious doubt this will ever be resolved.
• Premise 3: If the United States does not get out of this never-ending fight, the
next terrorist bomb might be in Washington--and it might be nuclear.
• Conclusion: The United States should get out of the never-ending fight between
the Jews and the Arabs.
• In this passage, there are no indicator words to assist us, however the form of
the last sentence ("X should do Y, or else Z will happen") is a common
conclusion-premise pattern.

20. No one who observes people can pretend that in fact they always
seek anything like their own long-run advantage. If this were the
case only stupidity could explain how frequently and obviously
they act contrary to their own long-run advantage. People are not
that stupid!
(Charles Hartshorne and Creighton Peden, Whitehead's View of Reality,
1981)
Identify the premise(s) and conclusion in this argument.

21. No one who observes people can pretend that in fact they always seek
anything like their own long-run advantage. If this were the case only
stupidity could explain how frequently and obviously they act contrary to
their own long-run advantage. People are not that stupid!
(Charles Hartshorne and Creighton Peden, Whitehead's View of Reality,
1981)
• Premise 1: If people always seek anything like their own long-run
advantage, then only stupidity could explain how frequently and
obviously they act contrary to their own long-run advantage.
• Premise 2: People are not that stupid.
• Conclusion: No one who observes people can pretend that in fact they
always seek anything like their own long-run advantage.
• Here again there are no standard indicator words to assist us. However,
by sticking "therefore" in front of each of the three sentences in turn,
we can see that only the first sentence makes sense as the conclusion.

22. Many people yearn for a return to "religiousness" to education, so
they press for laws permitting vocal prayer in the classroom. But I
cannot join them. Vocal prayer in class dictates a consensus that
does not exist in our pluralistic society, and any prayer that is so
vaguely worded that it sounds agreeable to all is, by my limits, no
prayer at all.
(Parker J. Palmer, To Know As We Are Known: Education as a
Spiritual Journey, 1993)
Identify the premise(s) and conclusion of this argument.

23. Many people yearn for a return to "religiousness" to education, so they
press for laws permitting vocal prayer in the classroom. But I cannot join
them. Vocal prayer in class dictates a consensus that does not exist in our
pluralistic society, and any prayer that is so vaguely worded that it sounds
agreeable to all is, by my limits, no prayer at all.
(Parker J. Palmer, To Know As We Are Known: Education as a Spiritual
Journey, 1993)
• Premise 1: Vocal prayer in class dictates a consensus that does not exist in our pluralistic
society.
• Premise 2: Any prayer that is so vaguely worded that it sounds agreeable to all is, by my
limits, no prayer at all.
• Conclusion: Although many people yearn for a return to "religiousness" to education, and
for this reason press for laws permitting vocal prayer in the classroom, it would be a
mistake to enact such laws.
• In this argument, while it is relatively easy to identify the premises, it is tricky to accurately
state the conclusion. Notice how some creative rephrasing is necessary in order to capture
precisely the claim the writer wants to defend.

24. We have good reason to believe that people will exist in the future
and that they will be similar enough to us that we can have a good
idea of what their well-being requires. Knowing this and knowing
that our present actions can influence their future well-being, it is
reasonable to conclude that future people must be given some
ethical consideration by presently living human beings. (Joseph R.
DesJardins, Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental
Philosophy, 3rd ed., 2001)
Identify the premise(s) and conclusion of this argument.

25. We have good reason to believe that people will exist in the future and that they will
be similar enough to us that we can have a good idea of what their well-being
requires. Knowing this and knowing that our present actions can influence their
future well-being, it is reasonable to conclude that future people must be given
some ethical consideration by presently living human beings. (Joseph R. DesJardins,
Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy, 3rd ed., 2001)
Premise 1: We have good reason to believe that people will exist in the future and that they will
be similar enough to us that we can have a good idea of what their well-being requires.
Premise 2: We know that our present actions can influence future peoples' well-being.
Conclusion: Future people must be given some ethical consideration by presently living human
beings.
In this passage, the conclusion indicator "it is reasonable to conclude that" helps us identify the
conclusion.
Notice that the second premise has been restated in order to make it a complete sentence.

26. With what group do I belong? I am with those who would be pleased to be
refuted if I should say anything that is not true, and pleased to be the
refuter of anyone who should say anything that is not true--more pleased,
in fact, to be refuted than to refute. I think that's a greater good, you see,
insofar as it's a greater good to be relieved of a great evil than to relieve
another of the same. (Socrates, in Plato's Gorgias)
Identify the premise(s) and conclusion in this argument.

27. With what group do I belong? I am with those who would be pleased to be
refuted if I should say anything that is not true, and pleased to be the
refuter of anyone who should say anything that is not true--more pleased,
in fact, to be refuted than to refute. I think that's a greater good, you see,
insofar as it's a greater good to be relieved of a great evil than to relieve
another of the same. (Socrates, in Plato's Gorgias)
X
Premise: It is a greater good to be relieved of a great evil than to relieve
another of the same.
Conclusion: It is a greater good to be refuted than to refute.
In this passage, the premise indicator "insofar as" helps us to identify the
premise.
Notice that the first two sentences aren't strictly part of the argument.
Their function, instead, is to provide background or contextual information
necessary to understand the argument.

28. Individual task:
• Create an argument
• It can be on anything you choose
• You must have at least three premises and a
conclusion